Chapter Twenty Three
The night passed without incident. The sun was just rising and a warm glow was beginning to filter through the trees into the clearing, when my sharp ears heard a faint but distinct sound. Straining, I caught the sound of motion on the far side of the cornfield. A slight breeze blew towards me, and this carried the sound my way and also kept my scent from whatever approached. I did not move, did not even breath, but silently waited. Humans, predators, game for the tribe, what was it?
I waited with bated breath as the sun slowly rose higher; the clearing was now bathed in early morning light streaming through an opening in the trees. Apparently convinced they had nothing to fear, I heard them enter the cornfield and began to feed. They were animals, but not predators. I continued to silently wait.
Soon I heard a soft but distinct bleat, the unmistakable sound that a young goat makes to its mother. Goats meant meat, milk, and cheese! I was thrilled, but first I had to capture them.
Since we were silent and the wind blew towards us, we were completely hidden. I gently woke Catto, covering his mouth to prevent any sounds. Indicating that he should not move or make a noise, I woke Kalou the same way. The goats were now actively eating and making more noise, so I quietly informed my friends as to what was happening in the cornfield, and told them how we would capture these animals.
Leaving Kalou, Cato and I silently began to move around the outside of the field, approaching slowly so as not to scare them off. When we reached the far corner of the cornfield and I had a clear view of that side, I gave a soft whistle.
From where we had slept, Kalou started shouting and banging, making as much noise as possible. The reaction was immediate. Six adult goats raced out of the field, followed closely by several kids, all trying to get away from the danger.
As soon as I saw the first goat emerge, I sprinted after them. I knew I could easily outrun a goat, but I wanted to catch all of them, and that would be very difficult. My idea was to grab one or two goats, and hold them until Catto could arrive with a leather cord to tie them up. I would then chase after the rest of the goats and try to catch more. I wanted to do this until I caught every one of them.
The goats raced back into the hills, the kids lagging behind. I was able to quickly capture one ewe, and without slowing I scooped up another under my other arm. Turning, I ran back to Catto, who had unsuccessfully been trying to keep up with me. I thrust both goats into his arms, shouting, “Don’t lose them!”
I raced after the others, passing three of the frantically bawling kids who were now running towards Catto, who held their mothers. The goats had disappeared into the woods, but they left a clear trail in their haste to escape. I followed after them at top speed, and soon burst into another clearing where the goats had paused, panting and exhausted. When I entered the clearing they immediately turned and ran off once again. In my brief glimpse I was able to see that of the four remaining adults, two were ewes, one was a mature ram and the other a young male. I didn’t care about the young ram, but I really wanted the ewes and that big ram.
I was grateful the goats had stayed close together as they ran. I was able to catch two more almost immediately, once again sweeping up a ewe under each arm. I spun and raced back the way I had come, a kid once again following behind after its mother. Catto had continued trying to follow me, and I saw Kalou lagging far behind dragging two kicking, crying goats held around the neck by leather straps. I shoved the ewes at Catto, said, “One more!”, and immediately turned and ran off on the ram's trail; it was imperative that I capture him. The ram would keep the ewes producing kids and milk. I didn’t like rams because they were generally mean, nasty creatures, but they served a purpose.
I followed his trail for quite a long way; the ram was running for his life. I finally caught up and was able to corner him against some rocks. He was a tough one and he came at me with everything he had, but after a bit of a struggle I got him by the horns and held on tight. I wrestled him back towards Catto and Kalou as he battled with me the entire way.
My companions followed far behind, slowly dragging two ewes apiece. Trailing after them, not allowing themselves to be touched, were three loudly bawling kids.
Though I struggled to hold onto the ram, I was laughing with joy. Catto and Kalou stared at me as though I was mad, but I didn’t care, I was so pleased by what we held in our hands. With a ram and four ewes, as well as the three kids, I had my flock of goats, and the tribe was well on its way to having all the milk and cheese it would need.
As soon as I got close Kalou called out to me, “How can you do that?”
My mind was still focused on the goats, and I had no idea what she was talking about. “Do what?”
Giving me an odd look, she said, “How can you run so fast and catch all these animals?”
I didn’t have an answer for her; I had just chased and caught them. It was no big deal to me, catching goats was a game my brother and I had often played when we were young. Catching sheep was far too easy, so we had chased goats, which were faster, meaner, and much more elusive.
Kalou’s surprise at my ability to do something as simple as catch a goat caught me off guard, and for once I didn't know what I was supposed to say. “It’s really not that hard...” I trailed off, and then finished, “Come on. Let’s go back to the village.”
No man can do that. He runs like the wind, and he carries two heavy animals at once like they weigh nothing. Is it possible he really is a god?
Getting a length of leather from Catto, I tied a strong lead around the horns of the struggling ram as he continued to attack me. All of us were quiet as we trudged back to the corn field dragging the unhappy goats behind us. It was difficult to do anything with the goats pulling us in different directions, but as quickly as possible we gathered our packs and started home.
Though we had covered a great distance, the previous day had been a joy. The morning had been filled with anticipation, and in the late afternoon our new discoveries had made time fly. Now we carried heavily loaded packs and dragged frenzied goats behind us. The return trip quickly became an unrelenting test of our will.
The goats were making such a racket that you couldn’t even hear yourself think. The noise, combined with their constant struggle against their leads, made every step feel like a never-ending battle.
We soon headed down hill towards the level valley floor, believing that route would be an easier walk. I could see that my companions were already struggling, especially Kalou. Though she led only one ewe, her pack was full and very heavy. What we were doing was extremely difficult, but Kalou was so focused, so determined and strong, that I sometimes forgot she was a woman. I needed to be more conscious of this. I did not want to break her, mentally or physically. She was too important to my plans.
We were traveling as quickly as possible across the hillside, and were almost to the valley floor when Kalou stumbled, almost falling. Glancing down, I noticed she had tripped over a large grey stone, a type of stone I had not previously seen on this side of the wasteland. Telling my friends to continue on, that I would catch up with them, I bent over and carefully dug out the rock. It was big, about the size of my head, and irregular in shape.
“Where did it come from?” I said to myself. “It doesn’t fit here, the soil’s not rocky.”
Enduring the loud complaints of the two ewes I dragged while also continuing to fight off the ram, I worked my way directly up the hillside, forcing myself and the goats through increasingly heavy brush. The further I continued, the more rugged the land became.
Eventually I arrived at a rocky outcropping which ran north and south, parallel to the valley below. It was not large, being only twenty paces long and standing about my height. It was well hidden from below, and I could see it would also be hidden from above. The entire outcropping was solid rock, a type of rock my father had called flint, which was an excellent stone to use for making tools. Though not as hard as the special rock my knife was made wit
h, it was vastly superior to the stone the villagers currently used for their weapons and tools.
This was an incredible find, and it made the incessant protests of the goats a little easier to bear. I had no room in my pack, so any stone I wanted to bring back I would need to carry in my arms. I quickly selected three large, flat pieces that were loose on the ground. I knew I would need to find this outcropping later, so I marked some trees as I went back down the hill. This was no easy feat given the goats were pulling me in all directions and my arms were full, but I did the best I could.
I eventually joined Catto and Kalou many leagues down the valley later in the afternoon. They were both quite weary, stumbling as they walked, and I suggested we rest for a time. While we sat I showed them the stone.
“This is much harder than the rock you currently use, but it will shape more easily and it will have a cleaner edge. This new stone will give you much better knifes, spear heads, and tools for wood working! ”
I was very excited, but by now they were overwhelmed and I got almost no response. They were beyond exhaustion, and they just wanted to be home. I understood. This return journey was without a doubt the most difficult thing they had ever done, but there was no way around it. We had to keep moving until we reached the village.
In The Beginning Page 23
