Maia

"I would have," replied Zen-Kurel, "but it's not so easy as I've made it sound. Two or three miles from here you come to a forest stretching all the way down to the north bank. Eight or nine miles of deep forest, Anda-Nokomis- Purn, they call it-dividing Bekla province from Lapan."

"I don't see any point in making for the Zhairgen unless there's some hope of getting hold of a boat," said Bayub-Otal. "How far does the forest extend along the river; did anyone tell you that?"

"I was told it goes as far as the Ikat road one way and the Herl-Belishba road the other," answered Zen-Kurel, "but I don't think we ought to risk being found on either of those roads, do you?"

"I agree about the Ikat road," said Bayub-Otal. "Kem-bri's army will almost certainly be somewhere near there. Anyhow, that's not the way we want to go. But the Herl road-"

"We could very well get into just as much trouble on that," said Zen-Kurel decisively. "What d'you think, Zirek?"

"Well, I doubt we could get there, sir, anyway," answered Zirek. "It must be nearly twenty miles, I'd guess,

across dangerous country-robbers and that, I mean-to say nothing of the river."

"What river?" asked Bayub-Otal. "You don't mean the Zhairgen?"

"No, he means the one they call the Daulis," said Zen-Kurel. "It rises on Mount Crandor, you know, Anda-No-komis-actually inside the citadel, so I'm told-and then comes down in a chain of falls they call the White Girls. Down here it's not all that wide-we went and had a look at it today-but it's deep. There aren't any fords and I don't believe we could get across. I think," he added with a certain emphasis, "I think only an expert could hope to do that."

Maia gave no sign of having heard him. Zirek drew in his breath involuntarily, and it almost seemed as though Zen-Kurel himself half-regretted what he had said, for he went on rather hurriedly,

"But going into the forest may be a bit risky-there seem to be no tracks at all, and apparently hardly anyone ever goes in."

"Ah, that's right," put in Clystis. "You don't want to get wandering about in there, sir, not in Purn you don't. Lose your way easy-there's them as has-an' you'd be lucky to get out again. 'Sides which there's all manner of wild beasts an' that-"

"But I think we are going in, all the same," continued Zen-Kurel, smiling at her. "You see, Anda-Nokomis," he resumed, "no one from Bekla's going to find us in there, are they? And once we've reached the Zhairgen, we'll be able to follow the bank down to some sort of town or village and then get hold of a boat. I was told today that there's a town about twenty miles below where the Daulis runs into the Zhairgen."

"Do you know anything about that, Clystis?" asked Bayub-Otal.

"Well, I've cert'nly heard tell of a town," she replied. "Nybril, they call it, but none of us has ever bin that far. It's-oh, right away beyond the other side of Purn, see." Looking up at Zen-Kurel in the candlelight, she shook her head. "There's no one goes into Purn, sir. You'd really best not try that, honest."

"Well, but we can't stay here for ever, Clystis," he said, "kind as you are."

"You're very welcome to stay as long as you like," she answered. "That's if you don't mind-"

Suddenly the door into the yard was flung open so violently that it crashed against the wall behind, and Meris came into the room. Her dress was torn at the shoulder, exposing one breast, her hair was dishevelled and she was bleeding from a graze on her arm. Without a word she went across to the tub and began to rinse her face and arms. Then, turning to Clystis, she said sharply, "Perhaps I could use your needle and thread, could I?"

"Why, Whatever's happened?" asked Clystis, staring.

Meris went over to her and plucked the needle from between her fingers.

"Oh, nothing but what you're quite used to here, I dare say," she replied; and thereupon sat down and began stitching up her ripped bodice.

At this moment Blarda entered. Everyone turned to look at him. The boy was plainly not himself. He had a hang-dog look, faltering and apprehensive, and his eyes wandered from one person to another. In the middle of the room he stopped uncertainly, as though awaiting he could not tell what.

"But what's happened?" asked Clystis, with more urgency.

Meris laid down the needle, put her hands in her lap in such a way that the bleeding graze showed more plainly in the candlelight, and gazed at Blarda with compressed lips.

"It's not my fault!" blurted Blarda. No one said anything and his voice rose hysterically. "It's not my fault, sis! I never done anything, honest!"

Meris, tapping the fingers of one hand on the opposite wrist, let out her breath and cast her eyes up to the ceiling. Clystis, her cheeks flaming, stood up and advanced on Blarda, who backed away, whimpering,

"Are you going to tell me what's happened?" she said in a whisper like a passing arrow.

"I-I-that's to say-well, she got angry all on a sudden, like, didn't she?" said Blarda, now almost in tears. -