Page 27 (1/1)

Longbow laughed Eleria was an absolute delight, and it was that, perhaps, that erous than Zelana herself

"Fun isn’t a bad thing, Longbow," she said, nuzzling at his cheek like a sested "This ull Let’s brush away Hook-Big’s doubts so that they won’t concern him anyled

It was not a very large flock, Longbow observed as the geese came out of the north, just before the sun sank into a red-flushed bank of clouds low on the western horizon--six or seven birds at h, however, to bow took up a handful of his new iron-tipped arrows and his bow and went to the stern of the Seagull, where Sorgan, Ox, and Ha a bit tired of eating fish, Sorgan- Captain," he said politely "Would you find it offensive if I bring us soan asked

"Those," Longbow replied, pointing at the incoeese "I haven’t ull, and that isn’t proper I think that geese eese are pretty high up in the air," Habow assured hi his face red "The sun’s going down, Longbow," he said "You eese, but finding theets dark won’t be very easy, will it?"

"I’ll do what I can to bow probow had chosen the tieese with his arroould be siht and ull instead of into the water would be a bit more difficult--but hardly ian and his men with his skill, and this would probably be the easiest way to do that

It rained geese onto the deck of the Seagull not long after Longbow had spoken with Hook-Beak, and Sorgan and his crew began to treat Longboith a great deal of respect--tinged with a certain degree of awe Longboas accusto at hi

4

She’s a lot older than she looks, Longbow," Rabbit was saying the next"From what I’ve heard, she was a pretty battered-up old tub when the cap’n bought her fro ned her before It took the cap’n, Ox, and Ha they did was to add this" Rabbit stamped one of his feet on the deck "Up till then she was a lot like an open rowboat They decked her over and built in those long, narrow ports for the oars I guess part of the idea was to protect the oars the deck was to give the roo to jump from one ship to another when the water’s choppy, you need to be et wet"

"It does bow conceded "Back in Dhrall we don’t fight out on the face of Mother Sea It’s not a good idea to irritate her"

"We get along with her pretty good," Rabbit said "Anyway, the notion of decking over a longship’s fairly recent It was, oh, o when a shipbuilder down in Gaiso came up with the notion--probably because some ship cap’n wanted to have his own cabin so that he wouldn’t have to sleep with his crew Soet kind of uppity sometimes"

"Isn’t it a bit difficult for the oarsbow asked

"That’s where the tiller comes in If you look back toward the stern, you’ll see Ox standing there holding on to a long handle that’s attached to a post The post runs all the way down into the water, and there’s a big flat board built out from the bottom of the post It’s called the rudder, and it makes the ship turn this way or that hen Ox pulls on the handle to one side or the other The oarsrinned "I don’t get stuck with that chore too often It takes a pretty beefy ood at it, though He’s got muscles on top of muscles from his neck down to his toenails He could probably pick up so that only had one end if he really wanted to"

"I haven’t seen bow noted

"They are just a bit rare," Rabbit agreed

"We like to think that it’s the prettiest place in the world," Rabbit was telling Longbow and Eleria a few days later, when the three of therew up there, and everybody I’ve ever met seems to think that no place in the whole world is half as nice as the place where he grew up"

"It’s proper for you to be loyal to the hobow told hi of honor"

"I’bow," Rabbit confessed "No o or who I hook up with, I’ I’ve ever known seeer is better, so they always think that I’m not really worth much because I’m short and scrawny"

"But you like it that way, don’t you, Bunny?" Eleria said shrewdly "You want them to think that your mind is just as teenie-weenie as your body is That’s why you always talk so sloppy around them, isn’t it?"

"Bunny?" Rabbit protested

"It’s a friendlier sort of nabow’s lap, "and I feel very friendly about you, since you’re alies, so he doesn’t really understand us teenie-weenies I do love him, but he has a fes But then, nobody’s perfect--except the Beloved, of course"