Possibly because they didn't like him, the men of the tribe made U-Val the butt of crude jokes because of his profitless attention to O-Ra; and I may say that Stone Age humor is often raw. However, much of it has come down intact for perhaps a million years to the present day on the outer crust. I recognized in many of the paleolithic jokes old friends with which I had been well acquainted back in Hartford, Connecticut.
Finally the food and tu-mal for the feast were about ready; and Ro-Tai announced that the warriors would retire to their huts and that after the sleep the feast would be served. As Ul-Van had been detailed to keep watch over me, I had to go into his hut with him; and while I was waiting for sleep to come, I overheard a conversation in a nearby hut. A man was speaking, and he was trying to persuade a woman to enter the hut with him, which would have consummated the simple marriage ceremony of the Ruvans; but the woman was adamant in her refusal.
"No," she said. "I will not mate with a man who has no slave."
"I have a slave," replied the man; and I recognized the voice of U-Val.
The woman laughed, scornfully. "You keep your slave well hidden, U-Val," she said. "What is it-a man or a woman? Or did the brave U-Val capture a little girl?"
"My slave is a great warrior," replied U-Val. "He is the man called David. Did you not see me bring him to the island?"
"But he said that he was your friend, not your slave; and you did not deny it."
"I did not deny it because he had threatened to kill me if I claimed him as my slave."
"When you claim him," said O-Ra, "I will become your mate, for the man would make a valuable slave."
"Yes," assented U-Val; but there was not much conviction in his tone. He had reason to doubt that I would make a very tractable slave.
"When you have your slave, you may ask me again," said O-Ra; and then she must have gone away, for I heard no more; and presently I fell asleep.
A boy came and awakened us, saying that Ro-Tai was awake and was summoning the warriors to the feast.
I followed Ul-Van out of the hut, and found a place beneath the shade of a tree where I could watch the proceedings. Leaves had been laid on the ground, covering a strip about three feet wide and twenty-five feet long. This was the banquet table, and along the length of it the slaves were piling food and setting great joints of bamboo filled with tu-mal, the warriors arranging themselves along both sides. Ro-Tai, who was standing at the center of one side of the spread was looking about as though searching for someone. Suddenly his eyes alighted upon me and he called to me.
"Come, David," he said, "and join the other warriors in the feast."
It was then that U-Val spoke up, finding his courage at last. "Slaves do not eat with the warriors of Ruva, Ro-Tai," he said.
"What do you mean?" demanded Ro-Tai.
"I mean that the man, David, is my slave. I captured him on the mainland, and brought him to Ruva. I have let him play at being a free man long enough. Now I claim him as my slave."
There was a rumble of disapproval, and then Ro-Tai spoke. "Even if David were your slave, by his act he has won his liberty; and I, Ro-Tai, the chief of Ruva, give him his liberty, which it is my right to do. I give him his liberty and I make him a warrior of Ruva."
"I shall not feast with a white slave!" exclaimed U-Val; and, turning, he stalked away. He took a few steps and then stopped and wheeled about. "If I cannot have him as my slave, I can at least kill him, for he is an enemy of Ruva, and kill him I shall!"
"Have you forgotten that you ate grain and honey with me in the hill of the giant ants, U-Val?" I called to him. "You had better come and eat now. You can kill me afterward, and you will need the tu-mal to give you courage; but don't forget, U-Val, that I have promised to kill you."
"Why have you promised to kill him?" demanded Ro-Tai.
"Because, while I thought he was my friend, he bound my hands behind me while I slept, and when I awoke he told me that I was his slave; and he kicked me in the ribs while I lay on the ground helpless. It was because of that kick that I promised to kill him."
"You may kill him in self-defense, but not otherwise," said Ro-Tai. "And see that you don't pick a quarrel with him," he added. "I haven't so many warriors that I can afford to lose even one unnecessarily."
Now, at a sign from Ro-Tai, the warriors seated themselves cross-legged upon the ground before the feast. There were no knives or forks for each warrior had two good hands, and each made the most of both of them. There was not much conversation for the feasters were too busy eating and drinking.
The women and children and slaves formed a circle about us, hungrily watching us devour the food. When we were through, they would come and finish what remained.
It was not long before the feasters began to get pretty high on tu-mal, and correspondingly noisy. I drank no tu-mal, and when I had satisfied my hunger I got up and strolled away; and no sooner had I left than U-Val came and seated himself at the feast. As I watched him I saw that he ate very little, but that he was drinking quantities of tu-mal; and I knew then that I must be on my guard.
I wanted to go and work on the canoe, which was nearly completed; but I could not because Ul-Van couldn't go with me. The slaves were all busy; and so I sat apart by myself, for I had learned long since that the less you have to do with the women of primitive men the better you are liked. Many of them even resent an outsider talking to their women; but after awhile O-Ra came over and sat down beside me. While she didn't belong to anybody, she had several suitors; so that a tete-a-tete with her wasn't a particularly healthful occupation. I was compensated for this, however, by the fact that I knew it would make U-Val madder than ever.
"U-Val is going to kill you," she said. "He told me so just before he went to fill up on tu-mal."
"Why are you warning me?" I asked.
"Because I don't like U-Val, and I hope you kill him," she replied; "then he can't bother me any more."
"But you would have become his mate if he had owned a slave," I said. "How could you do that, if you hated him?"
"He could have died suddenly," she said with a smile; "and then I would have owned the slave. After that I could have mated with the man I want; and then I would have had my man and my slave both."
"You would have killed him?" I asked.
She shrugged. "He would have died," she said.
O-Ra was way ahead of her time. She had been born about a million years too soon, or at least on the wrong side of the crust. She had highly advanced ideas for a girl of the Stone Age.
"Well, I hope you get your man, O-Ra," I said; "but I'd hate to be in his sandals."
She laughed, and rose. Then she said excitedly in a whisper, "Here comes U-Val now. I think I'll wait and see the fun."
"I would if I were you," I said, "for somebody is going to be killed. You ought to enjoy that."
U-Val came toward us a little unsteadily. His habitual scowl was even blacker than usual.
"What are you doing trying to steal my woman?" he demanded.
"Is she your woman?" I asked.
"I'll say I'm not," said O-Ra.
"She's going to be," said U-Val, "and anyway no dirty white slave is going to talk to a Ruvan woman while I'm around."
I wasn't going to be tricked into attacking him no matter what he said, for Ro-Tai had made it quite clear that it wouldn't be safe for me to kill him in other than self-defense.