'What is it?' she said, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.

'I don't know. We're downwind from it, butTt sounds as if it'll soon be here.Good! That will put some stiffening in our backbone, heat our livers. Let's gonow!'

So, he was scared, too. Somehow, that made her feel a little better.

They stuck their legs down into the chilly water. They found no bottom. ThenSmhee ran around to the inland side and bent down. He probed with his handaround the edge.

'The rock goes about a foot down, then curves inward,' he said. 'I'll wager thatthis was once a pothole of some sort. When Kemren came here, he carved outtunnels to the cave it led to and then somehow filled it with river water.' Hestood up.

The low strange cry was definitely closer now. She thought she saw somethinghuge in the darkness to the north, but it could be her imagination.

'Oh, Igil!' she said. 'I have to urinate!'

'Do it in the water. If it smells your urine on the land, it'll know a human'sbeen here. And it might call others of its kind. Or make such an uproar theRaggah will come.'

He let himself down into the water and clung to the stony edge.

'Get in! It's cold but not as cold as death!' She let herself down to his side.She had to bite her lip to keep from gasping with shock.

He gave her a few hurried instructions and said, 'May Weda Krizhtawn smile uponus!' And he was gone.

10

She took a deep breath while she was considering getting out of the pool andrunning like a lizard chased by a fox to the river and swimming across it. Butinstead she dived, and as Smhee had told her to do, swam close to the ceiling ofrock. She was blind here even with her eyes open, and, though she thought mostlyabout drowning, she had room to think about the crabs. | Presently, when herlungs were about to burst and her head I rang and the violent urge to get air