“The Word works,” Jim announced to the bothy-boys, giving me a sideways look that might have been of triumph, or an invitation. A Cheshire cat in a dairy full of cream could not conjure up a more generous grin than Jim wore as he sat, legs extended, at the bothy table.
I smiled and said nothing, expecting the bothy-boys to tease me. I knew there was no harm in Jim, for all his boasting and big talk. He was barely a man yet, and I could control him, as I could handle most men with an ounce of decency in them. I remembered him during his initiation and smiled again. It was hard to be nervous of a man one had seen with no trousers on, rubbing at his glowing bottom.
Andrew gave a small laugh. “It works with the horses,” he said. “The Word combined with the knowledge.”
“It’s no’ the horses I
