Despite our good fortunes, my spirits were damp, for my sorrow of the
Canitaur's ill fate was as a wound in my bosom, knowing that I had been
the sole reason for their discovery. What a good kinsman redeemer, I
thought, for my coming may have ended the wars, or put its completion in
motion, yet not in the favor of my hosts.
To my chagrin, however, the Canitaurs, led by Wagner, were buxom,
seeming to find great humor in what had happened. Turning to them in a
zealous perplexity, I said spiritedly, "How can you laugh? You may have
escaped, but your brethren are doomed, and you yourselves will not last
long around enemies without the protection of the other Canitaurs."
But my rebuke only seemed to make their laughter and mirth more hearty,
and they raged on without ceasing for a time. After a while, when they
were reduced to a smiling remnant of their former pleasure, Wagner
turned gravely towards me and said, "Forgive me, Jehu, for not
explaining it to you. You are right to chastise us, but the situation is
not as you seem to think it, for the map they found was a fake, and will
lead them to nowhere of importance, while we affect our escape. We are
lucky that they left no guard, but come, let us not tempt fate and
remain any longer in this compromised outpost, to the fortress we go!"
He finished and met with the approbations of the others, and
accordingly, we exited the cubby hole and made our way through the
rummaged room, up the stairs, and out of the tree.
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