“Sure is. Hope we can keep it that way.”
Just then, a group of young Squatches came out of the woods, carrying one of their buddies. They took him to Will’s place, to go into the autodoc. Charlie and I wandered over to see what had happened. Walking Bear met us and said, “He stuck a pig, but it ran up his spear. Got him with its tusk.”
I said, “Folks back home used to put a crossbar on their spears, right behind the head, so that wouldn’t happen.”
“Show me, Bawb.”
I showed him what I was talking about. He said, “That looks like a good idea, but how would we get it to stay where it is supposed to be?”
“I don’t know.”
Charlie said, “I’ve seen the kind of spear you’re talking about, Uncle Bob. Usually, they make the crossbar part of the head.”
I asked, “Do you think your Grandpa could run some off like that? We can’t have these boys getting hurt all the time.”
“He could, but he already ran a bunch off. He tried to get the boys to use them, but they didn’t see the need. Maybe now he can get his point across.”
I replied, “Ouch! How long have you been saving that one?”
“Coupla days, I guess. Thought I’d keep it back for a special occasion.”
“I’m honored, I think.”
Walking Bear asked, “Could I see one of your Grandpa’s points, Chaw-lee?”
“Sure.” We walked over to Will’s shop. Charlie said, “Hey, Grandpa, they finally decided you might know what you’re talking about when it comes to boar spears. Walking Bear wants to see one of your points.”
Will answered from the back room, “I’ll be right out.”
He came out and saw me. “Hey, Bob! When did you get in?”
“Just got here in time to see them bring in that fella that had a pig run up his spear.”
Will replied, “He got a nasty gash out of it. Lost a lot of blood, but we got him in the box quick enough, he’ll be fine.”
Walking Bear said, “He has always been too quick to rush in. Maybe now he will listen, when I tell him to slow down.”
I said, “Sounds like you know him pretty well.”
“He’s my brother.”
Will pulled out some nice-looking points for boar spears. Walking Bear said, “I would like to trade for two of those, Falling Will.”
Will asked, “What do you have?”
“I finished off the boar that hurt him, I have that meat.”
Will asked, “How much of the belly would you give for two points?”
“They will keep us safer when we hunt, and we can catch many more hogs. I would give the whole belly.”
Charlie said, “You can’t fool us, you just want some bacon.”
“The bay-kawn is very good. Being able to go back and hunt again is even better.”
Will said, “It’s a deal, then. You need any help putting shafts in them?”
Walking Bear pointed to his belt. “I have the knife of Taz. I can make them fit. I will bring you the meat.”
He left to go get it. I said, “Sounds like you’ve got a good business going.”
He replied, “We do alright. Things are so relaxed here. Sure is nice.”
“Has to beat having the FBI looking for you all the time.”
“Only thing I wish is that Phonelia would make it back once in a while. Gets kinda lonesome around here.”
“Have you heard from her? I haven’t heard a word since they took off.”
“She comms once in a while. They’re doing alright, it’s just that they haven’t found anything interesting yet.”
“Let her know, I wouldn’t mind hearing from her, even if she didn’t have much to say. Not hearing anything makes me wonder if she’s okay.”
“I told her that, but she says she wants to have some results before she bothers you.”
“As long as she’s okay.”
“She says Veronica is taking good care of her.”
“Good deal. On another subject, have you had any dealings with those Squirrels that Morning Flower brought in?”
“Not a lot. What do you need to know?”
“I brought Dingus down to look for some of them we could get to talk about why they are here, and who exactly sent them. Any of them strike you as more prone to talk than the rest?”
“In general, I’d say you’d be better off talking to a female. They seem to be less hung up on the whole ‘I’m badder than you, monkey’ trip. There are a couple that the ladies took for kitchen help, because they were too small to do much good shoveling. You might try them. What I’ve seen, they seem to be fairly reasonable.”
“Would we do better to have Jane talk to them?”
“Female to female, you mean? It might work better, but they seem to be hard-wired to listen to males, more than females. It could be counterproductive.”
“Look at you, whooping out the big words. What else do you think, professor?”
“Folks are right about you. You are an asshole. Glad you’re on our side, though.”
“I hope it stays that way. Given what you’ll do to settle a pension dispute, I’d hate to see what you’d do if I really whizzed you off.”
“That was a long time ago, and a long ways away. I’ve mellowed in my old age.”
“Why is it that I don’t feel the urge to risk any money on that?”
“Could it be that you’re not as dumb as you look?”
“That wouldn’t take much, would it?”
“I refuse to answer on the grounds it might tend to lacerate me.”
“Good choice. Thanks for the info, I better get back. I told Nikki this was going to be a quick trip.”
Will grabbed his temples and said, “I’m getting a vision. A vision of your future. I see a
