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“Depends e find there I thought the best thing for o to bed You’re not fit colad you’ve decided to cootten used to you, bad moods and all”

“I told you, someone has to keep you out of trouble”

“Me? Right now I could use a little trouble It’d be better than sitting around waiting for that meat to dry”

“It will only be a few days, if the weather holds But now I’m not so sure I should tell you what I saw” Jondalar’s eyes twinkled

“Come on, Brother You know you will anyway…”

“Thonolan, there’s a sturgeon in that river so big … But there’s no point in fishing for it You wouldn’t want to wait around for fish to dry, too”

“How big?” Thonolan said, standing up and eagerly facing the river

“So big, I’ether could haul it in”

“No sturgeon is that big”

“The one I saas”

“Show me”

“Who do you think I am? The Great Mother? Do you think I can rined “I’ll show you where I saw it, though,” Jondalar said

The two e of the river and stood near a fallen tree that extended partway into the water As though to tee shadowy shape moved silently upstrea slightly against the current

“That randmother of all fish!” Thonolan whispered

“But can we land it?”

“We can try!”

“It would feed a Cave, and more What would we do with it?”

“Weren’t you the one who said the Mother never lets anything go to waste? The hyenas and wolverines can have a share Let’s get the spears,” Thonolan said, anxious to try the sport

“Spears won’t do it, we need gaffs”

“She’ll be gone if we stop to affs”

“If we don’t, we’ll never bring her in She’d just slip off a spear—we need so to make Look, that tree over there If we cut off liood sturdy branch fork—we don’t have to worry about reinforcing, we’ll only use it once,” Jondalar was punctuating his description with motions in the air, “then cut the branch off short and sharpen it, we’ve got a back hook…”

“But what good will it

do if she’s gone before we get them made?” Thonolan interrupted

“I’ve seen her there twice—it see place She’d probably come back”

“But who kno long that would take”

“Have you anything better to do right now?”

Thonolan affs”

They turned around to go back, then stopped in surprise Several men had surrounded them and looked distinctly unfriendly