John Lockheed pointed out a clump of customers to Clave. Tall men and women, a dozen or so, and a few infants; isolated, clustered close as if for protection. Peculiar footgear, thick-heeled sandals with toes protruding. "They're happyfeet. Half Hand should make them check those shoes at the door," John said. "They're for fighting, for kicking."

"Lupoffs?"

"Yes. Why?"

"No reason," Clave said.

Gourds of red liquid passed among the diners. One came within reach, and John took it. He drank, then passed it to Clave. "Fringe tea. Don't take too much."

It went from Clave to Rather. Its taste was bitter and sweet, not unpleasant. John stopped Rather from passing the gourd to Raym. "Too much in his blood already." Raym grinned and nodded.

Debby and Half Hand joined them; they made room. Debby said, "He's got four citizens doing the cooking, all women. There''s a major fire against the back wall, held in by sikenwire. The kitchen's got maybe twenty

windows in it, and Half Hand closes some of them to get the breeze he wants, keep the fire going and the smoke out. He's.roasting a slab of moby the size of two men. It's black on one side and raw on the other, and he slices off the charred side.

"There's also . . ." She waved a hand and a foot as if trying to describe without words. "I thought it was a ball of hard stuff like the Vivarium. Inside, a froth of water and live steam, and cut-up plants."

"It's a bag," Half Hand said. "Keep it turning, the vegetables cook even. Draining the water is the tricky part."

"I saw them do that. They open the bag and throw the whole glob of cookwater at the lee windows and catch the vegetables in a net."

"Ho! Vegetables are ready then." In fact three junglegiant women were already flying around the dome's curvature, passing out what they carried.

"We use an open pot," Debby told Half Hand. "Tide keeps it in, whatever you're cooking. We cook meat and vegetables together. If you don't keep stirring it, it all bubbles out."

"M'shell!" Half Hand waved one long-toed foot in a half circle, and the nearest of the kitchen women came toward them. She served red and yellow and green vegetables into small-mouthed bowls. Half Hand said, "We only serve earthlife plants. A man wants foliage, he gets it at home. Meat's different. We take what we get. Nothing turns up, Sanchiss has a turkey farm Darkward."

The vegetables: some were good and some were not, and some you couldn't decide right away. Clave was making notes as he ate. Food that wasn't eaten went into a wooden barrel. From time to time one of the woman replaced the barrel.

Grag Maglicco was asking Debby, "Has Booce been wondering where his house is?"

"He hasn't done anything about it yet."