from the animal, as the rock she had rested against was right behind her. Since her arm tucked under her body had gone to sleep, she moved it. In doing so, her hand moved toward the animal. A large paw reached out and touched her hand. She recoiled. The paw withdrew. Curious, she reached out again and again the paw met her hand. This time, she closed her hand on that hard rough paw. For a few moments they both stayed like that, then the animal rolled over on its back.
She could feel the heat of the animal's belly. It seemed so soft and warm and inviting. She was so cold. Now no longer so frightened, but still respectful, she inched her way closer.
When Eevo and Sim and Grosh arrived, she was asleep, curled up against Neeth's belly.
Higher up on the mountain slope, visibility was much better and the quarter moon provided some light. Sim and Eevo, exhausted from their struggles in the sandstorm, were on the verge of sleep when the first wolf howl came.
"That sounds like Neeth," exclaimed Eevo, sitting upright.
Then came the answering call from another location, followed almost at once by what Eevo thought was Neeth's call. Then came silence. They again drifted off to sleep.
They were wakened by Grosh, who was making excited little whines and whimpers. It was obvious that she wanted them to follow her. Taking their spears but leaving the water bag, they moved out after the wolf. She would run, then stop, waiting for them to catch up, indicating her impatience by making small straight-legged jumps up and down in the same place.
"Why is she so excited?" asked Eevo. "Can they have found Mother and Dedu?"
Grosh led them at a rapid pace and, after climbing a slope, they saw Neeth lying on her side, or so it seemed. She had seen them but stayed where she was. "What is wrong?" They hurried to her side. With the moon unobstructed by cloud cover, they got a glimpse of a small motionless child nestled in the warmth of Neeth's belly.
"What happened?" asked Sim. Eevo bent down to feel the child, who, at Eevo's touch, opened her eyes and said, "I'm Mee. What's your name?"
"Hello, Mee," responded a startled Eevo. "My name is Eevo. My brother is Sim. How did you get here? Where's your mother?"
"Don't know. The wind blew me. I couldn't stop. It pushed me and pushed me. I walked and walked and walked. Momma got lost far away. I don't know where she is. I'm hungry and cold." She looked at Eevo, not wanting them to go away. "The big animal came and caught and shook the bad animal that wanted to hurt me. It shook it so hard it stopped moving. I was afraid, but it didn't hurt me. Just made a loud noise and watched me. Then it rolled over. It felt so warm and I was so cold. It warmed me up the way Momma does when it is cold in our cave. It's a good animal. It stopped the bad one. It hasn't moved after the big one shook it. But it might. It's over there." Mee pointed to the lynx.
Seeing the lynx again, its expression frozen in a snarl which made it look alive, made her cry. Eevo picked her up and held her close.
"We'll take you to our fire and get you something to eat," she said softly. "After the wind stops, we'll try to find your mother."
"I'll take the lynx and skin it later," said Sim. "It would be a pity to waste such warm fur." He grasped one of the animal's hind legs and dragged it along the ground. They returned to their fire, added some wood and gave the child a strip of the smoked meat and some water. Sim cut some evergreen branches and made a bed for her. She drank, ate the meat and was asleep almost as soon as she lay down.
As soon as the storm in the sand land stopped, they were going to look for their mother and her mate who had got lost. Mee had not known it before, but it seemed that mothers get lost easily. Eevo (Mee now knew the name meant "fast runner") had told her that this was the second time that their mother and her mate had been lost. Once they found their mother, they would look for Mee's.
The second day, Grosh brought back a goose. Eevo plucked off the feathers and cut the goose open. The animal friends ate the insides, but Sim and Eevo had cut up the goose and put pieces of meat on sticks and put them over the fire. Mee had never seen a goose put on the fire and she was not sure that she would like it. But she was hungry and tried some. It tasted better than goose the way they had it at her cave. Maybe Sim could show her mother how. Her mother was alone, without a mate now. Someone said that a mountain had killed him. She could not understand how. She and mother always had enough food because their favourite person, Seer, told the hunters to give it to them.
Four Lost and Found
Just sitting and waiting for the storm to end and being unable to do anything else encourages worry. Shim and Dedu had plenty of time to worry as the storm continued steadily for four days. Then, as inexplicably as it had begun, it stopped. There was a dead calm. The sky had now cleared and the last rays of the setting sun gave them an indication of their direction. Gratefully, they set out again. The sliver of moon had grown and provided light and the sky was beautiful. But Shim could only hobble slowly. The soft sand made walking difficult and her foot was still quite painful. Despite protesting that he not do it, Dedu picked her up and carried her on his back. But they could travel neither fast nor far.
"We must get out of this sand country as soon as possible," said Dedu. "Once the sun appears, travelling will be almost impossible."
"The sun has only just set, and by the position of the great mountain I know that we are almost at the beginnings of the Wetlands." Shim tried to encourage her mate. "We might find a cave. We could make camp and stay until my foot is better. We're in no danger, but I worry about Eevo and Sim."
"Where they are, I don't know," replied Dedu. "But I'm not concerned about those two," he continued, lying to himself. "With their wolves to help them, they can look after themselves. We need to go on. It may not be far, but we have to travel it."
With the added weight of Shim, Dedu's feet sank deeper into the sand, making every footstep a struggle. But he was strong and, although slowed, he managed at a steady pace. Before the moon was directly overhead, the ground underfoot became firm. By the light of the quarter moon they could make out trees ahead. The sound of running water could be heard.
"Put me down," insisted Shim. "We can stay here for the rest of the night. Tomorrow we will find a cave."
"Good," said Dedu. "After we find our cave, I'll gather wood. You light a fire. Its smoke will make it easier for Sim, Eevo and the wolves to find us."
"You seem to be very certain that they will try to find us. If they were experienced hunters, I could understand. But even if they're as big as we are, they're still young children."
Dedu chuckled at her description. "I have hunted with Sim. Ab has with both of them. They are far better hunters than either of us. They'll treat the hunt for us as they would the hunt for any animal. And they will find us. They're probably out looking even now."
Even though there was no evidence of any dangerous animals about, they took turns sleeping and watching until dawn. They searched for a cave and right in a large mound of a limestone outcropping, they found a space. Shim lit a fire and they set down to wait.
At first light the next day, with a full water bag, Eevo and Sim, along with Mee, set out to try to retrace their steps, making long zigzag sweeps across the sands. They found nothing. That night on the sands was unbelievably cold. They all huddled together for warmth. The next day, about mid-morning, Grosh found something. She began to run in circles. Before long both wolves began to act as if they had a positive
