"Andre Norton - Breed to come" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

were some as gray as his own, others blotched with
black or lightened on belly and chest with cream.

They wore belts not unlike his, and from three of
these dangled the limp bodies of rabbits. A hunting
party. But so far they had found only small prey. If
they kept on along that way though (Furtig's sound-
less growl held a suggestion of anticipation), they
were going to cross the regular ranging ground of the
Tusked Ones. And if they were foolish enough to hunt
them—Furtig's green eyes glistened. He would back
the Tusked Ones against any foe—perhaps even
against Demons. Their warriors were not only fierce

fighters but very wily brained.

He hoped that the Barkers would run into Broken
Nose. In his mind Furtig gave that name to the great
boar leader. The People could not echo the speech of
the Tusked Ones, any more than they could the sharp
yelps of the Barkers—though no reasonable creature
could deem those speech. At the rare times of truce
communication, one depended on signs, and the learn-
ing of them was the first lesson of any youngling's ed-
ucation.

Furtig watched the Barkers out of sight and" then

worked his way around the tree, found a place where
he could leap onto the next, and made that crossing

skillfully.

He was still growling. To see Barkers invading the
hunting territory of the Five Caves was a shock. He
would waste no time duck-stalking. On the other
hand he must make sure that those he had seen were
not outscouts for a larger pack. There were times
when packs changed hunting territories, driven out
by larger packs or by lack of game.

13




BREED TO COME

If such a pack were coming into the woods, then