time, then darted up the steps and through the front door. There
was a moment of silence, then he reappeared and waved them
forward.
When they reached him, he said, “No one is here. But it
appears we are expected.”
They discovered his meaning when they went inside. A pair
of chimneys bracketed the central room, one for a seating area
in which chairs and benches were drawn up, the other for a
cooking grill and oven. Fires burned brightly in both. A kettle
of stew simmered over the grill and hot bread cooled on a cutting
board. A long trestle table was carefully set with plates and cups
for five. Par stepped forward for a closer look. Cold ale had
been poured into all five cups.
The members of the little company looked at each other si-
lently for a moment, then glanced once more about the room.
The wood of the walls and beams was polished and waxed.
Silver, crystal, carved wooden pieces, and clothwork hangings
gleamed in the light of oil lamps and hearth flames. There was
a vase of fresh flowers on the trestle table, others in the sitting
area. A hall led back into the sleeping rooms. The cottage was
bright and cheerful and very empty.
“Is this Walker’s?” Morgan asked doubtfully of Par. Some-
how it didn’t fit the image he had formed of the man.
Par shook his head. ‘ ‘I don’t know. There isn’t anything here
I recognize.”
Morgan moved silently to the back hall, disappeared from
sight for a moment and returned. “Nothing,” he reported,
sounding disappointed.
Coil walked over to stand with Par, sniffed the stew experi-
mentally, and shrugged. “Well, obviously our coming here isn’t
such a surprise after all. I don’t know about the rest of you, but
that stew smells awfully good. Since someone has gone to the
trouble of making it-Walker Boh or whoever-I think the least
we can do is sit down and eat it.”
Par and Morgan quickly agreed, and even Teel seemed inter-
ested. Steff was again inclined to be cautious, but since it was
apparent Coil was probably right in his analysis of the situation
he quickly gave in. Nevertheless, he insisted on checking first
to make certain neither food nor drink was tainted in any way.
When he had pronounced the meal fit, they seated themselves
and eagerly consumed it.
When dinner was over, they cleared and washed the dishes
and put them carefully away in a cabinet built to contain them.
Then they searched the cottage a second time, the grounds
around it, and finally everything for a quarter-mile in every di-
rection. They found nothing.
They sat around the fire after that until midnight, waiting. No
one came. There were two small bedrooms in back with two
beds in each. The beds were turned down and the linens and
blankets fresh. They took turns sleeping, one keeping watch for
the others. They slept the night undisturbed, the forest and the
valley at peace about them. Dawn brought them awake feeling
much refreshed. Still no one came.
That day, they searched the entire valley from one end to the
other, from the cottage to the odd, chimney-shaped rock, from
north wall to south, from east to west. The day was warm and
bright, filled with sunshine and gentle breezes and the smell of
growing things. They took their time, wandering along the
streams, following the pathways, exploring the few dens that
burrowed the valley slopes like pockets. They found scattered
prints, all of them made by animals, and nothing else. Birds
flew overhead, sudden flashes of color in the trees, tiny woods
creatures watched with darting eyes, and insects buzzed and
hummed. Once a badger lumbered into view as Par and Coil
hunted the west wall by the rock tower, refusing to give way to
them. Other than that, none of them saw anything.
They had to fix their own meal that night, but there was fresh
meat and cheese in a cold locker, day-old bread from the pre-
vious evening, and vegetables in the garden. The Valemen helped
themselves, forcing the others to partake as well despite Steff’s
continued misgivings, convinced that this was what was ex-