People of the Lakes by W. Michael Gear & Kathleen O'Neal Gear

Author:W. Michael Gear & Kathleen O'Neal Gear [Gear, W. Michael & Gear, Kathleen O'Neal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781417636341
Publisher: San Val
Published: 1993-12-31T13:00:00+00:00

“Ornaments!” Black Skull said, indicating the sack of loot he’d taken from the dead warriors.

“Right! And Wolf of the Dead himself took ten jars of honey beer in return.”

“And a couple of badger bowls,” Black Skull added.

“See, you are getting good at this.” Otter noticed that the Khota had closed the distance. They’d be hollering soon. “Oh, and Green Spider? When the. Khota catch up with us, I want you to howl, scream, and talk so much that no one can get a word in unless they drive it into the conversation with a mallet, understand?”

“No!” the Contrary responded.

“Good.”

“You there!” The cry carried across the water. “Hold up!”

Otter brought Wave Dancer neatly around, using his paddle to backwater. In pidgin, he shouted back, “We already made our contribution to Khota health and wealth!”

“No weapons out,” Black Skull barely whispered.

Otter could see that Pearl had gone tight with fear. She wouldn’t break, would she? If so, it could all come apart very fast indeed.

The Khota canoe skipped across the water, the four men as sweat-damp as Otter’s party. “Who are you?”

“Four Kills! A Trader of the White Shell people. Who are you?”

“Charcoal Thumb, a warrior of the Khota. You have just come from Khota territory.”

“Indeed,” Otter replied as the Khota canoe came to rest no more than ten paces off their beam. “And we’re now in Ilini territory—as the post back there marks. What does Wolf of the Dead want now?”

The four Khota warriors were staring openly at Pearl, muttering among themselves.

Black Skull bellowed, “He already got our honey beer. Ten pots of it! And our badger bowls. Do you know how valuable badger bowls are? And my purple shirt. I had to Trade Long Squirrel ten tens of sharks’ teeth for that purple shirt!”

“All right, all right,” Otter hissed from the side of his mouth.

“Don’t overdo it.”

“Who is this woman?” Charcoal Thumb demanded.

“Her name is Fat Frog. A woman of the Tall Cane people.

She’s my wife.”

“We’re looking for a woman,” Charcoal Thumb stated as he squinted at Pearl.

“I might make you a good deal on this one,” Otter told him.

“Do you know how many stops a pregnant woman has to make?

We’d be most of the way upriver if she didn’t have to get out of the boat every half a heartbeat. What an ordeal.”

Several of the Khota chuckled. Pearl twisted around, her dark eyes flashing. Whatever that look meant, it boded ill for the future.

Otter added, “This child of hers is coming in another moon.

If you think I’ve got trouble now, just wait until it shits stinky brown goo all over my boat! How about I Trade you straight across? One of your young men, of good wind, strong in the shoulders, for this woman? Oh, and the young man must bring his own paddle and take orders without backtalk.”

More Khota laughter broke out.

“Is that right, woman?” Charcoal Thumb asked as the Khota crabbed their canoe closer to Wave Dancer.

In pidgin, Pearl responded through gritted teeth. “I did not want

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