Bilar the spear-maker was staring like a fool, mouth sagging open, as he gaped across towards the Red Chief. Gille the Moon, Bilar’s wife, started to laugh, then to cry. Old Kuluman’s bleary eyes glinted in anger. But then, what could he do about it?

“And from now,” shouted the Red Chief, “we shall make more raids on other tribes to steal young girls for wives, and boys that they may grow up with us and become warriors of the Gunn-e-darr tribe, to help quickly strengthen us. For our tribe must die out if we have not enough wives for all our warriors, for then there will be fewer and fewer children to take the place of warriors killed in fight, in the hunt, or who just die.

“We are no longer the tribe our fathers’ fathers knew—nothing near so strong a tribe as our enemies fortunately believe us to be. We can muster barely fifty able-bodied fighting men. And you know that at the next Bora only six young warriors will be made. We know there are tribes around us who can muster one hundred spears, not counting elderly warriors, and that distantly there are tribes that can muster one hundred and fifty! And those distant warriors have long been looking towards our own fair lands. We cannot hold our wonderful lands if we have not many more spears. So let us get them! Meanwhile, while seeking to avoid powerful enemies we shall fight fiercely, but craftily, all warrior bands that come against us.

“At the same time let us offer life and protection to all who might care to come in and join with our tribe—those who are harried by powerful enemies, or who are frightened and think they are weaker than we. They can bring their wives and children to help build up our strength. And—we shall attack and absorb, one after the other, the weakest first, the four smallest tribes near our boundaries. For long we have lost a fighting man or two to them from our small hunting parties, and in small, badly planned raids. But now we shall attack the weakest tribe suddenly, and in strength. To those not killed we shall offer the protection of our tribe, their men, women, and children will become one with us, the Gunn-e-darr tribe. Then, later on, watching for our well-planned chance, we shall attack the next weakest tribe, and absorb them, too. Then the next, then the next, growing stronger each time. By the time we have absorbed these four small tribes we shall have become much stronger. From then on we shall really begin to build up our strength, until in a few years we shall be strong enough to resist any strong tribe that comes against us, or to attack in force any tribe we learn is planning to attack us. Only by quickly acting thus can we hope to become strong enough to hold our wide lands against those distant but very strong tribes that sooner or later must come against us—who would have come long ago, had they only known how weak we are.”