Chapter 18

Chris, Mecha, and I sat down with a Glock and I got started with the details. Mecha could understand me better than I thought and Chris provided clarification as we went along. I went over all I knew about safe handling, loading, unloading, and keeping it clean. Mecha soaked it up like a sponge.

After nearly two hours of class time we found an extra web belt and holster for Mecha and gave her one of Carl's extra 45 caliber Glocks and she strapped her gun-belt around her waist. I dug out one of the target stands and a couple of human silhouette targets and outside we went to make some noise.

The forty-five would have more recoil than the nine millimeters Chris and Mary were using, but Mecha and most of the other downtime women were built a little more sturdy. I didn't think she'd have any problem after the initial surprise was past. She didn't care much for the ear protection, but I'm sure she appreciated it after the first try.

Mary came along too for the firing practice and after Mecha took a couple of shots I let Chris and Mary give her the pointers. They knew the drill as well as I did and had the benefit of being able to communicate better, even though I thought I could make myself understood to Mecha by now.

Mecha took to it like a duck to water and with an hour of live fire practice she could punch out the target fine from forty yards. That was damned sure better shooting than I ever wanted her to need. We called ourselves done with the pistol practice for the day and I started wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea to get her acquainted with a Marlin.

Most of the rest of the day was boring for me, but I stayed around and was pressed into service when it came time for them to make my gloves. It was a little embarrassing that they'd left mine for last. Chris told me they'd done everyone else's first so they'd be better at it when they got to mine. It was the first time I'd been hand fitted for a pair of custom made gloves, but I can't complain about the result. They were the best pair of gloves I'd ever had. They even went to the trouble of sewing on a piece of rawhide in the palm for extra wear protection.

At least I got plenty of time to horse around with the kids while all the mothers were working. We had some excellent G-rated games of slap and tickle and hide and seek among the furs. Everything was merry as long as I was always it. I also got several turns as the horse in horsy. They adapted well to that even though they originally had no concept of riding a horse. I was especially glad they didn't know anything about saddles, bridles, bits, or spurs yet.

The rope, sling, and glove making was done before suppertime came near and it was a good thing because it let the women put their full attention on cooking. Chris and Mary had some lessons in store for them too. They introduced the others to the concept of broiling bear with a piece of equipment they'd brought along and I hadn't noticed before.

It was a cast iron broiler and it did a wonderful job on the bear steaks they'd cut especially for it. We had a very tasty vegetable stew too, but I made a mental note to try my hardest to find some kind of potato next spring. I didn't even hope I could find pinto beans.

With supper over and the kids snoozing I tried a more mature version of slap and tickle with the grown women. All but Chris and Mary were surprised but they were laughing and scrambling to get away from me before long. Since getting off the furs was against my rules I didn't have much trouble catching a suspect and of course they had to give it up when I did.

Breakfast was cooking before I woke the next morning and I assumed they'd been careful not to wake me. I got a shock when I headed out to bleed my lizard. There was light snow falling, but thankfully nothing serious and no appreciable wind. Still, it was a reminder I'd have to catch some horses soon or put it off until spring.

We were fed and on our way within an hour, even though we'd packed an extra travois load of bedding and food incase we needed to stay out a few nights or more probably incase the snow came on with a will and we couldn't make it back to the cave.

When we reached the backstop fence we put it's gate in place and paid extra attention to make sure it couldn't be knocked down easily. Everyone that was going to carry a weapon put it over their back by its new sling and we headed through the cut and into the other valley.

There was a little more wind on this side but it wasn't strong. It was blowing mostly toward the cut and that would be in our favor since it carried our scent that way. The group of a hundred or so horses that looked like the best for our use was about a mile on into the valley and we headed around the outer walls to try getting in behind them.

Even though we had slings for our rifles now, Marita had been detailed as gun bearer for one of the Barretts for me. I was carrying the Marlin in my hands but she stayed right beside me in case I needed more ammunition or the larger rifle. Most of the women had a rifle or shotgun slung even though they didn't know how to use it. They did know how to hand one to Chris, Mary, or me if we needed it though.

Just from looking it didn't seem like that would come up. The only predators we saw were a small pack of wolves and they were bothering some bison nearly all the way at the far end of this valley.

After a while it was easy to tell we weren't passing without the horses noticing. They didn't move off significantly, they glanced at us now and again and kept up with what we were up to.

When we were behind them we spread out with me in the middle of the line and Chris and Mary near the other two ends. It was a slow walk toward the band then and when we got as close as they wanted us to they moved along. Luckily for us it was in the exact direction we wanted them to go.

To me it looked obvious they'd been up to look around our construction at some time since we left it. They weren't disturbed or shy about the fence and gate on this end and they moved into the gap and beyond the open gate without any panic. After they were caught we stopped up this end and gave them half an hour to catch onto what had happened.

What I thought was the lead mare came back toward us after about ten minutes. The head stallion in charge was right with her and it was easy enough to tell she was distressed when she found there was no easy way out.

I changed my plans slightly after watching them. I'd intended to rope the stallion and try to get some control of him, hoping to get him out into the small forest on the other end. That now looked like it would be more trouble than I'd assumed. Catching him or the lead mare looked possible from this end now and there were a couple of trees near us that could easily be trimmed of low limbs for snubbing post duty.

I'd already gone over the snubbing post and winding the rope around it details with the women and it only took a mention for Reela and Keela to use the axes to clean the small oaks of limbs up to about eight feet. Their next job was to get into the makeshift pen and try separating the bunch to keep the lead mare and the stallion at this end and the rest of the small herd at the other.