The Bird of the River Read Online Free PDF Page A

marker!" came a cry from the masthead. "White marker at the milepost!"
    "Strike sail!"
    Wolkin turned and ran. Eliss pulled Alder away from the rail and they went back to the tent. As they approached, Eliss saw Captain
    Glass walking toward it from the opposite direction. He stopped beside their tent and looked down at Falena.
    "White marker," he said. "That's an easy one. Are you feeling up to making a dive?"
    "Yes, sir, of course," said Falena.
    "Good. Why don't you get ready?" He walked on forward.
    "Help me, Eliss!" Falena hissed at her, as soon as the captain was out of hearing range. Together they found Falena's goggles and got her undressed. When they walked forward to join the other divers, Eliss winced to see how painfully thin Falena looked beside them.
    The white buoy was close in, and the snag was easy to spot, protruding up out of the shallows. There were even green leaves on some of the branches.
    "This ought to be really easy," Eliss murmured in her mother's ear. Falena just nodded, drawing deep breaths.
    "That's only a bush," said Mr. Riveter. "We don't need a whole crew for that. That won't even take the capstan. We can pull it out with some rope."
    "I'll go down," said Falena, stepping forward. They passed her the end of a coil of rope. She took it and dove in, vanishing in the dark water.
    They began to recite the Prayer to Brimo as the rope paid out. Midway through the prayer the rope stopped moving. She must be tying it off to the trunk , Eliss was thinking, when there came a sudden burst of air bubbles at the surface.
    "Oh--" Eliss put her hands to her mouth. The Prayer to Brimo stopped. Mrs. Riveter vaulted the rail and plunged in after Falena. Raggedly the prayer was started up again, but most people had lined up along the rail to stare down into the water, unspeaking, uneasy. The musicians fell silent.
    Two wet heads broke the water. Eliss exhaled in relief, before she realized that Falena's head was lolling on Mrs. Riveter's shoulder. Mrs. Riveter shouted for help. Two other divers plunged in and together they brought Falena up on the barge. She was limp, her eyes open and staring behind the goggles, her face contorted in an expression of horror.
    "Mama!" screamed Eliss. She fell to her knees beside her mother. Another prayer was started up, this one asking for mercy from the gods, as Mr. Riveter pounded on her mother's chest. He crouched down to blow air into her mouth. Alder pushed his way through the crowd and stood there, staring. Captain Glass loomed behind him like a mountain. Mrs. Riveter pulled herself up on the barge and sat there, gasping for breath.
    Falena didn't breathe, didn't move, didn't shut her eyes. The words of the prayer droned on. The river flowed on past them all and Eliss heard herself crying and wondered, in a dazed kind of way, how she could still sound so much like a little girl.
    Mr. Riveter lifted his head and looked at her timidly. "She didn't drown," he said. "There's hardly any water in her lungs. Her heart just stopped." He slipped off the goggles and closed Falena's eyes.
    "There's a dead man down there," said Mrs. Riveter, and coughed. "She was tangled up with him."

    THE CRUELEST THING WAS THAT, however much Eliss tried to feel relief, however hard she tried to remember all the things Falena had done wrong in her life, the bad memories wouldn't come just then. Instead, the person Falena had become in the last few years faded away and all Eliss could see right now was Falena as she used to be, Falena young and smiling and brave. Her mother, who used to put on a funny hat and dance to make her laugh. Her mother, who had sung to her when she'd been scared and unable to sleep. That Falena, who hadn't been much older than Eliss was now ...
    That Falena had been lost for years, but now she was the only mother Eliss could remember. Now she had to mourn for her all over again.

    THE OTHER DIVERS WENT DOWN and brought up the dead man. He was headless, naked except for a pair