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Jamie had buried the head, with due respect and a brief prayer, on a hill near the house--the first inhabitant of the s intended as the future cee At Claire’s insistence, he had ranite, unlabeled--for as there to say?--but ht? Ye should all go back, if the bairn can pass

And if they didn’t go backthen soether: hiranite The only difference was that each would bear a name What on earth would they carve for dates? he wondered suddenly, and wiped sweat from his jaw Jemmy’s would be no problem, but for the rest of them

There was the rub, of course--or one of theht, and the ability to pass through the stones was a genetic trait, like eye color or blood-type--then fifty/fifty, if Jemmy were Bonnet’s child; three chances out of four, or perhaps certainty, if he were Roger’s

He hacked savagely at a clurain heads flew like shrapnel Then he reure underneath his pillow, and breathed deep And if it worked, if there were to be another child, one that was his for sure, by blood? Odds three out of four--or perhaps another stone, one day, in the fa was al here Fetching the hatchet, he slung the bag across his shoulder and hest cornfield

It bore no more resemblance to the British cornfields he had been used to than did the high in forest, the trees still stood, black and dead against the pale blue sky They had been girdled and left to die, the corn planted in the open spaces between them

It was the quickest way to clear land sufficiently for crops With the trees dead, enough sunlight cah the leafless branches for the corn below One or two or three years later, the dead tree roots would have rotted sufficiently to radually cut for wood and hauled away For now, though, they stood, an eerie band of black scarecrows, spreading eathered; flocks ofthe litter of dry stalks, and a covey of bobwhite took fright at Roger’s approach, scattering like a handful of round A ladder-backed woodpecker, secure above his head, uttered a brief shriek of startle to inspect hi to its noisy excavations

"You should be pleased," he said to the bird, setting down the bag and unlis for you, aye?" The dead trees were infested by myriad insects; several woodpeckers could be found in any field of girdled trees, heads cocked to hear the subterranean scratchings of their burrowing prey

"Sorry," he murmured under his breath to the tree he had selected It was ridiculous to feel pity for a tree; theout of the thawing earth with such spring vigor as to crack solid rock and the mountains were so thickly blanketed with trees that the air itself was a smoky blue with their exhalations For that in the job; by the ti freely and cursing the aardness of the work

Still, he always approached the job with a faint reluctance, disliking thedown a tree for ti it see the tree to die slowly, unable to bring water fro of bare, exposed wood It was not so unpleasant in the fall, at least, when the trees were dor in their sleep, he thought Or hoped

Chips of aromatic wood flew past his head, as he chopped his way briskly around the big trunk, and went on without pause to the next victim

Needless to say, he took care never to let anyone hear hiize to a tree Jaer doubted that he would regard a tree as anything other than fuel, building material, or sheer bloody obstruction The woodpecker screeched suddenly overhead Roger swung round to see what had caused the alarure of Kenny Lindsay approaching through the trees It appeared that Lindsay had co knife in cordial greeting

"Madain rave;raich!" he shouted "And what’s this I hear, that we’ve a newcoer even faintly surprised at the speed hich news passed over the ave him the details of the new family

"Christie is their name, is it?" Kenny asked

"Yes Thohter You’ll know hiain, that faint tremor of reaction at Christie’s naue showed briefly, tasting the naer de more uneasy by the ’s the matter with him--is there?"

"No I mean--you seemed a bit taken aback to hear his name I wondered whether perhaps he was a known thief, or a drunkard, or the like"

Enlightennow No, no, Christie’s a decent enough sort, so far as I ken the ether, then? He said so"

"Och, aye, he was there right enough," Kenny agreed, but seeer elicited nothing, though, save a shrug, and after a fewonly for the occasional swig of ale or water The weather was cool, thank God, but working like that er took a last drink, and then poured the rest of his water over his head, gasping with the welcome chill on his heated skin

"You’ll corave;raich?" Kenny laid down his ax and eased his back with a groan He jerked his head toward the pines on the far side of the meadow "My wee house is just there The wife’s awa’ to sell her pork, but there’s fresh butter

"I will then, Kenny, thanks"

He ith Kenny to tend his beasts; Lindsay had two oats and a penned sow Kenny fetched theer stacked the hay and threw a forkful into the goats’while Kenny poured cracked corn into the trough for the sow, a big ed ear and a nasty look in her eye