“Not sure,” said Noxon. “I mean, I can see glimpses of it. Might be ancestral to a gnu. Large grazer from a smallish herd, anyway.”

“And is it a weak one? An old one?” asked Wheaton.

“I don’t think so,” said Noxon. “They don’t go for the old and sickly, or the babies. Since they know how to smoke the meat to preserve it, it’s worth the extra work to bring down large, healthy prey. They have enough men to carry home most of the meat.”

“It’s pretty remarkable,” said Wheaton. “Males hunting coopera­tively. Wish we could hear whether they talk to each other during the hunt.”

“I’ll jump us back without slicing,” said Noxon. “To five minutes or so before they arrive. If we hide, we can hear if they’re calling out on the approach.”

“Will you know if it’s language?” asked Wheaton. “I mean, the ability to translate that you got from the Wall on Garden—will it work?”

“I don’t know,” said Noxon. “If it’s a human language, then I’m supposed to be able to make sense of it. But who knows where that line is drawn?”

“It’s a good plan,” said Ram. “As long as we all remain very still, and hold hands continuously so that when we need to go invisible, Noxon can carry us along.”

“It’s more than that,” said Noxon. “When I start slicing, we have to move. We only become invisible if we’re in motion.”

“We’ve done this about ten times now,” said Deborah. “We know that.”

Noxon shook his head. “You know it, but it’s not a reflex for you, the way it is for me. I’ve had to drag you to get you moving several times.”

“Once,” said Deborah.

“She thinks because she has no eyes, she’s already invisible,” said Wheaton.

“Maybe I did when I was little,” said Deborah, “but I can see now.”

“The kill happens right over there. At that time, there must be a little gully, because the prey goes down a little and they take it on the uphill slope on the other side. Nothing deep, but it slows the prey down enough.”

“Where should we be watching as they approach?” asked Wheaton.

“The prey comes from over there,” said Noxon. “The wing men are there and there. The followers form a U shape right behind the prey. Most of the way, the prey kept leaving them behind, then stopping to breathe and rest and recover while they just kept jogging along. But the wing men—they’re real runners. Fast and steady, so the prey can never turn very far out of the direct line of the hunters behind them.”

“And where will we hide?” asked Ram. “Right now this is pretty open land.”