"He's talking with those men over there," Garion said, watching the servingman, who was in urgent conversation with a group of hunters on the far side of the room and was casting frequent looks in their direction.

"We've got about a half a minute to get outside," Silk said tensely. "Let's go."

The three of them moved quickly toward the door.

"You there!" someone behind them shouted. "Wait a minute!"

"Run!" Belgarath barked, and they bolted outside and hurled themselves into their saddles just as a half dozen leather-garbed men burst out through the tavern door.

The shout, "Stop those men!" went largely unheeded as they galloped off down the street. Trappers and hunters as a breed were seldom inclined to mix themselves in other men's affairs, and Garion, Silk, and Belgarath had passed through the village and were splashing across a ford before any kind of pursuit could be organized.

Silk was swearing as they entered the forest on the far side of the river, spitting out oaths like melon seeds. His profanity was colorful arid wide-ranging, reflecting on the birth, parentage, and uncleanly habits of not only those pursuing them, but of those responsible for circulating the reward notice as well.

Belgarath reined in sharply, raising his hand as he did. Silk and Garion hauled their horses to a stop. Silk continued to swear.

"Do you suppose you could cut short your eloquence for a moment?" Belgarath asked him. "I'm trying to listen."

Silk muttered a few more choice oaths, then clamped his teeth shut. There were confused shouts far behind them and a certain amount of splashing.

"They're crossing the stream," Belgarath noted. "It looks as if they plan to take the business seriously. Seriously enough to chase us, at any rate."

"Won't they give up when it gets dark?" Garion asked.

"These are Nadrak hunters," Silk said, sounding profoundly disgusted. "They'll follow us for days just for the enjoyment of the hunt."

"There's not much we can do about that now," Belgarath grunted. "Let's see if we can outrun them." And he thumped his heels to his horse.

It was midafternoon as they rode at a gallop through the sunlit forest. The undergrowth was scanty, and the tall, straight trunks of fir and pine rose like great columns toward the blue sky overhead. It was a good day for a ride, but not a good day for being chased. No day was good for that.

They topped a rise and stopped again to listen.

"They seem to be falling behind," Garion noted hopefully.

"That's just the drunk ones," Silk disagreed sourly. "The ones who are serious about all this are probably much closer. You don't shout when you're hunting. See - look back there." He pointed.

Garion looked. There was a pale flicker back among the trees. A man on a white horse was riding in their direction, leaning far over in his saddle and looking intently at the ground as he rode.