"We couldn't find a seam," Anthon said. "It gleams when you rub away the soot. Clave, I'm not sure I like any of this. Jeffer's right, that tree could come apart and throw us spinning across the sky, and for what? Wings, sure, those are wonderful, but the rest of this is just weird!"

Clave the Chairman said, "Pull that pipe out. Scientist."

Anthon fumed and was silent. Jeffer said, "Strap down. Let's hope the tethers hold."

Under attitude jets the CARM shuddered and lurched. Then six meters of metal pipe two hundred ce'meters across pulled loose in a cloud of ash.

When Anthon and Clave went out to retrieve it, Jeffer went too. They watched, grinning, while he thrashed and spun; and suddenly he was flying, kicking stiff-legged across the sky like any swordbird.

They bound the pipe up against the hull and took the CARM back to Citizens Tree. The burning tree continued to drift west and in.

Lawri kept the citizens away from her hut for five days, a full waking-sleeping cycle. That became impossible when she sent Rather for food. Rather came back with waterbird stew, and Clave, Jeffer, Gavving, Minya, Debby, Jayan, Jinny, Mark, Jill, and a host of children. She kept them outside while the strangers ate. Then she and Jeffer pulled the hut's entrance apart. It could be rebuilt later.

The man named himself: Booce Serjent. He shaped his words strangely. He named the others: his wife Ryllin, and their daughters Mishael, Karilly, and Carlot.

"We've delayed the funeral until you're strong enough," Clave said. "Can you make yourself discuss funeral practices?"

Booce shrugged painfully. "We cremate. The ashes go into the earthlife tanks. What do you do here?"

"The dead go to feed the tree."

"All right. Chairman Clave, what has happened to LogbearerT'

"I don't understand."

"Logbearer is our ship. You saw a burning tree? The fire started around Logbearer, in the middle."

"We went there. We brought back a metal pipe and some other stuff."

"You saved the main feed pipe! How?"

"We used the CARM. It's an old starstuff relic, still working. We use it to move the tree."

Booce smiled and sighed and seemed about to drift off to sleep.

Lawri asked, "What are you? Carlot said loggers."

"Let him alone. I'm awake." The older woman sounded tired. "I'm Ryllin. Yes, we're loggers. We take lumber back to the Clump and sell it there."

Chairman Clave asked, "You mean there are men in there?"

Ryllin's laugh chopped off as if it had hurt her. "More than a thousand. With children, near two thousand."

"Thousands. Huh. And you move trees. Don't you have trees in the Clump?"

"No. The tide's wrong."

"How do you move a tree?"