Snatched by cmsix

Chapter 24

It was hard to believe, but Denac seemed like a natural. He wasn't doing everything perfectly but he was learning fast and when I mentioned something he should do differently he usually wanted to know why. This kind of attention to detail could only mean he was intent on doing a good job. Practice is always helpful, but practice with constant striving to improve is always a better way to do it.

We rode around the large canyon for about an hour and I decided it was time to make our exit and see some new places. I was wearing my Glock on my web belt, but if we were going far I wanted to take my M1 too, and I wanted to take most of the rest of the afternoon to ride and look around. I called to one of my wranglers and asked him to let us out.

We rode to camp first, since I wanted the rifle and also because it was getting time for the noon meal. Jekaycey's face was the first one I noticed when we got there, and it was because she was smiling so wide at seeing Denac up on Buster. My mates, all three of them, put a little strut in their step too from our showing out, and Lanita made her way to us at once.

"Can I have a ride Daddy?" she asked.

"Of course you can, in fact, I think it's time for you to solo."

"What is solo?" she asked.

"I think you can ride Buster by yourself, though I should probably lead him while you do it."

"That sounds like fun too. Let's try it," she said.

I let Denac hold Candace and I took Buster's reins and led him off a little. When I put Lanita on his back I had her grab two hands full of mane and then I led Buster around camp. Most of the people were clearly amazed and I could almost see it dawning on them that if Lanita could do it, they probably all could.

I gave Lanita a nice long ride, about fifteen minutes or so, and then let her down. Denac and I hobbled Buster and Candace then and let them graze. It was time for our lunch too. Denac and I barely made it to our sitting logs and I'd just pulled Lanita into my lap when the women arrived with our food.

"You two aren't wasting any time learning to ride the cashda," Jekaycey said, as we began eating.

"Why would we? The sooner we get the people and horses trained the easier it will be on everyone. Which of you four want to be the next to learn?" I asked.

They were strangely silent for a few seconds, mostly looking at each other, and then Jekaycey spoke up and said that she would try it.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Jekaycey, but you aren't going to try it. You are going to learn to do it. You have to, this is something no one can get by without learning," I said, and then grinned at her.

"All right then. I will be the next one to learn it," she said.

"Good, now that's settled we can get onto the important part of noon, the food."

After we'd eaten I asked how we were doing for thongs and got a big surprise.

"We are doing very well. Matita has been cutting away since you made your first ride over to camp. She also said to thank you for showing us about gloves. We all thank you for that, since they are a great help for almost everything," Shaeta said.

"Yes they are. Mother loves them," Katia said.

"Everyone loves them. It is so nice to be able to work without ending up with your hands raw and chapped," Jekaycey said.

I wondered to myself if I'd have to teach them about manicures next. I wouldn't mention it to them but I wouldn't shy away from helping if they thought of it themselves.

After the meal was over I fetched my M1 and Denac brought two spears out of his hut. As soon as I saw him on Buster's back, holding his spears in one hand and the reins in the other I thought of Ayla, from "The Clan of the Cave Bear," but it wasn't because he resembled her.

It made me think of what she'd called her spear thrower. It was what most people called an atlatl. They would be easier to make than a bow and arrows but I didn't know whether they could be as effective. We could find out later though, for now we were going exploring.

The next decision was which way we should go. Finally I decided we should go back across the river and check on our wranglers and the cashda first.

All seemed well when we arrived, and I was surprised to see several of the guys leading horses. Well four anyway. The rest were getting acquainted with the one currently occupying the chute. One of them had seemed to become their leader and so I called him off to the side and introduced myself by name.

He was shocked, or nearly so, that I would reveal my name to him, and he stared openmouthed for nearly a minute before he remembered what was happening and told me he was call Jortah.

"Jortah, I want you to take command of all the men that came with you. You are not to drive them to work harder but merely give them any instructions I give you. You have earned this position because I see that they already pay attention to what you say, and that you are the hardest worker.

"I can't tell you yet that you will be allowed a place in the Calak, but I will speak up for you if it comes to discussion. I can tell you though that the women who were your captives will probably have the deciding voice," I told him.

"We all now realize that what we did was terrible, and I'm sure most of us knew it all along. All we can do now is try to make amends by working as hard as we can," he said.

"That is an attitude which will serve you well. Denac and I are going exploring north of here. If you hear my rifle fire three times close together, send someone to see if we need help. Remember, it is three shots that is the signal, not two, four, or any other number. I will probably repeat the signal with time if we do need help, mostly to aid whoever you send in finding us."

He agreed that they would all listen for the signal. I told him to keep working on gentling the horses and teaching them to lead, but warned him that they should be especially gentle when the time to deal with the younger ones came.

Denac and I mounted up then and left the cashda's canyon. We went back east and then north again, heading the way I'd gone the first time I found this group. We kept our eyes mostly on the ground, looking for more tracks.

We probably covered five miles to get three from the canyon, but finally I spotted some tracks that were moving north. I had a decision to make now and I pulled up so Denac and I could discuss it.

"I think I should go on alone Denac and that you should go back to the canyon. By moving a little farther to the west and continuing to go north I believe I can get on the other side of this group and start them moving toward the canyon we used to capture the others," I said.

"It might be difficult for you, but I understand that they can sense me much sooner than they can sense you. Do I need to do anything else?" he asked.

"Have the leader I appointed tell all the men to put the cashda we have back into the catch pen, and then all of them need to go back to camp, all of them. They should also open the canyon's gate as wide as possible when they leave. I'm going to try moving any cashda I can find into the canyon, even if I have to stay out all night to do it," I said.

"I will do as you say, and I will tell your mates and Lanita what you are up to," he said.

"Be sure to listen for the signal and have someone pay attention all night. If I can get them in the other canyon I might need some help and I will signal if I do," I said, and he agreed he'd do that also.

We swapped horses before he left. Candace was doing fine by now, but Buster would be an asset with other horses simply because he was a stallion. If he seemed to be getting into a pissing contest with another herd stallion I'd just shoot his foe and be done with it.

One of the things I really liked about Margata was that there was very little brush in the way of things. There was some, but it never seemed to get too thick. I had little trouble moving about a quarter mile to the west and then turning north.

An hour later I knew that I was north of the small band. The hoof prints had already let me know that they were more of a normal sized horse than these giants we'd already captured. Another thing I'd noticed was that some of the prints looked like they were made by donkeys, of all things.

I'd only seen the group once, and that was from about five hundred yards as I passed them by. There were many more of them than I'd thought and the tracks Denac and I had picked up must have been from a smaller group heading this way.

It was probably around three o'clock or a little later before I felt like I was in position to try to start them moving. I was within four hundred yards of them, almost directly north of where they were grazing. I pulled out the Glock and fired one shot then put it back in its holster. It got their attention for sure.

Every head, both horse and donkey turned toward me. When I headed their way they did exactly what I expected they would, they headed away from me, after that I kept moving and they did too.

This wasn't as remarkable as it might seem. I didn't get close enough to them to cause panic and they were obviously heading in a direction they'd traveled before. The river and the terrain practically funneled them the way I wanted them to go. Of course I could scatter them by pressing too close, but I wasn't going to do that.

About an hour later, as we neared the river, they turned off to the right, heading toward the canyon our cashda were in. This was no surprise either because from the tracks I'd seen at first I'd known the place was popular with horses, or cashda.

They were a little suspicious when they headed into the canyon and found our fence blocking their way. They weren't alarmed though and found the gate soon enough.

They might have just moved on at the fence, but the two bunches, the ones we'd captured and the ones I'd hazed down here caught each other's scents about then. There was a short bout of whinnying and braying and when the entrance was located, the entire band I'd found today, donkeys and all, made their way inside and headed for the capture pen.

While they were having a greeting party, I dismounted, fired the three shot signal, and closed the gate after Buster and I entered.

We just stood by the fence until Denac and all the workers arrived. They were happy about my good work and I was too. Finally Denac noticed the donkeys.

"What is the difference in the very small ones?" he asked.

"Those are not cashda, they are donkeys. They seem similar and they are, but they are not the same. They are very useful too though. The can carry a surprising amount of weight for their size and they need less food and water.

"Their best use though is that the male donkeys can breed with the female cashda. The offspring is called a mule, and mules are probably the most useful for hauling. They are also more resistant to disease and to predators, but they are also often called stubborn.

"They will not always do what you want them to do. This is because people often ask them to do things that are dumb from the start. For instance, a mule will not let you work it to death while a cashda will."

"But why would you want to work one to death?" he asked.

"Usually you don't want to, but people sometimes don't pay enough attention to how much work they are making a cashda do."

"So, in other words, mules are better to use if you don't really know what you are doing?" he asked.

"Something like that; Let's just say that mules are better for some things and cashda are better for others."

"What are cashda better for?" Denac asked.

"You can't tell now, because none of those are mules, but cashda just look better. You will see after we raise some mules. Horses also seem better to ride, but some mules make excellent riding stock."

"I think I will just wait and see when we get some mules. Can't we try to catch some, like we caught the cashda?" he asked.

"There won't be any until we raise them."

"But how can that be?" he asked.

"Mules do not occur in nature and they can not breed or even be bred. You only get mules from mating a male donkey with a female cashda. Whether the mule you get from that mating is a male or a female, it can not have offspring, except very rarely."

"I don't see how that's possible," Denac said.

"I don't either, but that is just the way it is. I am not lying to you. I don't know the whys or wherefores but I do know the facts on the ground."

"Oh. It is one of those things that no matter how much you wonder, you will never understand," he said.

"Exactly."

"Best not to even wonder then," he said.

"But I'm wondering about food," I said.

"You have missed supper, but I wouldn't be surprised if you could get something to eat if you asks politely when we get back to camp," Denac said, and laughed.

"I think at least half of you should stay here tonight and make sure the new arrivals don't try to get out," I said, to Jortah.

He agreed and picked out a group to stay, including himself. The rest of them came back with Denac and I. Denac had ridden Candace to come over and he and I didn't have to bother with a raft ride to get back, so we were home faster.

My mates and Lanita were waiting at the edge of camp, and it seemed at least half of the others were up waiting with them.

"Were you hurt," Nita asked, as soon as we arrived.

"No, the signal doesn't always mean someone is hurt. It does always mean they want or need help though."

"I'm glad you aren't hurt, but what did you need help with?" Katia asked.

"I captured another band of cashda and a smaller band of donkeys."

"What are donkeys?" Caloe asked.

When Denac didn't give a kwagi word for them right away I knew they must be unknown completely to them.

"It is sort of like a cashda, but much smaller. It is hard to explain, but you can see them tomorrow if you come over there. They are very good at carrying things on their back and they can carry more than you'd think," I said.

"Can they be ridden too?" Shaeta asked.

"Lanita, or other small children might be able to ride them, but a grown man could probably carry a donkey more easily than the donkey could carry him."

"Are they that small?" Jekaycey said.

"They are too small for grown people to ride them, but they are good for carrying loads, and they can also pull travois, though not travois as big as cashda can pull. I think we now have plenty of them," I said.

"Well come along then my mate, and we will make sure you have plenty of supper," Nita said, and I followed to our log sofa, pulling Lanita into my lap after I sat.

"That is good thinking Daddy, I might be able to force a little more food down also," she said, teasing me.

"Good. I'll need something to do while chewing."

"Tell me about the new cashda," she said.

"They are not as large as the ones we had already. They are actually a different type of cashda. They seem to be excellent though, and they might be handier for all but the largest men. They are easily large enough to carry any of the women."

"That is good to hear," Jekaycey said, "I was dreading the thought of being on the back of one of those giants."

"At least the new cashda have put your ordeal off for a few days. I will need to see about getting their training started tomorrow. I think they will be better for most riding, except for the larger men, like Denac and a few others."

"Good is right. Does that mean I can now use Buster most of the time?" Denac asked.

"I think that would be the right thing to do. He is really kind of a bother for me to mount. He is a good cashda, but too big for me really," I said.

"Candace didn't seem to have any trouble carrying me, but she is not as obedient as Buster was," Denac said.

"She will probably do better with time."

"She didn't make any big problems, but some things didn't seem to come as easily to her, some of the things I wanted to do anyway," he said.

"You will find out later that Buster is more likely the exception to the rule. Candace's behavior is more nearly normal."

"Well, it wasn't bad or anything," he said.

My bowl of food arrived then and I closed off my end of the conversation. Lanita let me give her a few bites, but not many. She was plainly already full to the brim.

It was fully dark by the time I finished eating and I was ready to go to our hut. Lanita had been yawning for the last ten minutes and my mates seemed like they were ready for a little sleep also, so we adjourned as soon as Katia had cleaned out and put away the bowl I'd eaten from. It felt very comfortable to lie down and be surrounded by beautiful women.

All seemed well when I woke the next morning. Lanita was on my chest and waiting for my eyes to open.

"Good morning Daddy, did you sleep well?" she asked, smiling.

"Yes I did, how about you?"

"I must have. I don't even remember being put to bed," she said.

"It's good that you are well rested today then. Maybe you can come over and pick out a donkey. Since I caught them, I say that you get your pick."

"But what will I do with a donkey?" she asked.

"Why, anything you want to."

"Oh Daddy, you're so silly sometimes," she said, grinning even wider.

We dressed, and after kissing all my mates, Lanita and I went out to tell Buttercup, Buster, and Candace good morning. By the time we'd finished the food was nearly ready, so we went over to sit by Denac.

"What is our plan for today, Carl?" Denac asked, when we arrived.

"I don't have a plan for today. I'm just going to go back to the cashda canyon and see what occurs to me. I'm afraid that the donkeys could get out if they really wanted to, but I don't think they will since they seem to be traveling with the cashda, and the cashda can't get out."

"How could the donkeys get out if the cashda can't?" he asked.

"That's another thing about donkeys, they can travel over much rougher country than cashda. Their feet are smaller and they have better balance besides."

"Well, let's hope they are still over there this morning and we can see what to do about it if they seem to be interested in leaving," he said.