498 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS [bth. ANN.Si 



" Come, now, which way shall we go?" The youth then said, " So let 

 it be. We will go toward the east — toward the sunrise." The strange 

 man replied, "Come on then. Get ready; and when you are ready 

 you must say, ' Come now ; I am ready.' " 



In a short time the youth said, " Come on now ; I am ready." Then 

 the two started on a run. The youth Hayanowe struck a steady gait. 

 When the sun was at the meridian, and again when it was midway 

 between noon and sunset, the strange man urged his youthful com- 

 petitor, saying, " Exert yourself, my friend." These admonitions 

 caused the youth some perturbations of spirit ; he even feared for his 

 life ; so he put forth his topmost speed and ran swiftly until nearly 

 sunset, when the standing trees gave out loud sounds, which seemed to 

 come as the result of a force which struck them hard. Thereupon the 

 youth heard the strange man shout to him, "Exert yourself, my 

 friend ; I will overtake you indeed." 



Then it became night, and the youth, remembering one of the 

 provisions of his agreement with the stranger, although he some- 

 what doubted the stranger's sincerity in making it, said in a loud 

 voice, " Let us two camp for the night, as we have agreed to do." 

 The stranger replied, " So be it. Have you marked the end of your 

 run for the day, too ? " The youth answered, " I have marked it, 

 indeed." To this the stranger rejoined, " So be it. You may eat 

 your food now, and so will I. You also must kindle a fire if you 

 need it." So the youth kindled a fire, and so the strange man did 

 likewise. The youth could plainly see the fire of the stranger, for 

 it was not far away at all, indicating that his opponent was close 

 at his heels in the racel He then took out his parched corn and ate 

 it, after warming it at the fire. Hayanowe was ill at ease, for he 

 fully realized that he had unexpectedly met his match, perhaps more 

 than his match. While he was eating his parched corn the strange 

 man said to him, "In the morning, just as soon as you are ready to 

 take up the race again, you must say aloud, 'I have now taken my 

 stand on the scratch." The youth, answering him, said, " Let it 

 be as you say." But he could not sleep during the entire night. He 

 spent the time in devising some plan by which he might win the 

 race from the unknown stranger, whether man or beast. He thought 

 of many things, finally deciding that he would choose deep thickets 

 as the course of the race, to see whether they would not retard tiie 

 fleetness of his antagonist. 



The next morning very early he made his usual preparations and 

 then went to the scratch. Standing there, he shouted to his antag- 

 onist, " I am now ready." The stranger answered, " So be it. And 

 you must also say as you start, 'Come now.' " The young man, giv- 

 ing the required verbal notice of his start, leaped forward with a 

 bound, as did his antagonist and challenger. 



