Page 159 (1/2)

"Fun," muttered another of the s the Quaker," another opined, face shadowed "Old Husband’s a right terror in print, but he ain’t a ruffian Nor are Ja Cousin Millard," another suggested, nudging his neighbor with a grin "Then you’ll be rid of him and your wife can blahter at this, but the tone was subdued I turned back tofiercely to blot out the picture of as now happening on the field of war

War was bad enough, even when it was necessary Cold-blooded revenge by the victor was one degree beyond And yet froht be necessary, too As battles went, this one had been both quick, and relatively minor in ter, and had seen only one fatality There would be more elsewhere, of course, yet from the cohter, thetheir fellow citizens, cousins or not

That ulation survived unharesture was required, to seal his victory, inti-serous movement

There was a stir, and the sound of a horse’s hooves I looked up--next to me, Bree’s head jerked up, her body tense--to see Ja double with Murdo Lindsay Both men slid off, and he sent Murdo aith a word to care for Gideon, then came at once to me

I could see froer; he glanced at my face and saw the answer to his own question there His shoulders dropped slightly in discourageo to search the field," he said to h the co us word"

"I’rubby apron, wadding it into a ball

Jalanced at her, then nodded

"Aye, lass, of course Just a moment, then--I’ll fetch wee Josh to help your et the horses ready" Her race, and she dropped the water bottle she was holding, fu it I took it froain, and squeezed her hand, hard

The corner of her ht she ht," she said "We’ll find hio her hand "I know you will"

I watched her hurry across the clearing, hands clenched in her raised skirts, and felt the counterweight of fear co like a stone into my belly

68

EXECUTION OF ORDERS

ROGER WOKE SLOWLY, to throbbing pain and a sense of dreadful urgency He had no idea where he was, or how he came to be there, but there were voices, lots of voices, soing like harpies, in shrill discord For a moment, he felt the voices were inside his head He could see thes and sharp teeth, banging into each other in paroxysht behind his eyes

He could feel the sea which his headstreak across the top of his skull He wanted so voices and their racket, to leave his skull an e his eyes, and stared nu that the scene on which he looked was still part of the confusion inside his skull Men swar blues and reds and yellows, reen and brown

A defect in his vision deprived hi like a bobble of hairy balloons, a waving arly severed fros that round? He was A fly droned past his ear and landed, buzzing, on his upper lip, and hethat he was indeed awake--and still bound

His hands had gone nuh the straining muscles of his arms and shoulders He shook his head to clear it, a terriblewater to his eyes

He blinked hard and breathed deep, willing hirasp soht Hold on The singing voices had faded away, leaving only a faint ringing in his ears The others were still talking, though, and now he knew that the sound was real, he was able to seize on a word here and there, and pin it down, flapping, to exa

"Exaulators"

"Stew"

"Foot"

"Hang"

"Hillsborough"