Except that for some reason, Umbo was reluctant to give his right name. “Ram Odin,” he said, when the man asked. And there was a case to be made that whatever was done in this world, Ram Odin had a hand in it.

Umbo worked hard. It was a pleasure, and it kept his mind off of brooding about the impossibility of what he meant to try. Somehow he had to let Kyokay do everything he had done that got him killed, up to and including his fall off the cliff. There was no way that time-shifting could allow Umbo to catch him partway down. But there were some things he might try.

The key was to find a path to the foot of the falls without passing through Fall Ford itself, where, even though he was taller, he was bound to be recognized, to the confusion of all. But the road was on the right bank, along with Fall Ford. Umbo had never heard of any kind of road on the left bank, not paralleling the river. If he had Rigg’s ability to see paths, then he could easily find paths through the thick forest. But he couldn’t see paths. Couldn’t fly, either. He might have a knife with the ship-controlling jewels in the hilt, but the Ramfold starship was a long way beyond Upsheer Cliff, and he didn’t think that if he called for the flyer he’d get much of a response.

By the time they got to Bear’s Den Crossing, he had earned the respect of the pilot and the other boatmen. He had eaten what they ate, and worked as hard as anyone, and made no mistakes. He even fended, by himself, one big water-soaked log that didn’t become visible through the morning mist until it was almost too late to avoid a collision. Nobody would have blamed him for not seeing it, the mist was that thick. Instead they thanked him well for quick action and a perfect placement of the ten-foot fending pole.

So when it was time to settle up with the pilot, the man was better than his word. He gave him back his entire fare. “I was planning to hold back only the cost of what you ate,” said the pilot, “but the morning you saved my boat, you earned your board. The only reason I’m not paying you a wage is that the owner only authorized me for three boatmen besides myself, and you make the fourth.”

“I meant to pay and didn’t expect anything back, sir,” said Umbo. “I might have saved the boat, but that was my duty that morning, I think, and along with you and your crew and cargo, I also saved myself. But I thank you for being an upright man, and I take back anything I might have said disparaging about Bear’s Den Crossing.”