Chapter 2

It was a full two days before they reached the mouth of the river and set up their camp close by the shoreline. Just before darkness fell, the tide of the sea ebbed and the two men walked out on the sand looking for the little air holes that signaled the presence of clams. Both had brought flat wooden sticks that they used for digging. Two Bears had brought pieces of an old fishing net that still had a tight mesh to keep their clams from falling through. It was a matter of minutes before they had scooped and dug enough to make themselves a good sized meal. While Two Bears took the net out to wash off the clams, Broken Stick collected large pieces of bark to place the clams on when they were put into the fire. When the clam had cooked enough, the shell would open and then they could scoop out the clam meat and eat. While they ate the clams that were ready, new clams and bark would be added to the fire. It was a good system and they managed to both eat their fill.

"It's worth the long walk just for the clams I think." Broken Stick patted his full stomach in a gesture of satisfaction. The pile of empty shells had grown large by the time that they were both finished eating. There was a little chill in the night air, but not so much that either of them was uncomfortable. "I wish we lived closer to the great sea Two. We could eat clams everyday, and make our camp new every night after the sea had risen to clean out our old camp area."

"Yes, but in a few moons we'd be sitting right here, looking back towards our village, wishing we had something better to eat than the clams, and remembering how sweet the taste of turkey stuffed with grains and nuts was. We'd be missing the way the trees kept us out of the cold winds, and the taste of all of the fish that wouldn't be forced to swim into our nets. When we leave here tomorrow or the next day, we'll have had enough clams to last us until our next visit." Stick thought about what Two Bears had said and then he nodded in good natured agreement.

The next day, after another feast of clams, baked this time on a thin bed of sand covering hot coals of burnt wood, the two men set off for the place where the flint stones could be found. They searched carefully along the broken cliff edges, sorting through the large piles of stones that lay on the floor of the cliff face. They first gathered the smaller pieces that were already half formed into arrow heads and needed less work and knapping. It took them all day as they picked through and sorted from the large pile that they had accumulated between them. Here again, Two Bears deferred to his friend who had much better luck in making sharp, pointed arrow heads that were also thin and light, allowing for longer flights and which piercied deeper into the flesh of their prey. He paid close attention as Stick would take two similar pieces of flint and cracked them together with force in a way that made several half formed pieces come out of the stones. Soon, there were three piles. In one pile was the slag, the pieces that wouldn't yield the right kind of points. A second pile was made up of stones that had shown good potential for yielding up arrow heads. The third pile was the smaller, half shaped points, that Stick had coaxed out during his rock testing. Two Bears could only marvel at what he saw. Several times he tried to do the same as Stick with two rocks, but instead of half formed points, he wound up with many smaller rocks.

The following day, in less than half a day's time, they had sorted more flint stones and points than they could possibly carry. Two Bears unveiled a surprise for Stick that he had prepared in anticipation of their coming need. He had fashioned a large quiver made of old fur skins that couldn't be used for lodge coverings anymore. He had stitched the furs together with strips of leather, inserting small saplings at the corners to lend stability and support. He had also threaded in straps on either side so that they too were stitched when the furs were attached to the wood bindings. The result was a large quiver that could be strapped to either shoulder and hang from the back. He reached into his fur supply pack and handed the first one, wrapped in a tight bundle by the straps, to Stick. "Here Stick, put some of the points and smaller stones in this quiver."

After unwrapping the bundle, Stick examined the skin pouch and inspected the stitching and the extra knotting that had been used. He noted the bottom was reinforced with a doubled over layer of the fur. Spreading it out to maximum size, he was impressed with the storage capability. He had questions that he was anxious to ask, but first he wanted to load it and see how the weight would feel on his shoulders and back. He put in an amount equal to what he would normally attempt to carry, and then had Two help him get the straps settled over his shoulders. Once he had it settled and balanced, he had Two increase the load by an additional third before deciding that he needed to leave some room in case he had incorrectly estimated how much he could carry comfortably. Two Bears had tried his bag out earlier, and knew how much of a load he could comfortably carry. He loaded up all the remaining larger flint stones, plus another few that Stick had reluctantly put aside with his final sorting. Because of his earlier practice, Two Bears was able to swing the quiver up on one shoulder and hook his other hand through the free strap. It took him a minute to adjust things so that it rode comfortably on his back. He lifted his bow and the supply pack and arrow quiver. He put the supply pack and the arrow quiver around his neck and rested the weight against his chest. He reached down, balancing his heavy load carefully, and picked up Stick's things too. He helped Stick drape his quiver and pack in front and then the two men started back towards their village.

Moving through the forest towards their good hunting place, Stick was forced to make adjustments because his awkward walking gait made the heavy quiver load bounce around too much and irritated his back in several places. Seeing that his friend was having some problems, Two Bears had Stick walk ahead of him and studied the action of the quiver's movement. In a short time the two men stopped at a stream to rest and have a drink of water. Two Bears removed all of his loads and then helped Stick out of his. They decided to have a quick meal before resuming their journey. When they were ready to leave again, Two Bears loaded Stick's supply pack in back on Stick's right side before putting the heavy quiver back on Stick's shoulders and back. Once they resumed their journey, the quiver continued to move in the same way, but the supply pack bore the brunt of the impact from that movement. After several minutes of walking, Stick smiled and increased his speed back to his normal gait. Two Bears could see from the smile on his friend's face that the adjustment had been a huge success. They continued their journey through the afternoon before stopping for the night only a half a morning's distance from their destination. After eating, the two men talked about their hunting plans for the next day and about where they wanted to store their flintstone while they hunted and when they returned to the village.

"Two, how do you plan on finding me a woman? If you're thinking of digging a pit near the women's fire and then covering the opening with small branches, forget it, because I already tried that." Two Bears laughed at his friend's joke, but he knew there was a serious question hidden in Stick's words. In truth, ever since he had made the offer to help, Two Bears had racked his mind in search of a plan that would lead to success. He knew that Broken Stick was a good man, and he was convinced that he would make some woman a very good match. It would take a good woman though, to see past his crippled foot, and realize that all of his good qualities more than made up for his one shortcoming.

"I'm going to find some women that are willing to get to know you better. Women who will be able to see who you are, not just the way that you walk. If they see what I see, they will know that you are a good catch." Stick couldn't doubt Two Bear's sincerity, not the way he quietly spoke those words. His words had embarrassed both men though, and they settled back to wait for sleep to come to them.

They spent a good part of the next morning walking to their hunting spot and stowing their flint stones in a safe place away from hunter's paths. After setting up a camp and taking a short rest period, the two hunters walked over to the forest edge and looked for any sign of recent game movement. They found sign of the recent passage of several deer, but nothing recent enough to excite their senses and make them want to track the prey. They broke off their hunt and returned to their camp site just before darkness fell. Seasoned hunters, neither was in the least discouraged by their failure to make a kill. Hunting took time and patience. They knew that they would find something soon that they could bring down. They slept well that night, tired from the accumulations of their travels and the hunt.

Early the next morning they hurried off to a glade that animals often sheltered near. It had water and good cover, and both of them had known success when hunting there in the past. It was mid morning when Two Bears spied some movement at the edge of a small copse of elm trees, a good stone's throw from where they were standing. Seeing Two Bears nocking an arrow, Stick carefully reached for one of his own. They stood silent, both willing whatever was there to come out and show itself to them. A doe came out with a young fawn trailing closely to her. The two hunters relaxed their vigil and watched as the two animals drank from the water's edge. As soon as they had their fill, doe and fawn raced back to the relative safety of the trees. Neither hunter had been tempted to kill the nursing doe. They both knew hunters that wouldn't have even hesitated to make an easy kill, but these were men who didn't have the skills or confidence to wait for better game.

It was Stick who spotted the old stag that wandered into the glen before the sun had reached it's zenith. Bold as a seasoned warrior, the stag came forward without the normal caution that both hunters were used to seeing. It had just dipped its head to get a drink to slake its thirst when the arrow from Stick's bow thrummed into its side. It was probably a killing shot, but still the stag might have gotten some distance before taking it's final steps. Two Bears let fly with another arrow that struck the wounded stag high up on his neck. Stick buried another arrow within scant inches of his first shot, and this time the stag went down, it's head and rack making a splash when it struck the water's edge.

It took some time for Stick to dress out the animal, and for Two Bears to cut down a pole long enought to hold the stag so that they could transport it back to their camp. When he got back with the pole, Two Bears used some leather straps to bind the stag's legs, both front and back. The hunter's hoisted the pole on their shoulders and slowly made their way back to camp. That night they roasted a haunch and cut strips and slices to hang on a smoking rack that Two Bears was quickly constructing. they went to sleep with the smell of their fire and the meat curing on the rack. There would be a lot of waste, but they had a good skin and would bring back enough dried meat to make their hunt a success.