“About you, Howard,” Steve asked, “what are your chances?”

The wind was rising to a high moaning around the ledges of the granite dike and the vein was already invisible under the snow.

“It doesn’t look like they’re very good,” he answered. “You’ll probably be leader when you come back next spring⁠—I told the council I wanted that if anything happened to me. Keep things going the way I would have. Now⁠—I’ll have to hurry to get the monument built in time.”

“All right,” Schroeder said. “So long, Howard⁠ ⁠… good luck.”

He climbed to the top of the hill and saw boulders there he could use to build the monument. They were large⁠—he might crush Tip against his chest in picking them up⁠—and he took off his jacket, to wrap it around Tip and leave him lying on the ground.