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infection. They kept Menolly heavily dosed and hourly changed the hot
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poulticing of her hand and arm.
Packtail infection was pernicious, and Mavi was dreadfully afraid that they
might have to remove Me-nollys arm to prevent a further spread. She was
constantly by her daughter's side, an attention that Menolly
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would have been surprised, and gratified, to receive, but she remained
unconscious. Fortunately the angry red lines faded on the girl's swollen arm
on the evening of the fourth day. The swelling receded, and the edges of the
terrible gash assumed the healthier color of healing flesh.
Throughout her delirium, Menolly kept begging "them" to let her play just once
more, just once again, pleading in such a pitiful tone that it all but broke
Mavi's heart to realize that unkind fortune had made that impossible. The hand
would always be crippled. Which was as well since some of the new Harper's
questions were provoking Yanus. Elgion very much wanted to know who had
drilled the youngsters in their Teaching Songs and Ballads. At first, thinking
that Menolly had been nowhere near as skilled as everyone had assumed, Yanus
had told Elgion that a fosterling had undertaken the task and he'd returned to
his own Hold just prior to the Harper's arrival
"Whoever did has the makings of a good Harper then," Elgion told his new
Holder. "Old Petiron was a better teacher than most."
The praise unexpectedly disturbed Yanus. He couldn't retract his words, and he
didn't want to admit to Elgion that the person was a girl. So Yanus decided to
let matters stand. No girl could be a Harper, any way the road turned. Menolly
was too old now to be in any of the classes, and he'd see that she was busy
with other things until she came to think of her playing as some childish
fancy. At least she hadn't disgraced the Hold.
He was, of course, sorry that the girl had cut herself so badly, and not
entirely because she was a good worker. Still it kept her out of the Harper's
way until she forgot her silly tuning. Once or twice though, whfle Menolly was
fll, he missed her clear sweet voice in counter-song, the way she and Petiron
used to sing. Yet he dismissed the matter from his mind. Women had more to do
than sit about singing and playing.
There were exciting doings in the Holds and Weyrs,
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according to Elgion's private report to him. Troubles, too, deep and worrisome
enough to take his mind from the minor matter of a wounded girl.
One of the questions that Harper Elgion often posed concerned the Sea Hold's
attitude towards their Weyr, Benden. Elgion was curious as to how often they
came in contact with the Oldtimers at Ista Weyr. How did Yanus and his holders
feel about dragonriders? About the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman of Benden? If they
resented dragonmen going on Search for young boys and girls of the Holds and
Crafthalls to become dragonriders? Had Yanus or any of his Hold ever attended
a Hatching?
Yanus answered the questions with the fewest possible words, and at first this
seemed to satisfy the Harper.
"Half-Circle's always tithed to Benden Weyr, even before Thread fell. We know
our duty to our Weyr, and they do theirs by us. Not a single burrow of Thread
since the Fall started seven or more Turns ago."
"Oldtimers? Well, with Half-Circle beholden to Benden Weyr, we don't much see
any of the other Weyrs, not as the people in Keroon or Nerat might when the
Fall overlaps two Weyrs' boundaries. Very glad we were that the Oldtimers
would come between so many hundreds of Turns to help our time out."
"Dragonmen are welcome any time at Half-Circle. Come spring and fall, the
women are here anyway, gathering seabeachplums and marshberries, grasses and
the like. Welcome to all they want."
"Never met Weyrwoman Lessa. I see her on her queen Ramoth in the sky after a
Fall now and then. Weyrleader FTars a fine fellow."
"Search? Do they find any likely lad at Half-Circle, it will be to our honor,
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and he's our leave to go."
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