Читать книгу Just a Little Later With Eevo and Sim - Henry Shykoff - Страница 8

Just sitting and waiting for the storm to end and being unable to do anything else encourages worry. Shim and Dedu had plenty of time to worry as the storm continued steadily for four days. Then, as inexplicably as it had begun, it stopped. There was a dead calm. The sky had now cleared and the last rays of the setting sun gave them an indication of their direction. Gratefully, they set out again. The sliver of moon had grown and provided light and the sky was beautiful. But Shim could only hobble slowly. The soft sand made walking difficult and her foot was still quite painful. Despite protesting that he not do it, Dedu picked her up and carried her on his back. But they could travel neither fast nor far.

"We must get out of this sand country as soon as possible," said Dedu. "Once the sun appears, travelling will be almost impossible."

"The sun has only just set, and by the position of the great mountain I know that we are almost at the beginnings of the Wetlands." Shim tried to encourage her mate. "We might find a cave. We could make camp and stay until my foot is better. We're in no danger, but I worry about Eevo and Sim."

"Where they are, I don't know," replied Dedu. "But I'm not concerned about those two," he continued, lying to himself. "With their wolves to help them, they can look after themselves. We need to go on. It may not be far, but we have to travel it."

With the added weight of Shim, Dedu's feet sank deeper into the sand, making every footstep a struggle. But he was strong and, although slowed, he managed at a steady pace. Before the moon was directly overhead, the ground underfoot became firm. By the light of the quarter moon they could make out trees ahead. The sound of running water could be heard.

"Put me down," insisted Shim. "We can stay here for the rest of the night. Tomorrow we will find a cave."

"Good," said Dedu. "After we find our cave, I'll gather wood. You light a fire. Its smoke will make it easier for Sim, Eevo and the wolves to find us."

"You seem to be very certain that they will try to find us. If they were experienced hunters, I could understand. But even if they're as big as we are, they're still young children."

Dedu chuckled at her description. "I have hunted with Sim. Ab has with both of them. They are far better hunters than either of us. They'll treat the hunt for us as they would the hunt for any animal. And they will find us. They're probably out looking even now."

Even though there was no evidence of any dangerous animals about, they took turns sleeping and watching until dawn. They searched for a cave and right in a large mound of a limestone outcropping, they found a space. Shim lit a fire and they set down to wait.

At first light the next day, with a full water bag, Eevo and Sim, along with Mee, set out to try to retrace their steps, making long zigzag sweeps across the sands. They found nothing. That night on the sands was unbelievably cold. They all huddled together for warmth. The next day, about mid-morning, Grosh found something. She began to run in circles. Before long both wolves began to act as if they had a positive trail.

Eevo, Sim and Mee followed as quickly as they could. By noon, Sim could see the actual footprints as could Eevo. But there was only one set of prints. Large prints, the kind Dedu would make. What had happened to Mother? Eevo began to hope that these were footprints of some other hunter. The thought that something had happened to Mother was more than she could bear. Just as they left the sands, the footprints ended.

They were now in a well-watered land of many ponds and streams. But the wolves did not hesitate, for they had a scent to follow. As they approached a low rock face, they could see a column of smoke coming from what could be a cave. Dedu had not yet been successful in lighting a fire. Mother often did. Eevo and Sim, forgetting little Mee, began to run. The wolves, however, were first, already at the cave with Dedu standing at the entrance.

Shim could hear Eevo exclaiming, "What happened to Mother? We only saw one set of footprints."

"She hurt her foot. I had to carry her," said Dedu. "She's in the cave and fine. But it still hurts her to walk." In the midst of all the excitement, little Mee was ignored. Shim, suddenly seeing a little girl standing near the entrance to the cave, said. "Who is she?"

Eevo started to tell her when Shim asked, "Are you Kno's daughter? The little girl who calls herself Mee?"

"Yes," said Mee, "because I am Mee."

"When did you find her? How long has she been lost?" asked Mother.

"I wasn't lost," said Mee. "Momma was lost like you were. Sim and Eevo didn't find me. Wonderful Friend did, and shook the bad animal so that it was dead."

At this point both Dedu and Shim had to hear the whole story. Then Dedu asked why Mee's clan were so far from the clan lands. He was told that it was to get geese and vegetables and grains.

"It's the yearly goose hunt," he exclaimed. "I was on it last year. The women usually stay for a short time and then go home. The men stay on for a hand of days or more depending on how successful the hunt is. After a feast, they return with their game."

He turned to Mee. "Were you in a big cave?"

"Yes," answered Mee. "They put us all there. The weather was bad. They all cried when the big wind started. Everybody except me. I didn't cry." Then she added, "Well, only a little."

Eevo smiled. Giving Mee a little hug, she said, "You were very brave."

Shim, knowing that Kno would be most upset, said so. Perhaps, since the hunt area was so close, Mee could be taken back to her mother. But Dedu reminded them that it might be wise to keep some distance from their hunting camp because of the wolves. He suggested that Sim take only one. "Hunters who do not know about friendly wolves might attack them."

Sim had been quiet up to this point, "My plan is to wait out of sight of their hunters until Mee sees someone she knows. Then we could have her go to that person. I will wait until she is safely back with whoever it is."

Mee, who had been listening to all of this, said with alarm in her voice, "I don't want anyone hurting Wonderful Friend."

Sim smiled at her, "They won't. Here take the lynx fur — the one you call the bad animal. That way your mother will know that your story really happened."

"And tell her that Shim and her family will be coming soon so that she can tell Seer," said Shim.

Mee nodded. After having some meat she now liked so much, and a drink of water, she, Sim and Neeth set out to find the goose hunters.

During the storm, one by one the hunters and the women of the Wetlands group made their way back to the cave near the goose-hunting grounds. By the second day everyone was accounted for except for little Mee. Kno was frantic with worry, but here too, there was nothing that could be done until the storm ended.

On the evening of the fourth day, with the storm over, Kno intended to go to find her daughter. The hunt master persuaded her that it was useless for her to try on her own. He promised that, in the morning, he and his best tracker would try to find the girl. Kno should go home with the other women. She absolutely refused. Mee was only four years old and had now been lost for four days in the worst storm anyone could remember. There was no chance that she was still alive. But the hunter had promised that he and the tracker would do their best.

There was only one direction little Mee could be headed — the direction of the wind. So the hunters set out that way. They found where she had broken some twigs climbing down an embankment. They found a place she had stopped to pee, and then the place she had chosen to sleep. They also found a place where a wolf had been watching her. The wolf had been watching for a long time. Long enough for it to have urinated twice. Why would a wolf have waited so long before attacking? Attack it did. The places where its hind legs had torn the earth on its charge could clearly to be seen. Also visible were the drag marks where it had dragged the small body. Small blood stains had been left behind.

"I never would have thought she would have got so far," the tracker said. "Why did the wolf wait so long? It doesn't make sense. We have to tell Kno."

To their relief, Kno took the news calmly. She wanted to scream and shout and cry, but she did not do any of these. Instead, she left the cave and climbed a little knoll where she could be alone.

Little did she know that, a little higher up the slope, Sim and Mee and Neeth were watching. "That's my momma," said Mee to Sim." She looks sad."

"Run over to her," instructed Sim. "Neeth and I will stay here to make sure you're all right."

Mee started down the slope toward the knoll. As she came closer, she called out. "Momma, Momma."

Kno looked up. Her desire for her little one was making her ears play tricks. Then she heard it again. "Momma, Momma." She looked around. Coming down from the higher ground, she saw Mee. It couldn't be! But ghost or apparition, she didn't care. She ran from the knoll toward what looked like her daughter. The "Momma, wait till I tell you what happened to me" was too real not to be true.

Sim and Neeth turned back towards the cave.