“Eventually, there will be enough corpses that an animal will be able to climb out on top of them,” Versa-eh observed.
“The way of the world,” Alex agreed. All worlds, apparently.
They reached the spot where they had camped the first night about lunch time. They watered the horses, filled their water bags, and pushed on. They reached their second night’s campsite before dark.
Took us eight days to reach the river last time. With any luck, we’ll make it in half that with the horses.
In the end, they reached it in only three days. Since Alex and Sekun-ak were hoping to be able to make regular trips for the salt the Rinta-ah called danta, it was important to know how long each leg of the journey would be.
They heard the rushing of the Kranda-ah, which Alex had known as The Columbia, when they were still a distance away. They came upon the flat rocks where they had seen the huge skinks the last time. Monda-ak picked up their scents again, but they were well-hidden and safe from being his lunch.
Alex pointed to the rope bridge that once again spanned the river, relieved.
Harta-ak craned his neck to look up at the top span of rope and said, “Wait. Are you saying that you crossed the river by tying yourself to that top rope and then cutting it, so it flung you across the river like a slingshot?”
Senta-eh stepped forward and said, “That’s exactly what he did. Manta-ak flew across the Kranda-ah.”
“And paid the price for it,” Alex said, rubbing his hands across his forehead, which still showed a small crisscross of light scars.
“You may not be smart, but you are brave,” Versa-eh said.
“And you are not the first person to draw that conclusion,” Alex agreed. “Let’s gather up some firewood and build a big, smoky fire. Rinka-ak said he would send the boat over to get us.”
Half an hour later, they had gathered enough dry firewood to start the fire. When it was blazing, they added greenery to make it smoke heavily.
“And now, we wait,” Alex said. “It could be a few hours, or a day or two for them to come and get us.”
Versa-eh touched Senta-eh’s shoulder and said, “Can you teach me how to shoot your bow?”
“Of course!” Senta-eh took her bow off her back and handed it to the younger woman. “Let’s set up a target for you.”
The two went about creating a target by twisting and weaving grass together into a circle then placing it thirty paces away. Senta-eh first showed Versa-eh the proper form, then handed her the bow and corrected her grip.
Versa-eh pulled the string back and released it. Two things happened at once. The bowstring twanged into her left arm, causing the bow to drop to the ground, and the arrow made it about halfway to the target, then fell to the ground.
Versa-eh waved her left arm frantically, trying to get the sting out of it, then glared at the two men by the fire. Both of the men were smart enough to not laugh or even smile, no matter how humorous the shot might have been. If they had so much as a smirk, the next arrow might have launched in their direction.
The hours passed in easy companionship as Versa-eh improved her bow skills and Alex and Harta-ak talked about what could be done with the danta once they found the deposit.
Just before sunset, Alex glanced out at the river and saw the boat was latched on to the lower span of rope and was slowly making its way across the river.
Chapter FourRinka-ak
Alex Hawk always hoped for the best but prepared for the rest. Typically, the rest was not the best.
They knew they couldn’t take their horses across in the boat, but they also couldn’t leave them on the shore, where they would be vulnerable to any passing predator. They also didn’t want to leave just one person there to guard the horses, so they decided that Alex and Monda-ak would be their representative with the village of Rinta-ah.
As the boat approached, Alex’s stomach knotted slightly as it always did when he knew trouble might be coming. Just as the sun finally dipped below the horizon, the boat pulled onto the southern shore of the Kranda-ah. There were four warriors in the boat, and although they were armed, they appeared friendly.
Of course, they might appear to be friendly so they can ambush us.
One of the men—a tall, athletic specimen like the others—hopped lightly out of the boat and helped guide it up onto the shore. He turned with a beaming smile and said, “The great Manta-ak. We had to outwrestle many other warriors for the honor of escorting you across the river.”
Another warrior added, “We were afraid that if we didn’t get here quickly, you would tie yourself to the bridge and jump again.”
The good-natured ribbing served to put Alex a little more at ease. He introduced Versa-eh and Harta-ak, then inquired as to the well-being of Rinka-ak. Alex knew that if he was no longer chief, their road would be much more difficult.
“The boy Chief is healthy and well, though that cannot be said for everyone in Rinta-ah.” The warrior’s expression darkened. “But I will let him tell you about that.” He glanced at the four horses and the dog who was almost the size of one of them. “Our boat is not big.”
“Everyone but me and the dog shaped like a horse will be staying here. I hope to go to the danta deposits tomorrow, and we can pick up the rest of my friends then.”
The warrior who had done most of the speaking looked at the sky, shot through with pink and purple from the sunset. “If we hope to make the village before dark, we need to leave now.”
No one in Alex’s
