Young Bleys - Childe Cycle 09 Read Online Free PDF Page B

at least five vehicles wide.
    Finally, however, even this strip also began to narrow, as the carts and wagons on it turned down side roads. A few trees were beginning to appear on the horizon now; and Bleys, who in his omnivorous reading had also gotten into books on trees, recognized most of these as variforms of earth florae—mainly the softwoods and conifers. Only occasionally was a variform hardwood maple, elm, oak, or ironwood tree seen growing among them.
    Now as the traffic dwindled down to almost nothing, the trees moved in, and soon they were passing through what seemed to be almost solid forest with only an occasional open area of grassy meadow, or an occasional valley with a small river. Now they were headed uphill; although the goats pulling Henry's goat-cart show ed no sign of the extra effort th is must require.
    It was only when they had the road almost completely to themselves, that Henry MacLean spoke again.
    "This woman," he said, glancing briefly down at Bleys and then back at the road, "what else did she tell you?"
    "Stories mainly, Uncle," said Bleys, "about David and Goliath. About Moses and the Ten Commandments. Stories about the kings and prophets."
    "Do you remember any of this?" demanded Henry. "What do you remember of the story of David and Goliath?"
    Bleys took a deep breath and began to talk in the tone of voice with which he had kept visitors to his mother entertained. Hope rose in him at the chance to show off this early to this new uncle. He spoke in a solemn, steady utterance that made every word plain.
    The words flowed freely from his memory:
    "—And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines" said Bleys, "named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span ..."
    He was aware of Henry's eyes on him—but they gave him no clue. Bleys went on.
    ". . . And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
    "And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
    "And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and one bearing a shield went before him."
    Out of the corners of his eyes, Bleys could still see Henry's face, unchanged. Bleys felt his heart sink. But he kept bis voice confident and went on.
    "... And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
    "If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
    "And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
    "When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid ..."
    Henry MacLean was staring fixedly at Bleys, who continued to watch the man out of the comers of his eyes while pretending to gaze ahead out through the windshield. The reins hung lax in Henry's hands, but the goats continued, keeping directly down the road as they had been doing. Bleys went on:
    "... Now David was the son o f that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-J udah, whose name was Jesse : . ."
    He continued quoting. Henry continued to listen without a change of expression; and the cart continued without direction directly down the road under the lowering gray sky, the clouds of which were now darkening and threatening rain.
    Bleys had had experience in holding an audience, and he knew how with tone and voice to work up to the climax of a story. Now he was getting to the climax of the account of the combat between David and Goliath, the Philistine. Henry should be showing some reaction now if he was ever going to; but he showed none. Bleys' voice changed accordingly, rising a bit in