‘Great!’ Ujurak replied, with a little bounce of excitement. ‘The whole herd of us, on the move together. Did you hear the sound we made?’

Toklo gave an exasperated snort. ‘Tell us something useful. Where are they going? Will they come back?’

Ujurak shook his head. ‘Not until next fishleap. They come here when the days grow longer, to feed up and have their calves on the plain. The cold winds from the sea keep insects away, but just lately flies have been bothering them. I think that’s what sent them off into the mountains.’

‘I don’t know why we can’t follow them,’ Toklo complained; he still felt furious that he had been cheated of the juicy prey. ‘They weren’t going that fast when we saw them.’

‘Some flat-faces appeared with firesticks –’

‘Firesticks?’ Kallik interrupted, looking around worriedly. ‘Then we’re not safe here!’

‘They’re a long way up the valley,’ Ujurak reassured her. ‘The herd stampeded, with the hunters after them. That’s when I decided I’d better turn back into a bear, and I let them leave me behind.’

‘You have some sense, then!’ Toklo butted the smaller cub with his snout, still irritated, but glad that his friend was safe.

‘But what about these no-claw hunters?’ Kallik still sounded anxious. ‘They’ll be just like the ones who chased us on Smoke Mountain. We’d better get away from here.’

‘But I don’t think these flat-faces were interested in hunting bears,’ Ujurak explained, sounding a little uncertain. ‘They weren’t like those others. These had . . . animal spirits!’

Toklo stared at Ujurak. What’s the fluff-brain going on about now? Flat-faces don’t have animal spirits!

‘What do you mean?’ Lusa asked, tipping her head on one side.

‘I’m not sure. I could just feel it,’ Ujurak replied, shrugging. ‘Come on, I’ll show you.’

He led the way to the top of a gentle rise from where they could look down on the flat-face denning area. Toklo followed the others reluctantly. If the caribou were out of reach, it was time to start looking for other prey, not to wander about close to flat-faces. From the crest of the hill he could see a large firebeast sleeping outside one of the dens, and a number of the weird little firebeasts, like the one the male flat-face and the cub had used. Maybe they’re firebeast cubs? he guessed.

Beyond the firebeasts, several flat-face cubs were kicking something round back and forth to one another. Toklo twitched his ears at their high-pitched cries.

‘What spirits have they got?’ he muttered. ‘Mosquitoes?’