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“All right, Ayla Our baby,” he said He wanted to believe it

There was a noticeable nip in the air as they stepped out of the lodge The leaves on the trees in the s shades of yellow and an occasional red, and the grasses and herbs that were not trampled into dust around the encampment were brown and shriveled Every bit of fallen wood or dry brush in the area had long since been burned, and the woods had been thinned out considerably

Jondalar picked up the packs that had been lying on the ground near the opening of the lodge “The horses with the pole drags are going to be a big help carrying back the winter food stores It’s been a good season”

Wolf raced up to the out of the side of hishi,” Ayla said “I’lad he came back and stayed with us, even if he was hurt I would haveto the Ninth Cave, but I’ll always re ere mated”

“I enjoyed this Su, but now that we’re leaving, I’et back,” Jondalar said, then s of the surprise that he kneaiting for Ayla She noticed a difference in his expression His srin, and he projected a sense of expectation She had a feeling there was so her, but she had no idea what it could be

“I’ way for theot the donier he wanted,” he continued, “and Joplaya and Echozar are properly mated The Lanzadonii are a s before there’s a second Cave They have a lot of young ones, and they’ve been lucky Most have survived”

“I’nant,” Ayla said “She was Blessed before they were joined, but I don’t thinkthe Matrimonial”

“Solad for them Joplaya seems different, somehow, sadder Maybe all she needs is a baby,” Jondalar said

“We’d better hurry Joharran said he wanted to leave early,” Ayla said

She didn’t want to talk about Joplaya’s sadness because she knew the reason, and she didn’t want toconversation she’d had with Jerika Joplaya’s mother had wanted some specific inforiving birth and wanted to know everything Ayla could tell her that ht make a potentially difficult delivery easier She also wanted to know about heron a e if that didn’t work She feared for the life of her only child and would have been satisfied with no grandchildren rather than lose her daughter But since she was already pregnant, and determined to have this baby, if she survived the delivery, Jerika was deternancies

The Eleventh Cave had brought all their rafts upriver, and Joharran arranged to send sos back that way, but River Place only had so many rafts and all the Caves wanted to use thees of dried athered foods on the travoises and the backs of Whinney and Racer as they could The lodges that had been their homes for the sued and reused were also loaded on the horses Each person also carried a full backpack, and sos of the horses, fashioned a si one for Wolf, but she hadn’t trained him to pull one yet Perhaps next year he would have a load, too

Joharran was all over the ca sure everything was in readiness When he was sure the Ninth Cave was packed and ready to go, he started out ahead of the rest, his spear held loosely, but it wasin the daytiether, no four-legged hunter would coer, Joharran could have his spearin an instant He had practiced with the weapon over the suained sonated to guard the flanks, with Solaban and Rushe would be rotated a to carry a rich summer bounty back to the Ninth Cave

Ayla looked out over the ca one last time before they left Piles of bones and trash littered the small valley Several of the Caves had already departed, leaving large empty spaces between the ca frales that shohere sustaining fires had been A tent that was too worn for further use had been left behind, and a torn edge of leather no longer attached to a pole was flapping in the wind, which was also blowing an old basket around As she watched, another Cave’s lodges were being torn down The Su camp had a desolate, abandoned look to it

But the litter was of the earth and would soon deco there would be little evidence re of the Caves that had summered here The earth would heal from the invasion

The trip back was arduous The heavily loaded people trudged under their burdens and dropped into their beds exhausted at night Joharran set a brisk pace in the beginning, but slowed as they progressed to enable the weakest to keep up But they all looked forward to going hoh The loads they carried represented survival during the harsh winter months ahead