He startled himself with the sound, and after a few seconds stopped. Then he turned. Quorl stood behind him. (Squeeeee ... Squeeee ... _raaaaaaa_! Then a gurgle, then nothing.) Quorl was smiling too, a puzzled smile. "Why did you--?" (The last word was new. He thought it meant laugh, but he said nothing.) The boy turned back now. Tloto and the pig were gone. Quorl walked the boy back to their camp. As they were nearing the stream Quorl saw the boy's footprints in the soft earth and frowned. "To leave your footprints in wet earth is dangerous. The vicious animals come to drink and they will smell you, and they will follow you, to eat. Suppose that pig had smelled them and been chasing you, instead of running into the pool? What then? If you must leave your footprints, leave them in dry dust. Better not to leave them at all." The boy listened, and remembered. But that night, he saved a large piece of meat from his food. When Tloto came into the circle of firelight, he gave it to him. Quorl gave a shrug of disgust and flung a pebble at the retreating shadow. "He is useless," Quorl said. "Why do you waste good food on him? To throw away good food is a--." (Unintelligible word.) "You do not understand--." (Another unintelligible word.) The boy felt something start up inside him again. But he would not let it move his tongue; so he laughed. Quorl looked puzzled. The boy laughed again. Then Quorl laughed too. "You will learn. You will learn at last." Then the giant became serious. "You know, that is the first--sound I have heard you make since coming here." The boy frowned, and the giant repeated the sentence. The boy's face showed which word baffled him. The giant thought a minute, and then said, "You, me, even Tloto, are _malika_." That was the word. Now Quorl looked around him. "The trees, the rocks, the animals, they are not _malika_. But the laughing sound, that was a _malika_ sound." The boy thought about it until perhaps he understood. Then he slept. He laughed a lot during the days now. Survival had come as close to routine as it could here in the jungle, and he could turn his attention to more _malika_ concerns. He watched Quorl when they came on other forest people. With single men and women there was usually only an exchange of ten or twelve friendly words. If it were a couple, especially with children, he would give them food. But if they passed anyone with scars, Quorl would freeze until the person was by. Once the boy wandered to the temple on the arena of rock. There were carvings on much of the stone. The sun was high. The carvings represented creatures somewhere between fish and human. When he looked up from the rock, he saw that the priest had come from the temple and was staring at him. The priest stared until he went away.