While Elgion did not actually expect the Sea Holder to institute an intensive search for a lost girl, he was surprised at the decision. Mavi, even, accepted it, almost as if she were glad of an excuse, as if the girl were an embarrassment The shipmaster was obviously pleased by his Sea Holder’s impartiality. Only Alemi
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betrayed resentment. The Harper motioned to the young man to hang back as the others filed out. ‘Tve some time. Where would you suggest I look?” Hope flashed in Alemi’s eyes, then as suddenly wariness clouded them, “rd say ifs better if Menolly remains where she
is…”
“Dead or hurt?”
“Aye.” Alemi sighed deeply. “And I wish her luck and long life.”
“Then you think she’s alive and chooses to be without Hold?”
Alemi regarded the Harper quietly. “I think she’s alive and better off wherever she is than she would be in Half-Circle.” Then the young Sea Man strode after the others, leaving the Harper with some interesting leflections.
He was not unhappy at Half-Circle Hold. But the Masterharper had been correct in thinking that Elgion would have to make quite a few adjustments to life in this Sea Hold. It would be a challenge, Robinton had told Elgion, to try to broaden the narrow outlook and straitened thinking of the isolated group. At the moment Elgion wondered if the Masterharper had not vastly overrated his abilities when he was unable to get the Sea Holder, or his family, to even try to rescue a blood relation.
Then, shifting through the tones of voices, rather than the words spoken, Elgion came to realize that this Menolly posed some sort of problem to her Hold beyond the crippled hand. For the life of him, Elgion couldn’t remember seeing the girl, though he thought he could recognize every member of the Hold. He’d Spent considerable time now with every family unit, with the children in the little Hall, with the active fishermen, with the honorably retired old people.
He tried to recall when he’d seen a girl with an injured hand and had only the fleetingest recollection of a tall, gawky figure hurrying out of the Hall one eve—
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ning when he’d been playing. He hadn’t seen the girl’s face, but he’d recall her slumping figure if he saw it again.
It was regrettable that Half-Circle Hold was so isolated that there was no way to send a drum-message. He could signal the next dragonrider he saw, as an alternative, and get word to Benden Weyr. The sweep riders could keep their eyes open for the girl, and alert any Holds beyond the marshes and down the coast. How she could have gotten that far with TTiread falling, Elgion didn’t know, but he’d feel better taking some measures to find her.
He had also made no headway in discovering the identity of the songmaker. And Masterharper had charged him to have that lad in the Harpercrafthall for training as soon as possible. Gifted songmakers were a rare commodity. Something to be sought and cherished.
By this time Elgion understood why the old Harper had been so cautious about identifying the lad. Yanus thought only of the sea, of fishing, of how to use every man, woman and child of his Sea Hold to the Hold’s best advantage. He had them all well-trained. Yanus would certainly have looked askance at any able-bodied lad who spent too much time tuning. There was, in fact; no one to help Elgion with the evening task of entertainment. One likely lad had a fair sense of rhythm, and Elgion had already started him on the dram, but the majority of his students were thick-fingered. Oh, they knew their Teachings, spot-on, but they were passive musically. No wonder Petiron had been so effusive about the one really talented child among so many deadheads. Too bad the old man had died before he received Robinton’s message. That way the boy would have known that he was more than acceptable as a candidate to the Harpercrafthall.
Elgion watched the fishing fleet out of the harbor and then rounded up several lads, got meatrolls from an auntie in the Hold kitchen, and set off on, ostensibly, a food gathering mission.