The man opened his pack and brought outchunks of material that smelled good. He bit off some, chewing with gusto, andpassed some along to the boy. The invitation did not have to be repeated, forthis was food.

      After eating, the man urinated against atree and covered his body again. The boy followed the example, even imitatingthe upright stance. He had learned long ago to control his eliminations, forcarelessly deposited traces could interfere with hunting, but it had neveroccurred to him to direct the flow with his hand.

      "Here," the man said. He threwthe boy down gently and shoved him feet-first into a constraining sack. The boystruggled as some kind of mesh covered his head. "Stay there tonight, or.. ." And the ponderous fist came down, to tap only lightly at the bruisedchest. Another warning.

      Then the man went apart a certain distanceand climbed into another bag, and the dog settled down under the tree,

      The boy lay there, needing to escape buthesitant to brace the dangers of the night, this close to the hot region. Hecould see well enough, and usually foraged in the dark-but not here. He hadbeen stung once by a white moth and had nearly perished. It was possible toavoid them, but never with certainty, for they rested under leaves andsometimes on the ground. Here beneath the netting he was at least protected,

      But if he did not flee by night, he wouldnot have the chance by day. The rope was too swift and clever, the giant toostrong.

      He heard the man sleeping, and decided. Hesat up and began to claw his way out,

      The man woke at the first sound."No!" he called.

      It was hazardous to defy the giant, whomight run him down again anyway. The boy lay back, resigned. And slept.