females. Cadillac carefully parted the long grass and counted the

branches on the capo's horns. Ten points. No Bear in the M'Cail clan

had brought in a fast-foot with more points in the lifetime of Mr snow

now. To bring down this capo would give him great standing in the eyes

of his clan-brothers.

Squatting in the bottom of the gully, Cadillac and Clearwater cut tufts

of the long orange grass and quickly wove them together to make a tall

crown for their heads and a cape to cover their shoulders and backs.

They tied the capes around their necks and waists with plaited ribbons

of grass and put the tight-fitting crowns with their waving plumes of

grass on their heads, arranging the strands that made up the deep

fringe around their faces. Using their hunting knives, they unearthed

a layer of damp clay which they smeared over their bodies to mask the

smell of their flesh. Thus prepared, they crawled along the gully,

working their way deeper into the heart of the plain, cautiously

raising their heads from time to time to check the position of the

capo.

He was still in the centre of the herd, but masked from attack by the

does in his mating group. Twice, as they crept closer, young fast-foot

males leapt across the gully only yards ahead of them to continue

feeding on the other side.

Hardly daring to breathe, Cadillac and Clearwater inched along. The

gully became shallower, forcing them to worm along on their bellies to

avoid showing themselves above the rim. The carpet of knee-high grass

had broken up into scattered tufts, interspersed with short, sweeter,

red grass on which the fast-foot were grazing.

The gully angled sharply to the left around a large outcrop

of rock, taking them away from the capo. Cadillac led the way round

the bend and froze. A few yards away, the earth had been gouged out

from under a rock by the flood waters in the rainy season. A big

rattle-tailed snake lay coiled in the shadow of the overhang.

Adopting the almost imperceptible movements of a stick insect, Cadillac

peered over the edge of the gully. There was no long grass within

reach. Three fast-foot were grazing some twenty to thirty yards away,

tails lazily flicking flies from the long heart-shaped white flash on

their hindquarters.

One of them raised her head and looked over her shoulder towards

Cadillac, her jaw moving from side to side in a casual, ruminative

manner. As Cadillac held his breath, she tossed her head sharply in a

vain effort to drive away the flies hovering round her eyes then

stepped forward to crop a new stretch of grass.

Cadillac sank slowly back into the gully and saw that Clearwater had

been checking the other side. She pointed towards the sleeping

rattler, indicating that Cadillac should go past him.

'What if he wakes?" hissed Cadillac.

Clearwater smiled. 'You shall have a frae fire song telling how

bravely you died. Go -' she whispered. 'He will not wake until we are

ready. We will send him to the capo."

Brave as he believed himself to be, Cadillac had an unreasoning fear of

snakes. But to have any standing at all, if it had to be killed, he

would have to kill it. He regretted bringing Clearwater with him. He

had done so to have an eyewitness of his hunting prowess. Now he would

have to be brave. He took out his hunting knife, placed it between his

teeth and, pushing the crossbow ahead of him, he edged forward gingerly

with his back pressed against the right-hand slope of the gully.

Taking the knife-sticks from her belt, Clearwater inserted the tapered

end of the first into the hollow handle of her knife and twisted the

second into the tube of rolled hide that was bound to the end of the

first - transforming her hunting knife into a spear with a strong

four-foot shaft. She moved forward, knife-stick raised, poised on one

knee ready to skewer the rattler at the first sign of danger.

As Cadillac eased his chest past the snake he saw to his horror that

its black beady eyes were open. He froze momentarily as the forked

tongue began darting in and out less than two feet from his stomach,

then willed himself forward, wriggling past with the minimum of

movement.

His heart was pounding as he drew clear and turned on his tormentor.

Hur