Chapter 67

I was up early the next morning and I woke Kateata by twisting and pinching on her nipples. Of course Dicky wanted to play, but I didn't think we had time. I headed for the edge of the bed making sure I kissed and nibbled on every naked woman I crawled over.

When I hit the floor I grabbed some clothes and headed for a shower. I wasn't even soapy before Shelalliea, Roweea, and Kateata joined me. I did my best to help them wash and noticed that the big shower kept acquiring new participants. It was fine with me.

After finally rinsing I went out to dry myself, leaving the women wet and naked and mostly still soapy. I was half dressed before they started coming out. Dalia did a fast job of drying and dressing and headed for the coffee pot. She had it in business before I got out to the kitchen and the coffee was almost ready when I arrived.

Shelalliea appeared next and soon I had a cup of coffee and I could smell bacon and eggs frying. There was toast in the oven and all was right in my world for a time. When the food was ready I dug in with gusto.

Georgo had made an appearance as the food got ready and he was doing a good job on his own plate.

"What is the first thing for this morning John," he asked me, between bites.

"The first order of business is teaching Dargo to ride. We should probably let him get started before we begin hunting."

"I think you are right. He will have much traveling to do. If he can ride it shouldn't take him very long though," Georgo said.

"Bigglieo told me Dargo was accustomed to working with the horses since he had helped with all the carrying that we have been doing lately. I think Dargo actually wants to learn to ride. It probably won't take long to get him on his way."

It didn't. Dargo took to riding Ben with no troubles. He was a little afraid to go into a trot and a little more afraid to gallop but he caught on soon enough.

Even though I already had a western style saddle for Ben, Argent had sent a McClellan for him also and I let Dargo use it. It would be lighter for Ben and it would have a better arrangement for Dargo to tie his sleeping furs onto. There were also saddlebags for it that Dargo could use to carry food for his trip.

By the time we had Dargo on his way Bigglieo and the others had already hitched the wagon and the new bigger wagon and everything was ready for the hunt.

I got my binoculars, M1, and ammunition and climbed onto the new wagon's seat. All my mates were already onboard. Bigglieo flicked the reins and we were off. We drove the wagon to within a hundred yards of the top and then everyone got off. Racaato, Natalto, Barago, Britta, and Erieta were in the other wagon and we waited for them to join us.

Walking to the top ahead of the others I used the glasses and spotted a bison herd not more than half a mile from us. I signaled to the others and we started walking toward it slowly. I spied a small rise no more than four hundred yards from the herd and I took a prone position when I got to the top.

All the others kneeled or sat behind me and I motioned for Bigglieo to come up beside me. I scanned the herd with the glasses while Bigglieo looked around for any other complications that might be nearby.

I was still studying the herd when Bigglieo nudged my shoulder and pointed in the distance toward a moving presence barely visible with the naked eye. I used the binoculars and as I focused on the movement I recognized Smilodon fatalis, commonly called the saber-toothed tiger.

Smilodon was a cat all right, but not really a tiger. With the glasses I could see the big, magnificent bastard stalking the periphery of the bison herd. He seemed as nonchalant as an English barrister out walking the dog.

As I studied the big cat it stopped and crouched, partially concealing itself in the tall grass. I'll swear it turned its head and seemed to be looking right at me, as if it were asking What are you waiting on. I wondered myself and setting down the glasses I shouldered the M1 and began harvesting the unsuspecting bison.

Smilodon's presence meant that I had to get on with it. When the cat decided to spring its ambush the bison would bolt en masse. They hadn't yet. Those near the ones I was dropping seemed to be getting a little anxious though. I gave it a ten-minute rest and then started again. Later I paused once more before finishing up. I'd dropped twenty-nine.

I picked up the glasses and searching carefully I spotted the cat again. It was creeping closer to its end of the heard now. It was nearly six hundred yards from me and I thought about taking a shot. Then I thought again. It almost seemed the cat had waited until I finished shooting before resuming its hunt.

I picked up the M1 again and dropped two bison about four hundred yards from my spot and only about a hundred and seventy yards from the cat. It wouldn't have to hunt anymore today.

Bigglieo asked me why I'd shot the two so far in the other direction.

"The big cat has to eat too. If he rushed the herd we'd have to wait until the stampede was over and they might have trampled some of my kills. They'll probably just move off slowly if it approaches the two dead ones up there," I said.

"That is very smart. When they run you can never be sure which way they will end up going. I have seen the cats try for them before and when they rush the bison run. If it walks up to the dead ones they probably won't run. You can be sure they will leave though," Bigglieo said.

My mates and the other observers had been spellbound. Most of them still were. When I stood slowly they came back to the here and now, and my mates rushed me laughing and all trying to hug me at once.

"You are magic John. The bison just stood there and let you kill them with the thunder. It seemed they didn't even know they were in danger," Dieta gushed.

"They didn't know they were in danger. They heard the sound and thought it was thunder. They didn't see any lightning and so they were not afraid. You cannot tell from where I fire, but the bison which fall do it before the thunder gets to the bison. They see a bison fall, but don't hear the thunder until it is down. They do get nervous after several fall though, that is why I would stop for a while," I told them all.

"I have never seen anything like it before and I would not have believed you if you had told it to me," Racaato said.