Ye had no heart for sacrifice, and I no time for tears.
I offered--nay, I gave! I squandered body and breath and soul,
I bared the need, I showed the way, I preached a goodly goal,
I urged you choose a leader, since your faith in me was dim,
I swore to serve the chief ye chose, and teach my lore to him,
So he should reap where I had sown. And yet ye bade me wait--
And waited till, awake at last, ye bid me lead too late!

And so, in place of ripe reward,
Your cactus crown! And I, who urged
"Get ready for the untoward"
Must drink the dregs of wrath I dirged!
Ye bid me set time's finger back!
And stage anew the opened fight!
I'll lead. But slime of Dead Sea wrack
Were sweeter on my lips this night!


The first thought that occurred to each of us four was that Kagig
had probably lied, or that he had merely voiced his private opinion,
based on expectation. The glare in the distance seemed too big and
solid to be caused by burning houses, even supposing a whole village
were in flames. Yet there was not any other explanation we could
offer. A distant cloud of black smoke with bulging red under-belly
rolled away through the darkness like a tremendous mountain range.

We stood in silence trying to judge how far away the thing might
be, Kagig standing alone with his foot on the parapet, his goat-skin
coat hanging like a hussar's dolman, and Monty pacing up and down
along the roof behind us all. The gipsies seemed able to converse