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Teanor, the men who had pulled them up were small and wiry but with highly developed shoulder and arm muscles. They all wore simple garments of rough woven cloth and had a golden tan.
    “First, I want to show you our city,” Teanor said proudly. “This way,” He turned and went straight to the edge of the platform.
    Sarah began following him but then stopped, for she saw that a swinging bridge led to another, larger platform where something like a house was built.
    The structure seemed very fragile. It was made of bamboo stalks tied together with vines. The only support was a thick vine rope on each side. The bridge dipped down in the center and swayed back and forth in the breeze.
    Teanor stepped onto it.
    “I can never cross on that,” Sarah gasped.
    “It’s all right,” he said. “I’ll help you.” He came back and took her by the hand. “Now you hold onto the rope on the other side, and I’ll hold you on this side.”
    Sarah wished she were anywhere in the world but in the land of the Cloud People. But she had learned to face danger in many forms, and now she took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. “All right. But don’t let go of me.”
    Teanor led her to the swinging bridge, and his hand was tight on hers. “Don’t be nervous,” he said. “You won’t fall.”
    Sarah grasped the rope and stepped out onto the bridge. It swayed under her, and she took short steps. She was afraid to look down. Instead, she kept her eyes on the bamboo house that was built on the far side.
    Then she heard Abbey saying from behind her, “It’s all right, Sarah. This is fun!”
    That gave Sarah new determination, and she started to move across the swinging bridge more quickly.
    “That’s the way. You see. There’s nothing to it.” Teanor smiled.
    They reached the other side, and as soon as she planted her feet on the platform, Sarah felt better. The whole platform was swaying, but it was not as precarious as the bridge itself. She looked back to see Abbey walking across as easily as if it were a cement sidewalk.
    Abbey leaped onto the platform and cried, “This is wonderful, Teanor!”
    “I’m glad you like it. Now, this is not my house, but all houses are about the same here. These are visitors to Cloud Land—Sarah and Abbey,” he said to the manwho stood at the door, watching with amazement. “Do you mind if we show her your house?”
    “No, not at all. Come inside.”
    Sarah and Abbey stepped in. It was much like a tree house, Sarah thought. The floor was of saplings covered with a rough brown mat made of vines. The furniture, what there was of it, all seemed lightweight. There were windows on every side, and she wondered what it was like when it rained.
Very wet, I would suppose.
    Over to one side was a small fireplace where the cooking was done, and a woman with long hair stood there, shyly watching them.
    It did not take long to look at the house. Teanor thanked the man, and they went out.
    “His name is Guntor,” he said. “He’s a very good fisherman.”
    “What was his wife’s name?”
    “Oh, the female? I don’t recall.”
    Something about all this troubled Sarah. Guntor himself seemed to make nothing of the woman.
It looks as if he could at least introduce her
, Sarah thought with displeasure. She glanced at Teanor and started to speak, but by that time they were already about to cross another bridge.
    She now saw that bridges connected different platforms built on the wide spreading branches. While she was crossing the swaying bridges, which seemed as fragile as spider webs, she did not think of anything except holding on. The ground lay far beneath, and she resolutely did not look down.
    However, each time they reached a different platform, she would look at her surroundings. As far as she could see, there were houses and other buildings at thetops of the mighty trees. People were moving around easily from one tree to another. Sometimes people swung on vines that connected various