Chapter 22

We headed for our hut then but I knew the talking would last and last after we were in it. I was right, and even Lanita sat around in the little circle my mates had formed, at least I hoped she didn't intend to get her licks in too. I was surprised when we heard someone scratching on the skin that served as a door.

Shaeta invited them in and it was Caloe. She was still a little flushed around the neck but I could tell she was pleased with herself, and she told us about it almost right away.

"It felt good to put that meddling fool in his place for once. The very idea of him telling Shaton he needn't take any more of the medicine. That's right, I pried it out of Shaton, even though it was like pulling teeth.

"I am not going to put up with that kind of thing. We have a healing woman; in fact we luckily have two healing women now so that people who are hurt or sick can get well. We don't need that idiot gajee maker going behind their backs causing things like this. I swear that if Shaton dies, Matatu will not see the next sunrise alive. I will kill him myself. Shaton may be bullheaded sometimes, but I've grown fond of him," she said.

"I don't understand why he would tell Zakat he didn't need anymore medicine," Nita said.

"I'm sure I know why, and I'm sure he didn't intend any harm. He just doesn't have any understanding of what was going on with Zakat. He probably thought the medicine was keeping Zakat weak now that he was cured. After all, he did look like he was well and he probably thought he was well himself.

"Matatu has ants in his pants to get over to see the place his vision showed him. I'm anxious to see it myself, but going again would be like leaving for a hunt before you made a spear. I can't see that there is a rush. The place isn't going to leave if we don't find it tomorrow.

"All Matatu has accomplished is even more delay. It will take three or four extra days for Zakat to be back to where he was before he stopped taking the medicine. It is unfortunate too, because it will take even more medicine now and my supply is not unlimited.

Caloe left us shortly and we were finally able to blow out our candles and get to sleep. I didn't even take time to explain to my mates that we were moving near the cashda for a few days. There'd be time enough to explain in the morning.

And there was. I told them after breakfast and they didn't question me about it. They merely started packing up things they thought they'd need, and there wasn't even that much. Lanita wanted to tell Buttercup goodbye for a while, and when they heard her ask they all shooed me away with her, saying I'd only be in the way.

After Buttercup's farewell, Lanita and I went back to the hut and everything was ready. Denac had even brought all of the workers over to carry things.

"I will keep two of them here to help finish the privies and then we might come over later this afternoon," he said, and then we were off.

Lanita laughed at me when I had to take off my pants and boots and such to cross the river but she was a good sport and held them for me while we did. It seemed like it took ages to get over and dress again but it was only minutes. Finally I had another brainstorm and asked if there were any vines that grew to good thickness and fairly strong.

"I've seen some often, but I don't know what they're called. What can you do with them?" one of the workers asked.

"I would like to make a long rope to stretch across the river. If we had one, we could make a raft and use the vines to pull it back and forth, that way we wouldn't get wet and we wouldn't have to take our pants off every time."

"But what is a raft?" Nita asked.

"They are made by tying dry logs together, and they will float, even with people on them. You can get on the raft on one side, pull yourself to the other side with the rope, and then get off. You don't have to get in the water."

"If I have time I will look for some of the vines today," said the worker that had claimed to know about them.

"You will have plenty of time to look, since that is now your job for today. You and one more will take my hatchet and go look for the vines. Bring back all that you can."

There was another snag when we got to the canyon. One of the two there was injured. He had an impressive bruise on his right thigh and it only took me a second to know how he got it. Nita knelt to look at and probe around on his leg but I started the third degree.

"How did you get close enough for one of them to kick you?" I asked, before he could open his mouth.

"How did you know what happened?" he asked, amazed.

"I've seen someone that has been kicked before. So how did you get close?"

"It isn't hard after a while. We walked around and around them, getting closer and closer, but not walking straight toward them. After a while they seemed like they were ignoring us. They didn't seem mad or frightened at all by then, but when I walked up behind one of them, it kicked me just as I said something to him," he said, pointing to the one that had been with him.

"You startled it. It wasn't paying you any attention and had probably lost track of where you were. When you spoke it was startled and it did what cashda always do when something comes up behind them while they're unaware. It kicked first and found out what was behind it later."

"The bone is not broken and with a few days rest he should be fine. It is quite a bruise though," Nita said.

"The cashda are large, strong, and have big hard feet. I'm surprised the leg isn't broken. I will show you all how to keep that from happening, but one of the best ways is to keep talking the whole time you are walking near one.

"For all their lives, anything that was sneaking up on them was trying to kill and eat them. You should always make sure not to sneak up on them," I said.

The rest of us headed to our pen project then and we had it finished completely before noon. We walked back to the opening and I was happy to see that my mates had food ready and had finished setting up our bedding and such.

After we'd eaten it was back to the salt mines, but the chore turned out to be easy. The pen was near the water supply and it didn't take much hazing to move all the cashda into it. After the gate was closed I climbed the fence and maneuvered around until I had one into the mouth of the chute, then it was easy to send him to the end, and one of the guys pushed a couple of short logs through behind him so he couldn't back out.

I was surprised that the stallion, the one I'd happened to catch, didn't raise more of a fuss when he discovered what had happened. He stayed fairly calm though, and after about an hour of speaking softly to him and touching him gently he was more than used to me. The next step would be the hardest, but there was something I needed to make, or get made, before we started that.

I gave the helpers some instructions about approaching slowly and petting gently and had them all stay close to the stallion. I even had them pull up grass for him and feed him from their hands. They seemed happy to do it for some reason, so I left them at it and went to fetch my mates.

My mates, and Lanita were sitting around in the trees and plaiting on the rawhide thongs they'd had left over from the lariats.

"Good, you're already working on the next thing I need," I said, as I joined them.

"What is that?"

"I will need a halter for the stallion, and eventually one for each of them," I said.

"You must show us what a halter is then," Nita said.

"Bring a shorter piece of the rope you've made and I will," I said, and Katia brought the one she was working on.

By the time we got to the pen and the stallion he was at ease with people. He might as well have been, there were two petting on him and two pulling up grass for his culinary delight and even one that was going back and forth to the little stream, bringing him water by the double handful. Pampered was the first word that popped into my head.

The girls, and especially Lanita, were happy to be so close and thrilled when they were able to pet it. After a while I got around to showing them what I needed in the way of a halter. It was much easier to explain with the cashda handy and Katia was even able to estimate the lengths they'd need to make by laying the short piece she was working on along his head and around it. Meanwhile, Buster munched on the treats he was brought and didn't cause much trouble.

Shaeta and Nita went back to our spot to gather the rest of the rawhide thongs they'd brought and when they returned they all went to work. Lanita and I went over to the pen's fence and stood there looking at the horses. It didn't take long for the youngest two colts to amble over to see what was going on.

I told Lanita she should offer them some grass, as if they didn't have plenty on the ground, but when she did it they were glad to munch it out of her hands, and soon enough they'd let her pet their muzzle a little before they backed off.

Lucky for me there was a handy tree near the chute. It was about fourteen to sixteen inches in diameter. After we'd finished our introductions to the youngsters I took the saw and removed all the low limbs from the tree, making it a serviceable snubbing post. By the time I was done the girls had finished the double strength halter I'd ordered and I was amazed at their progress.

It took about a half hour to get it on the stallion and the plaiting finished to keep it on him. Since we didn't have anything like a buckle, we just finished it to him.

We still had at least two hours before sunset so I decided to get on with it. I took two of the lariats they'd already finished and looped them through the halter and around the poll of the stallion's head. When I was ready one of the guys opened the front of the chute and another one urged the stallion out into the open. I made sure to keep the rope snug against his head so he would understand that he wasn't loose. At least I hoped he would understand.

Thirty minutes later I was suspicious that something had been done to the horse's disposition from afar. A wild horse is just never that easy to deal with. I wasn't complaining, but I knew something was up.

He wasn't trained or anything like that, but he never put up much of a fight at all. I had him following on the lead and stopping when I said whoa within half an hour. It was almost spooky. When I tied him to the snubbing tree he tried to pull away two or three times and then stood there patiently. I was amazed. I'd trained dozens of horses, but had never encountered one like this.

I tried an experiment about half an hour before sunset. I let him loose from the snubbing post and removed the doubled lariats, leaving only the halter on him. When he discovered he was free he trotted off about fifty yards and stopped to crop grass. I walked toward him then and when I was within ten yards he moved as if to go about his business elsewhere, but when I said whoa, he stopped and waited for me. That was just unbelievable, but it didn't make me mad or anything. I'd take any help I could get, from anyone.

We headed for our mini-camp then and all the talk was about the cashda. My mates were amazed that I could make that one do what I did, but finally I had to admit that I was as baffled as they'd been. There was no explaining what had happened.