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168 ~-LavucGHING Boy correct thing for the girl concerned to go w=I : away from the house. She supposed that soe 1 such etiquette could be invoked to cover this nz- & casion. It would have to do. She slipped out iz | the darkness, watching to see if her going causs? | any commentary of exchanged looks. Then === § went swiftly away from the hogahns, past pg corral, where she deliberately startled a herd-c-e § into barking. ‘ She circled behind to come up on the summ= § hogahn, carefully now, thinking of the silent fe= | and quick ears of her people, feeling hers:z= | clumsy, her limbs managed by indirect contr: | She crouched in the shadow of the back wz | clutching her blanket about her for warmth, pra § ing that her teeth would not chatter. She wz § clearly conscious of the beauty of the night, i= | stars and sharp cold, the smell of sage and sanc. the faint rustle of leaves on the hogahn. . They were lighting a fire. When it was burnirg § well, they gathered close to it, so that peering | between the leaves and branches she saw them z= | dim, significant masses with their faces faintiw | shown, identifying them. Mountain Singer was | the place of honour, with his back to her; on his | left sat Walked Around, Laughing Boy's mothe on his right was Spotted Horse. Wounded Face | was next to him, facing Laughing Boy, and Two §