“It must be big. Why are we going closer? Can I row too?”

“Bones doesn’t know what’s burning, but it is a big fire,” replied her mother. “It may be dangerous, but we have to go close enough to save the jail — the air place on shore — in case the fire gets close to it.

It will help if you row, but you must stay here when we get to shore. You’ll have to take care of the raft and the tent, in case any sparks — little pieces of fire — fall on them. You have buckets ready and spill them on any fire that comes. If it doesn’t come, it will be good to spill them on the tent anyway; if it’s wet the fire won’t hurt it. All right?”

“Sure.” Danna picked up her small oar, went to her regular rowing station, and began to pull. It was doubtful whether Bones could feel the effect, but she put enough strain on the oar to feel useful.

The wind still held off, but as they approached the shore smoke came drifting to meet the raft.

Danna looked over her shoulder at it occasionally and Kahvi could see that the child was uneasy.

Neither adult, however, felt seriously concerned as long as the fire itself could not be seen, and their calmness kept the little one from panic, though she had been told so much about the dangers of fire.

Fifty meters from shore Bones form appeared, rearing up from the water and evidently standing on the bottom. The lines were still taut, but the human beings took the hint and stopped rowing.

The raft could not be brought ashore, since there had to be swimming space under it to enter and leave the tent. Bones had no need for air, but had been with them since before Danna’s birth and knew some of their physical requirements. One of the great eyes rolled back at the raft, while the other continued to watch the smoke, much heavier now, as it continued to jet upward from beyond the low ridge two hundred meters away.