Kneeknock Rise

That night, the family sits around the fire, thinking about what they experienced the night before. Aunt Gertrude sews pockets for the legs of tables and chairs, and tells Egan she will sew some for him to take home. The cat, who usually is menacing, lies lazily by the fire. When someone walks by outside, Annabelle thinks it’s Uncle Ott, but it is not. Egan asks why he left, and Uncle Anson explains that Uncle Ott has always been a traveler. Ada thinks the Megrimum got him, but Uncle Anson is optimistic that he is fine. He gives Egan some poems of Uncle Ott’s to read, and then heads off to bed.

Egan sits by candlelight, reading poems and thinking of how proud the villagers would be if he slayed the Megrimum. The first of these details a man who goes over the hill to see what’s on the other side, and when he gets there, he finds another hill. The second poem describes