This could never have been merely on account of one woman and in order to get rid of her, since it was so easy to put Shotaye out of the way by the mere accusation of witchcraft.
That accusation itself appeared to the old man to be a mere pretext and nothing else.

To expel the small Water clan alone was not their object either.

His daughter, the child of Tanyi, was also implicated, and with this thought came a flash of light.

Not one clan alone, but several, were to be removed, and as he now saw plainly, mostly the clans occupying houses which were not exposed to the dangers which threatened the cave-dwellers from the crumbling rock.

Tzitz had only served as an entering-wedge for their design that the house-dwellers should make room for the others.