John and Argent by cmsix

Chapter 70

It was nearing time for lunch and so Danlo and I helped Deimeta unhitch Darta and put her back with the others. We left her little buckboard in a prominent place in the open space since we anticipated it getting more use now than any of the other vehicles. I opened the doors to its little box to look inside of it and saw that it came complete with a set of runners for winter travel. They were fairly complicated and it appeared that to mount them the wheels and all running gear would have to come off for the runners to be attached.

I saved that surprise for later since I knew that Deimeta would be ready to try it as soon as I told her. I was anxious for her to have all the fun with Darta and the buckboard that she could but there was no need to have her try everything today, after all Danlo and I could only absorb so much training at one time.

We put our coats back on and headed out the entrance to make the cold trip back to our cave. If anything it was snowing more now than it had been this morning. It was almost too cold to talk but I did have one question for Danlo.

"Where were all your helpers this morning Danlo?"

"Geera asked if they could help her, your other mates and some of the other women today. She said that they needed some strong backs to lift things and to tend a fire or two for the last of the cooking. Apparently there is going to be a big stew tonight also and they wanted to cook it on an open wood fire for some reason. I knew that I wouldn't have that much to do and so I told them all to stay and help with the food," he said.

"As long as they were helping with food I'm all for it."

"Me too Daddy, I think it is just fine," Deimeta said, and Danlo and I laughed again as she giggled.

The snow was starting to get deep and since it was fresh and still loose it was difficult to walk on. I was wishing that I had asked for some snowshoes before Argent took off but it was too late now. Maybe Mundo or someone else would be able to make some for us. The idea is pretty simple after all. I decided to ask him after lunch if I could find him.

We were glad to get back into the cave when we did. It was warm in here also and I was cold enough. I was going to have to remember to wear a cap and some gloves if I went out again. Though I usually only wanted what came out of it I went to the kitchen now to see if I could find something warm to stand by.

"Is my mate cold?" Waaya asked when she saw what I was up to.

"Yes he is; I think that I am colder than either Deimeta or Danlo."

"I will let you in on a little secret then. There is a good fire going in the celebration cave. We are cooking a big stew over it and roasting some meat there also. Why don't you get a mug of coffee and go stand beside it for a while? You will get warm soon enough," she said.

Deimeta and I both got a mug of coffee and went to look for this big fire. We found it with no trouble since it wasn't far on the other side of the doorway between my cave and the celebration cave. There was a large cooking pot on the fire and a spit for roasting on either side. Dieta was just turning one when we came in.

"My wonderful mate and my wonderful daughter," she said when she saw us.

"I think we are your cold mate and your cold daughter mama Dieta. We have been to the mammoth cave and we got cold coming back," Deimeta said.

"Stand by the fire then and you will be warm soon enough. When you have finished your coffee I will put some of the stew in your mugs so you can warm your insides too," she promised.

"Is Bigglieo tending to the bruga barrels?" I asked her.

"Is he ever, you'd think that the bruga would spoil if he let it out of his sight for even a second. At least he is not standing beside it outside while the water freezes again. He checks on it about three or four times an hour though. We could go hungry tonight for all he cares but the bruga is going to be cold and perfect," Dieta said, laughing about it.

"Well, at least there is no wondering where his loyalties are. He knows what he likes and is willing to brave the elements to do a tough job."

We all laughed again at my joke but it was the truth; Bigglieo liked his bruga and since he found out that he liked it even better cold he intended for it to be cold. I certainly didn't mind if Bigglieo took a night off for a good drunk. He worked hard and tried his best when there was something that I needed him to do for me and I was happy that he could find some time to relax. I would even be glad to make sure that his mates weren't lonely while he was sleeping it off.

Deimeta finished her coffee and Dieta filled the mug with broth from the stew. Deimeta took a careful sip of the hot liquid and smiled her thanks.

"It is very good mama, thank you," she said.

"Thank you for being the first to taste it. I needed someone to try it out on," Dieta said.

"Well I have finished my coffee now, would you like a second opinion?"

"Yes, but I already know what your opinion of any type of food is," she said, teasing me.

"You're right; if it is food, I want it."

"This little bit will have to hold you over until lunch is ready in the cave. Do you think that you can last?" she asked.

"I will do my best but I don't want to let my strength wane."

"I probably should go and find Danlo," Deimeta said.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"If your strength is going to be kept up so well I think that I will see if I can sleep with Malooto tonight, it won't be nearly so noisy," she said and then giggled as she walked off.

Both Waaya, who had just come up, and Dieta burst out laughing at me and it took them several minutes to regain their composure. I was blushing and grinning the whole time and I now had my answer about waking Deimeta in the night. I finally gave up and left because every time Waaya looked at me she started laughing and it always set Dieta off again too.

Deimeta and Malooto were playing on the rocking horse in my cave when I entered. I took my now empty mug toward the coffee pot for a refill and while Dalia filled it she told me to sit down since she had fixed me a couple of sandwiches for lunch. With all the preparations for tonight I figured that everyone would eat lunch as they could find time.

After finishing my sandwiches I went into the practice cave. Several of my mates were there sighting in their new rifles and Racaato was helping them with it. Things seemed to be going smoothly and so I left and went to my office.

I hadn't been in here much since I got the news from Argent about his departure. It was a little strange to sit behind my desk and not have the luxury of clicking an icon and seeing what was going on elsewhere. I would dearly like to get a look around right now to see if I could find out where the four women had been taken.

It bothered me that it had happened in my neck of the woods. I wasn't on a campaign to rid this world of killing for mates but I was opposed to the capture and enslaving of women or men either. To me that was what the incident had amounted to. The men had been killed and the women captured and made slaves. Even if they were treated fairly where they were taken they were still there against their will, especially if they had been taken back to their old camp.

There was nothing I could do about it now though. I no longer had the luxury of superior intelligence and with the snow still falling I didn't have the mobility to prosecute any enforcement even if I did get the details. That didn't mean I wasn't going to try and set things right when I was able to but it did mean that I wasn't going to do anything now.

I drifted off into thinking about what might have become of my old home while I was here. Argent hadn't given me any real hints but he had sounded like something serious had happened. I wondered if they had done it to themselves or if something had been done to them. I had no way of knowing but I did run things by in my head.

Although I considered it a long shot, the most likely thing would have been some big nuclear disaster or war. That could have wiped many people off the earth if not killing everyone. A collision with some type of asteroid or comet, if it was large enough, could have created an unimaginable disaster also.

Until meeting Argent I would not have seriously considered interference from other worldly beings but after meeting him I had to. Argent had told me that they rarely meddled in the goings on of earth but that didn't mean his was the only group of aliens out there.

Mankind had often speculated that there were others out in space that might be more advanced. Argent had proved to me that there was at least one other species and he'd done nothing to indicate that there weren't more. Maybe the others weren't as hesitant about causing disruption on my old earth. At any rate I didn't have any facts and all I could do was speculate. I had a wide field for that speculation though since I had no way to rule out anything.

Once again I was spinning my wheels thinking about things that I had no way of figuring out and no way of affecting. I had to quit this crap so I left my office and went back into my cave. The activity had picked up out here and my mates were all going back and forth into the celebration cave and seemed to have several men, including all Danlo's helpers, stepping and fetching for them too. To keep from joining the throng of 'volunteers' I headed for the big residence cave to talk to Mundo.

I was intending to see if I could make Mundo understand about snowshoes and then convince him to have a try making some. All those thoughts had been a waste of time because when I found Mundo he and his three friends were all busily making them. The items were being made with one bentwood outer piece that was a rough oval. To this they crisscrossed rawhide thongs until the piece resembled a tennis racket head that was laced in a diamond pattern instead of a square one.

"Hello John, did you have something that you wanted us to make?" Mundo asked as I approached.

"Yes I did Mundo but I see that you are all busily making them already. I was wondering about snowshoes and I see that you have many made and are making more."

"Some of these are from last year and we have repaired them. We are also making many new sets; they are very handy in the winter," he stated the obvious.

"They are, and I just remembered it this morning as I was walking down to the horse cave. Could I have a set for Deimeta and I?"

"Of course you can, we will make a set for anyone that wants them. I'm sure that we have some now that will work for you but we will have to make a smaller pair for Deimeta. Do not worry though, they will be the next pair we make," he said as he looked through the finished ones and came up with some for me.

"Thank you Mundo. I will tell Deimeta to come and see you later for hers. Danlo and his helpers will probably need a set too so that they can get to the horse cave easily. They need to go everyday to tend to our growing herd of livestock."

"We will make sure that they all have a pair as soon as they come for them. I'm just happy that I won't have to be using a set every day. I know that the horses, pigs and now the mammoths need care but I'm glad enough that I don't have to provide it," he said.

"Well we are going to need to build some fences inside the cave to keep them all sorted out and we will probably need to make some type of hay racks to make the feeding easier. Can I count on all of you to help with the building?"

"You can, we enjoy making and building things and will be happy to do it. We will be glad that we can go and build something and then not have to go back every day. Of course we will go every day if we are needed," Mundo assured me.

"I'm sure that it won't come to that since there are plenty to take care of the animals now. I just wanted to give them a few things to make their jobs easier. I'll be going now but I'm sure that I will see you all tonight at the celebration."

"We will all be there tonight but you should look quickly if you want to see any of us standing. We love the bruga and it loves us and we will all be sleeping in its embrace as soon as possible," he said and then he and his friends broke out laughing, at each other no doubt.

I took my snowshoes back to my cave and as I was heading for the bedroom I saw Deimeta and told her to see Mundo later today for some of her own.

"Thank you for getting me some Daddy, I will need them to go and see Darta," she said.

"Well it is Mundo that will be making a special pair for you so be sure to thank him also."

"I will, I like Mundo, he has been very nice to me," she said as I left for the bedroom.

After putting away my snowshoes I came back out into the cave and saw Bigglieo and several other men bringing the beer kegs, in there now once more icy barrels, back through and into the celebration cave. Other men were getting the stored folding tables and the plastic mugs, making sure that all the necessary equipment for the upcoming drunk would be ready. Most of my mates were working on cooking now and I decided to go and see Racaato since I figured he would probably be alone in what had come to be his main operating area.

I went to the practice cave and was surprised to see more people firing. It was mostly my main helpers and I could tell that they were busily re-sighting their rifles to make sure that the new scopes were going to be able to do their jobs. Racaato noticed me this time and came over to talk.

"It looks like you have been busy all day Racaato."

"Mostly I have been. I went around and made sure that everyone with a rifle knew that they now had new scopes and that they needed to be sighted in. I think that most of them want to get it done today so that they will not have to do it tomorrow. I believe that they are thinking ahead about the possible conditions of their heads in the morning," he said with a smile.

"At least they are thinking ahead and no doubt sighting in a rifle tomorrow would be a painful experience. It is good that they realize that it needs to be done though."

"They all know that if they need the rifle they will need it to hit where they aim it. I believe many of them were a little alarmed over what happened to the people at Caato's old camp. They aren't afraid but they do want to be ready. No one has forgotten the trouble we had from Jadatako and those that followed him," he said.

"Surely we won't have that kind of annoyance again. If it is the camp that Dotallto thinks it is they live quite a distance from us."

"Maybe so but they made the trip to Caato's old camp and they can come on to ours if they are determined. I believe that most of us would like to show them that it will not be a profitable adventure," he said.

"It will be worse than that for them. I am already mad about them coming to kill men that I was going to help. I plan to wait until the snow is gone and spring has come to deal with them but if they make me any madder I might not. We have some large sleighs now and if we need to we can travel in the snow without too much bother. If we have to do it some of them are going to die for causing us trouble."

There wasn't much more to say about it after that and so I went back to my cave. I was a little restless and bored too and so I bit the bullet when I got back and asked my mates if I could help them in any way. They were more than happy to point out dozens of things that I could tote and carry for them.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in their service but it was not without its rewards. I was called on to do much tasting and sampling and of course I had to be the first to check Bigglieo's work and make sure that the beer was just the right temperature. I was also right on hand to help dig up the cooking pits and I sampled some of the mammoth meat that had been slow cooking underground. It was tender and delicious and I could tell at once why mammoth meat was so well liked by everyone. It was exceptionally good and I couldn't help wondering how it would be if smoked over a hickory fire. If Argent was still giving and not taking back when he returned I was going to make sure that I found out.