d the girl had no doubt been thrashing around lay in

disarray. To his surprise, Steve saw two other sets of furs, rolled up

- as was usual during the day. That meant the girl shared the hut

probably with a couple of She-Wolves.

Now that he thought about it, it was obvious. If, for whatever reason,

the girl was regarded by the M'Calls as a hot property she would not be

left unprotected. Her two hutmates .had obviously pulled out to avoid

crowding Cadillac. Steve had discovered that Mutes accorded each other

a greater degree of privacy in these matters. Which meant that the

Mute's clan-sisters would probably not return until she and Cadillac

had humped each other dry.

But they might not be far away - and the area around the hut was bound

to be regularly patrolled. Zip! Steve swore under his breath. He had

totally ignored that angle when, on a sudden impulse, he'd set off

up-stream in the hope of finding her. Well, you've found her, Brickman

- and she belongs to the guy you've been planning to get very friendly

with. So forget the daydreams. All that was sheer insanity anyway.

Start looking for those hidden goodies and get the hell out of here.

Steve checked out the bathing party again then started rummaging

through the lidded baskets. If he had to leave in a hurry, whoever

came in after him would not immediately spot there had been an

intruder. He found the pack of survival rations in the second basket

and the water purifier pack at the bottom of the fifth. Steve kissed

both items happily then slid them into the pockets provided on his

trousers. Air pistol... Steve hurriedly ransacked the other baskets.

Nope. Maybe that was too much to hope for...

Map... that was the thing he really wanted. Where the hell was that?

He reached for the nearest bundle of clothing, and stuck his hand into

the loosely coiled layers of leather and fur to see if anything had

been hidden inside. Nothing. He tossed it roughly back into place and

grabbed another. A chill warning ripple ran up his spine. He threw

himself forward towards the door flap, opened it a fraction - and saw

the naked Mute girl walking towards the hut, pushing her wet hair away

from her face and twisting it round on the nape of her neck.

For a split second, Steve lay open-mouthed, spellbound.

Her skin was ...

Tearing his eyes away, he looked past her to see Cadillac climbing out

of the pool. Christopher! He was trapped!

Steve looked over his shoulder and considered cutting his way out of

the back of the hut by opening up one of the bound seams. But that

would give the game away and besides, he might not get out in time.

Steve's mind went into overdrive. He looked desperately around the

hut. Hide...

but where? Under the furs? No - that's pathetic, Brickman.

Not enough cover. Try and remember, you're a warrior now. Let's have

a little dignity. It would not do to be discovered hiding under the

bed - especially in the middle of some heavy action. The answer

came.

Brazen it out. But wait! Get rid of the stuff! You don't want to be

caught thieving. Steve hurriedly pulled the ration pack and the

purifier kit out of his pockets, crammed them into the nearest basket,

threw on the lid, reached up, grabbed a wild plum from a bunch hanging

from a hut pole and dived onto the bearskins.

The door flap was pushed aside and the Mute girl entered. She went

down on one knee and froze as she caught sight of Steve lying there

nonchalantly, legs crossed, and one hand behind his neck.

Heart pounding, Steve slowly extended his other hand towards the Mute

girl and offered her the plum. 'I saved one for you."

She didn't say anything. She just moved inside far enough to let the

door flap close behind her.

'Go on, eat it,' continued Steve, trying to hide the slight tremor in

his voice. 'The others tasted real good."

The Mute just looked at him steadily. Now she was this close, Steve

could see that she was not just a pretty face. This lump was no soft

touch. The strong, clear, ice-blue eyes set in the firm, well-boned

face had a surprising depth. They radiated not only an unnerving

intelligence but also a hint of danger - the kind of shadowy menace you

felt when looking down the three barrels of a loaded rifle.