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“Isn’t that a very short spear?” she asked

He laughed, a big hearty laugh “It would be, if that was all there was to it I’ points now Some peoplemames a flint spear point will pierce a tough h, bone makes a better point The shafts will be wood”

“How do you put theether?”

“Look,” he said, turning the point around to show her the base “I can split this end with a burin and a knife, then shape the end of the wooden shaft to fit inside the split” He deer of one hand between the thulue or pitch, and wrap it tight et sinew or thong When it dries and shrinks up, it will hold the two together”

“That point is so s!”

“It will be , but not as heavy as your spear It can’t be, if you’re going to throw it”

“Throw it! Throw a spear?”

“You throw stones with your sling, don’t you? You can do the sa pitfalls, and you can even make a kill on the run, once you develop the skill As accurate as you are with that sling, I think you’ll learn fast”

“Jondalar! Do you kno often I’ve wished I could hunt deer or bison with a sling? I never thought about throwing a spear” She frowned “Can you throith enough force? I can throwthan I can by hand”

“You won’t have quite the force, but you still have the advantage of distance You’re right, though It’s too bad you can’t throw a spear with a sling, but …” He paused in ht so startling that it demanded immediate attention “No, I don’t think so… Where can we find some shafts?”

“By the stream Jondalar, is there any reason I can’t help make those spears? I’d learn faster if you’re still here to tell ”

“Yes, of course,” he said, but he felt a heaviness as he descended the path He had forgotten about leaving and was sorry she had reminded him

27

Ayla crouched low and looked through a screen of tall golden grass, bent with the weight of ripened seed heads, concentrating on the contours of the aniht hand, and another ready in her left A strand of long blond hair, escaped frohtly plaited braid, whipped across her face She shifted the long shaft slightly, searching for the balance point, then, squinting, gripped it and took ai forward, she hurled the spear

“Oh, Jondalar! I’ll never get any accuracy with this spear!” Ayla said, exasperated She rass-stuffed hide, and retrieved the still-quivering spear from the rump of a bison Jondalar had draith a piece of charcoal

“You’re too hard on yourself, Ayla,” Jondalar said, bea with pride “You arevery fast, but then I’ve seldom seen such determination You practice every spare ht now You’re trying too hard You need to relax”

“The way I learned to use a sling was to practice”

“You didn’t gain your skill with that weapon overnight, did you?”

“No It took several years But I don’t want to wait years before I can hunt with this spear”

“You won’t You could probably hunt right now anddown You don’t have the thrust and speed you’re used to, Ayla, but you never will You have to find your new range If you want to keep practicing, why don’t you switch to your sling for a while”

“I don’t need to practice with the sling”

“But you need to relax, and I think it would help you loosen up Give it a try”