- The Prouds 202
The king was a genius and, based on his study of
the Prouds and their mentality, he knew that the intruder
was Jarvis. By praising and glorifying Jarvis, he was trying
to make him have mercy.
He paused then continued in a calm manner,
“Jarvis, bravery does not always work. Harlem is my only
son and I love him and his sister, Florrie, the most. If you
kill him now, I will never forgive you.
“Do you see all these soldiers of mine? They will
attack you if you do so, and you will either be killed or
taken prisoner, in which case, you will be subjected to the
worst torture any man has ever been subjected to. Either
way, you are dead.
“This way your tribe will lose its leader and his two
sons in return for one son of mine. After killing you, I will
invade your tribe and kill every one of your people. That
will not be difficult then that you are gone. So what will
you eventually get out of this?
“On the other hand, if you let my son go, I shall let
you go safely and will never go after you.”
He paused for a moment, then said, with words
attacking Jarvis’s mind like a fast leopard, “Listen to the
sound of reason, it is better than the sound of the heart.
Calm is better than anger.”
The cunning king knew that any mistake at that
moment would end his son’s life, so if he, for instance, was
to shout at Jarvis, order his soldiers to attack him, or do
anything to aggravate the situation, then the last thing
Jarvis would do before he died was to kill the man who
killed his father and brother.