They were six days out of Putl'ko and their supplies were almost exhausted. The country, once they were away from the mountains, became more fertile, an undulating pampas of grass with enough streams and herds of beasts to assure that they did not starve. It was fuel that mattered, and that afternoon Jason had opened their last jar. They stopped a few hours before dark since their fresh meat was gone, and Snarbi took the crossbow and went out to shoot something for the pot. Since he was the only one who could handle the clumsy weapon with any kind of skill in spite of his ocular deficiencies, and who knew about the local game, this task had been assigned to him. With longer contact his fear of the _caroj_ had lessened, and his self-esteem rose at his recognized ability as a hunter. He strolled arrogantly out into the knee-high grass, crossbow over his shoulder, whistling tunelessly through his teeth. Jason stared after him and once again felt a growing unease. "I don't trust that wall-eyed mercenary, I don't trust him for one second," he muttered. "Were you talking to me?" Mikah asked. "I wasn't but I might as well now. Have you noticed anything interesting about the country we have been passing through, anything different?" "Nothing. It is a wilderness, untouched by the hand of man." "Then you must be blind, because I have been seeing things the last two days, and I know just as little about woodcraft as you do. Ijale," he called, and she looked up from the boiler over which she was heating a thin stew of their last _krenoj_. "Leave that stuff, it tastes just as bad whatever is done to it, and if Snarbi has any luck we'll be having roast in any case. Tell me, have you seen anything strange or different about the land we passed through today." "Nothing strange, just signs of people. Twice we passed places where the grass was flat and branches broken as if a _caroj_ passed two or three days ago, maybe more. And once there was a place where someone had built a cooking fire, but that was very old." "Nothing to be seen, Mikah?" Jason asked with raised eyebrows. "See what a lifetime of _krenoj_ hunting can do for the sense of observation and terrain." "I am no savage. You cannot expect me to look out for that sort of thing." "I don't. I have learned to expect very little from you beside trouble. Only now I am going to need your help. This is Snarbi's last night of freedom whether he knows it or not, and I don't want him standing guard tonight, so you and I will split the shift." Mikah was astonished. "I do not understand. What do you mean this is his last night of freedom?"