They stood up and moved ahead. A few feet beyond the original area firstilluminated by the torch were some dark bulks. Boats. Twelve of them, with lightwood frameworks and skin-coverings. Each could hold three people. By them werepaddles.
Smhee took out a dagger and began ripping the skins. Masha helped him until onlyone boat was left undamaged.
He said, 'There must be entrances cut into the stone sections dividing the caveswe just came through. I'll wager they're on the left-hand side as you come in.Anyone swimming in would naturally keep to the right wall and so wouldn't seethe archways. The ledges where the crabs nest must also be on the left. Rememberthat when we come back. But I'd better find out for sure. We want , to knowexactly how to get out when the time comes.'
He set his torch in a socket in the front of the boat and pushed the boat downthe slope and into the water. While Masha held the narrow craft steady, he gotinto it. She stood on the shore, feeling lonely with all that darkness behindher while she watched him by the light of the brand. Within a few minutes hecame back, grinning.
'I was right! There's an opening cut into the stone division. It's just highenough for a boat to pass through if you duck down.'
They dragged the boat back up onto the ledge. The cave ended about a hundredfeet from the water. To the right was a U-shaped entrance. By its side werepiles of torches and flint and steel and punk boxes. Smhee lit two, gave one toMasha, and then returned to the edge of the ledge to extinguish his little one.
'I think the mage has put all his magic spiders inside the caves,' he said.'They'd require too much energy to maintain on the outside. The further away