The House of Power by Patrick Carman

Author:Patrick Carman [CARMAN, PATRICK]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780316004886
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2010-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

19

THE SHEPHERD’S IDEA

Many of the houses in the Village at the Grove had toppled over, but some had weathered the quake surprisingly well, and the largest of these was buzzing with activity. Mr. Ratikan was tied to a tree and could do nothing as people from all three villages gathered in the night. There were two women and a man from the Village of Sheep, Briney and Maude from the Village of Rabbits, and an assortment of adults from the grove.

Isabel sat outside the door at a table weaving slings out of thin strands of tree bark with two other girls. She had become queen of all the children, guiding them in the duty of collecting black figs and storing them in bags at the back of the house. Now and then a child would approach her as one would an emperor and ask her a question. It’s getting dark, shall we keep going? We’ve found all we can in the second-year trees, where should we go now? Will you show me how to throw a black fig as you do? Isabel’s story had already become legend among the other children—her dangerous friendship with a climbing boy, her mastery of a sling. Some even whispered that Isabel alone had destroyed Mr. Ratikan’s house and freed the grove.

The group in the house was arguing over what should be done with the bag of poison brought along by Briney and Maude when Wallace, a man hairy from head to toe who lived in the Village of Sheep, had heard enough.

“I believe we must go to him, if we are to know the whole truth of the matter.”

They all knew of whom Wallace spoke and where this person could be found. The group of them nodded agreement, and a small party was assembled to visit Mr. Ratikan. The group consisted of Briney, Wallace, and Isabel’s father, Charles.

“How are things coming along, Isabel?” her father asked on the way out the door.

“Very well! We have bags and bags of black figs and more are arriving by the hour. And these girls are exceptional weavers.” She nodded at the two girls beside her, who beamed with pride. “We already have twenty slings and we’re only getting faster.”

“We’re going to need a lot more than twenty,” said her father. He looked concerned. “Why don’t you show some of the adults how to make them?”

The girls scowled at Isabel’s father, as if he’d slapped their heroine queen across the face, and then looked to Isabel for hope that their important duty would not be taken away by the adults in the village.

“We’ve got plenty of black figs,” said Isabel, trying to save the glory for her loyal followers. “I’ll move some of the others to making slings and see how we do. Give me an hour.”

Leaving Isabel to her work, the three men made their way through the grove. They stopped at the pool and drank some water, for the guards had seen the error of their ways.

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