Chapter 13

If ever there was a match obviously made in heaven it was Jekaycey and Denac. From their first dreamy rendezvous that morning it was plain to see if you only looked.

Denac's near worshipful demeanor made it seem he should have a hat, so he could have met her with it in his hands, and the genuinely pleased smile on his face fit him perfectly then, as it never could have before.

Jekaycey's mood matched his and it made me wonder if I'd looked like that when the spirit had moved me. Then I realized that I must have looked exactly like that twice. One thing was certain; Denac would not be helping me with the tree today.

That didn't mean today wasn't meant to be the day the tree came down though. Or I knew for sure that someone thought it should. Maybe my benefactors and Breezus just hadn't bothered to get together to check their calendars of events. Things had been arranged, though I didn't make my discovery until after we'd had our breakfast.

With Denac out of any work related action for three days, and with my mates rushing into their thong cutting as soon as breakfast was over, I was on my own again today. I gave Buttercup a walking but even though he seemed happy to have the attention there was only so much time I could use up with him.

We had been lucky to get the camp up and going without a rain, and it made me remember my trunk and other things that were just too bulky to come into the hut. I had a small type of shed in mind for it all as I headed that way. When I got there thoughts of shed building went onto the back burner.

It wasn't the first time I'd received a gift from my travel agents, but it had been a while since the last one. They made up for it with this. Leaning against my trunk was an eight-foot two-man saw, and a four-foot topping saw. The eight footer wasn't made as a strictly crosscut or felling saw, it was for double duty and could be used as a ripping saw too.

There were also six wedges, two ten pound sledges, two splitting mauls, a two pound hammer and a three pound, and two carpenter type handsaws, one eight point and one five point. I also had a largish box of files, three Arkansas stones, and four sheath knives, and other small tools and things.

My benefactors hadn't left my mates out of the goodies either. Some of the new items must be presents for them; two Bowie knives with ten inch blades, and two six inch drop point hunters. One really odd inclusion was a four-inch by eight-inch piece of aluminum screen wire, like window screen. I didn't have a clue what it was for. Last but not least was a pair of Red Wing lineman's boots, a climbing harness, and a set of tree climbing spikes.

Of course the two-man saw was the star of the show and it was no doubt for felling the bee tree we'd robbed yesterday. The sledges and wedges would be needed to keep the kerf open as we made our way through. They and the mauls would also come in handy later to split firewood.

The mating dance that Jekaycey and Denac were involved in would make cutting the damned tree down too much of a pain in the ass today, no matter what my friends wanted. They should have sent me a couple of decent shovels if they wanted action right now. I could dig for the meteorite by myself with a good shovel.

Oh, I could work on the tree today all right, but not fell it. I could top it by myself, even though it wasn't the safest of things to do. Actually, though I was glad to have the equipment for topping, I didn't think it would really be needed on the bee tree. It wasn't all that tall in the first place.

Sure, there was a chance it would break apart when it fell, especially since it had a big hollow portion and not to mention the serious scorching it had received. It wouldn't really matter though. Firewood was all it was good for now. I didn't care how badly it mangled any comb that might be in the hollow and we surely had enough honey, for the time being anyway.

Looked to me like my shed building gig was still a go. First I'd have to deal with my new things though. They hadn't come with handy dandy cases like everything else, except for the one holding the files, stones, and other small things. There was not a chance in hell I'd try to put them into the hut without warning my mates this time, and asking if it was all right.

Meeting them as they were coming back from a stream where they'd soaked two of the hides, I followed to where they had a spot picked out to work. As they got to it, I noticed they had some type of lapboard to use while they were cutting. It must have been a hell of a job for whoever made them. They had to have been split off a large log and then sanded smooth with real sand.

Before they got started I led them to my cart and showed them the new arrivals. I'd expected them to be very surprised but they weren't. I couldn't stop from asking them about it.

"The medicine woman story we told you about tells of her receiving gifts during the night sometimes. We do not know what they were anymore, even though we know the names of some of them. After this long though we don't know what the names mean.

"One time during a big sickness she received some syringes and some vials of antibiotic. Another time she received some scalpels. I don't remember the other things though," Shaeta said.

"Do you know what antibiotic is?" Katia asked.

"Yes, it is a type of medicine and it is pushed into the body with a small needle that has a tube down its center. This is done with a syringe. Scalpels are small and very sharp knives used to cut into a person's body," I said.

"Suture. That was something else. She got some suture. What is suture," Shaeta asked.

"Suture is a type of small thread that is used to sew a body closed again after it has been cut. They will work for accidental cuts or for cuts the healing woman might make with a scalpel," I said.

They were satisfied with the information, so I told them about all the things I'd received and showed them the items. They had no trouble understanding after I explained each thing.

The lineman's boots were the strangest things to them, or the climbing spikes and the harness at least. They couldn't understand my fascination with climbing trees. I gave up trying to explain it after a few minutes. They agreed that of course I should put the new items inside the hut, and they also approved of me building a shed. They even encouraged me to put the tall case my bow was in inside.

With at least a few marching orders I got to work and they went over to a large deadfall that we had all been using as a sort of community couch. They sat down and after a few minutes they were busily cutting the rawhide into thongs.

Their work perch reminded me that I could use the two man saw to fell larger trees than they normally did. Solid wood furniture made from sections of a tree's trunk would be heavy, but the saw could make it easier to obtain.

After storing my bow's case and my new arrivals in our hut, I left with the cart, hatchet, Glock, and topping saw. I was going for a few more of the birches and maybe a small oak that I'd try splitting shingles out of if I could find one I thought I could manage on my own.

This was not the best time of the year to cut shingles, I knew that, but there wasn't really much choice. I needed a shed, now; I couldn't wait for winter to come to send the sap down to the roots. I'd have to do the best I could and then do it again this winter.

Five hundred yards from camp I turned around and headed back, for my M1. I'd smelled a vendal, or something very similar. I'd only seen two in all my time on Margata and since they were similar to the black bears of earth I'd steered clear of them.

The scent hadn't been exactly the same as the two others, and it was more than a half-mile off, still, they were dangerous, much more aggressive than earth's black bears. A half-mile wasn't that far away either. This was serious.

After I told my mates, they were worried, hell I didn't blame them, I was worried too. Since they'd told me about the Meseeka I didn't worry about others seeing my M1 and I fetched it next. Shaeta and Katia followed me and kept insisting that I tell Zakat. I relented and started looking for him.

He and Matatu were near the center of camp, discussing something with Caloe, Shata, and Caltort. I hated to interrupt but felt like I had to.