1269_UgliesFreeBook

236 Scott Westerfeld
were cutting together today. And it was probably time she
got to know some of the other Smokies better.
“And you got a new sleeping bag, too, I hope.”
“Yeah. Twelve SpagBols.”
“Must be almost out of trade.”
She nodded. “Only eight left.”
“Not bad. Still, I bet you didn’t realize on your way here
that you were eating your future wealth.”
Tally laughed. They crouched under the partly cut tree,
pulling handfuls of cut vines from around the track.
“If I’d known how valuable food packets were, I probably
wouldn’t have eaten so many, starving or not. I don’t
even like it anymore. The worst was SpagBol for breakfast.”
“Sounds good to me.” Croy chuckled. “This section
look clear to you?”
“Sure. Let’s start on the next one.” She handed him
the saw.
Croy did the easy part first, attacking the underbrush
with the humming saw. “So, Tally, there’s one thing that’s
kind of confusing.”
“What’s that?”
The saw glanced off metal, sending up a smattering of
sparks.
“The first day you were here, you said you left the city
with two weeks of food.”
“Yeah.”
“If it took you nine days to get here, you should only