With this the two men had to be satisfied, and their exit was as crestfallen and disappointed as their entrance had been mischievous and buoyant.
They had been completely outwitted and foiled by the wily woman.
Nevertheless, they never thought for a moment of obtaining by force what she so positively refused.

It would have been easy for the two strong men to overpower her; but both were afraid of the supernatural powers attributed to Shotaye.

For the same reason they were anxious to obtain the feathers.

An object coming from her and having been in her possession was suspected of having acquired thereby virtues which it did not possess before.

But these virtues were thought to be beneficial only as long as the object was obtained from her in a legitimate way, and with her own free will and kind consent.