The only alternative was to take the boy with him on his search for Dylara. It would mean slowing his pursuit of the Ammadians to a relative crawl—a thought galling to the cave lord....
"What do we do now?" Trakor said again.
Tharn shrugged lightly, his decision made. "We wait awhile. Now we shall sleep for an hour or two."
"Up here?" Trakor's voice faltered a little.
"Would it be better to sleep on the ground?" Tharn asked with grim humor.
As though to underscore the question, the distant scream of a panther came to their ears. Trakor shivered. "The tree is better," he admitted. "It is only that I have never slept in a tree," he laughed uncertainly. "I suppose I can get used to it."
"Lean your back against the trunk," Tharn said, "and allow your legs to drop on either side of the branch you are sitting on, resting your feet on the branches directly below. That way you will not fall, no matter how soundly you sleep."
The boy obeyed, and while he found the position less restful than the heap of pelts in the cave of his father, it was bearable. He knew he would not be able to sleep, for already the chill of the jungle at night was creeping into his bones.
Seconds later he was sleeping soundly, while above him Tharn too slept in a fork of the same tree.