CHAPTER FIVE: A LITTLE HISTORY

Barnes was reluctant to take Ian on as a second apprentice, but he finally agreed. In the weeks that followed, however, Ian proved himself to be a worthy student, learning the skills of medicine quickly and even catching some of his teacher's mistakes. Barnes didn't take his apprentice's criticism very well, but always ended up following Ian's advice, for Ian was always right.

There was no doctor's office in the colony. The sick and injured came to Barnes' chamber for treatment or, if they were bedridden, Barnes went to see them. Ian was required to be at his teacher's side at all times, and found himself called upon at all hours of the day and night, often roused from a deep sleep to attend to one of Barnes' patients.

Ian got on quite well with Barnes' other apprentice, a young female named Patricia. She had been studying medicine for a little more than a year, and Barnes was confident that she would soon be able to practice on her own.

Ian spent most of his free time reading about the colony's past. Justin had appointed a rat named Webster as their historian. It was his duty to keep a daily log of all that happened in and around the colony. Ian borrowed Webster's logs and read them whenever he could.

One day while he was in his chamber reading, Ian received a visit from Justin. Ian invited the leader of the rats in and offered him something to eat.

"Thank you, but no," Justin said, easing himself into a chair. "It's been awhile since we last talked, so I just thought I'd drop by to see if you're happy here."

"Happy?" Ian sat at his desk. "I certainly don't have anything to complain about." Ian had been given a room of his own next to Patricia's, one that was more comfortably furnished than where he had first stayed. He was also presented with a small wardrobe once his measurements had been taken, and he was allowed all the food he wanted. "I'm quite satisfied with everything."

"Good. I'm glad." Justin paused. "Ian, I've been talking to Barnes, and though he may not have told you himself, he's very impressed with your progress. As a matter of fact, he thinks you're nearly ready to become a doctor yourself."

Ian smiled at a joke that only he understood. "I think I would like that very much."

"Another thing," Justin went on. "As a member of this colony, you are of course encouraged to mate and raise a family."

"Mate?"

"Naturally. Oh, you may be a bit on the old side, but I'm sure you'll find a female whose fancy you'll strike. Uh, by the way, I've never asked, but .. well, exactly how old are you?"

Ian sidestepped the question. "Older than I look," he said.

"Oh." Justin gazed at him a moment. "I know this sounds silly, but you seem older now than when you first came here."

"I am," said Ian. "Several weeks older."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know. Justin, I've been reading some of Webster's diaries, and I just finished one from before the colony was started."

Justin shook his head. "Those were some dark times. We stole what we needed from humans, and there was fighting among us."

"Tell me more about it."

"After we escaped from NIMH," Justin began, "we made our colony on a farm - the same one you passed through to get here. We spent several years there, taking food and electricity and whatever else we could get our paws on from the farm. Rats had always lived off humans, so we thought we could continue to do so, the way we did before we were taken to NIMH.

"But our leader, Nicodemus, realized that we could never again live as normal rats, so he proposed that we move to Thorn Valley and start a colony which wasn't dependent upon man's accomplishments. We were to start our own civilization, apart from that of the humans.

"Well, there were those among us who thought the plan was doomed to fail, and wanted to stay on the farm. Chief among those was Jenner, who not only wanted to stay, but was in favor of open war with the humans. He was consumed by a lust for power, and finally murdered Nicodemus. He would have done me in as well, for I was in favor of the Thorn Valley plan, but he was killed by one of his own plotters. The same night that all this happened, we left for the valley, for we learned that men from NIMH were coming to the farm to look for us the next day."

"And Jenner's body was never found?"

"No," said Justin, "it sank into the mud. We were too busy to look for it - not that we wanted to."

"So you became leader of the rats."

"After we got here, we held an election. I won."

"I see." Ian flipped the pages of Webster's journal. "I've noticed you always wear that pendant around your neck."

"Yes. It's the symbol of the presidency." Justin held it up; it was a red stone, so brilliant that light seemed to shine from within it, set in a gold cup and strung on a fine gold chain. "This belonged to Nicodemus, though I'm not certain where he got it from. The stone has special powers."

"Yes, I've read that it has," Ian said, "but I'm not sure if I believe that." Justin gave Ian a very critical look. "I don't mean any disrespect, sir, but … well, come on, now. Magical powers?"

Justin stood. "Follow me, and I'll show you." He and Ian went to his quarters. Justin pointed to the radio. "Do you know what that is?"

"I know," Ian replied, "that a radio is worthless here in this valley. It wouldn't pick up anything; the mountains around us would screen out every station."

"Is that so?" Justin switched the radio on. The drain on the power made the lights in the room grow dimmer than they already were (the drought was still on, and the waterwheel had stopped turning several days before.). Justin cradled the pendant in his forepaws, and soft music filled the chamber.

Ian's mouth fell open. He moved his gaze from the radio to the stone and back again. Then it dawned on him that, in the near-darkness, the stone was definitely admitting a faint glow.

Justin turned off the radio, and the lights came back up. Ian leaned closer to examine the amulet. "This surely wasn't made by humans. Where did it come from?"

"As I said, I don't know. I believe Nicodemus may have found it in the forest between here and the Fitzgibbons farm."

"Hmm … Justin, just how powerful is this stone?"

"See the rug you're standing on?" Ian looked down at his feet. "It's bearskin," said Justin, "from a grizzly. The beast was going to dig up the colony, so I had to use the power of the stone to kill it."

Ian said nothing more. For the first time in his life he was starting to believe that perhaps there was such a thing as magic.