alked on the earth.

After the council sacred meal was sprinkled on the trees in the urn,
and the priests of the order of Po-Ahtun divided them between the
Winter people, and the Summer people, that it be proven which the care
of the new fruit would belong to for prayers, and each planted them by
their several signs in the sky. His mother spoke to him when alone and
told him he was now to do a boy's work in the village, and his
training must begin for the ceremonies of high orders into which the
council wished him to enter.

"To serve our people?"

"Yes:--it will be so--to serve our people."

"Since it is to be like that, may I also speak?"--he asked. "May I not
speak to the men who decide? I have thought of this each day since
Ua-lano. At some time I must speak:--is not this the time?"

"It may be the time," she assented. "We will go to the old men of the
orders. It may be they will listen."

All night they listened, and all night they talked, and the old men
looked at the mother strangely that the son should speak the words of
a man in council.

"Thanks that you let me speak," he said. "Thanks! It is true what you
hear of the white gold-hunter's magic. It is strong. It is good that
we find out how it is strong. My mother tells you how the Snake
priests of Tusayan make me of their order, so that I can know that
magic for the rain ceremony. In my hands also was given the Flute of
Prayer to the desert gods, and to know Hopi prayers does not hurt me
for a Te-hua:--it is Te-hua prayers my mother teaches me always! So it
will not hurt me to learn the magic of the men of iron. They are
strong and they will be hard to fight. The grey robe man is the man
who teaches of their gods. He teaches it from magic white leaves in
his hand, on the leaves there are words--other iron men can talk from
them, but only the grey robe is the priest and teaches. He would teach
me if I would serve him--then I could have their magic with our own."

"It may be evil magic," said one.

"It tames the strange beasts as the Hopi prayers tame the snakes,"
replied the boy--"and every day the beasts do work for these people."

The old men nodded assent--it certainly must be strong magic to do
that!

But a man of the Tain-tsain clan arose.

"This woman has been gone many moons on a strange trail," he said.
"The son she brings back to her clan speaks not as a youth speaks. It
is as if he has been very old and grows young again. It may be
mag