by Jean Rolt
on sharing their food with him and it was good. Rather late in the day he remembered it was the Sabbath and he had no way of know what he'd eaten but he shrugged, this was more important than keeping the law, it was man made law after all.
The only law laid down directly by God through Moses were the ten rules you had to follow if you were to be happy in life and live in love and peace with your neighbours....the other laws were simply mans interpretation of those original 10.
Mia enjoyed the bowl of milk a kind old lady brought for her and ate the dried husks of cereal hanging down from the ceiling of every hut. There was a smoked flavour to almost everything they were given and Joey liked it....
He had to go back to their safe wintering place but asked if he could come again . He would bring his uncle with him and they would follow the paths to the tin mines....it was what they had come all this way for.
The group nodded. They didn't always like or trust the people passing through but this boy was different. His gentle eyes, full of life and laughter communicated to everyone that this was a person to trust, they trusted that his uncle would also be a good man!
Joey walked back down the hill. The little girls walked with him, holding his hands and pulling him aside occasionally to look at a flower or once at a nest full of bees buzzing....
Joey had not seen wild bees before, they hummed as they flew in and out of their nest. The girls told Joey that they made honey . It was very sweet and very good to eat!
They promised that the next time he came they would give him a little. The bees were getting ready for the winter now...but there would be honey soon!
One of them got a little too close to the hive at this stage and suddenly a cloud of bees rushed towards her. The girl held her hands over her face expecting the stings but they never came.
"No" said Joey, "Do not hurt this child. She is not harming you . But she is helping me"
The cloud of bees turned and went back into the hive....no one was stung.
The children looked at Joey....." How did you do that ?"
He laughed at their faces, " I explained to them that you were my friends, that's all"
As they walked quietly into the town and to where the coracle lay waiting, the children were quiet. They had never met anyone like him before and they were sorry to see him go.
"I'll be back " laughed Joey...." Don't worry...I will see you all soon"
Back in their own little creek he told his uncle where he'd been and that he thought he could find the tin by following the path from there.
His uncle was pleased. This was one of the reasons for bringing him along, he could understand the natives in what ever place they landed and they related to him, it never failed....
Twelve
Joey told Joe about the roman coin, " They say there's no Romans about but we had best be careful." In the past they had met several very unpleasant characters, being over official in ports and cities run by them. They had learned to avoid them where possible and always to have some money with them, in case they had to pay for their freedom.
The coracle Joey had used was really only for one person so if two of them needed to cross a larger vehicle was needed!
Joe set several men to work to make a larger coracle to get them safely across the narrow stretch of water....winter was closing in and the wind blew hard up the small inlets.
In their creek they were sheltered from the easterly gales but occasionally a tree crashing to the ground close by told them that up the slopes of what was fast becoming home the weather was getting worse!
It was also colder. The need for warmer clothing was getting urgent.
Joe sent several of the men off to look for work...they could shepherd, dig, build, prepare ground for crops, and by now they were known for their friendliness rather than their aggression. Three men found regular work in the homesteads near by and would bring back sheep skins as well as cloth made from flax and spun wool when they had earned enough. .
The women of the villages could be seen spinning the fluffy cream wool and then weaving it on large frames into blankets...or smaller pieces to cover their shoulders and heads as they worked.
Inside the huts the smoke from the wood fires made the sailors cough but they enjoyed the heat. It had been a long journey from the place where the sun always shone.
Back in the creek, well protected by the sand bar and the surrounding hills the work on building a bigger coracle was going well. A large fallen tree was pulled into the stony shore and the men carefully dug out the core and widened it enough to take two men with enough room to store any tin ore they might find.
For ballast when they were ready to attempt the crossing they used large stones which could be thrown over board when needed!
Eventually they were ready!
One of them pointed out that they couldn't sail straight to a mine. They would need help in getting the ore into the small boat.
Joey told them that he was sure the people in the small holding would help.
And so it proved.
On the day that Joey and his uncle paddled into the small harbour they were cheered as they tugged the coracle onto a stony beach where the tide did not reach.
As they walked up the hill away from the shore several people saluted Joey with obvious pleasure at his return.
"You made your mark here" Uncle Joe laughed.....his nephew had that effect on people....he was getting used to it.
In the little village they were given hot drinks and warm greetings....the little girls rushed out to greet them and their parents too....it felt and looked like a home coming. Yet Joey had only been here once before.
Several young men volunteered to walk with them to the mine and they set off in high spirits.
As they walked Joey told them stories, the places they had visited, the sights they had seen, the people they had met.
Thirteen
The time passed so quickly that when they arrived by the small village where the tin traders lived they felt as though they had only just started.
Joey stayed with the men of the village whilst his uncle went to find the men in charge of the mine.
This was a shallow set of diggings. Some went underground for a little way but most were surface digs. The ore lay in piles guarded by large dogs.
Mia wagged her tail at them...and soon had them sniffing around her. For guard dogs they lost their air of menace when distracted by a pretty bitch.
Joey and Joe found the man in charge fairly quickly. They wanted to buy some tine ore!
The man was interested but naturally wanted to know what the currency was....the young pup? The young boy? What did Joe have that he wanted?
Joe pulled coins out of the deepest recess of his garment....they shone in the sun and the man was interested!
Eventually a deal was struck...one coin for three sacks of ore. The sacks were large...but first Joe checked to see that the ore went down to the bottom. It did. Altogether six sacks of ore were purchased.
Joey was impressed...he had not known his uncle was so rich...and he wondered where he kept the coins safe on the boat...
With the help of the young men of the village the sacks were dragged back using a big barrow with wheels at the front and back. The return journey took much longer. It was going dark by the time they got back to the village.
The good people fed them and allowed them to bed down for the night in one of their huts. There were three of them that night sleeping peacefully with Mia pressed closely into Joey's side. When at one stage a villager peered in through the door the puppy growled. It was the first time Joey had ever heard her growl and he laughed in delight.
"I'm ok, don't worry about me. No ones going to hurt me.....yet"
His uncle heard that statement . He had heard something like that before....but he had no idea what it might mean!
The next morning they got the tin ore into the coracle having discarded the rocks, now left on the shore and they pulled their small craft into t
he sea as soon as the tide was full.
They paddled her out and were soon back home to the small creek! Mia jumped out of the coracle, very excited to be home, rushing around barking to tell everyone the good news....they were back where they belonged!
The men helped unload the bags of ore....and carefully folded the rough material that had held them....they made useful bedding stuffed with dried leaves on cold nights!
Fourteen
Joey realised on the next day that in all the excitement and travelling he had missed a Sabbath. And so had the men, in his absence no one had said the prayers. So they made the following day a Sabbath . Joey realised that their precious links with home and religion were becoming less as they travelled . It didn't seem to matter too much though in the larger scheme of things. The main thing was to do God's work, to look after each other and anyone they met....everything else was scholarship which was not the same thing at all.
After their day of rest on the new Sabbath it was time to see if they could smelt down some of the ore. They were not able to carry the bulky ore on their boat...except for some ballast, they must try to extract the shiny tin here, on the shores of their creek.
A large pit was dug and a fire lit at the bottom of it and when it burned fiercely squares of cut soil were pressed on top. A hollow reed from the river bank was inserted and every so often smoke came out but the main thing was to blow new air in to keep the fire hot. New tinder was added at times until the whole thing smelt right!
It was hot, hotter than making charcoal but the
