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Wallach and his men gathered their weapons and walked into the woods. Annie took a basket and walked upstream, the way they had come the day before. Catta organized the children into pairs, giving the youngest line and hooks, hoping for some trout from the stream. Others got lengths of line for snares and instructions not to wander too far. Catta and Kenit took snares as well, and set out through the trees with Jerem on their heels. Jerem had a rough bag slung over one shoulder. Catta raised an eyebrow wondering what he was going to put into the bag, but then decided it didn't much matter, almost anything could help.

They set off downstream. As the sounds of the camp faded, they listened to the forest. They moved as quietly as they could, discovering that they made more noise than they would have thought. They paused by likely brush to set a snare here and there. Jerem found some wild onion, which went into the bag he carried.

After a while they veered off from the stream, planning to circle around back towards the camp. The going got slower through the brush and evergreens without a clear trail to follow. They picked up anything they thought might be useful: a few straight sticks they though might be good for arrows, and some moss that Jerem thought Annie Blackpot would be able to use in her healing, although Catta wasn't sure he knew what he was talking about.

They peered from the woods into a clearing where a herd of deer were grazing. They watched the deer as they warned each other of intruders, then cautiously went back to grazing. Kenit wished for his father's bow, thinking how it would feel to bring a buck to camp for a feast of venison. All they had was Jerem's practice stick, and a couple of belt knives, though. Nothing that would get them a deer.

They moved away and back towards camp looking for landmarks that could lead them back to the clearing. Hoping that she hadn't lost her bearings totally, Catta urged the others on a heading toward the stream. When they got close enough to hear the sound of wood getting chopped and they worked their way towards camp, stopping once to collect a hare from one of the snares.