- Laith Taher 269
Milton and the Small One came in.
“What is going on?” Milton shouted.
“He came into my house planning to rape me, and
when I said no, he tried to kill me,” Florrie lied.
“Shut up, you lying slut,” shouted Jarvis, who
became angrier because she committed the new crime of
lying.
Milton and the Small One pulled out their swords
and stood against Jarvis.
“Move out of my way,” Jarvis shouted. “She tried
to seduce me, and deserves to die for it.”
“There is no need to fight here, Jarvis,” Milton said.
“Let us wait for the leader to return, and he will be the
judge between you two.”
A group of men rushed and grabbed Jarvis, who
was out of breath, astonished, and raging with anger, and
took him out of the house.
After he got out, astonished, and most of the people
gathered around him, he walked away quickly until he
reached the wall of some house, leaned against it, and
started breathing heavily and quickly. He preferred death to
life because people knew what had happened and heard
Florrie accusing him of trying to rape her. Hammond’s
honor, which was more precious to him than his own,
became as a flag moved in each direction by the wind of
people’s speculations.