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Yes yes,noait, my heart

My hands soothe him, promise him Come what may, he’ll have his freedom I’ll make sure he ain’t slave to no Tonton

Cassie stands at the door with the baby in her arms, wrapped in the Tonton’s sheema My belly’s twisted My mouth’s dry Mercy squeezeschance here Much bigger’n we did at the gully It ain’t jest that I’ll be proved right or wrong Cassie’s riskin her life Liftin her htens her back Raises her head She takes one deep breath an she knocks Her gentle tap barely sounds on the heavy slab of wood

Who is it? A man’s voice raises from inside Unwelcome Suspicious

Noble, it’s Cassie, she says Steward Cassie from Midway Rock

Quick, heavy footsteps coht What’re you doin here after curfew?

Open the door, she says Hurry Please

There’s a fumbled rush as he lifts the bar, then a tall, husky lad fills the doorway He lights the night with a rush lantern There’s a firestick unner his ar life to the Pathfinder, he says What’s the matter? What’s happened?

Cassie holds out the baby

He stiffens What’s that? he says

It’s yer daughter, Noble She raises her voice Rae, I’ve got yer baby here

There’s a sharp cry, a rush of feet, then Rae’s there Her arms reach desperate fer the child Noble blocks the doorith his body so’s she cain’t git past She pue How did you--? You stole her? he says

Saved her, says Cassie They left her in a ditch fer the night beasts to take

Give her to me! Rae scrambles like a beast herself as she tries to shove past Noble But he ain’t er’n she is

You shouldn’t of took her, he says to Cassie She ood fer nuthin or they wouldn’t do that The Pathfinder knows best

There ain’t a thing wrong with this baby, says Cassie Nuthin that good care an love froht Look! She’s perfect She came early is all Cassie pulls away the sheelance The baby starts to cry, woke by the fuss Cassie covers her up agin, soothes her

We don’t want no trouble, says Noble We ain’t havin no baby here Our only family is the Earth, you know that If they find out, it don’t bear thinkin what they ht do to us

He tries to shut the door, but with a No! Rae shoves herself between hionna help you We’re all gonna help you We’re gonna help each other Everythin’s changin, Noble We ain’t livin unner the boot no more We can heal the earth, work the land, raise our children, an not at the point of a gun

That kinda talk’ll git you slaved or worse Take her away now, I mean it, he says Rae, hush, please! Cain’t you see I’ht here?

Rae’s pushin him, pullin hiedly fierce

I got a elder with ht here, says Cassie She knows all about babies She’ll teach you how to care fer her, what she needs Most of all, she needs you Her father an ahat’re you doin? says Noble What’s happenin here? You can tell he’s startin to waver Fer the first time, he looks at the baby Well how about that, he says She’s got a nose jest like my ma In his voice there’s both wonder an defeat