IV
SOWING AND REAPING
The children were not allowed again to take the sheep to the hills. "Theyare not to be trusted," said Melas. "They are the sort of shepherds thatgo to sleep and let the wolves find the flock. They are not realSpartans."
Dion and Daphne felt this as a terrible reproach. Dromas now had to gowith the sheep, and so could no longer help with the other farm work, andthe ploughing and sowing of the corn-field had to be finished by Melashimself. The Twins did their best to help. When Melas scattered thegrain, they followed with rakes and scratched a layer of earth over theseeds. The crows watched the planting with much interest.
"Look at them," cried Dion to his Father one afternoon. "There are fiveof them on that tree yonder, and the minute we get to one end of thefield they begin to scratch up the grain at the other."
"We'll fix them," said Melas shortly.
He sent the Twins to the house for sticks and straw and his old worn-outsheepskin cloak and hat, and when they came back, Melas stuck two longsticks of wood in the ground and bound a cross piece to them with stripsof leather. Then he wound the sticks with straw, and made a round bundleof straw at the top. He tied it all securely with thongs. Then he dressedit with the sheepskin and put on the hat. When it was done, it was thescariest looking scarecrow you ever saw!
"I guess that will frighten the crows!" said Dion, as he gazed at itadmiringly. "It just about scares me."
"Caw, caw, caw!" screamed a crow.
A crow was flying right over his head! Dion shook his fist at him. "Youold thief!" he cried.
"I know one more thing we can do," said Daphne. "Lycias told me aboutit." She got a small piece of bark and made a little amulet of it. Shepunched a hole through one end and put a leather string through it.Neither she nor Dion could write, so when she had explained what mustbe done Melas himself took a sharp stone and scratched a curse upon crowsin the soft bark. When it was done Daphne hung it about the neck of thescarecrow. "There," said Melas grimly, "I don't believe he'll go to sleepon the job. He's a Spartan scarecrow! Now let's go home to supper, andto-morrow we'll see how it works."
The next morning the very first thing the Twins did was to rush out tothe field and there, right on top of the scarecrow were three blackcrows, and more were on the ground eating up the seed!
"After all we did, just look at them!" cried Dion.
"Caw, caw," screamed the crows.
"You don't suppose Father made a mistake, and wrote a blessing insteadof a curse on that amulet?" said Daphne anxiously. They ran back to thehouse as fast as they could go. Melas was just coming out of thefarm-yard with a pruning-hook in his hand.
"Oh, Father," cried Dion, "the crows are roosting all over the scarecrow.Maybe he wasn't a Spartan scarecrow after all."
"Anyway, he seems to have gone to sleep on the job," added Daphne.
Melas stared at the crows in angry silence. "You children will have toget your clappers then, and just drive the old thieves away," he said atlast, "You will have to spend the day in the field watching them. I'vegot to work in the vineyard. The vines must be pruned."
The Twins had not yet had their breakfast and they were hungry. So theyran to the kitchen, seized some barley-cakes and a little jar of milk,and in a few minutes were back again in the field. They sat down withthe wooden clappers beside them, and ate their breakfast in the companyof the scarecrow. All day long they watched the grain and rattled theirclappers, or threw clods at the black marauders. It was lively work, andalthough they did not like it, they remembered the black ewe and stuckfaithfully at it all through the long day.
When the sun was high overhead, Lydia brought them some figs and cheeseand a drink of goat's milk. She also brought a message. This was themessage. "Father says you are to stay here until after dark. You are tohunt around until you find a toad, and when you find it, you must besure not to let it get away from you. He is going to put a magic spell onthe field to keep the crows away, but the spell will not work except inthe dark. So you must stay here until he comes."
Between keeping off the birds and hunting for the toad, the Twins spent abusy afternoon. And after the toad was found it was no joke to try tokeep it. It was a wonderful hopper and nearly got away twice. At dusk thecrows flew away to their nests, and the children were alone in the fielduntil the twilight deepened into darkness. Owls had begun to hoot andbats were flying about, when at last they saw three dim, shadowy figurescoming across the field.
The shadowy figures were Melas, Lydia, and Chloe. Lydia bore a jar, whichshe placed beside the scarecrow in the middle of the field. Melas tookthe toad in his hand, formed the others in line, and then solemnly headedthe procession as the five walked slowly round the entire field, carryingthe toad. When they got back to the scarecrow again, Melas put the toadin the jar and sealed it. Then he buried the jar in the middle of thefield, beside the scarecrow.
"There," said Lydia, when it was done, "that's the very strongest spellthere is. If that doesn't protect the corn, I don't know another thing todo."
Whether it was the scarecrow, or the curse, or the spell, I cannot say,but it is certain that the corn grew well that summer, and when harvesttime came, Melas was so proud of his crop that he decided to have anextra celebration. So one day in late summer every one on the entirefarm rose with the dawn and hastened to the fields. It was the twelfthday of the month, which was counted a lucky day for harvesting, and everyone was gay, as, with sickles in hand, slaves and master alike enteredthe field of ripe grain. Melas and two other men led the way, cutting thestalks and leaving them on the ground to be gathered into sheaves andstacked by others who followed after.
Meanwhile Lydia, Chloe, and the other women prepared an out-of-doorfeast. A calf had been killed and cut up for cooking, and in theafternoon a huge fire was built. Lydia had charge of the cooking. She setgreat pieces of meat before the fire to roast, and told the children tosit by and turn them often to keep them from burning. Dion and Daphnealso brought wood for the fire, while the slave women mixed cakes of mealand baked them in the ashes, or went to the spring for water, or carriedrefreshing drinks to the workers in the field.
It was sundown when the last sheaf was stacked and Melas gave the signalto stop work. Chloe at once brought cool water from the spring to thetired harvesters, and when they had washed their hot hands and faces,Melas made a rude altar of stones, kindled a fire upon it, and, callingthe people together, offered upon it a handful of the new grain and madea prayer of thanks to Demeter, the Goddess of the fields, for the richharvest. When this was done, the feast was ready. The meat and cakes andwine were passed to the men by the women, and when they had been wellserved, the women too sat down under a tree and ate their supper. It wasa gay party. After supper there were jokes and songs, and Dromas playedupon his shepherd's pipe, until the night came on and the moon showed herround face over the crest of the hills.
Then Lycias, the oldest slave of all, began to tell stories. He had seenthe battle of Salamis, and he told how he had watched the Persian shipsgo down, one after another, before the victorious Greeks. "And the Kingsat right on the high rocks north of the Piraeus and saw 'em go down," hechuckled. "It was a great sight."
When Lycias had finished his story, Dromas told the tale of how the GodPan had appeared to a shepherd he knew, as he was watching his sheepalong on the hills. "It's all true," he declared, as the story ended. "Iknew the man myself. All sorts of things happen when you're out alone onthe hillsides."
The fire, meanwhile, had died down to a heap of brands and gleamingcoals, and Melas told the Twins to bring some wood to replenish it. Theyhad been gone only a short time on this errand when the group around thefire was amazed to see them come darting back into the circle, all out ofbreath and with eyes as big as saucers.
"What is it?" cried Lydia, springing to her feet.
"We don't know," gasped Dion. "It's big--and black--and there's two ofit. It's right out by the brush-pile."
"We were just going to get an
armful of brush," added Daphne, "when allof a sudden there it was--right beside us! We didn't wait to see it anymore. We just ran like everything!"
Lydia poked the coals into a blaze and peered out into the surroundingdarkness.
"It was wolves, I'll go bail," cried Lycias, and he started at once toclimb a tree.
"Wolves!" shrieked Chloe, and got behind her mistress. The Twins werealready holding to her skirts.
"Wolves!" howled the slaves, "a whole pack of them!" and as there wasnothing for them to climb, each hastily tried to get behind some oneelse. In the struggle Dromas got crowded back and sat down on a hot coal.He hadn't many clothes on, so he got up very quickly, and the next howlhe gave was not wholly on account of wolves. Only Lydia and Melas stoodtheir ground beside the fire. Melas waved a burning brand in the air andshouted at the top of his lungs, "Fools! Rabbits! Don't you know wolveswon't come near a fire?" but nothing soothed the frightened slaves.Something was coming, and if it wasn't wolves, they thought it was likelyto be a worse creature. They could see two black figures bounding alongin the moonlight, and behind them came a huge dog, barking with all hismight. Bang into the row of cowering slaves they ran, and the biggestblack thing roared "baa," and the little one bleated "maa," right intoDromas' ear. The "whole pack of wolves" was just the old black ewe andher little black lamb. Argos was chasing them and when he came tearinginto the circle about the fire and saw the sheep safe with Dromas, he satdown panting, with his tongue hanging out, and looked very much pleasedwith himself. Dromas seized the lamb in his arms.
"It's a fine young ram," he cried, "and it's nothing short of a miraclethat the wolves haven't got it, and its mother too, long before this!'
"I always said that old ewe was bewitched," quavered Lycias. "It's magic,I say. And the lamb is as black as Erebus too. No good will come ofthis!"
"Come, come! We must take them up to the farm-yard at once," said Melas,"before the old sheep takes it into her head to run away again. Dromas,you and Argos attend to her, and I'll carry the lamb myself."
"We will all go," said Lydia. "It is time for bed anyway." So the remainsof the feast were gathered up, the fire was put out, and the wholecompany trailed back over the hill to the farm-house, Melas at the headof the procession, carrying the lamb in his arms. When the old sheep wascorraled once more with the flock, and the slaves had gone home to theirhuts, Melas came in from the farm-yard with the lamb. He seemed strangelyexcited.
"Light the fire on the hearth, wife," he said to Lydia. "There'ssomething queer about this lamb."
Lydia uncovered the coals, laid on some wood, and blew the fire to ablaze. By its light Melas examined the lamb carefully. Then he said toLydia, who stood near with the Twins, "This ram has but one horn!"
"It can't be!" gasped Lydia. "Whoever heard of a ram with only one horn?"
"Feel it," said Melas briefly. Lydia felt it.
"By all the Gods," she cried, "here is a strange thing!"
"Let us feel," begged Dion and Daphne. They both felt. There was only onelittle budding horn to be found, and that was right in the middle of thelamb's forehead.
"What does it mean?" cried Lydia. "Is it a miracle? Is it a portent? Doesit mean good luck or bad luck?"
"I don't know," said Melas. "Only a priest could tell that."
"Then take it to a priest," said Lydia.
"It is not my sheep," said Melas. "It belongs to Pericles."
"Then you must take it to him and let him decide what shall be done withit," cried Lydia. "And go soon, I beg of you. I don't wish to have thecreature in the house. It may be bewitched. It may bring all kinds of badluck to us."
"It is just as likely to bring good luck as bad," said Melas.
"Is Father really going to take the lamb to Athens?" asked Dion.
"Yes," answered Melas, with surprising promptness, "to-morrow."
"Oh," cried Dion and Daphne at the same instant, "_please_ let me gotoo."
"No," said Lydia at once, but Melas said, "Not so fast, wife. Seekguidance of the Gods. The children would learn much from such a journey,and their chances for learning are few. We should be gone but two days,if the sea is calm."
Lydia was silent for a moment while the Twins stood by breathless withsuspense. At last she said, "Well,--if the Gods so will,--we will seek anomen. You could spend the night at the house of my brother, Phaon, thestone-cutter, I suppose. I have seen him but seldom since he married hisAthenian wife, but no doubt he would make you welcome for the night."
She rose slowly as she spoke, and threw a handful of grain upon thefamily altar, at the same time praying to Hermes, the God of travelers,for guidance. Then she ran round the court with her hands over her ears,and as she came back to the group beside the hearth, suddenly uncoveredthem again. The Twins were talking together in low tones.
"Oh, do you suppose they will let _me_ go?" Daphne was saying to Dion,and just at that moment Lydia took her hands from her ears. "Go" was thefirst word she heard.
"The omen is favorable," cried Lydia. "You are to go! I prayed to Hermes,then closed my ears, well knowing that the first word I should hear whenI uncovered them would be the answer to my prayer. That word was 'Go.'Hasten to bed, my children, for you must make an early start to-morrow."
Daphne could scarcely believe her ears. Not a word had been said abouther staying at home because she was a girl! She flew upstairs to bed lestsome one should suddenly think of it.
The Spartan Twins Page 4
