'Pitch your tents well up on the hillside, two men or one family to a unit, with a spare pack stacked across the river,' Sos directed the group when they arrived in the valley. 'Two men will walk guard day and night around the perimeter; the rest will work by day and be confined to their tents by night, without exception. The night guards will be entirely covered with mesh at all times and will scrupulously avoid any contact with the flying white moths. There will be a four-man hunting party and a similar carrying party each day. The rest will dig our trench.'
'Why?' one man demanded. 'What's the point of all this foolishness?' It was Nar, a blustering dagger who did not accept orders readily.
Sos told them why.
'You expect us to believe such fantastic stories by a man without a weapon?' Nar shouted indignantly. 'A man who raises birds instead of fighting?'
Sos held his temper. He had known that something like this would come up. There was always some boor who thought that honor and courtesy did not extend beyond the cirele. 'You will stand guard tonight. If you don't choose to believe me, open your face and arms to the moths,' He made the other assignments, and the men got busy setting up the camp.
Tyl approached him. 'If there is trouble with the men .' he murmured.
Sos understood him. 'Thanks,' he said gruffly.
There was time that afternoon to mark off the trench he had in mind. Sos took a crew of men and laid out light cord, tying it to pegs hammered into the ground at suitable intervals. In this fashion, they marked off a wide semicircle enclosing the packs stored beside the river with a radius of about a quarter mile.
They ate from stored rations well before dusk, and Sos made a personal inspection of all tents, insisting that any defects be corrected immediately. The object was to have each unit tight: no space open large enough for a moth to crawl through. There were grumbles, but it was done. As night filled the valley, all but the two marching guards retired to their tents, there to stay sealed in until daylight.
Sos turned in, satisfied. It was a good beginning. He wondered where the moths hid during the day, where neither sun nor shrew could find them.
Say, who shared his tent, was not so optimistic. 'There's going to be trouble in Red River Valley,' he remarked in his forthright manner.
'Red River Valley?'
'From that song you hum all the time. I know 'em all. Won't you think of the valley you're leaving, Oh, how lonely and sad it will be; Oh, think of the fond heart you're breaking, and the grief-''
'All right!' Sos exclaimed, embarrassed.
'Well, they aren't going to like digging and carrying,' Sav continued, his usually amiable face serious. 'And the kids'll be hard to keep in at night. They don't pay much attention to regulations, you know. If any of them get stung and die-'
'Their parents will blame me. I know.' Discipline was mandatory. It would be necessary to make a convincing demonstration before things got out of hand.
The opportunity came sooner than he liked. In the morning Nar was discovered in his tent. He had not been stung by the moths. He was sound asleep.
Sos called an immediate assembly. He pointed out three men at random. 'You are official witnesses. Take note of everything you see this morning and remember it.' They nodded, perplexed.
'Take away the children,' he said next. Now the mothers were upset, knowing that they were about to miss something important; but in a,few minutes only the men and about half the women remained.
He summoned Nar. 'You are accused of dereliction in the performance of your duty. You were assigned to mount guard, but you slept in the tent instead. Have you any defense to make?'
Nar was vexed at being caught but decided to bluster it Out. 'What are you going to do about it, bird-man?'
This was the awkward point. Sos could not take up his sword and remain true to his oath, though he had no doubt of his ability to handle this man in the circle. He could not afford to wait the weeks until Sol would show up again. He had to take action now.
