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"So that’s the purpose of that ber this side of the river," Narasan observed "It didn’t seem to make any sense when I first saw it, but it does now Does it keep the water back?"

White-Braid nodded "We put it there to o on down to the sea rather than to wander around in our village Do not, as Chief Old-Bear warned, reins to blow, for if you do, you’ll be washed away"

"That gets right to the point, doesn’t it?" Sorgan said "I think et word to his men up there It’s time for them to leave their forts and find soet wet"

"Does this sa the coast, Chief White-Braid?" Narasan asked "I’ve got about twenty thousand soldiers on board ships that are co up froues out to sea"

Longbow had been standing off to one side, listening but not saying anything "I think we ," he said finally "Our enemies live in the barren Wasteland, where there are few strea floods I’ve spentthe creatures of the Wasteland, and I’ve seen very few of theh the mountains when they’re covered with snow, and even if That-Called-the-Vlagh does send its servants here during the winter, it’s uess that most of the the spring flood That suggests that the Vlagh has no knowledge of these yearly floods, doesn’t it?"

"Well, bow?"

"Red-Beard’s scouts tell us that the invaders are caht on the banks of the river that runs down through the ravine, and that’s not really a safe place in the springti floods, those who serve it wouldn’t know either, would they? Isn’t it quite possible that the spring flood will come as a coo quite a bit faster than they’d planned, but I don’t think they’ll stop when they reach Lattash They’ll invade Mother Sea instead, and very few people who live in deserts kno to swiht just turn out that we’ll win this ithout even raising a hand The seasons and Mother Sea h, won’t we?" Hook-Beak dehtly worried tone of voice

"I think you’d better take a look at this sculpted e potters are putting together, Skell," Sorgan was telling his cousin as the two of the rain "The tiet your men up out of the ravine in a hurry If old Chief White-Braid’s anywhere close to being right about these spring floods, you’re going to have so down the ravine without old, Sorgan," Skell said sourly "This isn’t turning out to be anything at all like I expected This yearly flood could wipe out halfbehind theht now," Eleria told thean replied "I just want to show , by the way?"

"He was talking with Longbow thisa lot faster now, and that the potters should finish up by toan said "Why not? I thought they’d need evenabout that, too," she said "I estion, and now they don’t need nearly so estion was that, baby sister?" Rabbit asked

"They didn’t really have to pile clay up in those great big heaps We’ve got all those yellow blocks in that long passage, so I told them to stack the blocks up on the cave floor where they’re building that model of the ravine and then slather clay on top of the blocks toquite well"

"You’re slopping wet clay all over those gold bricks?" Sorgan almost screa," Eleria assured hiht we an spluttered a bit, but then he threw his hands in the air "I give up," he said

"Isn’t he nice, Bunny?" Eleria said with a fond little s near the foot of his sculpted s into the damp clay that represented the south side of the ravine

"Is the forest there really that dense, Red-Beard?" Co nearby, asked

"Denser," Red-Beard replied "It thins out farther on up, but the forest near the bottoh is to follow the gaive my soldiers a bit of trouble," Narasanwars in thick brush We like open fields where we can see the eneed "If we can’t see theht about how stupid the servants of the Vlagh really are, we probably won’t encounter veryflood should thin the a few of them farther on up the ravine, but the trees up there are an asked

"Better than any of us had anticipated, Sorgan I think rew up Red-Beard’s sculpture here s of a child"

"Can you point out the place where yourtheir fort before the snow caan asked his cousin

Skell peered down into the iht about here, I think," he replied, pointing at a spot some distance upstreas a lot easier That wasn’t the h The walls of the ravine are straight up and down there, and if I butt walls right up against those flat faces, I’ll be able to block off the whole ravine Nobody’s going to get past an"