"I told you," she said, avoiding the silent fury of the wizard's blue eyes, "my brother is deaf and dumb, He doesn't understand your words, and he can't answer them."

"Deaf and dumb? Then you tell me, how do you get this thing off?"

"It's just an iron memento that was welded on long ago. It's worthless."

A hand came off the sword as her assailant leaned warily toward her and with a finger lifted her cape aside. "What's this? A purse! I found her purse!" He yanked the heavy bag of gold coins from her belt. "It must be full a gold!"

She chuckled. "I'm afraid its just a bag of hard biscuits. You're free to have one, if you'd like, but don't try to bite down on them or you'll break your teeth Suck on it awhile."

He fished out a gold coin and put it between his teeth. He winced with a sour expression. "How can you eat these things? I've eaten bad biscuits, but these aren't even good enough to be called bad."

So easy with a young mind, she thought. Too bad it wasn't that easy on an adult.

He spat to the side and tossed the bag of gold to the snow before patting her cape, searching for anything else she might have concealed.

She sighed impatiently, "Would you boys get on with this robbery. We'd like to make the next town before dark."

"Nothin'," the second said. "They don't have nothin1 worth the trouble of carrying off."

"They got horses," the first said as he squeezed fistfuls of her heavy cape, feeling for anything it might be holding. "At least we can take the horses. They'll bring something."

"Please do," she said. "I'm tired of being slowed by leading those old nags around. You would be doing me a favor. All four are lame and I don't have the heart to put them out of their misery.

"The old woman's right," the second said as he pulled one of the limping horse along, testing it. "All four. We can walk faster. We try to take these bags of bones with us and we'll get caught sure. 1 _.

The first was still running his hand down her cape. It halted on her pocket. "What's this?"

Her voice took on an edge. "Nothing of interest to you."

"Yeah?" He fingered the journey book from her pocket.

As he thumbed through the blank pages, she caught sight of a message. At last.

"What's this?"

"Just a notebook. Can you read, son?"

"No. There don't appear to be hardly nothm' worth reading anyway."

"Take it anyway," the second said. "It might be worth something if nothin's written in it."

She looked back to the young man holding the sword on her. "I've had just about enough of this. Consider the robbery over."

"It's over when I say it's over."

"Give it back," Ann said in a level voice as she held her hand out. "And then be on your way before I drag you to town by your ear and have your parents come to collect you."

He brandished the sword as he leapt back defensively. "Look, don't you go getting feisty or you'll taste steel! I know how to use this thing!"

The still evening air suddenly thundered with horses' hooves. She had been watching as the soldiers had slipped up, around the bend and over the little bridge, unnoticed by the two young men because of the rushing water, until at the last moment when they charged in. As her assailant turned in shock, Ann snatched the sword from his hands. Nathan snatched the knife from the other.

Mounted D'Haran soldiers suddenly towered above them. "What's going on here?" the sergeant asked in a calm, deep voice.

The two young men stood frozen in panic, "Well," Ann said, "we ran into these two, here, and they were telling us how we should be careful of outlaws. They live in the neighborhood. They were showing us how to protect ourselves and giving us a demonstration of their blade work."

The sergeant folded his hands over the pommel. "Is that right, boy?"

"I… we.. " His pleading eyes turned to her. "That's right. We live nearby, and we was just telling these two travelers to be careful as we heard tell that there are outlaws about."

"And quite a show of swordsmanship it was. As I promised, young man, you get a biscuit for the show. Hand me my sack of biscuits, there."

He bent and snatched up the heavy purse of gold, holding it out to her. Ann pulled two coins out and pressed one into the hand of each young man.

"As promised, a biscuit for each. Now you boys best be getting home before dark, or your parents will worry. Give them my biscuit as thanks for sending you out to warn us to be careful."

He nodded dumbly. "All right. Good night, then. Take care of yourselves."

Ann held her hand out. She fixed the young man with a dangerous squint. "If you're done looking at my notebook, I'll have it back."

His eyes widened at the look in hers, and then he thrust the journey book into her hand as if it were burning his fingers, which it was.

Ann smiled. "Thank you, son."

He wiped the hand on his tattered coat. "Good-bye, then. And be careful."

He turned to leave. "Don't forget this." He turned back cautiously. She held the hilt out to him. "You father would be awfully angry if you forgot to bring back his sword."

He lifted it carefully. Nathan, not about to let this go without a bit of theatrics, walked the spinning knife across the backs of his fingers. He tossed the knife in the air, catching it behind his back, and then whirled it under his armpit and into his other hand. Ann rolled her eyes as he slapped the blade, reversing the spin. He caught the knife by its blade and handed it, handle first, to the other wide-eyed young man.

"Where'd you learn to do than, old man?" the sergeant asked.

Nathan scowled. If there was one thing Nathan didn't like, it was being called "old man." He was a wizard, a prophet, of unparalleled ability, and thought he should be viewed with wonder, if not open awe. She was restraining his gift by choking it off with his Rada'Han, or no doubt the sergeant's saddle would be aflame by now. She was also preventing him from speaking. Nathan's tongue was at least as dangerous as his power.

"I'm afraid my brother is deaf and dumb." She gestured to the two outlaws with a shooing motion of her hand. They waved and scrambled for the woods, kicking up snow as they went. "My brother has always amused himself by practicing hand tricks."

"Ma'am, are you sure those two aren't causing you any trouble?"

"Oh, no," she scoffed.

The sergeant lifted his reins, the twenty men behind him doing the same in response, ready to take out after him. "Well, I think we'll have a little lalk with them, anyway. A little talk about thieving."

She chuckled. "I'm afraid its just a bag of hard biscuits. You're free to ha one, if you'd like, but don't try to bite down on them or you'll break your teeth Suck on it awhile."

He fished out a gold coin and put it between his teeth. He winced with a sour expression. "How can you eat these things? I've eaten bad biscuits, but these aren't even good enough to be called bad."

So easy with a young mind, she thought. Too bad it wasn't that easy on an adult.

He spat to the side and tossed the bag of gold to the snow before patting her cape, searching for anything else she might have concealed.

She sighed impatiently. "Would you boys get on with this robbery. We'd like to make the next town before dark."

"Nothin'," the second said. "They don't have nothin' worth the trouble of carrying off."

"They got horses," the first said as he squeezed fistfuls of her heavy cape, feeling for anything it might be holding. "At least we can take the horses. They'll bring something."

"Please do," she said. "I'm tired of being slowed by leading those old nags around. You would be doing me a favor. All four are lame and I don't have the heart to put them out of their misery."

"The old woman's right," the second said as he pulled one of the limping horse along, testing it. "All four. We can walk faster. We try to take these bags of bones with us and we'll get caught sure."