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planning to leave."

'Good..." The old wordsmith's eyes twinkled mischievously.

'Let's get one thing straight, Brickman. I never worry." He turned on

his heel and walked away, followed by Cadillac.

When they were out of earshot, Cadillac asked, 'Was it wise to reveal

that you know what he is thinking?"

Mr Snow smiled. 'In this case, yes. Our devious young friend is one

of those people who thrives on a challenge."

When his leg felt strong enough, Steve added jogging to his exercise

routine. Day after day, he gradually extended the length of his run,

varying his route over the M'Call's turf to build up his knowledge of

the surrounding terrain. One particular day, while resting at a

vantage point that gave him a good view over the slopes below, Steve

saw a posse of Bears leave the main settlement on some errand. They

set offwith an easy, loping stride, running nimbly down the slope - and

kept on running, for mile after mile across the plain below until they

were lost from sight. Steve completed his planned circuit, returned to

the same spot and waited patiently. Five hours later, his vigil was

rewarded. The posse of Bears reappeared, covering the ground with the

same robot-like stride, running back up the slope with the same ease as

they had run down.

Steve raced back to the settlement in time to see the Bears arrive. He

expected them to collapse, red-faced and exhausted, but they weren't

even gasping for breath. The runners strolled about, chatting

unconcernedly with their families and other clan members who had been

on hand to welcome their return. Some even ran to join in a strange

game in which two teams punched an inflated skin ball back and forth

across a high strip of net strung between two poles.

It looked like it might be fun to play.

Steve realised now why he had not been closely guarded.

If he planned to make a break for it on foot he would not only have to

be in top condition, he would also need at least a week's start on his

pursuers. The discovery of the Mute's amazing stamina necessitated a

drastic revision of his escape plan. There was only one surefire way

to evade his captors and that was to fly out.

The notion had first occurred to him when he had been flat on his back,

daydreaming about his triumphal return to the Federation. He had

dismissed the idea then as totally impractical but now, he began to

consider it as a serious possibility. The M'Calls had, after all,

brought down at least three Skyhawks near their original settlement

above Route 88.out of Cheyenne. His own in the cropfield; Fazetti and

Naylor over the forest - the claws presumed hiding place. In the

several weeks he had lived amongst them, Steve had seen dozens of Mutes

wearing strips of the blue solar cell fabric and plaited lengths of

cable. He had even seen instrument dials sewn onto some of the

warriof's leather helmets and some of the kids had been rolling one of

the small landing wheels around.

Steve had neither the hope nor the means of reconstructing a full-blown

Skyhawk but - if the clan had hoarded enough bits of one or more of the

basic airframes there might be sufficient material to build a

hang-glider.

Through his concentrated studies at the Academy, Steve had the

knowledge and the technical skill to build something that would fly.

But not without tools - and there was no way such an enterprise could

be carried out in secret. He would need to make friends and influence

people. That was no problem. If enough materials could be salvaged,

he would offer Cadillac the chance of learning how to fly. The young

wordsmith took himself very seriously and was obsessed with his status

- what the lumpheads called 'standing'. He would jump at the

opportunity. Through him, Steve would be able to get the help of

M'Call craftsmen like Three Degrees. Maybe there were others with

abilities unknown to the Federation. Building the glider would provide

an opportunity for discovering just how bright the Plainfolk really

were.

Steve sauntered along one of the settlement trails, putting the final

details together in his head. He could see it clearly just like a

videotape. A craft would be constructed to his design; would need to

be tested before instruction of his eager pupil could begin. His

helpers would marvel at the faultless take-off, wou