'He's some new kind o' useless, that one, eh? All he does is slow us down to half the rate we need, whine louder than a hog giving birth, eat more 'n his share and shit five times a day.' West was helping him up, trying to brush some of the dirt off his coat. Well, not his coat. The coat that West had given him. Dogman still couldn't see why a clever man would do a damn fool thing like that. Not as cold as it was getting now, middle of winter an' all. 'Why the hell would anyone follow that arsehole?' asked Dow, shaking his head.

'They say his father's the King o' the Union his self.'

'What does it matter whose son y'are, if you ain't worth no more than a turd? I wouldn't piss on him if he was burning, the bastard.' Dogman had to nod. Neither would he.

They were all sat in a circle round where the fire would've been, if Threetrees had let them have one. He wouldn't, of course, for all the Southerners' pleading. He wouldn't, no matter how cold it got. Not with Bethod's scouts about. It would have been good as shouting they were there at the tops of their voices. Dogman and the rest were on one side—Threetrees, Dow and Tul, Grim propped on his elbow like none of this had aught to do with him. The Union were opposite.

Pike and the girl were putting a brave enough face on being cold, tired and hungry. There was something to them told the Dogman they were used to it. West looked like he was near the end of his rope, blowing into his cupped hands like they were about to turn black and fall off. Dogman reckoned he should've kept his coat on, rather than give it to the last of the band.

The Prince was sitting in the midst, holding his chin high, trying to look like he wasn't knackered, covered in dirt, and starting to smell as bad as the rest of 'em. Trying to look like he might be able to give orders that someone might listen to. Dogman reckoned he'd made a mistake there. A crew like his chose leaders because of what they'd done, not whose son they were. They chose leaders with some bones to them, and from that point of view they'd sooner have taken a telling from the girl than from this prick.

'It is high time that we discussed our plans,' he was whining. 'Some of us are labouring in the dark.' Dogman could see Threetrees starting to frown already. He didn't like having to drag this idiot along, let alone pretend he cared a shit for his opinion.