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cloak over a branch, and crossed to Daisy. She
stripped off the saddle and saddle blanket, then laid her bow on
the ground and turned the case over so it could drain.
    When she turned
back to the fire, Tam handed her a steaming mug. "Tea," he said. "I
made it strong. The leaves got wet, so whatever we don't use now,
we throw away."
    She snatched
the cup from his hand, burned her fingers, and nearly dropped it.
Finally she got it by the handle, curling the fingers of her other
hand around the cup, close enough to feel the radiating heat. She
wanted desperately to gulp the hot tea, but she knew she would
scald herself, so she made herself wait.
    Tam squatted
across the fire from her, his face long. "Don't worry about it,"
she told him. "We'll get more tea."
    He nodded, not
cheering up one whit.
    Tira cocked an
eyebrow. "What's wrong with you?"
    The corners of
his mouth sagged down. "I don't know." He sounded miserable. "I
tried my best, I swear. I don't know what's wrong with me."
    "What?" Tira
shook her head, confused. "What are you talking about?"
    "You didn't
want me to come with you, but I thought I would show you. I was
going to do everything right, and make you glad I came." He stared
at his feet. "I couldn't keep up with you in the river. I wanted to
help you, but I didn't know where you went, and I was worried about
the pony. So I headed for the bank, and then I looked for you, but
the brush is so thick and I didn't know what to do. So I made a
fire and I waited." It seemed to take a great effort for him to
meet her eyes. "It was all I could think of to do."
    Tira laughed,
and he flinched. She made herself squash the laugh. The boy was
honestly convinced that he had let her down! He stared at the
ground, shamefaced, and she smiled.
    "Tam."
    He didn't look
up, and she reached across the fire and prodded his knee. "Tam,
when I got out of the river, I would've murdered my own grandmother
for a hot fire and a cup of tea." She paused to take a sip, gasping
as she burned her tongue. "You were brilliant."
    He looked up,
his face a mask of doubt and misery.
    "Look," she
said, lifting the cup to hide her grin. "I don't really like you. I
can't be bothered to tell lies to make you feel better." His
eyebrows rose a bit, and she continued. "I've made a lot of
mistakes in the last few days, but the smartest thing I've done
since leaving Raven Crossing is letting you come with me."
     

Chapter 4
    It was late in
the day before they resumed their journey. Their clothes were still
damp, and so were the saddle blankets, so they walked, to keep
themselves warm and to keep the animals from being chafed. They
found a footpath that ran parallel to the river, and followed it
upstream. They broke through the trees, Tira saw the road ahead,
and a gravelly voice said, "I told you! Here they are."
    Men stepped out
of the trees beside the ferry station. The ostler was there, and
his two friends from the dice game, and the crew of the ferry and a
couple of other men as well. Every one of them was armed, mostly
with cudgels or barrel staves, and their expressions were ugly as
they advanced.
    Tira didn't
waste any time talking, just sprang into Daisy's saddle. The mule
sensed her fear and broke into a gallop, and the pony ran to keep
up, not waiting for Tam to get fully into the saddle. He had his
left foot in the stirrup, his right foot making frantic leaps as he
clung to the pommel in front of him for dear life. He swung his leg
up, nearly falling as the pony swerved to avoid a pothole. He got a
leg over the pony’s back, clung for a moment, then heaved himself
forward and into the saddle.
    A barrel stave
sailed past Tira's shoulder, and she flinched, then risked a look
back. The ostler was no more than two steps behind Daisy's flashing
hooves, the others close behind him. As she watched, though, men at
the back began to fall away, recognizing the hopelessness of the
pursuit.
    The ostler
seemed determined to catch them, but he was not a fit man.