At last, and as it seemed abruptly, he came upon a dark river flowing through the forest with a gentle garrulousness. He stared in wonder; it was unexpected, almost incredible, being so much broader than any stream he had seen before. It was too broad for leaping, and too deep, he surmised, for wading. He laid his burden down in the lush grass of the river bank, and, stooping to the water with one hand clutching deep into the turf for support, he filled himself and slaked his fire. Everything became suddenly dark in his sight and swayed giddily about him. His eyes bulged; his body seemed ready to burst; there was thunder in his ears. He lay on his back in the grass, rolled over, writhed into a squatting posture, and vomited violently. After that he felt better and was ready for a meal. He glanced round for Bikkoo, who lay, a few strides distant, quite still and apparently sleeping. On his side Bikkoo lay, curled up, knees to chin; one arm, with open hand and wide-spread fingers, stiffly extended on the ground. He had not moved from the spot where Ogo had placed him. Ogo remembered the meat, which was still fastened across his back. He unslung it and fell to eating, and the night air soon began to seem less cold to him, though he would none the less have been glad of the shelter and the company that was now given to a strange woman, and gladder still, as the bright intentness of his eyes confessed when he thought of her, to be to that woman what Hawkon was, to be her lord and her mate, with Hawkon ousted and ashamed; but his musing mind did not dwell long on that past, which seemed so remote and unreal, for there were ten thousand things in the immediate world pressing for attention, the shadows and the silver, the trees, the grass, the river, the rustling night, the creeping presences, and the sharp eyes of the sky. These things, pouring on to his body, streaming in through ears and eyes and mouth and nostrils, made in his mind a pattern, which, changing as he stared, presently grew rich in promise of comfort; for the earth he lay on became a woman, vastly proportioned, between whose mountainous breasts he found shelter and satisfaction. He felt upon him the glow of her great gentle eyes, saw the smile of her tenderness filling the sky, until darkness wrapped him round, warm soft swaddling protective darkness, in which he lay, curled up and at peace, soothed by the rhythm of her heart, which was the heart of the world.
But something moved into the stillness and instantly the forest crowded back. Bikkoo had raised himself on one elbow and was staring at Ogo. His face was shadowed, but there was no doubt of his staring. Ogo, without moving, watched him. What next? Slowly, with pain, Bikkoo began dragging himself across the grass. Ogo stood up.
‘Huh?’
‘Very good friends,’ said Bikkoo.
Ogo grunted thoughtfully. He was rested, and but that it was still night he was satisfied. He had taken meat and drink, and there was more to take when he wanted it. The hidden purpose of his first setting out was forgotten. Now and again it had flashed into consciousness, but for the most part it did its work in secret. At the moment he had no intentions of any kind. He was aware of no desires. Had he been alone he would have stayed where he was, idle, with his larder at hand, until roused from this comfortable lethargy by some want or whim. Bikkoo’s presence prevented that. Bikkoo was a stranger and a problem. With Bikkoo he was instinctively watchful and alert: not with the alertness of hostility, for he judged the man to be helpless against him, but in a spirit of candid curiosity. Bikkoo was a stranger, different from the men Ogo knew. He looked different and was different: everything about him was odd and exciting. Instead of a wolf’s pelt he wore round his middle a broad band of plaited grasses. Now would you believe it? His eyes, too, were somehow different from those of the Koor family; his nose was sharper; his brow broader. And, most astonishing of all, he had lived among alien people under an alien law, had never been inside the Koor squat. Small wonder that Ogo stared, noting with radiant excitement and satisfaction every detail of his queerness. Bikkoo, with equal frankness, stared back. It was an exhilarating experience for both of them. They grinned at each other with wide wondering grins. The tension of the night’s terror was relieved. Ogo offered a piece of the meat, and Bikkoo received it eagerly, set his teeth into it, and laughed his appreciation. In the act of eating he was funnier and more different than ever. Ogo was delighted with him.