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"It's sound," he reported as he ca out of the river, "and whatever it ran into didn't daet us across the river We'll have to unload it first, though"

"Oh?" Silk's nose twitched with curiosity "What kind of cargo was it carrying?"

"Beans," Durnik replied, "bags of theh"

Silk groaned

"Maybe they belonged to soly

"Are you trying to be funny?"

"I'll help you, Durnik," Garion offered, starting to pull off his plain tunic

"Ah" Durnik hesitated "Thanks all the same, Garion, but I've seen you swie"

"How do you plan to get it out of the water?" Sadi asked

"We have all these horses" Durnik shrugged "Once ing it around, they should be able to pull it up on the bank"

"Why swing it around?"

"Because the hole's in the bow We want the water to drain out as we pull it up onto the beach A whole herd of horses couldn't uess I didn't think of that"

Toth laid aside his staff, pulled off the blanket he wore across one shoulder, and waded out into the river

Eriond started to reto help unload the boat, Polgara," he replied earnestly "I swim very well I’ve had lots of practice, remember?" Then he, too, waded out into the water

"I'nificance of that," Velvet adhed ruefully "When he was a little boy, he lived with Durnik and me in the Vale There was a river nearby, and he used to fall into it regularly"

"Oh That explains it, I guess"

"All right," Belgarath said crisply "They're going to need lumber to patch that hole We passed a shed about a half o back and tear it apart"

It ell after sundown by the tie up onto the beach For once, nature cooperated, and there was no hailstorht, and the sot down to work

Silk walked hed