Clusters of people waited in line, talking, or corralling their young ones. A few of the older children splashed near the riverbanks while their parents waited with their buckets. Men talked loudly about the work they'd done on their homes, or the work left to be finished.
Raj and Samel took a spot at the end of the line.
Setting down his bucket, Raj watched some people heading for a favored spot on the riverbank to scoop mud.
Samel shifted from foot to foot. Every so often, he looked up the path.
Filling the silence with nervous conversation, Samel asked, "Do you think we'll be back at Helgid's for supper?"
"I hope," Raj said, as he followed Samel's gaze.
Squinting to see through the late-afternoon glare, Raj saw three silhouettes coming down to the river. He tensed, until he realized they were hunters. Two of them walked close together, talking and hefting full bags. Another man hung back behind them. All were dressed in brown and white pants and shirts and carried long, sharp spears.
"Hunters," Raj said, calling Samel's attention to them.
"Do you think they've seen Neena?" Samel asked, temporarily forgetting some of his anxiety.
"It's possible," Raj said. Making the quick determination that they weren't getting any closer in line, and that Bailey and his friends weren't around, he added, "Why don't we go ask them?"
Abandoning their position at the end of the line, they approached the hunters.
The two men in front unwrapped their shawls, revealing their sweaty, bearded faces. They laughed at a joke Raj and Samel had missed. The last person walked more slowly, having trouble carrying his burden.
Approaching the last one, Raj said, "Hello, sir."
The man removed his shawl, revealing a patchy beard and a cocky smile. He made a show of adjusting his bag. "Come to see how it's done, eh?"
Hoping to bolster the man's ego, Raj said, "It sounds as if the hunt was successful."
"I caught a big, fat Rydeer." The man grinned. "I speared it myself."
"Where was it?"
The man cranked a thumb over his shoulder. "About a day's travel north. It was drinking near a spring."
"It sounds as if you are skilled," Raj complimented.
"I am." The man smiled, revealing a mouthful of crooked teeth. "I can throw a spear faster than an animal can run. Perhaps I can give you some tips, when you get older."
"I'd like that." Sensing his opportunity, Raj asked, "Do you mind if I ask you about something?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"I was wondering if you'd seen my sister," Raj said, trying to disguise his worry.
Before the man could answer, the others turned and approached.
"Who's he looking for?" one of them overheard, wiping some greasy sweat from his brow.
"His sister," the younger man repeated.
The two older men exchanged curt smiles. Seeing them up close, Raj recognized them from previous run-ins. It seemed as if they recognized him, too.
"Your sister?" One of the older men laughed. "Shouldn't she be down by the river?"
The first man chuckled.
"She was out hunting, like you," Raj said, sticking his chin out the way he'd seen grown men do. "I was hoping she was heading back after the storm."
"If she was in the storm, she'd better have held onto her spear," the bearded man said, making a show of grabbing his crotch. The others laughed.
Perhaps trying to curry favor with the older men, the first hunter said, "Maybe the wind carried her up to the twin moons."
More laughter.
"Wait a moment," one of the men piped up, before Raj and Samel could leave. "I think I saw her."
A small hope filled Raj's stomach. "You did?"
"She was the one with the baby under her shawl, wasn't she?" he asked, unable to hide his coy smile, as he held one of his arms to his breast and rocked it back and forth.
"Never mind," Raj said, pulling Samel's arm. "We'll find her ourselves."
Together, he and Samel walked back to the line, resuming their wait for the straw.