The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall Read Online Free PDF Page A

the dolphins chose their favorite swimming partners. Despite the crush, Teresa emerged right by Jan Regan, Kibby by Efram; Ben got splashed by a well-aimed sweep of Amadeus’s right flipper.
    “Cut that out, Ammie. This is serious,” Ben said.
    “No rough stuff?” Amadeus asked, and clicked in surprise.
    “Not today,” Ben said, and gave Ammie an affectionate scratch between the pectorals to take the sting out of the reprimand. Then he put his whistle in his mouth and blew three sharp notes.
    Heads, human and dolphin, turned in his direction. Letting his legs dangle beside Amadeus and resting one hand lightly on the dolphin’s nose, Ben outlined the problem and what assistance was required.
    “Kahrain near,” Teresa said, chuffing energetically from her blowhole.
    “You have to make many trips,” Jan said, indicating the growing pile of crates, boxes, and nets of every size and color.
    “So?” Kibby responded. “We start.”
    Efram grabbed Kibby by the closest pectoral. “We need aisles”—he demonstrated parallels with his arms—”incoming, outgoing. We need escorts for the smaller ships. We need teams for the bigger rafts and barges.”
    “Two, three teams to change to keep speed,” Dart said, nudging Theo Force. “I know who thinks who is strongest. I go get them. You get harness.” With one of those incredible flips a dolphin body was capable of performing, Dart lived up to her name, arcing over several bodies and neatly reentering the water. Her disappearing dorsal fin showed the speed at which she was traveling.
    “I get harness,” Theo echoed, making a foolish grimace at the others. “I get harness,” she said again, as she swam with confident strokes to the nearest of the pier ladders. “Why is she always one step ahead of me?”
    “ ’Cause she swims faster,” Toby Duff yelled.
    “We, Kibby me, police lanes,” Oregon informed Toby. “Use flag bobbers?”
    Jan started to giggle. “Why do we bother telling them anything?” she said.
    “Flag buoys coming up,” Toby said, swimming for the ladder nearest the storage sheds where the racing buoys were kept. “Green for incoming, red for outgoing.”
    “There should be enough,” Efram said, following him, “from the winter regattas.”
    “These all the ships?” Teresa asked, swishing herself high enough on her tail to look up and down the wharf.
    “There should be a dozen or more luggers and sloops coming in from the coastal and downriver stakeholds,” Jan told her. “The bigger ones can sail right on down to Paradise River, but whatever we get around Kahrain Head’ll be safe enough.”
    “Busy, busy,” Teresa said and looked happier than usual. “New thing to do. Good fun.”
    Jan grabbed her left fin. “Not fun, Tessa. Not fun!” And she shook her finger in front of Teresa’s left eye. “Dangerous. Hard. Long hours.”
    Teresa’s expression was as close to a diffident shrug as a dolphin could come. “My fun not your fun. This my fun. You keep afloat. Hear me?”
     
    By the time Jim Tillek had managed to organize air traffic and get some beach wardens into position, the two lanes had been established with red and green buoys; three teams of the biggest males had been harnessed to the big barge, which had been filled with fragile red loads and was already under way. The first flotilla of smaller sail craft followed, dolphin-towed out of the congested harbor area to the point where they could safely hoist canvas on their way to Kahrain. Escort dolphins had been assigned.
    “We’re never going to keep track of this stuff,” Ben muttered to Claire. She had organized something to eat for the dolphineers while her dolphin friend, Tory, was busy with his team, hauling blue and green cargo out to dinghies and other less seaworthy craft.
    Even the smaller craft, kayaks, and the big ceremonial canoe were being pressed into service. These would have to be very closely watched, as they were manned by relatively inexperienced