own club—he was limping heavily.'
The girl gritted her teeth angrily. 'I should've killed him when I had the chance. It was you
who stopped me!'
Ben held up his hand. 'Don't shout, sound can carry from here. What's done is done. I'm glad
you never slew the villain.'
Karay stuck out her lip defiantly. 'He deserved to die, the slimy rat. Why should you be glad
he's alive?'
Ben explained. 'Because he's travelling with the others now. He's injured and bound to slow
them down a bit. That'll make it easier for us to follow them. Where else would they be
headed for but the Razan hideout?'
Dominic agreed. 'Right. I'll wager they can lead us to Adamo. As soon as we've had
breakfast, we'll pick up their trail.'
It was too dangerous to light a new fire. They broke their fast with some fruit and cheese
before leaving the cave.
The previous night's heavy rain had ceased, and the sun came out, turning the forested slopes
into a dense area of steamy mist as it heated the saturated ground and trees. The friends went
in single file, with Ned leading. It was not a difficult trail to follow. A dog, a bear and eleven
men left plenty of tracks. It was not more than an hour before Ned heard the band up ahead.
He halted and passed Ben the information. 'We'd best slow down, I can hear them. Let's not
get too close, mate.'
Ben pointed to the dog. 'Look at Ned's ears—he must be able to hear them!'
Karay's voice dropped to a whisper. 'Mist and fog can deaden sound. We must be very close
to them. Let's stop awhile.'
Ned passed another message to Ben. 'Stay here, I'll go ahead and see what they're up to. Be
back soon.'
Before the boy had a chance to argue, his dog had vanished into the mist. Ned moved through
the trees like a dark, silent shadow. When he saw the men, he cut off left and crept along on
the same course as the band, watching and listening.
Ligran Razan looked back over his shoulder. 'Where's that useless bag of blubber Cutpurse,
lagging behind is he? Bring him up front here, I'll move him!'
Two of the men dragged Cutpurse forward, stumbling and pleading. 'Ow-ow-ow! Be careful
of my poor ankle, will you? Ligran, leave me here to rest a bit, I'll catch up with you later.'
A thin, cruel smile hovered about the villain's face. 'I ain't leavin' you anywhere, fatty. If
anybody found you they'd soon have you blabberin' where our hideout is. This'll stop ye
dawdlin'—Gurz can help you to keep in front.'
Ligran took the end of the chain on which he was holding the mastiff. Grabbing Cutpurse
roughly, he hooked the chain through the fat man's belt and secured it. 'Hahaha, just try
stoppin' Gurz, an' he'll have ye for lunch. Hup, Gurz, hup, go on boy, off with ye!'
Cutpurse only had time to grab the chain when he was hauled forward, hopskipping, limping
and staggering as the big mastiff dragged him along in its wake. 'Howwoooh! No please, let
me go, let me go, I'll keep up!'
Ligran nodded. 'Oh, you'll keep up alright—Gurz'll make sure o' that! Come on, you lot. Let's
go, see if ye can't make that thing move faster!'
The three men who were holding the bear's chains jogged forward, tugging the animal along.
Its collar had spikes both inside and out, and the bear made choking noises as the spikes dug
into its neck. Others followed behind, striking out with whippy branches at the pitiful creature,
forcing it into a fast shamble.
Ned had seen enough. He ran off, not daring to try and make mental contact with the bear,
lest it unwittingly betray his presence to the men.
By midday the mists had cleared, and the sun was beating down on the mountain slopes.
There was a slight dip at the woodland edge, giving way to a small valley. Behind this, the
snow-capped peaks stood like massive sentinels. Ben and his friends hid in the tree fringes,
watching the Razan band below in the valley. They had camped by a clear mountain lake and
lit a fire. Two of the men were cooking up oatmeal and maize porridge in a cauldron over the
flames. It was served out to the members of the robber band as they sat about, eating and
calling out to one another. Ben could hear them clearly from where he lay hidden.
The fat Cutpurse lay exhausted near the lake shallows, his injured foot immersed in the water.
He was still chained to Gurz, the big mastiff, evidently terrified of the ferocious brute, which
sat growling by his side. Ligran took a ladle of the steaming mush from the cauldron. He
slopped half of it on the ground and watched Gurz lap it up.
Stirring Cutpurse with a light kick, Ligran grinned. 'I'd better feed him or he'll eat that ankle o'
yours. What's the matter, Cutpurse, got no bowl with ye? Oh, well, you'll just have to eat
yours the way it comes.'
He poured the other half of the porridge from the ladle straight onto the fat man's jerkin. The
rest of the robbers guffawed at the look on Cutpurse's face. Ligran smiled. 'Stop moanin' and
eat it up before it gets cold!'
Cutpurse was about to dip his fingers in the warm porridge when Gurz snarled at him. He
pulled his hand back and lay terror-stricken. Having finished his own portion, the mastiff
stood over the frightened man and began lapping up the porridge that lay in a glutinous puddle
on the thief's stomach.
Ligran was laughing uproariously at the spectacle, when one of the bear's handlers called out,
'Ligran, d'ye want me to feed this thing?'
The leader went and refilled the ladle from the cauldron. 'He's supposed to be a dancin' bear,
let's see him dance for his supper. Come on, bear, dance! Up off your hunkers an' dance!'
Ben turned away from the scene below. 'I can't watch any more of this. What makes those
people so cruel and callous?'
Dominic turned to face him. 'They're Razan. Murder, thieving, cruelty and wickedness is a
way of life to them. That's how they've become so strong and feared by ordinary folk.'
Karay watched for a moment, then she, too, turned away, brushing a hand across her moist
eyes. Her voice quivered as she spoke. 'Oh, that poor bear! If I get even the slightest chance
I'm going to free him. I promise I will!'
Listening to the bear's muted sounds of anguish, Ned looked at Ben. 'I'll free him, too, if I
can, the poor old thing!'
It was noon before the Razan broke camp and moved on. Ben and his friends had to stay
where they were hidden until the Razan left the valley and circled away out of sight around
the mountain's base. On reaching the lake, they stood at its edge, looking up at the mighty
rocks ahead of them.
Dominic shaded his eyes against the sun. 'They went off around that jagged bit up there—
we'd best follow right now. If we lose sight of them, it'll be difficult tracking over bare rock.'
It was not too hard mounting the side of the valley. By midafternoon they had reached the
jagged rock that Dominic had pointed out. Loose rock scree dotted with growths of avens and
horseshoe vetch seemed to spread all over the area.
Karay shrugged as she looked around. 'Which way now?'
Ned took a good sniff around, then passed Ben a thought. 'Follow me, I could smell that big
stinky mastiff a mile off!'
The black Labrador trotted off into the larger shale, which looked like the up-jutting teeth of
some dead primeval monster. The others followed him, leaping from crag to crag. Ned
paused, his ears rising.
Ben heard the dog's thought. 'Aye, that's them, up a bit and to the right!'
