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with his hands wide apart. Jem tried to swat Thist on the head but he ducked away and said, “Careful with your head, and by the way, how’s your face?”
    “It’s itchy, probably just healing.”
    The boys walked the short distance to the waterfall while discussing their plans for their coming journey. As they reached the waterfall Thist seemed to hesitate. “Do you feel that?”
    “What?”
    “I don’t know, just that strange feeling that there is something about this waterfall, as if there is some energy or magic in it.”
    “There is no magic, buddy.” said Jem, becoming irritated.
    Thist snorted. “Humph. One day I will be the world's greatest magician and then I will show you things that you never knew you never knew.”
    “There is something magical about this waterfall. It’s full of diamonds! ” Jem held up his hands in a queer gesture that people made when signalling the handling of money, palms close to his face and his thumbs rapidly touching all his fingers. “Can you feel the profit, Thist? The profit!”
    “You’re going to have to prove they are diamonds first. And you’re going to have to get some first.”
    “Well, let’s get to it.”
    Thist looked at the water. “Well, I suppose it can’t hurt to try.”
    Jem made his sign of money again.
    “Money isn’t everything, Jem.”
    Jem lost his grin and looked away as if saddened by memories. “It is if you don’t have any.”
    Thist nodded. Jem was of the less fortunate boys in the town. After his father had died, life had become tough; his father’s hunting had been their livelihood. His mother tried to peddle her wares in the town, but many of the things she tried to sell were available in the forest, or too hard for her to come by to make profit often enough.
    Thist looked at his long-time friend, “You know we are going to change that soon enough, don’t you?”
    Jem nodded. “Yes.”
    He stripped off his clothes as if they were on fire and dived in. Jem swam down to the bottom of the plunge pool with purpose. He reached the bottom and grabbed two big handfuls. He turned and pushed himself toward the surface marked by the bright light of day. He broke the surface with a gasp and a shout of victory. “Man! That was invigorating.”
    Jem opened his hands and revealed two handfuls of brightly shining stones; he moved to their bags and put them in a small pouch he had brought for the purpose.
    “You’ve got to try it Thist, it’s so rewarding.”
    Thist stripped down and joined Jem in the plunge pool. “Oh man it’s cold, damn you and your stinking profit.”
    “Come on, one minute and you’ll be used to it. Put your head under, it will help.”
    Thist dived down and came up quickly, “It feels refreshing.”
    Thist drank some of the water and then grabbed his left temple as the cold went to his head.
    “See if you can get some diamonds, I want to fill that pouch.”
    Thist took a deep breath, then exhaled it like Jem had shown him. He took another deep breath and dived. Thist could feel the cold water on his eyes as he swam down, the bottom seeming to elude him as he grabbed for it. He kicked harder as his breath seemed to protest at being held for so long. Thist grabbed two handfuls and made for the surface. It seemed so far and now with his hands full of treasure he was only using his legs, but triumph he must, even if only to show Jem that he could also do it. Jem had told him it was as much a matter of skill in the mind as it was of body. But his body wanted to breathe. How did Jem do it?
    Thist breached the surface with a shout of victory. His hands were still clenching the evidence of what he had grabbed at the bottom.
    Thist looked around. “Jem?”
    “Look behind you.” said Jem.
    Thist turned to the sound of Jem’s voice right behind him. His elbow bumped Thist’s shoulder when he turned in the water. Thist saw another bear standing at the edge of the water. His sudden appearance from the water and his shout