Chapter I<br >tops of the plateaus. Some fishers did brave the !<br >that the goddess Oceana set upon the waters，<br >their belay lines holding them fast， they netted<br >and fish， which they feasted on alone， for above<br >cliffs were sheathed in ice.<br > An enterprising merchant， Baltsar by name， and an ad<br >venturer at heart， had rigged a hoist that raised basket，，<br >of fish and kelp from the fishers caves past the ice-bounc<br >portion of the cliffs， to the plateau where the goods were<br >counted and credited to the fisher below who had filled it.<br >In this manner the tableland city， short on supplies aftei<br >a war-fiUed summer， augmented winter moss-stews， which<br >were our sustenance until the causeway to the lowlands<br >was built in later years.<br > I first met Baltsar at his hoist， in my sixteenth winter.<br ><br >