ta to help with that roof. It'll be straight in an hour
or so."

Retonga looked after him for a moment, then caught the eyes of a couple
of the women. He made a sweeping motion toward the earth of the
clearing, then walked back to his own door.

[Illustration]

He turned, inspecting each detail of the village.

"Let's see. Is there anything else for the master to find wrong?" Again,
he examined each house closely.

At last, he turned away, walking toward a path.

"He'll probably be looking at the waterfront, too," he told himself,
"and at the lodge."

He walked slowly along the path, checking the forest floor as he went.
As he got to the beach, he looked toward the pier, then winced.

A few hundred yards out in the lake, a high wedge of water was sweeping
toward him. At the apex of the vee, he could see the shape of a boat,
its bow riding high over the water.

"Oh, no," he groaned to himself. "Trouble again!" He waited.

As the wave splashed to the pier, he dashed forward to secure the boat.
Kio Barra merely glanced at him. Briefly, he caught the impression of a
wide field. A line of great beasts were crossing it, their long necks
bobbing as they walked. He nodded in understanding.

A caravan was coming in. That would be trouble, of course, but of minor
nature. He turned, to follow the glittering figure as it floated toward
the path and on, into the village.

* * * * *

As the caravan came to a stop, Naran's beast bent its knees and
crouched. He swung himself to the ground.

[Illustration]

He was getting the hang of this, he told himself. At first, he had been
forced to fight an almost uncontrollable compulsion to float down
normally, but now it seemed quite sensible to grab the heavy fiber
strands and swing forward till his feet were solidly on the ground. He
spun about.

"All right," he shouted. "Take your reins. Form your unloading circles
on me. We'll be here for a day or two."

He watched as the slings were lifted from the brutes' backs, then turned
his attention to the man who was greeting Dar Girdek.

So this was the Lord of the Mountain Lake. He shook his head. The fellow
glittered almost from head to foot. Naran examined the jewelry
appraisingly. He wore a fourth-order cap. They didn't make them any
heavier than that one. And if there was a device that had been left out,
he had never heard of it.

In addition, he could identify three heavy-duty shields, a