Suppose the demon thatthat took Chart is still following
us? They hunt at nightand this country is all so strange . . .”
“I can find my way. I’ll follow the sound of the stream of
glass or whatever it is. You pull some fresh leaves for Alas-
kon and try to make him comfortable. Better loosen those
vines around the dressing a little. I’ll be back.”
He touched her hand and pried it loose gently. Then, with-
out stopping to think about it any further, he slipped off the
ledge and edged toward’ the sound of the stream, travelling
crabwise on all fours.
But he was swiftly lost. The night was thick and com-
pletely impenetrable, and he found that the noise of the stream
seemed to come from all sides, providing him no guide at all.
Furthermore, his memory of the ridge which led up to the
cave appeared to be faulty, for he could feel it turning
sharply to the right beneath him, though he remembered dis-
tinctly that it had been straight past the first side-branch, and
then had gone to the left. Or had he passed the first side-
branch in the dark without seeing it? He probed the dark-
ness cautiously with one hand.
At the same instant, a brisk, staccato gust of wind came
whirling up out of the night across the ridge. Instinctively,
Honath shifted his weight to take up the flexing of the
ground beneath him
He realized his error instantly and tried to arrest the com-
plex set of motions, but a habit-pattern so deeply ingrained
could not be frustrated completely. Overwhelmed with ver-
tigo, Honath grappled at the empty air with hands, feet, and