Chapter 79

The next morning I must have been over my pouting about so much company, because I was glad to see Raalto when he came in for coffee and it wasn't only because he brought Reeana and Jareena with him.

They fell in with the cooking, watching mostly, and Raalto sat with me to drink coffee and talk. I'll admit I paid more attention to watching his mate's asses than I should have, but I tried to make sure he didn't notice me at it.

Georgo and Ladeliea entered a few minutes later - she joining the kitchen crew and Georgo sitting with us. Delia brought him a mug of coffee and the three of us talked while breakfast was being cooked.

"I think it is time I tried riding a horse, John," Raalto said.

"You are right. You will need to be able to do it when you go back for your things. When were you planning on leaving for them?"

"I have heard Danlo, Jonoco, and Nadlo are some of your main men for working with the horses. If it is so I should probably wait until their mating nights are over," he said.

"You are right and tonight is the last of them. When they wander in and are fed I will send them to begin making preparations for the trips.

"You should probably learn about the travois today too. Even with the two wagons and the buckboard you will still need travois horses to move so many goods. I hope it can be done in one trip."

"I have seen Danlo putting a travois on one of the biggest horses, for practice I think. Are they difficult to work with?" he asked.

"No. Once the horse knows what is to come they are usually more than willing to behave. I'm sure the large horses will hardly notice the weight of the travois behind them. It will be a good day for you to learn about using them."

Our food came then, and while we were eating Nadlo, Jonoco, Danlo, and their mates came in. The young men couldn't help smiling as they took their seats and the girls were whispering among the women when they joined them around in the kitchen.

Raalto, Georgo, and I finished and went outside. I told Danlo, Jonoco, and Nadlo to join us at the horse cave when they had finished eating.

I caught Red when we reached the pens and then caught the Quarter Horse stallion, Bob, for Raalto. I took my time saddling Red and explained everything I was doing and why I was doing it. When I'd finished with Red the newly mated men were with us.

I told them to catch and halter all the Clydesdales, the Morgans, and the three Quarter Horse mares while I watched and helped Raalto saddle Bob. I was taking a little chance putting a new rider on a stallion, but I'd watched Bob fairly closely since he got here.

He seemed to be a very mature mount. I was reminded of Argent telling me most of the horses had been older and had merely been put back to a younger version of their bodies. Bob looked like a young horse, but he acted like one who'd had his share of asses across his back.

When Bob was saddled I mounted him to make sure he was indeed safe for Raalto to ride. Bob was alert, but cooperative, so I got down and showed Raalto how to mount. When he was aboard I gave him a few rudimentary instructions, mounted Red and led us off up canyon.

When we reached my cave I stopped and we dismounted. There was nothing to tie the horses to, so I asked Raalto to go inside and ask Maia or Merita to come out for a few minutes. He returned with both of them. I gave them each a kiss and asked them to hold our mounts while we went inside for a few minutes.

I intended to take my M1 with me and I was going to have Raalto bring his also. Bigglieo, Caato, Barago, and all their mates were eating when we went through.

I told the men the trip was planned for tomorrow and asked Bigglieo to spend most of the day getting things ready and helping the others learn about the horses, wagons, and travois. They all agreed.

Raalto and I went to the practice cave, got our rifles, and then went back outside. I told Maia and Merita where we were going.

"Are you going to hunt?" Maia asked.

"Not especially, but if we see game which looks easy to get we might take it," I said.

"Now probably isn't a good time, but soon Maia and I want to learn to ride so we can go with you. I think the wolves would like to be hunting some, even though they have plenty to eat. The three oldest are always sniffing around and stalking things. Do you think they could learn to help a person who is hunting?" Merita asked.

"I'm sure they could and I'm glad you reminded me. I will start teaching you to ride while the others are gone for their things," I said, making sure they knew it was a promise.

Raalto and I started upriver then. I watched and it seemed to take almost no time for Raalto to change from a tentative anxious perch on the horse to a relaxed confident seat. When we reached the place where I'd found the new horses we explored it a little. After a while I decided to head even farther upriver.

About a mile on up, the valley widened appreciably. There were spots of woods scattered around, but it was mostly grassland.

"Raalto, I think we have found our hay. This will be a good place to start cutting it anyway. It isn't too far from our camp and there is plenty. I'm surprised there aren't more animals grazing here," I said.

"I'm not. Look," he said, pointing.

We had been trending generally north during our ride. Raalto was pointing off toward the northwest. I hadn't brought the glasses with me, but I could see what he was pointing out.

About seven hundred yards from us there was a pride of cave lions lounging near the canyon's wall. Raalto and I decided we had explored enough in this direction. We were armed well, but Raalto still wasn't nearly proficient enough with his rifle to be taking on a pride of lions.

The cave lions would have to be dealt with before we could cut hay here. We headed back down river.

"The cave lions will make it difficult to cut hay in the area," Raalto said, after we'd headed back.

"I will have to kill them or make them leave."

"They are very dangerous, John. They are best avoided if possible," he said, stating the obvious.

"I know they are, but it is too good a spot for gathering hay to just leave to them. I will be able to take care of the cave lions. We will do it this afternoon if they are still there when we get back."