Raiders of Gor by John Norman Page A

did not look upon me, nor notice me in any way, and, followed by Telima,
    and the other girls, made his way to the shore of the rence island.
    I was left alone, tied at the pole.
     
    I had been aroused at dawn by Telima, and unbound, that I might help in the
    preparations for festival.
    In the early morning the other rence islands, four of them, which had been
    tethered close by, were poled to the one on which I was kept, and now, joined by
    flat rence rafts, acting as bridges, they had been tied to one another, now
    forming, for most practical purposes, a large single island.
    I had been used in the fastening of the bridges, and in the drawing up and tying
    of rence craft on the shore, as other rencers, from distant islands, arrived for
    festival. I had also been used to carry heavy kettled of rence beer from the
    various islands to the place of feasting, as well as strings of water gourds,
    poles of fish, plucked gants, slaughtered tarks, and baskets of the pith of
    rence.
    Then, about the eighth Gorean hour, Telima had ordered me to the pole, where she
    bound me and placed on my head the garland of rence flowers.
    I had stood at the pole the long morning, subject to the examination, the
    stares, and the blows and abuse of those who passed by.
    Around the tenth Gorean hour, the Gorean noon, the rencers ate small rence
    cakes, dotted with seeds, drank water, and nibbled on scraps of fish. The great
    feast would be in the evening.
    Around this time a small boy had come to stare at me, a half-eaten rence cake in
    his hand.
    “Are you hungry?” he had asked.
    “Yes,” I had told him.
    He had held the rence cake up to me and I bit at it, eating it.
    “Thank you,” I had said to him.
    But he had just stood there, staring up at me. Then his mother ran to him and
    struck him across the side of the head, scolding him, dragging him away.
    The morning was spent variously by the rencers. The men had sat in council with
    Ho-Hak, and tehre had been much discussion, much argument, even shouting. The
    women who had men were busied with the preparation of the feast. The younger men
    and woman formed opposite lines, shouting and jeering at one another
    delightedly. And sometimes one or the other boy, or girl, would rush to the
    opposite line to strike at someone, laughing, and run back to the other line.
    Objects were thrown at the opposite line, as well as jocose abuse. The smaller
    children played together, the boys playing games with small nets and reed marsh
    spears, the girls with rence dolls, or some of the older ones sporting with
    throwing sticks, competing against one another.
    After the council had broken up one of the men who had been seated there came to
    regard me. It was he who wore the headband of the pearls of Vosk sorp about his
    forehead, who had been unable ot bend the bow.
    Strangely, to my mind, he carried over his left shoulder a large, white, silken
    scarf.
    He did not speak to me, but he laughed, and passed on. I looked away, burning
    with shame.
    It was now about the twelfth Gorean hour, well past noon.
    I had been examined earlier by the girls who would compete for me.
    Ho-Hak, with Telima, had summoned them away for the contests.
    Most of these took place in the marsh. From where I was bound, over the low
    rence huts and between them, I could see something of what went on. There was
    much laughter and shouting, and cheering and crying out. There were races,
    poling rence craft, and skill contests maneuvering the small light craft, and
    contests with net and throwing stick. It was indeed festival.
    At last, after an Ahn or so, the group, the girls, the men watching, the judges,
    turned their several rence craft toward the island, beaching them and fastening
    them on the woven-mat shore.
    Then, the entire group came to my pole, with the exception of Ho-Hak, who went
    rather to speak with some men carving rence root and talking, on the other side
    of the island.
    The girls, perhaps more than forty or fifty of