The Flesh Eaters by L. A. Morse Page A

we eat. We sleep when I say we sleep. Do you understand?”
    Meg nods in genuine submission.
    “Who gives the orders?”
    “You do.”
    “Who obeys the orders?”
    “I do.”
    “Very well. We shall go now.”
    Sawney Beane takes Andrews’s horse into the woods and tethers it. It would be dangerous to take the horse with them; they would find it too difficult to hide.
    They walk along the road, carrying over their shoulders the sacks they found in Andrews’s saddlebags. The sacks are heavy and stained red-brown from the severed limbs inside them.
    The farther Sawney Beane and Meg go, the more desolate the country becomes. The woods grow darker and denser; the open spaces are rocky. Eventually the road runs by the sea, about a hundred feet above the beach. A tree-covered hill rises steeply on the other side of the road, so that it becomes a narrow shelf that divides the upper and lower parts of a cliff.
    Sawney Beane decides that they must leave the road and continue on the beach. They scramble down the heavily wooded cliff and walk a considerable distance along the rocky shore. He is alert and apparently untired, but Meg has difficulty walking over the rough ground and lags behind. She does not complain.
    Sawney Beane spots an opening in the face of the cliff and goes to investigate. It is a narrow crack in the rock, about two feet wide and eight feet high, with sea water rushing into it. He peers through the opening into the darkness, shouts, and listens to the echo. Cautiously, he steps inside. On the beach, Meg sinks down against a boulder with a tired sigh.
    Sawney Beane wades through brackish water that rises to his calf. The cave is narrow and twisting, and he is soon past the reach of the light from the entrance. There are a few flickers of illumination from small cracks in the roof, but otherwise the cave is completely dark. He seems to move without difficulty, however, following the twists and turns for more than a quarter of a mile. Gradually the ground rises, and at last he steps onto a dry floor. The cave has become a very large cavern with a high roof. A vague recollection of the cathedral crosses his mind, but this place does not feel threatening—it feels good.
    Sawney Beane retraces his steps and emerges on the beach. Meg is relieved to see him. She is about to say something, but he holds up a hand to silence her. He looks up the wooded cliff face, but cannot see the road. He runs along the beach to look from various points, but the road is always hidden. He becomes increasingly excited. He finds a small stream running down the cliff onto the beach. He tastes the water, and it is fresh.
    Sawney Beane tells Meg that this is where they will stay. He tells her about the cave, explains that the beach cannot be seen from the road, but they can easily climb up to the road. The cliffs above the road will serve as lookout points. And even if someone came along the beach, they would not think to look in the cave.
    Sawney Beane speaks with a pride that he has never before known. “No one will ever find us. This is a good place. This will be our place.” He throws his arms wide as if to embrace the entire area. “We must prepare the cave.”
    Meg collects armfuls of dry grass from the hillside for them to sleep on, and dumps them next to the cave entrance. She does not share his excitement, but he is her master now and she will follow his wishes.
    Sawney Beane runs along the beach, jumps in the air, and performs an awkward jig. He finds some timber that has been washed ashore and drags it back to the cave. He finds an old wooden bucket that he fills with fresh water.
    It is too dark now for further scavenging. Carrying what they have found, Sawney Beane and Meg enter their new home.
     
     

 
     
    BOOK TWO
     
     

 
    I
     
     
    A man walks along the road with a weary step. He has been traveling for three days now, but he expects to reach his destination today, and that makes him feel better. He rounds a bend