Shame of Man Read Free

to retreat. He was especially sensitive to sounds; they fascinated him, and odd ones could lure him beyond safety. He seemed to hear qualities of sounds that others ignored, so had given up on getting any support for this interest. The sounds of the fire mountain had power and resonance unlike others, as if a giant lion struggled within.
    But smoke had never actually harmed him or anyone he knew before. It came from fire, and fire was hot and hurtful but could be avoided because it burned only on the grassy valley below their forest. And, perhaps, inside the mountain. So Hu wanted to know more about smoke, and was glad to be approaching it.
    However, the leaders were wary, and when the slope allowed it, they moved around to the side of the mountain. There were more bugs and berries there, and it did seem safer.
    But then they entered a high sort of valley between this mountain and the next. The slope above was steep and bare and hot in the sun; the slope below became a narrowing crevice. There was a bad smell that made them cough and choke.
    They paused, milling. There did not seem to be anywhere to go forward. But there weren't enough berries this high to sustain them, and behind were the brutes.
    Hu, as curious as ever, decided to explore the crevice. Be scampered after him, thinking he knew where he was going. He would not have signaled it, but he found her company reassuring. He could not take any bad risks when she was with him, because he had to protect her. That made it safer for him, too.
    When the slope got too hot and steep, they moved down into the crevice. It was wider than it had looked from above, but scary too, because its walls were very high and close together. There was just room to walk at the base. But Hu saw that up ahead the walls became so bare that it would not be possible to climb them. If anything rolled down, he and Be would be crushed. Indeed, there was a pile of stones there that they had to climb over.
    They stood on the top of the pile and looked on into the crevice. Wisps of vapor floated up from vents in the ground, and there was a faint but ominous hissing. The smell was bad. This was far enough to go.
    Be tugged at his hand. She was frightened, and wanted to go back. Thatwas a good enough pretext. So Hu shrugged and turned, pretending to humor her.
    There was activity behind them. Someone else was following. At first Hu was glad, because he thought he could show off what he had found. Then he recognized Bb and Ss.
    This was a problem, because he knew they meant mischief. They were still mad because they hadn't gotten the berry patch yesterday. Now they wanted to fight, and there was no grown kin to support Hu. What was he to do?
    The sensible course was to run away. But they were blocking off the only escape. The walls did not seem any more scalable than before; only the bottom of the crevice was suitable. Bb knew that. He knew he had Hu trapped. He knew that no one else was close enough to intercede.
    Hu turned again and looked forward. The crevice looked as forbidding as before. The evil vapor swirled in it, so that Hu could not see what was beyond. The hissing seemed louder now, like that of a restive snake. That was no place for a person to go.
    There was a sound behind as Bb and Ss advanced. Normally females fought only among themselves, or to protect their children, but Ss often fought to support her brother. She was aggressive and vicious. Like her brother. Hu had little chance against Bb in a fair fight, and with Ss chomping his back, he had even less. She was really worse than Bb, because she was not being true to the nature of her gender.
    Hu turned once more. He peered down through the steaming crevice. That might be doom—but so might a fight with Bb. He couldn't afford to get beaten, when he had Be to protect.
    Bb was getting close. He leaped to the base of the rock pile. Hu leaped off it, into the crevice ahead. He called to Be to follow. This seemed to be the lesser risk, and