here were a few boats moving about--little punts hollowed out of logs and
propelled by long poles--and Mercer saw many others, some of them larger
like the one he and Anina were in, tied up by the houses. It was now the
time of the evening meal. The workers had returned from the terraces;
there were few moving about the city. Occasionally a girl would dart up
from one of the houses and wing her way to another, but beyond that there
were no signs of activity.

Anina took command of the boat now, slowing it down and heading for the
nearest of the houses, which were hardly more than quarter of a mile away.
Mercer stretched himself out in the bottom of the boat, covering himself
with a large piece of fabric that lay there. He felt that he would be
unnoticed, even should a girl chance to pass directly overhead. But he
could see nothing of the city from where he was, and soon grew restless
and anxious to do something else.

"I'm coming up, Anina," he said once. "Shucks! Nobody can do anything to
us. Haven't I got this light-ray?"

But Anina was obdurate, and made him stay where he was.

They went slowly forward and were soon among the houses. On the front
platform of one a man sat fishing. A little naked boy slid down into the
water from another, swimming as though born to the water. Both stared at
Anina curiously as she passed slowly by, but they said nothing. A girl
looked out of the window of another house and waved her hand in friendly
greeting, which Anina answered.

Mercer, lying with all but his face covered by the cloth, could see only
the sides of the boat, the bottom of the cross-seat over his head, and
Anina as she sat above him in the stern.

"Where do you suppose the Tao people hang out around here?" he suddenly
asked. "If we could--"

The girl silenced him with a gesture.

He lowered his voice. "Try and find out where they are, Anina," he
whispered.

Anina steered the boat directly under several of the houses, which must
have been quite a usual proceeding, for it attracted no attention. A girl
flew close to them once, and Anina called to her. The girl alighted on the
stern of the boat for a moment; Mercer slid the cloth over his face and
held himself motionless. Then he heard Anina's voice calling to him
softly. He slid the cloth back; the girl had gone.

"She says Tao's men live, there--large house, of wood," said Anina,
pointing off to one side.

Mercer nearly rapped his head against the seat abov