Eveready stepped closer to Valentine. "David, give me your gun."
Valentine reached into the bottom of the boat and brought up the single-shot breechloader. "Why's that?"
"We're gonna swap. I don't know if you have more guts than brains, or more brains than guts, but Trudy can pump five shots into a Reaper faster than you can count. You shot her pretty good this summer. You may need her tonight."
"Aren't you worried you'll never see her again?"
"Just don't let some Quisling mother take her off your body. Bury her at sea when she's empty. You know what I mean?"
The men exchanged rifles and ammunition. "I know what you mean. See you in hell, Cat."
"I'll be waiting, Wolf." Eveready shook his hand, then gripped his fingers in a curious gesture. "David, if you make it, tell your CO about how you sensed that Hood. That's unique. They'll want to know more about it, and you."
"I'll worry about getting home first. Take care!"
Eveready, still standing in the water, turned the canoe and pushed them southward.
"Get running, Alistar, it's every man for himself," Eveready said. "You heading north or south?"
Valentine listened with hard ears.
"I thought we could make the run together," Alistar said, deflated.
"Not a chance. I have to move fast and alone if I'm gonna draw one of these off. Take off, boy. I hope you make it, but I can't have you around me."
As they drew away, Valentine heard a shout from the Cat's muscular throat, perhaps strong enough to be heard across the river by the Hoods' ears:
"Halloo! Hoods, come on over. Eveready's in the house, and he wants to par-tay. Bring it on, you balless bastards. I got forty-five sets of teeth around my neck, motherfuckers. I wanna make it an even fifty!"
The canoe glided southward, propelled by current and oars. Valentine realized he was achingly tired; they had marched all day on light food. Water was not a problem; the center of the big muddy gave them all they could desire, clear and cool.
"Hernandez, turn in. Just relax for a couple hours in the bottom of the boat. Burt, you'll be after him. Take the stern for now. I'll take the third shift."
Hernandez almost collapsed into the center of the boat, asleep in a few seconds with his head pillowed on his pack.
"Jeez, he didn't even put his blanket down," Burton observed, after gaining the stern.
Valentine paddled on. "Anyway, you give off less lifesign when you're asleep. Just in case it was him."
"I thought it was me," Burton said.
"Funny, I thought the same thing," Valentine admitted. Both men chuckled. The canoe shot southward.
Splashing... an overactive imagination at work?
"Did you hear that, Burt?" Valentine whispered.
"Hear what?"
"Hard ears, Wolf. To the left. Didn't he say they made a lot of noise swimming?"
Burton quit rowing as both men concentrated their ears to the left. Over the wind and noise of the river, a vigorous splashing could be heard.
"Oh, hell. Sorry, Burt. Looks like I guessed wrong."
"Let's pump it, Val. We still got a chance. The fucker's a ways off, still. Hernandez," he said, knocking the sleeper with his foot. "Nap time's over, you got to do some rowing."
Hernandez yawned, pushing one arm into the sky and rubbing his eyes with the other. "Jeez, that felt great. How many hours did I sleep?"