People of the Wolf(124)

Dancing Fox lay beside him, belly down, staring out over the marshy muskeg to where Moon Water ran to meet the men. No doubt about it, the way the camp had been laid out, it belonged to the Others.

"We still came pretty close. We made up at least three days on her.'' Three Falls rubbed his nose, making a clicking sound with his tongue.

"A half day. That's all we needed to catch her." Wearily,

Dancing Fox rolled over, face to the cloudy skies as she massaged her throbbing ankle.

"You've been in pain the whole time, huh?"

She nodded. "Seems like I always am. I suppose it'll get me in the end."

He crawled back off the skyline, watching as she wormed her way after him. "You're not like most women, are you?"

With thin fingers, she pulled her long black hair to one side and looked at him seriously. ' 'If you mean like your wife Mouse, no."

He nodded. "I could come to like you a lot. You'd make a man a good wife. Bear strong sons."

She smiled. "Not interested."

"Am I that bad?"

She propped her chin in her palms, frowning. "No. You're a good man. I haven't had to drive a dart through you for jumping on me in the middle of the night."

"We've walked all through the middle of the night. It's tough to jump on you while we're working out a trail."

"Don't try. Men have a habit of sleeping after they finish., You might never wake up."

Three Falls chuckled. "I like my sleep too much. Come on. Let's go break the news to Wolf Dreamer that his Dream is now enemy knowledge."

Dancing Fox turned to take one last look at the band of warriors who ran to surround Moon Water, clapping her on the back.

"It's still a race," she whispered. "Them or us."

"If we hurry and get the rest of the People through, maybe we can cover the hole from the other side."

"How?"

"I don't know for certain. Maybe somebody"—he swallowed hard—"could stay behind and roll boulders across the entrance?''

She turned mocking eyes on him. "You've seen the size of the hole. A raging river makes it bigger every Long Light. You really think we could block it?"

He lowered his eyes, gesturing futilely. "No."

The shelters of the People had spread far and wide. The young warriors split off from the main party, seeking the tents

of their relatives and wives near the clan standards that waved in the light puff of Wind Woman's breath. Crow Caller, joints no longer spry, barely kept his pace at Raven Hunter's side as they climbed the ridge.

"Four Teeth is there. I see Buffalo Back's totem, too. Seagull Clan is here. I wonder who leads now?" Raven Hunter crested the ridge, looking down on the lush valley, at the cauldron of the geyser and the curiously aqua blue water it spewed into the yellow-lined stream. Willow and birch—now depleted from many camps—lined the narrow valley. A worn path led to the bottom. Brown-skinned people floated in a large pool, laughing and splashing, sunlight gleaming from their naked bodies.

As he stared down, he added, "But we haven't seen much game on the way in. From the look of the tundra plants, I doubt there's much here. If nothing else, I've seen everything I ever want to about this south. Too dry here. Not enough water to keep the game in good graze."

"Perhaps," Crow Caller grumbled, breath coming in hard gasps. "But then, the Others have the best of that now, don't they?"

Raven Hunter blew softly. "For the moment, Dreamer. For the moment. You can't say they have as much as they would have without our efforts."

"No ..." Then. "Smell that! How could humans live here? That geyser stinks! Smells like fat rotting in salt water."

Raven Hunter stopped for a moment and chuckled softly. "Maybe, but notice? No flies, no mosquitoes here. The smell must drive off the bugs."

Crow Caller snorted.

At the bottom, Four Teeth stood in front of his shelter, shading his ancient eyes, waving as they approached. He hobbled forward to hug Crow Caller, toothless grin exposing a pink tongue behind brown lips.

"And where is my imaginative brother?" Raven Hunter asked the elder after he'd paid respect.

Four Teeth scowled. "There. See that crack in the rock up by where the water runs down? Spends his time in there doing something. Singing Wolf and One Who Cries take him food every so often. They say he's preparing a Dream."

Raven Hunter chuckled and slapped his knee. "My brother? A Dream?" Winking at Crow Caller as the old man cast a gleaming black eye on the rock shelter, Raven Hunter turned away.

At the entrance, he stooped, ducking past a worn caribou hide, seeing nothing in the dark at first. "Runs In Light?"

"Drop the flap, Raven Hunter."