‘There is nothing,’ the scout said to Birin and the awaiting soldiers. Pran and Ralph stood nearby, listening. ‘Not a footprint. Not a trace of spoor. Not a sign that anything was there at all.’ Birin and the soldiers were clearly worried, despite the fact that nothing seemed to have come of the strange incident.
Ralph raised a question that had been bothering him since he had begun his watch. ‘Why couldn’t we see their breath in the light? Why just their eyes and nothing else?’
One fellow, a farmer who had lived not far from Pran, having overheard Ralph’s observation, said, ‘Maybe it was just our own eyes staring back at us.’ There was some laughter at this, for the farmer was well known for his droll sense of humour. The level of tension dropped immediately.
With a crooked smile, Birin said, ‘Ezra, my friend, at times like this I am glad for your presence. But the eyes left two by two. Unless,’ he said, glaring about humorously, ‘there were more falling asleep on the watch than I was aware of.’
For the time being, the fear caused by the eyes was dispelled, and they began preparing for the morning meal, and departure. When news of the incident reached Theuli’s ears, however, she was greatly disturbed. ‘Deborah was awake a good part of the night.’ she told Pran and Ralph. ‘She kept saying that she heard voices calling out to her. She became hot to the touch and delirious, until morning came.’ Deborah was asleep now, and had to be carried to the wagon and wrapped warmly against the cold. Pran went straightaway to Birin to tell him what had happened. Birin’s reaction was to grip the pommel of his sword until his knuckles whitened.