Grass

He nodded, patting her hand. “If the men keep someone on watch and an aircar or two standing by, they should be safe enough. And, just in case the Hierarch starts looking for me — which he may do, if Zoe tells him about me — I’ll hide myself away somewhere. I’ll go back to the forest, that’s what. Rillibee will come along to take care of me. If they come looking for me, tell them I went back into the forest. If they come looking for the letter, you never saw it. Rigo never saw it. When a cure is found, Tony will see that the letter is widely disseminated, just as the cure is.”

Rillibee was beside them. “I’ll go,” he said. “I’ll get Brother Mainoa up in a tree somewhere, and we’ll wait until one of the foxen comes to get us.”

She found herself trying to think of an excuse why she should go herself. She wanted to go herself. She wanted to be there, among the trees, not here with all these people. She looked around, seeking some reason, and turned back to find Rillibee already gone.

Damn. She felt unutterably sad but forbade herself to cry. “Does everyone accept that there’s probably another tu

“Oh, yes,” Roald said. “Probably more than one. Probably not finished yet, or they’d be all over us/’

“A tu

Roald nodded wearily. “Lady Westriding, we’ve thought of that and of three or four other things that would be equally dreadful. People are begi

“So, if the tu

“Burn the estancias,” he replied, “just as they did Opal Hill. That’s one of the things we figured out while you were out there enticin’ the Hippae. We all agreed. Given their nature, if they can’t get in here yet, they’ll start fires.”

“Has anyone warned the estancias?”

He buried his head in his hands. “Nobody’s had time! And who are they going to listen to? Obermum bon Damfels? They might believe her. They certainly won’t believe me.”

Marjorie went away to make copies of the letter, to get Tony onto the Star-Lily, and to find Rowena.

No one answered the tell-me at Klive. At the bon Laupmons’, someone answered but declined to respond either to the information that Taronce had survived or that the estancia should be evacuated. At Stane, however, after learning that both Dimoth and Vince were dead, Geraldria bon Maukerden begged Rowena to send whatever help would come from Commoner Town to evacuate the house and village. Mayor Bee already had all available aircars and trucks going to all the villages, the bon Damfels village included.

“The damned bons can char on their own griddle if they want to,” he snarled. “But we’ll get our village people out.”

It was too late to get them out of Klive. Even before the tu

When she heard the news, Rowena wept, wiping the tears away with her left hand. The right arm and shoulder were in a Heal-all, mending. “Emmy’s here,” she said. “Amy’s here. Shevlok’s here, alive in a way. Figor will be all right. But oh, I grieve for Sylvan. And my cousins. And old Aunt Jem.”

No one had time to grieve with her. There had been a trail leading from Klive to the swamp forest. All the Hippae on Grass seemed to be congregating there.

The evacuation fleet shuttled back and forth across the prairies, continuing even after fires sprung up at Stane and at Jorum, the estancia of the bon Bindersen’s. Obermun Kahrl and Obermum Lisian refused to leave the bon Bindersen estancia, but their children, Traven and Maude, left willingly enough with the people of the village and many others from the big house.

At the bon Haunser place, Eric joined the evacuees along with Jason, the Obermun’s son. Felitia had died outside the bon Laupmon walls, during what Rigo had come to remember as “The Joust.”

The bon Laupmon place was totally destroyed before the cars arrived, though the commoners had cut a fire break around the village and, armed with harvesting knives, were standing fast with their livestock. At the bon Smaerloks’, the drivers were told that the bons had gone hunting with the bon Tanligs. All of them, even the old folks. A vast crowd of hounds and mounts had showed up early on Hunt morning, and every occupant of the estancias had gone a-hunting. The only people left in the estancias were children. The children and the villagers were evacuated; a wide Hippae trail led from the estancias toward Commons.

The order station became the nerve center for Commons. From there one could see what went on at the port and receive messages from approaching ships. From there one could direct the defenses if Hippae came in through some other tu

“Whether there’s another tu

“Do you have any ideas? Any line of attack?” Marjorie asked. “Nothing. Not yet. I have a few ideas, but I’m not really onto a line of inquiry at this point!” She shook off Jelly’s remonstrances and went, her helpers with her. all of them laden with food and drink and various esoteric supplies they had carried in when the Commercial District had been evacuated.

There was nothing else Marjorie could do. Tony was sleeping in the order station dormitory, ready to leave when the Star-Lily left — a matter of hours. Mainoa and Rillibee were in the forest. Persun and Sebastian were helping Mayor Bee get the evacuees settled and fortify the winter quarters.

There was nothing more that Marjorie could do “Roald’s offered us a room at his place in town,” she told Rigo. “His wife, Ki

He tottered to his feet with an apologetic grimace. “I’m not sure I can walk.”

Persun overheard this and came forward. “I’ve got a little ru

Rigo smiled his thanks, and they rode in exhausted quiet to the Few summer quarters.

Ki

Marjorie herself could mourn Klive, mourn the waste of it.

Ki

“No,” said Rigo. “How do you mean, take over?”

“Oh, Ambassador, you wouldn’t believe — Well now, let’s see. It’s Eric, brother to the dead Obermun Jerril bon Haunser, and Jason, Jerril’s son. And it’s Taronce bon Laupmon, nephew to Obermun Lancel that died, and Traven, that’s the dead Obermun bon Bindersen’s brother. The four of them. They’ve decided to take over Commons, for the time being.” She laughed, angry and amused, both at once. “They told Roald they had elected themselves a council of four to run things. Roald and Alverd are tryin’ to explain things to ’em. Not easy. Not with them.”