page103 (1/2)

“Here,” she said, reaching to give him a hand up

Alton settled himself back onto his stool, and before he knew it, he was unwinding the bandages frorit accu to the tent floor as he worked The soap and water stung his abrasions, but the effort of cleaning worked the stiffness out of his hands and fingers It was somehow peaceful, this task, a diversion froht This was so in which he could achieve results It was a si to see them transformed

Really, he thought, he should take better care of his gear, but life seemed too complicated to worry about its condition When it came time to oil the boots, the leather drank it up as if parched He frowned If he had let it go any longer, he’d have cracks, and that was no good inter co on

While he oiled and shined the leather, Dale recounted her conversation with Merdigen It was disappointing Merdigen had provided no new insights on how to fix the wall, and Dale had risked her life for nothing And noanted her to do it again

When he finished with his boots, he looked theain, their shine restored Even Captain Mapstone would have nothing to complain about Except the boots now made the rest of hi him

“Yes,” she said

“Yes? Yes what?” Dale was, he decided, in a very perplexing mood

“I’ll go back into the tower to ask Merdigen what happened”

“I don’t know It’s not safe” The guilt returned full measure As desperate as he was to acquire inforen about the status of the wall, he would not forgive hiain

“Since when,” Dale asked, “has our job been safe?”

It was true Green Riders did not have long life expectancies Even Alton had coers and accepted theain?

Dale hopped to her feet “All right I’m ready”

“Right now?”

She nodded, her expression set