by Jack L Knapp
“If you have questions about our supplies, talk to Margrette. Colin is the guy to ask about setting up camp every day. Sal will be working on our carts and building things. They’re necessary activities, so if he needs your help, give him a hand. Women, if you’ve got a problem, see Lilia. She’ll either solve it or pass it on to one of us who can.
“When Robert recovers, he may decide to make other arrangements, but let’s do it this way for now.
“If we find a good spot to camp, we’ll also stop early tomorrow. Let everyone catch up on rest, do what needs doing, recover from what we’ve already had to do. If you’ve got ideas or suggestions, bring them to me or one of my deputies. I’m going to depend on you, all of you.”
Matt stopped talking, and tired people headed for their beds. He went back to where his own small extended family was camped, found one of the folding chairs and sank into it. He intended to rest for a moment.
Lilia found him a little later.
“Matt, it’s either more problems or a boon. Sandra’s pregnant.”
“Oh, my. I have no idea what to do about that.”
“You don’t have to do anything. Women have been taking care of this forever. We’ll take care of Sandra too when she needs our help.”
Matt nodded and leaned back. His eyes closed and he soon nodded off.
Lilia woke him a little later.
“Matt, come to bed. I’ve got your sleeping furs ready. Tomorrow will come when it comes. You need rest too. We’re depending on you now, all of us.”
Matt nodded and rose from the chair. He was asleep as soon as he lay down.
Sandra woke him the next morning. Matt stumbled off to take care of morning needs, stretching aching muscles over-used the day before. He’d felt this way before…but that had been downtime, and he’d been quite elderly then, not to mention sick!
Margrette had a hot mug of tea waiting at the kitchen fire and Matt drank it gratefully. It helped. When had she gotten sleep? She would need a full-time permanent assistant or two. Someone…he would find someone. Maybe Colin could help.
Elizabeth and Bella found him there. Elizabeth’s eyes were puffy, Bella was more solemn than Matt had seen her since she joined the tribe.
“Matt, Robert died. It happened during the night. Bella was with him. He never regained consciousness. She told me about it when I woke up.”
Matt sighed.
“Elizabeth, Bella, you did the best you could. I’ll tell everyone else when they wake up. We’ll meet here, by the fire. If you could cover Robert’s body for now, maybe find one of the lightweight deerskins…?”
Elizabeth nodded, and taking Bella by the arm went back to where Robert’s body lay.
One more chore Matt would have to take care of. He wasn’t certain what to do…this was the first time that a death had occurred in camp.
It likely wouldn’t be the last. Robert…he’d been the tribe’s leader before Matt joined. How should they dispose of the body?
At least there was a new life growing. He would let Sandra announce that in her own time. How far along was she?
He wondered for a moment. There had been opportunities on the trek and during that extended layover at Riverbend Camp…
Could Lee, maybe Laz, maybe even himself…
Who was the father?
Chapter 16
“Colin, I don’t know what to do about Robert’s body. We don’t have the time to dig a grave or build a pyre. Cremation is also out of the question, the smoke would be visible for miles! We've got enemies out there, some we know about, maybe some we don't. People are still tired from yesterday, too. Got any ideas?”
“Matt, my people buried their dead mostly. That got expensive, so cremation was becoming popular. Some had started disposing of the bodies naturally at something called body farms. Those were places, away from people, that were used only for that purpose. Just put the body out, let nature take care of it.”
“I remember something about that. Would it bother people if we did it that way? Robert was the tribe’s leader. I don’t want people to think I didn’t respect him.”
“We’ve watched you two work together. I doubt it will be a problem.”
“Well, I’m not going to just dump Robert’s body in the dirt. Find a couple of people and have them build a platform. Use frame members tied together at the corners and make it long and wide enough. Set up four posts, tie the platform to them, then lay crosspieces on the platform. The whole thing will need to be level and strong enough to support Robert. Don’t make it too tall, maybe four feet at the most, then lay Robert’s sleeping fur over the crosspieces. Put his body on the fur and cover it with something light, deerskin maybe. When you’re done, we’ll have a short tribe meeting and people can say something if they feel like it.”
“What about Robert’s weapons? Early people left weapons and tools with their dead. Other stuff too, things the person loved.”
“If Robert loved anything, it was the tribe, and we need the weapons. We don’t have enough spares as it is. I’ll pass his bow and arrows on to whichever of our new people can handle them. Same with the spear; some are still using flint or obsidian points. Lee can decide who will get the other weapons. Marc or Laz will probably have ideas too.”
“You’re serious about making people responsible, aren’t you?”
“I am. Something else we need to do; Robert and I shared leadership and divided the responsibilities. But people may have their own ideas who they want as the new camp leader.
“Let’s get Robert’s body taken care of, then get people moving. The faster we get back to work, the less time they have to brood.
“We’ll stop as soon as we find a good spot this afternoon, set up camp and hold a tribe meeting after supper. See what people want to do about the leadership.”
“Matt, you’re the leader. I think even Robert felt that way.”
“Well…we need to talk about it anyway. I suppose I can keep doing it, but everyone needs the chance to talk. We’ll do it later today unless some kind of emergency happens.”
“I’ll see to it, Matt.”
With that, Matt left Colin and went to find Lee.
“Lee, we’re going to prepare a platform for Robert’s body and hold a short meeting. People need a chance to remember him, maybe say something about him before we leave. Colin’s having a platform made now. We’ll need someone on security duty during the meeting. What arrangements do you have now?”
“I’ve got two pairs of people watching. One pair is behind us, watching our back trail. That’s probably where the danger will come from. The other is roaming, covering the sides and the front. I’ll take a guard post while you’re having the meeting and keep Lilia with me. I’ll use Millie and Sandra too. That way, the ones who were with Robert’s tribe longest will have their chance to say farewell.”
“Good plan. We don’t know whether those slave raiders are on our trail or whether they found those heads and turned back. So I’ll make as many miles as possible, but I want to stop an hour or two before dark. Get camp set up, people fed, then hold a meeting to decide who will be the tribe’s new leaders. Your guards won’t be able to be at the meeting, so talk to them and find out who they want as tribe leader. Everyone gets to take part. Any problems with arranging that?”
“No. I’ll change the guards, send them back to camp so they can be there when you talk about Robert. I’ll work out the other arrangements and talk to you later.”
Matt nodded and headed for his own camp. Lilia and the others were packing the bedding already, so there was nothing for him to do. Well, he’d take a turn pulling a cart when the tribe moved out. Marja and Piotr could pull a cart too, and perhaps the girls they’d taken in after they escaped could pull the fourth one. But maybe not; Bella was now spending most of her time with Elizabeth.
“Piotr, I’ll be back after I’m finished with seeing to Robert. Can you talk to Marja and the girls, Cindy and Shani? We’ve got four carts to haul and Le
e will be on guard, Sandra, Lilia, and Millie too. Bella may be helping Elizabeth with her cart.
“The others will come in from guard duty after a while and switch over after we’re on the trail. I’ll be pulling one of the carts until then, probably the lead one. You and the rest of our family group will be behind me. Colin will have the job of making sure the rest of the tribe doesn’t straggle.”
“Sure, Matt. Do what you need to do. We can handle things here.”
Matt nodded. The day had barely started and there were already so many things to do!
#
Colin had finished building the platform and his workers had carefully laid Robert’s body atop his sleeping fur, the thin leather ‘blanket’ he’d used covering the body. Matt wondered briefly if he had made the right decision about the fur and leather…leather was always useful…but decided that practical considerations must take second place to esthetics. The tribe would need to hunt again anyway. More leather and furs would be found.
The meeting was short; people seemed shocked that Robert was gone. Only Elizabeth wanted to speak and she kept her comments short, speaking about the leadership Robert had provided and the ready friendship he’d offered to everyone.
People took a last look at the covered body on the platform and drifted away. Soon only Matt was left.
He looked at Robert’s body, misshapen beneath the leather cover. The amputation made it appear this body was that of someone else, not the vigorous, physical man Robert had been. But there was nothing more to do, nothing that remained to be said; Robert wouldn’t hear it anyway.
Matt hadn’t believed in religion before, and being transplanted and altered by futurists had done nothing to change those beliefs. None of the religions he’d known of envisioned humans transported to a virgin world just before death!
Matt finally turned away; he had a cart to pull.
Behind him, the thin leather covering fluttered. Then the breeze subsided and all was still.
#
Lee was visible to the northwest so Matt began walking toward him. The cart’s wooden wheels squealed on axles that had never been properly shaped or lubricated.
At least the load had been packed over the wheels so that the two shafts, formerly part of a travois, didn’t feel heavy. Pulling the load was work enough without adding sore arms and shoulders to the usual aches at the end of the day. Matt made a mental note to explore the idea of a strap system, something that crossed behind the neck before extending under the arms and attaching to the shafts. Perhaps with padding from rabbit skins…?
#
The tribe took a short mid-day lunch break to eat and rest. An hour later they were moving again.
This time Lilia led out, the next cart moved into line, and the others began moving as soon as there was space. People had found natural positions in the line about ten feet behind the cart in front.
Average length of each cart, with the two poles to draw it, about ten feet; with the spacing between carts, this meant that tribespeople were some twenty feet away from each other during movement.
The tribe stretched into a column, extending from the scouts in front to the trailing security element. A gap of some hundred yards separated the scouts from the column and a similar interval was between the last cart and the ones bringing up the rear.
Terrain ruled; the column might occasionally be as short as five hundred yards, other times it might extend half a mile. If an attack came while they were on the move...
#
There was little dust, at least for now. Nothing to do but pull the cart, which was perhaps a bit easier now that loads had been adjusted and the axles had worn smooth. At least the noise level had decreased.
Matt took Laz with him after lunch and relieved the rear guards.
“We’ll wait back here a while. If anyone is following us, they’ll be moving and we’ll be hidden. We’ll see them before they see us if they’re following. I’m of no mind to permit that. Another head or two on a pole would suit me just fine, especially if the heads belonged to slave raiders.”
Laz nodded. Bows ready, arrows nocked on the strings, they took up a position behind a concealing cedar tree. The thick branches and abundant scale-like needles hid the two very effectively while allowing them glimpses of their back trail.
Unlike the drag marks left by the travois, the wheels showed little sign of their passage. The first heavy rain or strong wind would eliminate the trail completely.
Flies, including a persistent deerfly, soon found them and refused to be discouraged. Finally Laz managed to kill the deerfly; other than that, the afternoon passed without incident.
#
“Time to go, Laz. If they’re following, they’re a long way back. They may even have lost our trail. Anyway, we’re going to have to move fast now if we plan on getting back before supper.”
Laz nodded and Matt led off, jogging until they were warmed up, then picking up the pace.
An hour later Matt stopped to listen. Ahead, the carts’ wheels creaked.
“Half an hour more, maybe. We can slow down if you need to.”
“I’m all right, Matt. We haven’t really been pushing the pace.”
“It was fast enough. We’ll catch up before dark and we won’t be too tired.”
Laz nodded and fell in behind as Matt trotted toward the screeching noise.
#
“Laz, why don’t you wait here? I don’t like not having covering our rear, even though I’m pretty sure we’re not being followed. I’ll catch up with Lee, and he’ll send out a couple of people to relieve you, shouldn’t take more than half an hour. I’ll see you at the kitchen. We’ll be meeting there after supper anyway.”
Laz nodded and Matt trotted ahead, toward where the tribe had stopped for the night.
#
Lee had picked a spot for the camp that was just past a ridge. Scrubby trees lined the crest; they would help conceal smoke, and the ridge-crest would hide the light from the campfire if anyone was following. A sentry on the ridge, by comparison, would have an excellent view of any pursuit.
The ridge provided enough elevation that Matt could look ahead. A succession of rolling ridges, none very high, extended as far ahead as he could see. Pulling the carts up the ridges would be tiring, and from a tactical consideration, someone could approach fairly close without being seen.
But possibly the terrain could be turned to advantage. A watcher on the military crest, just below the top of a ridge, could detect anyone waiting ahead or following the tribe.
The ridge slopes were thick with grass, but Matt saw nothing moving.
Not surprising; animals often grazed in the morning, then bedded down until late afternoon before finding a water source and drinking. There might be hundreds, even thousands of animals beyond those ridges.
For the moment the tribe still had quite a lot of dried meat from the successful bison hunt. Snares could also be set around camp in the evenings, a chance to educate Bear and the other youngsters. Small animals would be a welcome supplement to the dried meat and the women would find fresh plants.
#
Matt passed his comments to Lee as they ate supper, this time a kind of stew Margrette prepared from dried bison meat and roots she’d collected when the tribe crossed the stream.
“One more thing, Lee. We need to have a meeting, just you and Laz and me, before the tribe meets. This one needs to be kept quiet. I don’t want anyone to know what we talk about.”
Lee looked at him questioningly but nodded agreement. The three soon walked away from camp while others were still eating.
Ensuring that no one was nearby, Matt told the others what Lilia had said.
“Sandra’s pregnant. It’s her decision when she wants to tell people about it, but we three have our own decision to make.
“I don’t know who the father is.”
Laz simply looked at him. Lee looked at the ground and his ears grew pink.
“In practical terms, it c
ould be any of us.” Matt paused and let that soak in.
“The women have decided all along who they sleep with. That's likely to continue. Whether they stay with one man or with a different one every night is their choice. We don't have anything to say about it, nor should we.
"Here’s what I propose. I think it best in practical terms if we all consider ourselves the baby's father. There was something downtime called a 'line marriage'. The benefit was that everyone accepted equal responsibility for raising the children, and that’s what I suggest. That arrangement has a lot of advantages for us. If someone's killed, the children will still have a family to care for them.
"We keep adopting new people, and now there are as many of us camping as a family as there were in Robert's original tribe. Whatever we decide is right for us, regarding children and relationships, that's what the tribe will probably do. Not that I'll encourage them, but the women will talk to each other. If it works for us they'll adopt the idea.
"If the meeting tonight goes the way I think, we'll each have responsibilities. We can't just abandon the others, not now. I know we thought we might go our own way, but that's not going to happen now. We accepted Piotr and Marja, then Shani and Bella. There are the three men, Karel, Willie, and Carlo, that warned us about Pavel having a rifle. I consider them full tribe members because they fought with us at Riverbend Camp, and for that matter they’ve been part of our family.
“I mentioned family; I consider us to be an extended family, part of the tribe but closer than that.
"Think about it and let me know if you have a problem with sharing the responsibility for children. Sandra's not the only one, you know. Pregnancies will happen again. Women may or may not know who the father is.
"Millie has been visiting different men too. As long as it doesn’t create a problem, I'll let the women do the deciding. If people start quarreling, I'll get involved. We simply can't afford to let that happen. We have to trust each other, not wonder if the man next to us will fail us or turn on us when we need him.
"I think this is the fairest way for us to handle parenting. We'll eventually have to deal with the question, so I’d like a process in place before it's needed. Babies are babies, and raising them is more important than who contributed the genes.”