Chapter 20

When Routata and his bunch arrived we turned the dead lions and the dead parents over to them. With Daro face down on a travois and the baby, Chiqa, in my arms Catla and I went back to camp with the rest of my mates coming along right behind.

Catla assumed we'd take Daro into the hut when we made it back, but I knew we'd never have enough light inside to do any good. I had them make a pallet outside and I pulled out the first aid stuff while they got Daro settled onto it.

"I need for you to boil some water for me. Put a big pot of water on the fire and keep it boiling. Catla, you and I must wash our hands with this soap and then put these gloves on."

"But what kind of gloves are they?"

"They are to make sure our hands are very clean when we touch Daro. It will help keep his wounds from getting infected and angry later."

After my hands were clean and gloved I found the topical anesthetic and misted it over Daro's back everywhere. Once his skin was fairly numb I used an injectable local in several places around the deep claw marks until his back was almost completely deadened. There would have been no way to wash out the wounds without it.

Although the water was still boiling, I used a bag of sterile water from the kit to irrigate all the wounds and then I opened a sterile brush and began washing out the gouges with Phisohex soap and the small scrub brush. We had bloody bubbles right away and I kept it up until I was sure every last claw mark was cleaned thoroughly.

I rinsed his deep cuts with more sterile water and then coated him with antiseptic spray before we got started. I had Catla remove her gloves, wash her hands again and then put on a clean pair.

Showing her how to sew with the curved needles and a pair of hemostats to handle the needle took time, but it had to be done. I reminded her to touch nothing but the hemostats with her fingers to make sure they stayed clean.

I cleaned my hands and changed gloves too then and we got started. I pushed the sides of the wounds together and Catla placed the stitches. We must have worked on him for over two hours, but it had to be done. None of the claw marks were dangerously deep, but I could tell the scarring would be horrible if we didn't do a decent job of closing the wounds.

I'm sure the local had nearly worn off by the time we finished so I gave him half a cc of Talwin in a butt cheek. As small as he was I knew he wouldn't be able to think clearly for a while, but I knew he wouldn't be feeling any pain either.

A single layer of gauze was all I used for a bandage. I wasn't going to let him do anything but sit around and all I wanted the gauze to do was keep insects and trash out of his wounds. I knew we'd be changing the bandage often. Later, when the healing was underway a little and we allowed him to be mobile we could use a more substantial covering.

Since he was high as a kite, Daro didn't give us any trouble about just lying around. Layta and Leita fed him broth for supper. It was almost comical to see them kneeling and squatting and trying to get the broth into Daro while he was lying with his face toward the ground.

Chiqa presented her own problems. She would be making a rude switch from titty delivered nourishment to spoon fed broth. We had asked Minga for help, but she told us there were no nursing mothers in their camp. Chiqa would get by, but I was sure she wouldn't be pleased at first.

Of course I had to be the first to feed her and I'll admit I loved it even though she did fuss at me pretty much the whole time. Baby bottles were one thing Rose hadn't thought I'd need too badly and she hadn't sent a one.

I finally let the women have another turn with her after she'd had her broth. I still had work to do the next morning and I went to my furs for some sleep. I made Catla come along with me since I'd be counting on her tomorrow. Shayta and Nanita came along only a few minutes later. I wasn't in the mood for any acrobatics tonight and the girls weren't either, but it didn't mean we went to sleep immediately.

"Jack, you have made us all very happy today. We're deeply sad for the children over their loss, but we can hardly keep from smiling our faces off. We all want our own children, but Daro and Chiqa will do nicely for now. We will have a chance to learn about caring for them before our own start arriving. We are very happy," Catla said, as we lay down, and I could tell she was letting me in on something they'd all wanted to say.

It made me happy too. Firstly because I thought having children around would be wonderful and secondly because I was getting all the credit for this wonderful development when all I'd really done was take a ride and end up becoming a hero, especially to my women.

Daro and Chiqa were both still sleeping when breakfast was served in the morning. Nanita was the designated nursemaid for the day, but I nominated Keeta to stay with her to help. I was afraid a wounded boy somewhere around eight or nine and a baby less than six months old would probably be more than one woman could handle.

Routata came to greet us before we finished saddling our mounts and he led us over to show us where the children's parents had been buried. I was impressed and grateful. They'd been planted beneath a large oak and Routata told us their torn clothes had been replaced.

"We gave the man two stout spears and six of the new throwing spears so he could protect his mate in the next life and we gave her a sharp knife for skinning and plenty of food for their journey," he said.

I was touched and I thanked him for the thought. I wasn't sure about the details of their spiritual beliefs since it had never come up, but it sounded like the two had been given a good sendoff and I was sure it would mean something to Daro and maybe even to Chiqa someday.

The lions had been treated royally too, but I'm sure they didn't appreciate the attention. Their delicate edible insides were given to our wolf pack and their teeth and claws had been removed, rinsed, and put into a hide bag for us to have.

It was time to forget all that now though and we mounted and headed toward our job of the day. We had some wrangling to do and we got at it. We were able to pen all the horses with little problem and then I was inside roping. As per usual I caught the herd stallion first and the lead mare second.

After they were all set up and learning about standing tied I went to work for more. Routata's men had prepared ten snubbing trees and I filled them all before we called it a day and released the rest of the penned horses. The camp was surprised we stopped there, but I told them all the horses needed now was protection from other animals until day after tomorrow.

In a way Routata's camp was better prepared for what came next than Cartallow's had been. They had already made plenty of halters and hobbles and they had what seemed like miles of thongs cut for making lariats. There were also plenty of women waiting on go to get started learning to braid lariats and three men who were desperate for saddle making lessons. They'd have all day tomorrow to get a running start.

I, on the other hand, had the rest of the afternoon to play with my newly acquired children. Daro was being a good patient when we got back to camp, but he was having quite a bit of discomfort. Half a Percodan took care of the pain within half an hour.

He wasn't happy about having to lie on his stomach, but he couldn't complain about his pallet. In fact he was amazed to be resting on lion furs with a bison fur mattress.

I told him about his parent's burial arrangements and I could tell he was proud for it even though his eye's leaked for his loss several time. He was also surprised we had taken him and his sister in. Of course by the time we got back from catching horses he was aware of the details.

With Chiqa in my arms I sat and talked to him until supper was ready. He was surprised again when I told him we'd be catching and training a horse for him while he was getting well, and more surprised when Catla held up some leather she was working on and explained it was his saddle she and the others were making and then she explained what a saddle was for.

At suppertime I got a surprise of my own. Last night I hadn't even given a thought to the fact all my women were sleeping with me. Talia, Routata's mate, had organized her camp's women and sent them in shifts to stay outside with Daro to care for him during the night. Routata and his bunch were giving us the royal treatment and I appreciated it.