I heard a sharp intake of breath from his direction, and I realized that he had noted this. I cursed then:

“Damn near ruptured myself on that one!” I said, and I selected smaller stones after that.

When I had finished, I said, “All right. Are you ready to move?”

“Yes.”

I raised him in my arms and set him on the stretcher. He clenched his teeth as I did so.

“Where do we go?” I asked.

He gestured.

“Head back to the trail. Follow it to the left until it forks. Then go right at that place. How do you propose to…?”

I scooped the stretcher up in my arms, holding him as you would a baby, cradle and all. Then I turned and walked back to the trail, carrying him.

“Corey?” he said.

“Yes?”

“You are one of the strongest men I have ever met — and it seems I should know you.”

I did not answer him immediately. Then I said, “I try to keep in good condition. Clean living and all.”

“…And your voice sounds rather familiar.”

He was staring upward, still trying to see my face. I decided to get off the subject fast.

“Who are these friends of yours I am taking you to?”

“We are headed for the Keep of Ganelon.”

“That ratfink!” I said, almost dropping him.

“While I do not understand the word you have used, I take it to be a term of opprobrium,” he said, “from the tone of your voice. If such is the case, I must be his defender in —”

“Hold on,” I said. “I’ve a feeling we’re talking about two different guys with the same name. Sorry.” Through the stretcher, I felt a certain tension go out of him.

“That is doubtless the case,” he said.

So I carried him until we reached the trail, and there I turned to the left.

He dropped off to sleep again, and I made better time after that, taking the fork he had told me about and sprinting while he snored. I began wondering about the six fellows who had tried to do him in and almost succeeded. I hoped that they did not have any friends beating about the bushes.