Chapter 22

Fitting a handle to the end of the saw converted it for two-man use, much more efficient than the one-man version I’d stolen. To fasten the handle in place, I recycled a pair of the copper rivets I’d kept during the process of removing the grips from the short swords. Tapping the rivet ends straight, fitting them into place and then peening them over with my axe took most of the time. But finally it was done, and the saw was ready for use in the morning. I laid out the plan that evening while we were eating supper.

“Tomorrow is firewood day. I’ll drop selected trees, based on the type of tree and how thick the trunk is. I’ll be using the axe. Laz, I’d like you and René to saw the trunks into sections short enough to fit on the sled. Load as you go, but don’t overload it. While you’re deciding where to cut, keep in mind that you have to lift or at least roll the cut sections onto the sled. Shorter sections are lighter, but that means you’ll do more sawing per log. Also decide how much weight you can haul back to the cabin. I’ll help you drag when I’m available, but when it’s just the two of you remember that it’s easier and faster to drag smaller loads than trying to bring everything at once.

“It’s still dangerous out there, so I’ll want at least one of the women with us to keep watch, and two would be better. The idea is that one keeps watch—Lilia, preferably—while the other gathers roots or whatever other food she can find. The guard will go with the sled, and if the women think it best then both will go. I’m not particularly worried about myself. If there’s time, I’ll string my bow, but if not I’ll have my spear and the axe within reach.

“Speaking of weapons, Cindy, Lilia will teach you how we make our bowstrings after supper. We’re going on a long hunt soon, overnight at least and maybe longer. I’ll start work tonight on spears for Laz and René, and I should have at least one ready by tomorrow. Maybe both of them, but and after they’re done I’ll make a bow and a dozen arrows for Cindy. I don’t know how much time we have—that’s up to Robert—but if he lets you stay, I’ll make bows for the two of you and teach you how to make your own flint points.

“I figure we’ll be ready to head back here by mid-afternoon tomorrow. We’ll all be working hard, so if we have to quit earlier we will. Load the sled one last time, including our tools, and drag everything back to the cabin. I’ll buck the trunk-sections to length by myself later on, and if they have time the women can help split and stack. I’m thinking at least two, maybe three days, of woodcutting. Depending on how things go, we may do it again next week.”

We worked until noon the next day, then took a break when Sandra and Millie brought our lunch; Cindy had remained back at the cabin with Lee. Lilia ate lunch with us, then went back to watching over the work site. We men rested for half an hour after eating, and the two women looked willing to hang around for a while and chat. But they had jobs waiting back at the cabin, so I put Laz and René back to work. The two women got the hint, and with a last smile at the two boys they left.

The wood piled up during the afternoon. Late afternoon found us hauling the loaded sled back to the cabin, and having three men to do the pulling definitely helped! We offloaded the sled, stood it on end for the night, and went in for supper. Lilia had bagged a couple of rabbits while prowling around our work site, and they got added to the pot. In addition to cooking, Sandra, Millie, and Cindy had managed to fill a pair of the fired clay containers with more of the coarse-ground meal. It was a welcome addition to our depleted reserve.

The saw-teeth needed a touch-up with the file so I took care of that, then ran a stone along the axe’s edge to restore sharpness. As a final step, I used a leather scrap to rub beeswax on the metal and handles. When you have a limited supply of irreplaceable tools, you take good care of them!

I finished wiping down the tools, then started work on the weapons I’d promised to make. Lee fretted, but I was adamant that he not use his arm until it was ready. Lilia worked on making sinew bowstrings and backing for bows; everyone would need bows and arrows eventually, but Laz and René needed spears now.

I would have put the boys to work on their own weapons if we’d had more tools, but we didn’t so I taught them as much as I could while working. From time to time, I paused what I was doing so they could try something else for themselves and they were soon chipping points from pieces of flint and obsidian. This saved me a lot of time, because I could concentrate on using my skills to turn their rough efforts into finished points.

It’s a slow process, making spear-points or arrowheads, but once you achieve a certain level of skill it’s easy. The more you practice, the better you get. I had a buckskin bag of arrowheads I’d made while learning, and even the rough ones were useable if not aesthetic. Probably the ancients had done the same, use the better points, keep the others for practice arrows or as reserve in case there’s no time later to flake new points.

Two spear blanks were soon finished and stacked near the fireplace, along with the blanks I intended for use as bows. The spears needed only to be fitted with salvaged steel blades to be as usable as the one I carried. Darkness and exhaustion put an end to our labors and three of us moved outside to sleep in the lean-to. Lee might need help during the night, so he stayed inside with the women.

All of us needed as much sleep as we could get, but we didn’t yet have a suitable closure for the lean-to’s door so someone always had to keep watch. Even so, I think we each got almost eight hours of rest despite taking a shift on guard duty.

I was still tired when we got up the next morning. We constantly worked, but even so the heavy labor from the previous day left us tired, sore, and irritable. We headed out and resumed what we’d been doing, and by noon I decided I’d done enough cutting. That afternoon, I took my turn helping saw trunks into sections. In between, I worked on removing limbs.

Two steel-bladed spears were almost finished and I was virtually asleep on my feet, so I quit for the day. They were not quite what I wanted yet, but I could do final finish-sanding and waxing another time. For now, they were perfectly usable so I handed them to Laz and René. They couldn’t have looked more pleased!

Next morning, René and Laz leaned their spears against the cabin wall to be at hand while they sawed, split, and stacked wood. They finished what we’d brought in, and Lilia went along as guard when they took the sled out for more. Drag a load back, offload, do it again. They weren’t able to bring back as much per trip as three of us had, but there was soon a respectable stack of wood drying for use during the winter.

Cindy had learned arrow-making from Lee while the rest of us were working elsewhere, and soon proved to be more meticulous than any of us. I was the journeyman-knapper, she was becoming the master arrow-smith. Select a shaft, match a point based on the quality of the shaft, and glue it in place. Glue on split turkey-feathers for flights, glue carved nocks into the remaining end, then wrap thin wet strips of rawhide around the glued joints. Set it aside to dry and start on the next.

Rough-shaping flint flakes into arrowheads continued after our evening meal, while I went back to work on the two spears. Add a thin coating of glue over the joint, wrap it with another layer of wet rawhide, cover the wrapping with more glue, then set the spears aside. Final work on Cindy’s bow continued until we were ready for sleep. She could try it tomorrow, and if it wasn’t strong enough I would glue on sinew backing in the evening.

“I think we’ll be ready to hunt day after tomorrow,” I said. “Cindy needs more practice with the bow, so she’ll stay at the cabin with Lee. He can work with her after we leave.

“The tall-grass plains are just too dangerous right now to risk someone who’s not ready. Lilia and I will be the primary hunters, and as soon as we make a kill, Sandra and Millie, with Laz and René’s help, will skin the carcass and quarter it for transport.

“Ideally, we’ll only transport what’s edible, so leave bones, heads, and the lower legs behind. The less weight we have to haul, the better. As soon as the hunt’s finished, the three of us will head for the mine with half of the meat and Lilia, Millie and Sandra will bring our portion back here. Lilia’s primary task is security, but Millie, you and Sandra will need to keep your weapons handy. Carry your bows and arrow quivers slung across your body, and if possible your spears too. All that meat—small predators won’t bother you, but a lion would!

“If you’re attacked, abandon the meat. Just drop the tow straps, grab your spears, and back away. Predators will go after the meat, giving you time to climb the nearest tree. From up there, and only after you’re sure there’s nothing that can climb after you, you might try shooting whatever is stealing our meat. Use your own judgment, okay? Meat we can always get, replacements for you we can’t!”

Laz asked about the best way to use the heavy spears. “They’re too heavy to throw,” I said, “and anyway they’re not balanced for that. But they work great for thrusting, and if you move your hands up the shaft they make good hacking weapons too. I’m mostly right-handed, so my left hand is slightly ahead of the balance point on the shaft while my right hand goes near the end. Your left hand guides, your strong right hand provides the power. Use your legs to get your body into it, and don’t hold back! It’s not easy to punch that spear point deep into a killing spot.