Alex refused to take his concentration away from the boulder, but knew at any moment that he would see a gigantic paw appear from the edge of the cliff.
And that will be it.
Finally, the huge boulder shifted a bit, loosening itself from where it had rested for so long.
Senta-eh flew across the ridgeline and threw her shoulder into the boulder. The combined forces of the three of them was enough. Once loosed from its resting place, the rock scooted toward the edge.
For a brief moment, the bear and the boulder tried to occupy the same spot at the top of the cliff. As big as godat-ta was, he was no match for the weight of a ten-ton piece of granite.
Both the animal and the rock tumbled over the edge of the cliff and hurtled toward the ground.
The heavy thud of the boulder bouncing down the cliffside mingled with the hoarse roar of godat-ta.
Alex rushed to the edge and looked down just in time to see the bear land on its back with a tremendous thud. A split-second later, the boulder landed on top of the bear, then bounced away.
Alex’s plan had worked perfectly.
I killed godat-ta. Again, with anguish: I killed godat-ta.
Alex, Senta-eh and Versa-eh looked down at the crushed bear with surprise and instant regret.
I killed godat-ta. And it was wrong. He was magnificent, and simply living his life.
Alex took a knee and his head drooped.
Alex had never before executed a plan perfectly and immediately felt like a failure.
Senta-eh put her arm on his shoulder but did not speak. Even Versa-eh, who normally had a quip for every occasion, had nothing to say.
Alex stood, shook himself off and said, “We won’t want to waste the meat. Versa-eh, as soon as Harta-ak comes back, I’ll need the two of you to go back to the bridge and build a fire. When they come get you, tell them we killed godat-ta, and ask them to send people to help us butcher him. There will be enough meat here to feed the village for months.”
At that moment, the dead bear proved to be somewhat less than dead. It took a deep, rattling breath, snuffled it back out, and shook its head. It continued to lay on its back for several more long moments, then rolled over and tried to stand.
It failed, rising briefly before collapsing back to the ground, shaking the ground with its weight once again. It stayed flat for a heartbeat, then another and another. Eventually, it found its footing. Whatever interest it had once had in the humans was gone. Limping badly on its right front leg, and bleeding in half a dozen places, the mighty bear wandered away from the salt deposit, weaving from side to side.
Without saying so, all three knew that they were glad that the great bear had not been killed. He was simply too magnificent for such a fate.
“Do you think he will come back?” Senta-eh asked.
“No, not after we get done here. He only stayed for the food he got from the wasta-ta. Once we get rid of them, he’ll have no reason to come back. And, even if he does, he’ll have no reason to stay.”
“How do we get rid of the wasta-ta?”
“I have a plan,” Alex said with a smile.
Chapter EightAlex vs. the Wasta-ta
Harta-ak was gone long enough that Versa-eh said, “Do you think something’s happened to him?”
“Godat-ta came back so fast, I don’t think he had time to catch him.” He tried to smile reassuringly. “As scared as his horse was when it saw godat-ta, it might not stop until it hits the big mountains.”
Versa-eh said, “I’m sure you’re right,” but Alex could see she wasn’t sure at all.
They waited another fifteen minutes and had just decided that they would form a rescue party and go looking for him when they heard the clatter of approaching hooves.
When he crested the rise above their camp, Harta-ak was still riding his horse. The animal was much worse for wear. Its coat was lathered and its eyes were still wild.
Harta-ak slid off the horse’s back and led it the last few hundred paces to their camp. Versa-eh ran toward him and threw her arms around his neck. She didn’t need to say how worried she had been.
Unlike his horse, Harta-ak seemed to have recovered his sense of humor. “What did you do to godat-ta?” he asked with a broad smile.
“Did you see him?” Alex asked.
“Yes. He didn’t chase us that far before he gave up.” He patted his horse’s neck. “This one ran like its tail was on fire, so there was no way godat-ta was going to catch us. Once he gave up, it took me a while to slow down. When I did, I didn’t want to turn around immediately. I didn’t want to stumble upon godat-ta stripping a berry bush or something. I don’t think we had a second sprint like the first one in us.”
“Good thinking,” Senta-eh said.
“I found a small stream and watered the horse. Just trying to settle her down. I admit I needed to catch my breath a bit, too. After we rested, we headed back here. We only made it a short distance when I heard a thundering, crashing sound just ahead. It was godat-ta, but it did not look well. It wouldn’t put any weight on one of its front legs, and blood was pouring out of a wound in its head.”
Versa-eh put her hand to her mouth, picturing the scene. Some gestures are universal, it seemed.
“I thought that was it. It was only maybe fifty paces away from me. It looked right at me and shook its head. I led the horse off the trail, hoping to be able to skirt around it and make a run for home, but there was no need. It wanted nothing to do with me. It limped on by me and went
