Bonesetter 2 -Winter- Read online

  To Pell’s dismay, Gurix showed up with a fist-sized rock and picked up one of the goat bones. With a few smart raps she’d cracked it in many places without actually crushing it like Pell had his first bone.

  Gia came back with the pouch and suspended it near the fire. Lifting some hot stones out of the fire with a wet pair of forked sticks, she banged them once to knock off ash and dropped them into the pouch to heat the water.

  By the time Gia had several rocks heating the water, Pell and Gurix had finished cracking the bones. Gia seemed blithely unconcerned about any rivalry between herself and Gurix. Pell wondered if he should be relieved… or mad that Gia wasn’t worried that Gurix might try to steal him away.

  Gia and Gurix changed the rocks in the pouch, then put the bones in. As she put them in, Gurix twisted apart the bones she’d cracked since she hadn’t crushed them and they were still mostly holding together.

  Pell thought to himself, Of course she’s not jealous of Gurix. Gia is beautiful and smart, and an accomplished medicine woman. I’d have to be crazy to leave Gia for Gurix. A moment later he started worrying about why he’d spent so much time with Gurix that morning. Sure, she’d invited herself along, and she was an old friend, and she’d been nice to talk to, and Gia hadn’t accused him of anything, but he still felt guilty.

  With those thoughts milling in his brain he wondered if he was going crazy.

  Every so often Gia changed the hot stones. At first Pell intended to wait until she finished her project, but when it’d been going on for quite a while, he finally went over to her, “Gia, how much longer do you need to work with those bones?”

  “Oh,” she said, stirring the bones around with a stick, “at least until tomorrow. The longer the better.”

  “Do you still want to go with us this afternoon to learn about snares?”

  “Yes!” she said excitedly. “Are you going now?”

  “Well, whenever you’re ready?”

  Gia looked around, then said, “Gurix, can I get you to keep boiling my bones for a little while?” Then she paused, “Sorry, you wanted to go to watch them set snares too, didn’t you?”

  Pell thought Gurix looked surprised and a little guilty, as if Pell wasn’t the only one thinking that Gurix and Pell’s walk today looked suspicious. However, she nodded.

  Gia turned, “Lessa, can I get you to watch over my bones for a bit?”

  Lessa nodded.

  Gia turned back to Pell, “Let me just make sure Lessa knows how to keep the bone marrow simmering and I’ll be ready to go.”

  Pell said, “Okay, I’ll get the hunters.”

  By the time Pell returned with Gontra, Belk, and Exen, Gia had finished explaining the bone rendering process to Lessa and put on the rest of her furs.

  Outside, they ran into Tando. Tando was dragging back another of his small trees, Ginja trotting beside him. He’d trimmed all but a tuft of branches at the top again. He said, “Are you guys going out hunting?”

  “Trapping,” Pell said with a shrug, feeling a little jealous that Ginja had been hanging out with Tando. I must be going crazy, first I’m jealous of Exen and Gia, now I’m jealous of Tando and Ginja. I know Ginja doesn’t like being in the cave with all those people. I should be glad she’s getting to be friends with Tando.

  Ginja trotted over to Pell and nudged him with her head until he started scratching behind the wolf’s ear. That made him feel better.

  Tando tossed his little tree to one side. He said, “Great! I’ll go with you.”

  Pell felt glad that Tando would be along. He turned and gave Gontra an expectant look.

  Gontra looked back at him for a moment, then his eyes narrowed and he said, “What?”

  Pell shrugged, “You’re the ones who put the traps out this morning. I have no idea where they are.”

  “Oh, sorry.” Gontra glanced around, “This way I think.”

  Tando guffawed, “Oh Gontra! I hope it’s better than ‘I think!’”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Gontra said, looking a little embarrassed. “It’s this way, don’t worry.”

  As they walked along towards where Gontra and Belk had set their snares, Ginja ranged ahead and alongside as usual. Pell and Tando were so used to it that they hardly noticed, but then Tando noticed Belk keeping an alarmed eye on the young wolf. “Don’t worry, the wolf runs our trap lines with us almost every day back home.” He nudged Belk, “She hasn’t eaten one of us yet.”

  Belk gave him a sheepish grin, but then said, “She still might eat me!”

  Gontra slowed and started looking around, looking a little frustrated. Tando noticed and laughed, “You can’t remember where you put your first snare?!” he said incredulously.

  Gontra scratched his head, saying, “It’s right here somewhere.”

  Tando said, “Pell told you to mark where you put it!”

  Gontra snorted, “I was sure I’d remember.”

  Pell pointed, “Is that it?”

  They all turned to look. A small leather noose hung between two bushes. Disgustedly, Gontra said, “Yeah. No luck with that one I guess.”

  Pell chewed his lip for a moment, trying to think how to tell Gontra what he’d done wrong without making him angry. “Um…”

  Gontra said, “I should move it to a new location, right?”

  Pell said, “Yeah, but… Let’s talk about this one and why it might not have caught anything.”

  Gontra frowned, “Why, what’s wrong with it?”

  “Well, first of all, there’s plenty of room beside it for an animal of the size that the noose might catch to get by. I think that, rather than trying to run through the noose, they’d just go around it.”

  “Why would they do that?” Gontra said, sounding mystified.

  Pell shrugged, “If there was a rock in the middle of the trail we’re walking, wouldn’t you go around it rather than trying to hop over it?”

  “But I didn’t have a noose big enough to fill that entire space.”

  “Yeah, that passage is too big for a rabbit, but too small for a deer. The only animal I know of that’s about right for that path is a porcupine.”

  Gontra and Belk blinked at him, “Do we want to catch porcupines?!”

  Pell shrugged, porcupines were good eating but dangerous to skin. He shook his head slowly, “That’s what I’m trying to say. The path you put that noose on isn’t the right size for the kind of animals you’d like to catch. Besides which, you want your noose to cover the width of the path so the animal can’t go around it very easily.”

  Exen said, “That opening’s about the right size for a little pig.”

  “Young pigs follow their mothers,” Tando said. “Mama pig isn’t going to go down that little path.”

  “So…” Gontra said, and paused. Then he continued, “How do we trap something on that path?”

  “You don’t,” Pell responded. “You find a narrow spot on a trail that’s just big enough for the animals that you’re trying to trap.” He pointed off to the side, “Like that little tunnel into the brambles there. A rabbit probably lives in there and a noose the size of yours would probably work well.” He shrugged, “Hedgehogs are the right size for that kind of noose and we catch them occasionally. If you’re going to trap big trails, you need big heavy ropes that’ll hold animals like deer, goats and pigs.”

  Exen said hopefully, “Could we catch an aurochs or a moose?”

  Pell shrugged, “I think their horns are so big they’d catch on the noose and keep the animal’s head from going in.” He tilted his head and thought, “Maybe horses?”

  “Oh! Let’s try that!”

  “I don’t think we have a rope strong enough right now. If you braid some heavier rope, we could try, but I think for now we should stick to the animals Tando and I already know how to catch. We shouldn’t waste effort on other animals until we’re sure you’re going to have enough food to live through the winter.”

  They put a snare on the rabbit sized opening in the brambles
and went on to find the rest of the traps the men had set late that morning. Pell felt a little surprised to learn the different ways the Aldans’ men had misunderstood his instructions earlier. He’d thought he’d explained the traps clearly, at least clearly enough that the men should have been able to figure out the rest, but they hadn’t. They’d trapped a couple of squirrels with nooses over branches that the squirrels would typically run on, but those were fairly foolproof traps.

  However, Pell knew that squirrels weren’t going to feed the tribe. He had them move their snares to better locations and made sure they marked them. He placed snares himself, including his two braided leather ropes in hopes of getting some large animals.

  They headed back to the cave as sunset was coloring the sky. Gia’s hand crept into his and she tugged a little to slow him. When they’d fallen behind the others, she walked close at his side and slipped an arm around his waist. Pell found his arm falling naturally onto her shoulders and he began to feel like the world couldn’t get much better. She looked up at him and said quietly, “Who taught you about snares?”

  Pell found himself again explaining the amazingly lucky incidents with the rabbit and the pig and how he’d gradually worked it out from there. She didn’t say much, and, deciding he must just be rambling on, he glanced down at her.

  Gia was staring at him in wide-eyed amazement. “So, you’re saying no one taught you? You just figured it out?”

  He nodded uncertainly.

  Gia gave him an enthusiastic hug.

  I guess she doesn’t think trapping’s a shameful way to hunt after all, Pell thought.

  That evening, although the goat bones weren’t finished rendering, Gia scooped out a little bit of the oil floating on top of the water in the pouch where she’d been simmering them. She spooned the oil into the depression she’d pecked into the top of the piece of limestone and then laid her twisted wick of juniper fibers into it to soak. She pulled the wick out so that it was sticking up out of one end of the depression and lit it with a burning splinter from the fire.

  The Aldans gathered around excitedly to stare at the steadily glowing flame. Young Odran said, “Why’s that better than the fire? The fire’s brighter.”

  Gia said, “Watch this.” She picked up the lamp and carried it back into one of the dark corners of the cave. The Aldans followed her back there and were excited to see the way it lit the recess with only a little flickering.

  In an amazed tone, Tonday said, “Oh, that’ll be so helpful now that the cave’s so dark!” She turned to Odran, “When we need to find tools, or roots, or grain that are stored back here in the dark parts of the cave, this will be really helpful, can you see that?”

  Gia said, “It’ll burn for hours too.”

  That evening, after the Aldans had eaten and boredom had set in because no one was ready to sleep, Pell suggested that Gia tell a story. He’d heard her tales back at the Cold Spring’s cave and knew she was a consummate story teller. As he’d hoped, she soon had the tribe enthralled in one of her stories about lovers from different tribes meeting each other. Pell glanced at the people sitting raptly around the fire, eyes gleaming with excitement. He felt surprised when he recognized that this was yet another different story. He’d already heard many stories from Gia and had been thinking that sometime soon she’d be telling a repeat. However, either she remembered an endless number of stories she’d heard from others, or she was capable of making up new ones night after night.

  He wasn’t sure which ability would be the more amazing.

  Later, as everyone was settling down to try to go to sleep, Gia quietly asked, “When are we going to return to Cold Springs? Your mother’s probably getting worried because you’ve been gone longer than you said you’d be.”

  Pell chewed his lip a moment, then said, “I think I should help them run the trap lines again tomorrow. Could we go the next day?”

  “Sure,” Gia said, happy to have been consulted.

  Chapter Two

  “What do you think, Yadin?” Jalgon, the Oppo chief, asked.

  Startled, Yadin looked up. He’d lost track of the conversation and been daydreaming to himself about moving on to another tribe. He’d had a sudden realization that he’d like to be mated again, and decided that he wasn’t going to get mated within the Oppos. They had no extra women near his age. Besides he couldn’t stand living with Nosset anymore and his revulsion toward their medicine man had become even worse since this new medicine man, Pont, had shown up. He shook his head as if muzzy headed, and said, “Um, what? Sorry, I was thinking of something else.”

  Speaking patiently, as if Yadin was some kind of idiot, Jalgon said, “We were talking about scouting out the Aldans tribe. You know, to see if this Pell is still there and get some idea whether the people remain in his thrall. You’re our best stalker when it comes to hunting, so you could probably do it without them even noticing you were there.” Jalgon glanced at the medicine men, then said, “You might even be able to put a spear in this Pell if you can catch him alone on an out-of-the-way trail.”

  Yadin frowned, “So, you think I can just sneak into the area and watch them? And somehow, I’m supposed to be able to tell by the way they look whether some evil spirit has them in its control?”

  Pont was the one who responded, “Well, yes, it may be difficult to tell if they’re enthralled. But you could easily find out if Pell’s still there.”

  “How?! I don’t know what he looks like!”

  “Young but tall. He’s taller than any of your men here in the Oppos as well as all the men in the Aldans. Muscular and handsome, though his good looks must be something the evil spirit did—he was an ugly boy.”

  Yadin lifted an eyebrow, “And if he’s there? You really think I can attack someone protected by a powerful spirit all by myself?”

  Pont shook his head, “I wouldn’t recommend that you try that, even though Jalgon says you’re an amazing stalker. It’d be better to attack with many hunters after Nosset and I have worked some spells to protect everyone from the evil spirit.”

  “Okay, Yadin asked, “assuming I am pretty good at hiding from people, how am I supposed to keep a spirit from seeing me and taking me over?”

  Pont glanced at Nosset, “Nosset and I will work together to make a charm that’ll hide you from the spirit.”

  “All right,” Yadin said disgustedly, not quite angry enough to say that he wanted nothing to do with any charms the medicine men might create. Maybe this is as good a way as any to get out and have a look at another tribe, he thought. A small thrill of apprehension shot through him at the possibility that perhaps this “evil spirit” was real.

  ***

  To their great delight, the next day when they went out to check their snares in the morning, the Aldans’ men had caught a couple of rabbits. They’d also got a couple more squirrels and a hedgehog.

  Pell felt encouraged. Of course he couldn’t know how well trapping would work in the winter, but if the Aldans continued to get this much small game, it might sustain them through the cold months. He’d caught three rabbits, presumably because of his greater skill, so perhaps they’d get better at it and catch even more. On the other hand, he thought with disquiet, it might be that trapping produced as little in the winter months as hunting.

  The first of Pell’s two big rope snares, placed beside a deer trail in the woods, held nothing. However, when they approached the second one, which Pell had put on a steep trail up behind the cave, it held another goat! A goat which, when they first saw it, was stretching up on its hind legs to eat the foliage of a large bush next to the trail. At first, Pell didn’t even realize that it had one of his braided leather ropes around its neck. As they approached, he lifted the wood chip on his necklet up and peered through the tiny hole he’d bored in it. Looking through the pinhole improved his vision enough that he could see the rope, though Tando had already exclaimed, “You got another goat!”

  As Gontra and Tando trotted ahead to spear t
he goat, some kind of idea kept tickling at the back of Pell’s mind. At the last moment, he shouted out to them, saying, “Wait,” but he was too late.

  Gia turned to him and said, “Why did you want them to stop?”

  Pell shrugged as he stared unseeingly at the dead goat, “I don’t know… I kept thinking that if they kept the goat alive, its meat wouldn’t go bad.”

  “Kept it alive?” Gia said, frowning. “But you couldn’t keep it for very long, it’d starve.”

  “Um, maybe you could tie it to a different tree every day. That way it could eat.”

  “You’d need to tie it near the river so it could drink.”

  Gontra and Belk had lifted the goat up and draped it around Exen’s neck. Picking up their rabbits, squirrels and the hedgehog, they started back toward the cave. Pell untied the rope of his snare and carried it with him, intending to set one more snare that he could check in the afternoon. Turning to Gia, he said, “Maybe you could just tie it near the river part of the day.”

  Dubiously, Gia said, “I don’t know. I think a goat that’s tied up would just provide a meal for wolves, bears, or big cats. Besides you’d be using one of your fancy ropes to keep it there. I think it’s better to catch goats that’ve been feeding themselves than to spend a lot of time and effort taking care of one yourself.”

  Glancing around for a place to put a big snare, in a disappointed tone Pell said, “You’re probably right.”

  They came upon Tando, standing between two trees straddling the trail they were following. He said, “I’ll bet we could get a deer here.”

  Pell looked around, realizing that the trail they were following had probably been formed by animals like deer. He’d been thinking so hard about his goat idea that he hadn’t been watching for a place to put out the snare. “Good idea, Tando. Let’s set it up.”

  They suspended the noose of braided leather across the trail with the bottom part of the noose about chest high on a deer. Tando rubbed some dung onto the rope to disguise its scent while Pell went to find a vine. When he returned, he found Gia leaning a slender leafy branch across the trail at the level of the bottom of the noose. He gave her an admiring glance as he admitted to himself that it looked more natural than a vine would.