John and Argent by cmsix

Chapter 53

It was obvious to me from the fact that my mates had all put on their mail this morning that they intended to come along on our trip to fetch my newest mate's things. I had a feeling that I should forbid it but changed my mind. After breakfast I asked Raalto, Racaato, Barago, Danlo and Daaggo to come along also and I was taking Sahto and Talvo to do the wrangling, teach Brundolo to lead a travois horse and drive the wagon.

We would be taking the big wagon and one travois horse, Dolly. I decided that all the men plus Dieta, Roweea, Ameliea and Dalia should go mounted and let the others ride in the wagon. Maia and Merita wanted to saddle up also and so I let them. The rest seemed happy with a wagon ride. Talvo would drive there while Sahto walked with Brundolo giving him instructions in leading a horse while it pulled a travois.

I asked Racaato to leave on foot a little ahead of us to see if he could find some game that we could use to hold the travois down and help give Brundolo an idea of the real experience. We gave him an hour lead and then left at a walk. We hadn't gone far before I heard the faint echo of a rifle shot and then another a few seconds later.

When we got to the area of our logging venture Racaato was sitting on the other side of the stream. He signaled and Sahto led Dolly and Brundolo over to meet Racaato. They disappeared into the woods through one of the newly cleared trails that the logging had required and they were gone for about forty-five minutes. When they returned there were two big boars on the travois. I was tempted to turn around and take them back to our camp but decided to push on and let them be another gift for Grotondo.

I hitched Red to the wagon and when we moved off again I walked with Brundolo and got him started leading with a load. I wanted to help him learn this but I also wanted to talk with him about the unmated women that were still in his camp. I didn't speak for a while, letting us fall just a little behind.

"Brundolo, I want to ask you some things about your camp if you don't mind telling me."

"I don't mind and I will tell you anything that I can." He said.

"Now that my main helpers have seen my new mates from your camp some of them are interested in trading for a mate also. I told them that there were only three unmated women there now and that I wouldn't trade for any of them until I knew more about your status for a mate. Will one of those unmated women be your mate?" I asked clumsily, not really knowing a better way to do it.

"I am surprised and honored that you would think of me but I will not mate any of those women. I'm sure that I will have a mate soon but it will not be one of them. Gratata and Eileiea have both told Grotondo that all three of them are too closely related to me to be my mate. Grotondo had planned on trading with another camp of our people for unmated women. Of course he was glad that you traded for Margeeta, Yareela and Yaroola because he was afraid that no other camp would trade for them." Brundolo said.

"Why would they be difficult to trade, is it because Yareela and Yaroola look somewhat like our people?"

"No, that isn't it. It is because Margeeta's former mate was killed in a hunting accident and it was almost as if he was addled at the time it happened, as if he were not paying attention to the hunt." He said.

"Why would that make any difference?"

"Some say that Margeeta is unlucky, I do not think it but that is what some say. I would say that she is probably the luckiest of any of our people. After all, you traded for her as a mate and what could be any luckier for a woman?" He asked.

"But that is now, did you think she was unlucky before?"

"Not especially, I am glad that you traded for her though because she might have been given to me as a mate if you hadn't. It isn't that I think she wouldn't have made a good mate but she is older and that would have been a little uncomfortable for me. I am also glad that you traded for Yareela and Yaroola because if either one of them had been given to me then I would have a mate that was taller than me. That would have made me uncomfortable too."

"What will Grotondo do now since he has traded most of the women away, will he still be able to trade for some unmated women?"

"He will be even more able to trade now. I do not mean any disrespect John but you gave very much more for Margeeta, Yareela and Yaroola than any of my people would have."

"I see but in my defense I did later get two mates free."

This shocked him for a moment but then I saw realization come across his face.

"You did didn't you, did you plan it that way?" He asked and then seemed to wish he hadn't.

"I did not plan it but I am not afraid to kill a man who offends me as those two did and I am not sorry to have Kota and Eileiea as mates."

"I didn't think that you had but the question just came out of my mouth before I knew what I was asking." He said, apologizing.

"Don't trouble yourself over it, I didn't mind at all. Do you think that Grotondo would trade the other unmated women?"

"If you trade as you did before he will. Salt is very precious and you gave him much salt, besides the camp he is planning on trading with is larger and they have seven unmated women and no unmated men. There are three boys that will be men before long, probably next summer, but there are many girls that will soon be women there also." He told me.

"Have you seen the unmated women from the other camp?"

"Yes and I have a favorite but I'm not sure that Grotondo can or will trade for her. Boys are always warned not to tell the women but they can ask for a certain mate and if the leader sees no problem he will often give the woman to the man who asks for her. Not always but often. Sometimes the young man will be required to do something for the leader later though." He said.

This was an insight into a hidden part of their culture but I wasn't surprised about it. In fact I would have been surprised if there weren't some way for a type of favoritism to be shown. I was pretty sure now that Brundolo would get exactly the woman he wanted, no matter what she cost. I whistled to get attention and when everyone stopped I called Danlo to me and then walked off from Brundolo.

"Danlo I need for you to go back to camp for me and get something. We will keep walking and you can catch back up to us before we reach their camp."

"What should I get?" He asked.

"Go back and hitch the Morgans to Georgo's buckboard and load two of the large containers of salt into it then come back to us?"

"I will be back as soon as I can." He said.

"You can run the mare Jezebel back to camp and then after you are in the buckboard the Morgans can catch up to us easily with their fast trot."

He heeled the mare and they were gone in seconds. I signaled the others and we resumed the journey.

We had only barely made the first turn up toward the Neanderthal's location when Danlo was back with us. His errand took him less than two hours. When he caught up I signaled again and we all trotted the rest of the way. Brundolo had a little trouble getting Dolly to trot but once he got her started it was almost automatic.

The rest of the trip was uneventful but when we made the last turn toward their former camp I could see that all my new mates sat a little taller in the wagon.

We caused quite a stir when we rode and rolled up to the camp. There were a few women outside and they dropped what they were doing and rushed into the cave. Grotondo and several of the other men were outside in what seemed only seconds. He spotted me on Red's back quickly and stood just outside the cave's mouth with his mouth hanging open. I rode up near him and signaled Talvo to bring the wagon up close also, and then I signaled for Brundolo to come up with the horse and travois right to the cave's mouth.

"It is good to see you again Grotondo. Racaato, one of my main helpers, had some luck hunting on the way here and we have two big boars for you. They would probably spoil before we got them back to our camp."

Grotondo was still speechless and I was afraid that the fright had done him some permanent damage. All my mates began to get out of the wagon then and everyone else dismounted also except Racaato and Barago. They stayed put on their mounts with their M1s lying across their laps.

"I didn't know that you were such a powerful shaman John, I thank you for not killing us all when you were here before." Grotondo said and I was afraid he was going to kneel or something.

"I am not a shaman. I know some things that others don't know but I am not a shaman."

"But you come here riding on the back of a horse, many of you are riding them and others are riding on something that horses are pulling at your bidding." He said.

"You see Brundolo leading one of the horses bringing the boars don't you, is he a shaman?"

"I am confused now, I don't think that Brundolo was a shaman before he left with you." He admitted.

"We caught these horses in a pen we made and have trained them to do as we like. It is not difficult but it takes some time. You can see how helpful it is to have them for doing this work. That is what I am teaching Brundolo and he is learning quickly but he will need to go back with us for a few more days."

"It is good that he is learning but will he know how to catch a horse and make it do as he wishes after he has learned from you?" He asked.

"He will know how it is done but he won't have any experience doing it. We will get together next spring or summer and teach him more about it. Until he can catch and train his own horses I will be giving him a horse and travois."

"What is a travois?" He asked.

"That is what the horse is pulling to carry the boars."

"I can see that it might be useful and if it isn't horsemeat is good also." Grotondo said.

"If you run so short of meat that you need to eat the horse all you need to do is have him ride it to my camp and we will send you plenty of meat. You can see how much the horse can help you if you will think about it. Your hunters can let Brundolo carry kills back from their hunting and won't have to clean it or carry it. The meat can be processed when it gets back to camp and the hunters can keep hunting if they need to."

The light shined for him then and I believe he caught on more quickly than Gigo and Dergo had. He was all smiles and somehow it looked a little strange on his face.

He called for some of his men to take care of the boars then and they actually seemed happy about it too. I introduced all my helpers and then all my mates to Grotondo then. He was surprised again when he saw how many mates I had but he didn't mention it. All the women headed inside then to get my new mates packed up and I asked Grotondo if I could speak with him, apart from all the others, about more trading. He was glad to agree and we walked on back farther into the cul-de-sac portion of his territory.

"What would you like to trade for now John?" He asked when we found a place to sit down.

"More mates, of course."

"But you have so many all ready." He said.

"Now that I have some mates of your people many of my helpers would like one also."

"You seem to have many helpers and we only have three more unmated women here. We would trade them though if we can come to an understanding." He admitted.

"I'm sure we can come to an understanding even though I'm sure that you will get the best of me."

We talked back and forth for a time while he argued that I had got the better of him. Then I let him in on the rest of my plan.

"I would like your help trading Grotondo. Do you know of another camp of your people that might have unmated women that they would trade for?"

"Yes, I know of such a camp. In fact I am planning to visit them soon. Gratata has told me it will be better if I find a different mate for Brundolo. I have heard that they have seven unmated women there and no unmated men now." He told me as Brundolo had.

"I would like to trade for the three unmated women still at your camp and when you go to the other camp I want you to trade for all the unmated women that they will trade. If you can trade for all of them then do it."

"But it will be very expensive to trade for all of them, what will I trade? Even though you gave me much salt for Margeeta, Yareela and Yaroola it is not enough to trade for seven women." He told me.

I led him to the buckboard then and after opening the tops I showed him the two fifty pound containers. When I opened one and he saw that it was salt he was stunned.

"How can you have so much salt? I have never seen as much in all my life!" He exclaimed.

"Salt is very heavy but with a wagon to carry it and horses to pull the wagon it is no trouble to carry a lot of it at one time."

Of course that was true but it was also true that it wasn't the way I had come by the salt. I let him draw his own conclusion though.

"I see. I can easily trade for all the women with this salt and have very much left over. I will not need but one of these containers for the women. Kartoto will be so surprised to see so much salt that he will be overwhelmed. I probably won't even take but one container there to trade, which will keep him from wanting it all. In fact I might not trade him all of one container for the seven women. Without mates they are a burden to his camp and I think he has eight or nine young girls that will probably be women by next year and only three boys who are likely to become men."

"How did he end up having so many more females than males?"

"He does not understand it and I don't either. Of course it happened more than twelve years ago. He wasn't even the leader when so many more girls than boys were born. Some say that the leader at that time gave up his leadership as soon as he thought Kartoto could lead the camp. He was sure that he had done something wrong or that he had become unlucky for his people. It only lasted for three years though, still there are many females there that will never have mates unless some of them leave." He told me.

"Then I want you to trade for any female that he will trade. I don't care if they won't become women for two more years. If he will trade them, get them. I don't think you should take so many that he will end up with boys who will become men and have no woman to mate but do as you see fit."

"He will have to be the judge of that, he knows his camp better than anyone and I don't think he would let that happen but I can tell you that you will soon have all the unmated women in his camp and many girls also, more girls than women in fact. I will not try to tell you about your camp either though. You surely know it well. I will do as you ask." He promised.

"For your help I will give you all the salt that you do not have to use in trade and if you need to use it all I have much more. I will also bring you ten whole bison for helping me but I have one more request. I would like for you to ask Brundolo and Sarboto if they have a favorite among the women you trade for and if they do I am asking you to give them the one they want."

"I know that Brundolo has a favorite but I know that Sarboto doesn't." He told me and it got my curiosity up at once.

"How can you be sure?"

"I will tell you but I would never tell it to any of my people. Sarboto is a good young man and he is a good hunter but Sarboto will never take a mate, for some reason he has no desire for a woman. Please do not tell this since I am ashamed of it." He implored.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of and neither does he. The spirits decide these things and we can have no control over it. There is one man in my camp and one boy that are the same as Sarboto. Is he the only one like that in your camp?"

"Yes and I am glad of it. I have no animosity toward Sarboto but I feel uneasy around him. I am also a little sad for him." He said.

"Why not let him come back with us then? He may enjoy the company of one of the others in my camp that are like him."

"You would take him in?" He asked.

"Yes, I would be glad to have him in my camp. I do not think it would be right to trade for him but I will make sure you do not want for his help as a hunter."

"We have no trouble getting meat in this place and we would not miss his hunting even though he has already proved to be one of the best at finding and stalking game. I will ask him to return to your camp with Brundolo and he may stay if he likes." Grotondo said.

"Very well, I will trade you as much salt for the three unmated women here as you ask and I ask you to trade with Kartoto for me, for all the women and girls he will trade. I will make sure that you have plenty of salt and the ten bison and I will give Brundolo a horse and a travois to bring back with him when he returns to you after he has learned how to use and care for the horses. I will even send four wagon loads of the grass hay that we have cut so you can feed the horse during the winter."

"I had not considered that, will you tell Brundolo how it is gathered?"

"Yes and you will not have to gather as much as we do. In your valley the horse can probably find enough to eat on its own since nothing else can graze in here. You will have much standing grass and the horse can eat it except for the times when the snow is too high. I will show Brundolo how to cut and cure the hay for the times when there is too much snow for the horse to find it on its own."

"You are very easy to trade with John, you should come more often to trade with me." He said and almost laughed.

"You should have more women to trade." I told him and did laugh.

"That is another thing John, about Kartoto's camp. There are three women there who have lost their mates. One lost her mate this year and the other two lost theirs more than two years ago. They are all good women and two of them have children but they will never have another mate in that camp and likely never have one at all. Would you like for me to trade for them also?" He asked.

I almost asked how old they were but then didn't. Hell it was no trouble to feed three more women and even if they were old and no one wanted them I would take them just to make sure they had enough to eat, especially the two that had children. Hell if they still had young children they couldn't be that old anyway.

"Yes, by all means trade for them too. Are you sure that you will have enough salt?"

"I am sure. It will need only a token amount for the three women whose mates have been killed. They are good women but after what has happened to their mates many people feel that they are unlucky. If you do not mind we might even try to kill some bison or aurochs or other game for part of the trade and keep more of the salt for ourselves." He said.

"I do not care how you do it and if you need another canister of salt tell me so and I will send it down here for you. In fact I think that I will send you another anyway. I will also be bringing you a valuable gift that no one else can give you. We had some misunderstandings at first but I would like for us to be friendly. Nothing can be gained by fighting among ourselves and I have plenty and don't mind sharing it."

"You seem so young John but you have the wisdom of one who is much older. I will be proud if we can be friendly and I will try to make it happen." He promised.

"I will also. I think that now we should have the salt unloaded and put in your cave. Will you tell the three women that we have traded while I have some of my men bring the salt?"

"I will tell the three unmated women to pack up their things to move to your camp and I will tell Sarboto that I want him to go stay with your people for a while so that he can also learn new things. Tomorrow some of my men and I will travel to Kartoto's camp and trade for as many women as I can, I'm sure that it will be more than you are expecting." He said and actually grinned.

"Do you want Brundolo to stay with the horse to carry the salt for you tomorrow?"

"No, I do not want anything to seem out of the ordinary to Kartoto. It will seem strange enough that I want to trade for so many women. I hope to get the deal made before he wonders too much about why I want to trade and why I have so much salt." He said.

I was feeling a little like a pimp about now. I don't know why I hadn't felt guilty about trading for Margeeta, Yareela and Yaroola but I hadn't. I did feel a twinge of guilt now though. I decided that even though I had traded for more women I was going to explain to them that they would not be required to mate with any man in my camp that they didn't want to mate. It would probably be a shock to them and I thought that I might let Eileiea tell them and then verify it to them later if they had trouble believing it.

I called Racaato, Raalto, Barago, Danlo and even Sahto and Talvo over and explained the current trade to them and told them of the other trade that Grotondo was going to make for us. I also told them that I wouldn't force any woman, even those that I traded for, to mate anyone and I told them that I would be explaining that to all the women. I also informed them that if they wanted one of them for a mate that they would have to deal with the women concerning the mating price.

They all seemed to understand this better than I did so I thought no more about it. I called to Daaggo then and told him about Sarboto coming to stay with us. I made it clear that I wasn't trying to be a matchmaker but that I did want him to understand in case he wanted to get to know Sarboto later. He was speechless and for a time I didn't know if he was happy or mad about what I'd said.

Soon enough all the women's things were in the wagon and then all the women were too, except for those of my mates who had come on horseback. They were mounted though and so were the men. We said a quick goodbye and left. I signaled for a trot from the first this time though and we were home much more quickly than the trip this morning. It was still after two when we got back though. My mates had cooking on their minds instead of unpacking. Some of them did anyway.

Dalia, Delia, Roweea, Geera, Waaya, Jara and Jaada started rattling the pots and pans almost as soon as we were stopped and the others took care of the unloading. I asked them to get Danlo and Sahto something quick so that they could go back and take the other canister of salt. I was pretty sure that the Morgans could get there and back before sunset since there would only be fifty pounds of salt in the buckboard. I had them take a couple of the big lights with them just in case and I also loaned Danlo the night vision goggles, taking a few minutes to explain how they worked to him.

After the unloading I saw that Eileiea, Kota, Margeeta and Kateata were shepherding the three new women around and showing them the sites. I wondered why Yareela and Yaroola weren't helping but then I saw them in the kitchen watching the cooking with sharp eyes. I sat at the table by Georgo who was there already and Jaada set a mug of coffee near me almost at once. She gave me a big smile and a big kiss and then returned to the kitchen.

"Well John it seems that every time you leave you come back with more women." Georgo teased me.

"You don't know the half of it Georgo." I told him and then explained the details of my plans with Grotondo.

In spite of himself Georgo was shocked but he was nodding his head in approval by the end of the tale. I even noticed him eyeing one of the new unmated women while my mates were leading them around, their eyes wide in wonderment the whole time.

"Are you picking one out for yourself Georgo?" I asked him.

"Why John, I'm the shaman, I need to know everyone who lives in this camp." He said and tried to act offended.

"Don't try that on me Georgo." I told him and then he laughed.

"I do not need another mate John but I can tell that Ladeliea and the others will not rest until I find one of these women to join us. They have already began badgering me about it, saying that I should do some traveling, as Dotallto is, and visit one of the camps of the other people. It will be worse now and when they find out how many women are coming later it will be decided." He said but he didn't look disappointed about it.

"Maybe you can hold them off until one of the girls that is coming becomes a woman next year." I offered.

"That is an excellent idea John, there is no rush at all is there?" He asked.

"Not unless they all get claimed by others and I'm sure that you know of other camps and if you don't Grotondo does. I have a feeling he can gather up all the women of his race that we need. They seem to have more women than men anyway."

"Actually we do also but you have been doing a good job of cutting down the difference on your own." He said and laughed aloud this time and then I joined him.

"I'm pretty sure that we will have another wagon load of women the day after tomorrow, I haven't even looked to see if the unmated women's quarters is large enough for all of them." I said.

"If it isn't they can probably find room in your bed." He said giving me another good shot.

"Well I can always get Ladeliea to host a few, I'm sure that she won't mind."

"All right, I surrender." He said.

The arrival of food cut our talking short and I dug in for the duration. As always, after being late for a meal I stuffed myself but I could tell that I was in good company. I was pretty sure that all of the others had seen many more hungry times than I could even dream of but I held up my end of the gluttony. Especially since we might not have another meal today after eating lunch so late in the day. I was willing to bet that I could talk one of my mates into making me a little snack before bed though if I needed to.