The Golden Enemy by Alexander Key Page A

better get started now. I’m afraid it’s going to turn dark early again.”
    She shook her head. “We’re staying here. Andru’s got his friends with him—they’re trying to plan how they can kill the bear—and they can all feed themselves.” She paused and frowned at him. “Boy Jaim, listen to me.”
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œWhen you go looking for that beast in the morning, I want you to take your bow.”
    â€œI—I can’t do it. If I go armed, he’ll know it, and I’ll never learn a thing from him.”
    â€œYou’re sure of that?”
    He nodded. “That’s the way it has to be.”
    The rain increased with the early dark, but at dawn it slackened again, as it had the day before, and continued steadily with no sign of letting up. Boy Jaim studied it with a vague feeling of dread. The dread turned into a black foreboding as he hurried through breakfast, hardly touching the food the others had fixed, and got ready to leave. He knew L’Mara felt it, then realized Tira did too. Was the world coming to an end today? It almost seemed like it.
    At the last minute Tira ran and brought the case that held his bow and arrows. Again she tried to make him take it. “You must!” she insisted. “I can’t have you go out and face that creature without some way of protecting yourself.”
    For a moment he almost weakened. Then he thrust the case aside. “I’ve got to be honest with him,” he said grimly. “Can’t you see? If I’m not, he’ll know it, and I won’t have a chance. He won’t even listen to me.”
    â€œHonest with a murderous beast like that?” she cried. “Why, he doesn’t even know the meaning of the word!”
    â€œYes he does. He’s honest in his way—he told me exactly how he felt about us, which sure wasn’t much. Well, it’s about time he heard another side of it …”
    Tira shook her head despairingly and said no more. L’Mara, standing frozen and big-eyed beside her, did not speak until the house was out of sight behind him in the rain. Then she called silently, “ Please, Boy Jaim — please, please be careful! If he really wants to kill you, he’ll try to trick you — so watch out for tricks. ”
    He assured her that he’d keep his eyes open and told her to stop worrying. Then he gave his attention to the gray scene around him and headed slowly for North Com.
    â€œI’m going to circle North Com and fly as low as I can,” he explained to Doubtful. “You ought to be able to whiff him somewhere. If we don’t pick up his trail that way, we’ll surely find it on the river. He’s got to eat.”
    â€œPhantoms don’t eat,” Doubtful mumbled.
    â€œHe’s not a phantom. How many times do I have to tell you that? He’s just as real as we are. He may be big, but he’s still a bear, and all the bears I know eat fish.”
    â€œUmp.”
    â€œUmp what?”
    The white dog hunched closer to him for warmth, then grumbled, “I never said he wasn’t real. That’s the whole trouble. I’ve seen and whiffed too many things like him in my sleep—now we’ve got one of ‘em for real, and you tell me he’s not a phantom. But your kind is supposed to know more than my kind …”
    â€œOh, have it your own way. He’s a real phantom, and he eats phantom fish. Stick your whiffer out of the window and keep whiffing, or we’ll never find him in this rain.”
    â€œIt’s not going to do us any good if we do find him. If we were half as smart as the birds, we’d be flying south.”
    â€œFlying south! Whatever for?”
    â€œTo get away from here. Isn’t that reason enough?”
    Boy Jaim frowned. “Doubtful, have you noticed any birds flying south?”
    â€œSure. Heard lots of them the other night,