Cleared For Planting by Janice Cole Hopkins

Author:Janice Cole Hopkins [Hopkins, Janice Cole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Life
Publisher: Ambassador International
Published: 2014-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Village

Emma had lost track of the days. She wished she had been more aware of time, but the days had all run together in sameness.

They walked constantly during the days and stopped only in the late afternoon. The braves seemed to know the area, where to find water, and where to hunt. Whenever they turned in a direction other than due west, it seemed to be for a reason. They’d eaten all the dried mix for breakfast. Now the men tried to hunt enough for supper to have some left for breakfast.

Emma had stayed tied to the leader for the first few days. When she needed to relieve herself, she would point to a bush and go behind it. The leader would stand in front of it with his back to her until she finished, but he kept the leather rope in his hand. If he needed a private moment, he would hand her leash to Scarface and take it back again when he came out.

Finally, one morning Emma pulled at the cord around her neck, pointed into the woods to the east, and shook her head. The leader seemed pretty adept at understanding her gestures. Emma felt sure he’d know she was asking him to take the leash off her and saying she would not try to escape.

He looked at her and at Sliced Arm. Sliced Arm said something in a contrary tone. The leader looked back at her. His eyes bored into hers as if he were reading her mind. He removed the cord.

She still tried to stay as close to the leader as she could, for she didn’t trust the others, especially Sliced Arm. She noticed if she fell behind, either the leader or Scarface soon moved near her, and she appreciated their care.

It amazed her how much freer she felt without the leash. She remained their prisoner, but she didn’t feel as degraded.

When they made camp that afternoon, all the men went hunting. She couldn’t believe it. Did they trust her that much? Then, she realized if she did run, she’d never make it back on her own. If the sky stayed clear, she might be able to use the sun to go east, but how would she eat? She had no way to hunt and no way to protect herself against animals or even bad weather. To stay safe, she’d best stay with the leader.

While they were gone, she walked around close to the camp and gathered firewood. She could at least do that much. She had gathered an armload and turned to go back to camp, when she saw someone duck his head back behind a tree. She pretended to walk toward the camp, then suddenly turned around and ran to the tree. There was Scarface trying to get out of sight.

They hadn’t left her alone at all. It had been a test to see if she would try to escape. The leader came out from where he’d been hiding. A grin broke out across his face as he said something to Scarface.

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