Chapter IV: The Farwalk Starts

Dinosaurs of all kinds, from skyreacher longnecks to relatively small rainbowfaces, gathered by the tallest tree as appointed, on the night of the round great night-circle.

Once the herds were all gathered, Grandpa began:

"We are gathered here tonight..."

"Cut it," snorted Threehorn. "Get to business already."

"Huh? Oh, yes," said the old longneck. "As you, my fellow flat-teeth, know too well, sharpteeth stalk us relentlessly, finding it easy to pick us off because our herds are so small, and also because they know that they must overcome only one kind's defense."

A battle-scarred clubtail snorted, "My kind's defense is quite enough for me."

"Now, now, Mr. Clubtail, if your herd was larger, I think that your scars would be fewer."

Clubtail said, "Hm!" but nothing more.

Grandpa Longneck returned to his speech. "I and my mate have since realized that the best solution to this problem is to gather all the flat-teeth into one large herd. Now, Mr. Threehorn, if you would please tell our friends about the rules of our herd."

Threehorn bellowed:

"First, all herd members must help the other herd members if there is need, regardless of kind.

Second, Mr. John Threehorn--that's me--, Mr. Kenneth Longneck, and Mrs. Miriam Longneck (grumble) shall preside over the herd.

Third, each member of the herd has an equal say during the council, during which Mr. Threehorn, Mr. Longneck, and Mrs. Longneck shall put forth their views on issues of the herd, and other members shall also voice their views, and finally, the herd shall vote on these issues. To vote, a herd member must pick up a stone and place it in front of the member whose view he supports.

Fourth, once the herd reaches the Great Valley, the council shall not cease to exist."

Grandma added, "Those of you who wish to join the herd, please gather around me. Those of you who do not, you are free to continue your migration with those of your kind, or alone as the case may be. Who comes to the Great Valley with Longneck and Threehorn?"

Three-fourths of the dinosaurs present gathered round the old female, while the other one-fourth moved away.

All told, the herd was 150 members strong now, and I, Robert P. Thicknose, was one of these members.

On the morrow, the 150 dinosaurs started on the long and perilous journey west. An early morning child-shake made sure that the farwalk started before it was intended to, but anyway, there I was, marching along in the midst of many different kinds of dinosaurs, between a shieldback and a spikethumb.

"Do you think this big herd was a good idea?" the shieldback asked me.

"I don't know. It does protect us from being food, but then again it will be harder to find food for everybody."

"I'll risk that," said the spikethumb. "I barely escaped from a bunch of sickleclaws last week."

"We'll rest here for the night!" sounded Threehorn's distant voice an eternity later.

So on we went for days, sometimes finding lots of food, sometimes finding none. Our journey across the Burning Sand was terrible: no food, no water, and lots of scaly biting worms--snakes, as the farwalkers say--that could kill a longneck in two hours just by biting it once. Five of our herd were killed by these, and nine more succumbed to the heat and lack of nourishment.

But the Herd's most trying moment was yet to come.