Crisscross Moon - 15. Chapter 15

15.

The cave was a good place to hide because the narrow tunnel only let one person in at a time. If the women wanted to kill someone coming to attack them, all they had to do was wait. But fire scared people as much as animals did, and smoke was part of fire. If he made a fire in the tunnel, it would threaten them. There was a chance the women could block some of the smoke, though there was little to block with. Mainly the clay jars and some rocks and stones. And once the cave began filling with smoke, they'd only want to leave

The night the women stayed in the cave, the four warriors left to protect the village had gone back to their meeting house. The boy realized they had to do this. If they hid near the cave, that would tell their attackers where it was. But that left the cave unprotected, which the boy used as part of his plan. When he was finally strong enough to start his long hike home, he tested his plan.

He waited until most of the girl's warriors left on another hunt. He knew they'd be gone for several days, so if his plan didn't work the first night, he could try the second. He also wanted to see if one of the older warriors would go after the larger group of men and make them come back before the hunt was over.

To get the women into the cave, the boy chased them all over the village and threw stones at the children and animals. He even tried to get the older warriors to chase him into traps he'd already set. The older boys threw stones right back at the boy and ran after him, but the boy always kept them at a distance. He ran till he was as tired as he'd ever been because he knew he could rest while the women and children hid in the cave. But after they did, the warriors didn't go into their meeting house. They went back to the village but stayed outside all night, watching. And there were only three of them, so the boy was sure the fourth had gone after the larger group of men.

Then the boy crept into the tunnel and lit the fires. He built the first one right where the tunnel opened into the cave. That way it couldn't be easily blocked. He built other fires inside the tunnel, using bundles of twigs he'd brought, and built the last fire just inside the entrance. He blocked most of that with his body and with rocks, so the smoke would stay in the cave.

He knew the fires would quickly go out. There weren't that many twigs. But they'd make enough smoke to scare the women. And they'd soon show the children how to stay low and crawl out of the tunnel.

When it was all done, the boy was happy with how it went. But there was a problem. Even after the fires and smoke were gone, the women and children didn't come out.

The boy stayed awake all night, waiting. He watched and carefully listened. In the morning, he was sure he'd fallen asleep, and the women and children had somehow slipped past him. But when he went to the village, there were only the three warriors.

The boy went back to the cave. The fires were definitely out, and there was no sign of smoke. But there was no sign of the women and children. That scared the boy. If he couldn't get anyone out of the cave when he wanted, then he couldn't bring back his warriors. And without his warriors, he couldn't have the girl.

When the boy heard the three older warriors coming toward him, he hid in the brush. He was tired and wanted to sleep but had to know about his plan. One of the older men crawled behind the bushes that hid the cave entrance, and the boy was sure he was going to get the women. But he came back alone, after too long a time.

The boy couldn't hear what this warrior said to the others, but he could watch the three of them talk. They spoke for a long time, then a second one made a torch and went into the cave. He was also gone a long while, and when he came out, he spoke with the other men. While they did that, they all made torches, then two of the warriors went into the cave. The third stayed, and the boy could easily have trapped him and lit another fire, a much bigger one. That would get everyone out.

After a long time, the two warriors came out. All three men talked again and then went back to their meeting house. The boy desperately wanted to know what was happening but couldn't risk going into the cave. He knew he could be too easily caught, and he thought that might be just what the warriors wanted. Maybe they knew where he was all the time, and they just wanted to trap him in the tunnel between them and the women.

As he thought about this, the boy was falling asleep. He knew he wouldn't be safe or even able to think clearly until he slept. He finally left and did sleep, but when he came out of his cave, it was dark. So he waited until light.

When he went back to the village, there were still no women. He went to the cave, and the three warriors were waiting outside. One was watching, and two were asleep. When they woke, one by one, they made torches and went into the cave. And that's how they passed the day. The warriors continually made torches and went into the cave. When it grew dark, they moved back to their meeting house, and again waited outside, as if watching for the other warriors.

The boy thought maybe he'd made too much smoke and had killed everyone in the cave. But he didn't think that was possible. The fires hadn't been that big, and he even thought the women had put the first one out, using water from the jars. He wondered if there'd been too little smoke, and if everyone inside the cave was fine and just waiting for the warriors to come back and protect them.

He decided he needed another plan. He thought that maybe he could block the tunnel before the women and children even began to hide, and he wondered what they'd do if they had no place to go. They might run back to the village, but that wouldn't be safe in an attack. They might scatter in the forest and try to hide. The boy liked that idea because, in the confusion, he and his warriors could easily take the girl and her sons. It seemed like a much better plan.

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