the dark, an enormous one, larger than the one they'd killed. It paid noattention to them or perhaps it wasn't at all aware of them. It leaped into thepool and disappeared. Smhee said, 'Let's get behind that boulder.'

When they were in back of it, she said, 'What's going on?'

'When I was spying, I saw some things going into and coming out of this hole. Itwas too far away to see what they were, though I suspected they were giantspiders or perhaps crabs.'

'So?'

His hand gripped her wrist.

'Wait!'

The minutes oozed by like snails. Mosquitoes hummed around them, birds acrossthe river called, and once she heard, or thought she heard, that peculiar halfgrunt, half-squall. And once she started when something splashed in the river. Afish. She hoped that was all it was.

Smhee said softly, 'Ah!'

He pointed at the pool. She strained her eyes and then saw what looked like aswelling of the water in its centre. The mound moved towards the edge of thepool, and then it left the water. It clacked as it shot towards the river. Soonanother thing came and then another, and all of a sudden at least twenty poppedup and clattered across the rocks.

Smhee finally relieved her bursting question.

'They look like the bengil crab of Sharranpip. They live in that hole but theymust catch fish in the river.'

'What is that to us?'

'I think the pool must be an entrance to a cave. Or caves. The crabs are notwater-breathers.'

'Are they dangerous?'

'Only when in water. On land they'll either run or, if cornered, try to defendthemselves. They aren't poisonous, but their claws are very powerful.'

He was silent for a moment, then said, 'The mage is using them to defend theentrance to a cave, I'm sure. An entrance which is also an exit. For him as wellas for the crabs. That pool has to be one of his secret escape routes.'