- The Prouds 204
main gate of Cintana. It is a black horse tied near the main
gate of the palace.”
Smartly the king said, “But I cannot make all these
soldiers go away.”
Jarvis replied, “All right, let twenty soldiers stay
here and make the others go away.”
Jarvis had the ability to kill twenty soldiers on his
own. He was so confident of that, as he had usually killed
much more than that number in every battle he had fought.
“If I see one soldier on my way to where I asked
you to leave Genos, I will not hesitate to kill your son, even
if it costs me my life,” he added. “If any of the twenty
soldiers comes within less than one hundred feet from me, I
will not hesitate to kill your son even if it costs me my
life.”
“And how do I know that you will not kill him once
you reach your horse?” the king asked doubtfully.
“I give you a man’s word,” Jarvis replied. “But,
know that I shall come back to you and this imbecile son of
yours and I will not come alone next time.”
The king knew that the Prouds were honorable
people who never stabbed others in the back, so he knew
that Jarvis would never break his promise.
So he agreed, “All right, let one of you get his horse
where he wants, and all of you go away, except twenty of
you, who shall stay one hundred feet away from him and
my son.”
The guards carried out the king’s orders, which
were actually Jarvis’s orders. Once there were only twenty
soldiers remaining one hundred feet away, Jarvis started