Three and a half days later he was halfway around. The bark was soft, easy to pry loose, but the trunk must have been a good two klomters in circumference. They returned to the wild tuft to sleep and eat. Rather was one vast ache, but it still felt good to be sleeping in tide, in foliage.

After breakfast Rather was still on the matchet. The Serjents seemed to share Citizens Tree's faith in a dwarf's superior strength. He finished the job before they slept again. They were ahead of schedule. Jeffer would not bring the CARM down for them for another six or seven days.

From the base of the trunk they watched a moby attack the bugs descending along the honey track. Mobies normally skimmed clouds of bugs from the sky for their food. This was a tremendous creature, mostly mouth and fins, riding the wind toward the trunk and the bug-swarm at a hundred meters per breath. It realized its mistake just in time. It thrashed madly, gaping, irresistibly comical, as the wind hurled it toward the tree. Its flank smashed loose a shower of bark as it passed.

The bugs descended like a cloud of charcoal dust. They reached the ring of painted bare wood and spread to north and south. The cloud condensed, growing darker, swarming-a few ce'meters out from the bark.

"Carlot. Do you like it on the tree?"

She nodded, watching the bugs.

"Booce? I've watched you. You like it here."

"I love it."

"Then how can you kill trees?"

Booce shrugged. "There are plenty of trees."

Chapter Nine

The Rocket

from Logbearer's log. Captain Booce Serjent speaking:

YEAR 384, DAY 1280. TEN DEGREES WEST OF THE CLUMP. WE'VE FOUND A GROVE AND CHOSEN A SHORT

ONE, 30 KLOMTERS.

DAY 1300. REFUELED IN A RAINCLOUD. EVERYTHING'S WET.

DAY 1310. ANCHORED AT MIDPOINT OF TREE.

DAY 1330. RYLLIN AND KARILLY MUST HAVE LAID THE HONEY TRACK BY NOW. BUGS ARE FOLLOWING THEM DOWN TO THE TUFT. I'LL TAKE LOGBEARER IN TO PICK THEM UP. WE'RE ALL EAGER TO RETURN TO THE ADMIRALTY, BUT THERE'S NO WAY TO HURRY THE BUGS.

DAY 1335. RYLLIN AND KARILLY ARE ABOARD.

FROM THE IN TUFT THEY SPOTTED A POND 50 KLOMTERS WEST AND A LITTLE IN. THE WOMEN ARGUE THAT WE CAN FIRE UP THE ROCKET AND START OUR RETURN WITHOUT WAITING FOR THE BUGS. THE POND WILL LET US REFILL THE WATER TANK. IT WOULD GAIN US TWENTY TO THIRTY DAYS.

NOW IT'S MY CHOICE. THERE'S A RISK, BUT I'VE NEVER YET HELD OUT AGAINST THE WOMEN. I'LL GIVE UP EARLY, SAVE TIME.

DAY 1360. THE BUGS HAVE REACHED THE HONEY BAND AROUND THE IN TUFT. ORDINARILY I WOULD BE DOWN THERE SUPERVISING, BUT I CAN'T DO THAT

WHILE WE'RE UNDER ACCELERATION.

WE MAINTAIN STAGGERED WATCHES AGAINST HAPPYFEET. IF THEY FIND US WE CAN READY LOGBEARER FOR INDEPENDENT FLIGHT IN HALF A DAY. THE ROCKET IS HOT AND RUNNING.