half of each gaff, and the kids hunkered down with them for warmth. So the Hamsters drew
in upon themselves in their little manor. All the Hamsters save one, for Sy Dévúsh began to spend more and more time in that
peculiar state, so unfamiliar to his fellows, of being alone.
All that kipper Symun haunted the foreshore. The blisterweed lay on the ground, hollow, papery reeds that crunched harmlessly
beneath his feet. The tide was never that high or low on Ham â even at dipped and full beam it only rose a matter of a few steps.
This moderation was seemingly in harmony with the temperate clime of the isle. When the tide was out at the curryings on the
north coast of Ham, Symun could gain the shallows, then wade unobserved, either to the east, under the Gayt, or to the west
beneath the bluffs of the Ferbiddun Zön. Here, on the most isolated promontory of Ham, facing due south, stood the Exile's
pathetic semi. Often Symun would see Luvvie Joolee wandering up and down one of the groynes, her gaunt face set, her eyes
fixed on distant and unattainable prospects.
In buddout and summer Symun would have been with other Hamstermen, out netting prettybeaks, or else gathering the mussels
that clung to the weedy flanks of the groynes. The mummies came on to the foreshore as well, if there were particular herbs
they needed, or a dead seadog had been washed up. And all the Hamsters went there from time to time to gather fresh Daveworks,
although this task was mostly left to the children, who, it was believed, benefited from it. Every Hamster had his or her
Daveworks, strung on to lengths of thread. Now that the Driver was long gone, the dads would tell theirs as they sat in the
Shelter and called over the runs and the points. The mums wore theirs as necklaces. Daveworks were also nailed to the lintels
of the Hamsters' gaffs and garlanded their motos. Field strips were marked out by poles from which Daveworks dangled, serving
both to scare off the birds and to sanctify the crops. Certain groves in the woods, because they were the site of an ancient
calamity, had become shrines, adorned with posies, scrawled messages and Daveworks. Here the Hamsters came to speak to Dave
through the intercom.
Real Daveworks were most prized, because they bore phonics and were therefore fragments of the Book. Toyist Daveworks, if
they were particularly fine and realistic, were also kept by some, in the belief that sooner or later Dave himself would come
to redeem them for that which they depicted. Daveworks came in many shapes: there were straight ones and bent ones, T-shaped
and H-shaped, circular and square, spherical and triangular. These were all designated accordingly: strayts, bentuns, tees,
aytchez, sirkúls, skwares, bawls and trys. Most were too convoluted to be given a name; even the term 'plastic' â for a great
many Daveworks bore these phonics, or at least some â could not serve to differentiate them, for as it was written in the
Book, plastic was only the vital clay from which the world had been moulded.
What the Hamsters did know was that the supply of Daveworks was inexhaustible, continual proof of the immanence of Dave. They
were more common on the southern coast, where whole reefs lay offshore. After a storm fresh Daveworks would be freed and come
floating in to lodge in the sand and shingle. The Hamsters could simply have waded out to the reef and gathered as many as
they wanted, if the crabs in their thousands hadn't deterred them. Not because of their claws â which could deliver at most
a nip â but because their presence suggested that the reef was toyist. Dävwurks cum in Daves oan tym, said Effi Dévúsh, no
Rs.
Symun's expeditions in search of Daveworks were quite different. He sought only real Daveworks, and he looked for them with
great single-mindedness. He was searching for those that bore discernible words, and when he found one that duplicated those
already in his collection, he discarded
in upon themselves in their little manor. All the Hamsters save one, for Sy Dévúsh began to spend more and more time in that
peculiar state, so unfamiliar to his fellows, of being alone.
All that kipper Symun haunted the foreshore. The blisterweed lay on the ground, hollow, papery reeds that crunched harmlessly
beneath his feet. The tide was never that high or low on Ham â even at dipped and full beam it only rose a matter of a few steps.
This moderation was seemingly in harmony with the temperate clime of the isle. When the tide was out at the curryings on the
north coast of Ham, Symun could gain the shallows, then wade unobserved, either to the east, under the Gayt, or to the west
beneath the bluffs of the Ferbiddun Zön. Here, on the most isolated promontory of Ham, facing due south, stood the Exile's
pathetic semi. Often Symun would see Luvvie Joolee wandering up and down one of the groynes, her gaunt face set, her eyes
fixed on distant and unattainable prospects.
In buddout and summer Symun would have been with other Hamstermen, out netting prettybeaks, or else gathering the mussels
that clung to the weedy flanks of the groynes. The mummies came on to the foreshore as well, if there were particular herbs
they needed, or a dead seadog had been washed up. And all the Hamsters went there from time to time to gather fresh Daveworks,
although this task was mostly left to the children, who, it was believed, benefited from it. Every Hamster had his or her
Daveworks, strung on to lengths of thread. Now that the Driver was long gone, the dads would tell theirs as they sat in the
Shelter and called over the runs and the points. The mums wore theirs as necklaces. Daveworks were also nailed to the lintels
of the Hamsters' gaffs and garlanded their motos. Field strips were marked out by poles from which Daveworks dangled, serving
both to scare off the birds and to sanctify the crops. Certain groves in the woods, because they were the site of an ancient
calamity, had become shrines, adorned with posies, scrawled messages and Daveworks. Here the Hamsters came to speak to Dave
through the intercom.
Real Daveworks were most prized, because they bore phonics and were therefore fragments of the Book. Toyist Daveworks, if
they were particularly fine and realistic, were also kept by some, in the belief that sooner or later Dave himself would come
to redeem them for that which they depicted. Daveworks came in many shapes: there were straight ones and bent ones, T-shaped
and H-shaped, circular and square, spherical and triangular. These were all designated accordingly: strayts, bentuns, tees,
aytchez, sirkúls, skwares, bawls and trys. Most were too convoluted to be given a name; even the term 'plastic' â for a great
many Daveworks bore these phonics, or at least some â could not serve to differentiate them, for as it was written in the
Book, plastic was only the vital clay from which the world had been moulded.
What the Hamsters did know was that the supply of Daveworks was inexhaustible, continual proof of the immanence of Dave. They
were more common on the southern coast, where whole reefs lay offshore. After a storm fresh Daveworks would be freed and come
floating in to lodge in the sand and shingle. The Hamsters could simply have waded out to the reef and gathered as many as
they wanted, if the crabs in their thousands hadn't deterred them. Not because of their claws â which could deliver at most
a nip â but because their presence suggested that the reef was toyist. Dävwurks cum in Daves oan tym, said Effi Dévúsh, no
Rs.
Symun's expeditions in search of Daveworks were quite different. He sought only real Daveworks, and he looked for them with
great single-mindedness. He was searching for those that bore discernible words, and when he found one that duplicated those
already in his collection, he discarded
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