severely, "Don't forget them. Snowblindness--I give you my
word--is even more unpleasant than sunburn--and _very_ painful!"

"Damn it, girl, I'm not stupid!" I exploded.

She said, in her expressionless monotone again, "Then you _ought_ to
have known better than to get sunburnt. Here, put this in your pocket,"
she handed me the tube of sunburn cream, "maybe I'd better check up on
some of the others and make sure they haven't forgotten." She went off
without another word, leaving me with an unpleasant feeling that she'd
come off best, that she considered me an irresponsible scamp.

Forth had said almost the same thing....

I told off the Darkovan brothers to urge the pack animals across the
narrowest part of the ford, and gestured to Corus and Kyla to ride one
on either side of Kendricks, who might not be aware of the swirling,
treacherous currents of a mountain river. Rafe could not urge his edgy
horse into the water; he finally dismounted, took off his boots, and led
the creature across the slippery rocks. I crossed last, riding close to
Regis Hastur, alert for dangers and thinking resentfully that anyone so
important to Darkover's policies should not be risked on such a mission.
Why, if the Terran Legate had (unthinkably!) come with us, he would be
surrounded by bodyguards, secret service men and dozens of precautions
against accident, assassination or misadventure.

All that day we rode upward, encamping at the furthest point we could
travel with pack animals or mounted. The next day's climb would enter
the dangerous trails we must travel afoot. We pitched a comfortable
camp, but I admit I slept badly. Kendricks and Lerrys and Rafe had
blinding headaches from the sun and the thinness of the air; I was more
used to these conditions, but I felt a sense of unpleasant pressure, and
my ears rang. Regis arrogantly denied any discomfort, but he moaned and
cried out continuously in his sleep until Lerrys kicked him, after which
he was silent and, I feared, sleepless. Kyla seemed the least affected
of any; probably she had been at higher altitudes more continuously than
any of us. But there were dark circles beneath her eyes.

However, no one complained as we readied ourselves for the final last
long climb upward. If we were fortunate, we could cross Dammerung before
nightfall; at the very least, we should bivouac tonight very near the
pass. Our camp had been made at the last level spot; we partially
hobbled the pack an