The Mammoth Hunters (Earth's Children 3)

Talut put the axe down, hoisted the back half of the tusk to his shoulder, and started toward the enclosure they were building. Ayla picked the huge axe up to move it, and knew she could not have handled it. Even Jondalar found it too heavy to use with skill. It was a tool uniquely suited to the big headman. The two of them lifted the other half-tusk to their shoulders and followed Talut.

Jondalar and Wymez stayed to help wedge the cumbersome pieces of ivory in with boulders; they would present a substantial barrier to any charging bison. Ayla went with Deegie and Ranec to get more bones. Jondalar turned to watch them go, and struggled to swallow his anger when he saw the dark man move beside Ayla and make a comment that caused her and Deegie to laugh. Talut and Wymez both noticed the red, glowering face of their young and handsome visitor, and a significant look passed between them, but neither commented.

The final element of the surround was a gate. A sturdy young tree, stripped of its branches, was positioned upright at one side of an opening in the fence. A hole was dug for the base, and a mound of stones was piled up around it for support. It was reinforced by tying it with thongs to the heavy mammoth tusks. The gate itself was constructed of leg bones, branches, and mammoth ribs lashed firmly to crosspieces of saplings chopped to size. Then with several people holding the gate in place, one end was attached in many places to the upright pole using a crossed-over lashing that allowed it to swing on its leather hinges. Boulders and heavy bones were piled near the other end, ready to be shoved in front of the gate after it was closed.

It was afternoon, the sun still high, when all was in readiness. With everyone working together, it had taken a surprisingly short time to build the trap. They gathered around Talut, and lunched on the dried traveling food they brought with them, while they made further plans.

“The difficult part will be to get them through the gate,” Talut said. “If we get one in, the others will probably follow. But if they get beyond the gate and start milling around in this small space at the end, they’ll head for the water. That stream is rough here, and some may not make it, but that won’t do us any good. We’ll lose them. The best we could hope for would be to find a drowned carcass downstream.”

“Then we’ll have to block them,” Tulie said. “Not let them get past the trap.”

“How?” Deegie asked.

“We could build another fence,” Frebec suggested.

“How you know bison will not turn into water, when they come to fence?” Ayla asked.

Frebec eyed her with a patronizing expression, but Talut spoke before he did.

“That’s a good question, Ayla. Besides, there’s not much material left around here to build fences,” Talut said.

Frebec gave her a dark look of anger. He felt as though she had made him appear stupid.

“Whatever we can erect to block the way would be helpful, but I think someone needs to be there to drive them in. It could be a dangerous stand,” Talut continued.

“I’ll stand. That’s a good place to use this spear-thrower I’ve been telling you about,” Jondalar said, showing the unusual implement. “It not only gives a spear more distance, it gives it more force than a hand-thrown spear. With a true aim, one spear can kill instantly, at close range.”

“Is that true?” Talut said, looking with renewed interest at Jondalar. “We’ll have to talk more about it later, but yes, if you want, you can take a stand. I think I will, too.”

“And so will I,” Ranec said.

Jondalar frowned at the smiling dark man. He wasn’t sure he wanted to make a stand with the man so obviously interested in Ayla.

“I shall stand here, too,” Tulie said. “But rather than try to build another fence, we should make separate piles for each of us to stand behind.”

“Or to run behind,” Ranec quipped. “What makes you think they won’t end up chasing us?”

“Speaking of chasing, now that we’ve decided what to do once they get here, how are we going to get them here?” Talut said, glancing at the placement of the sun in the sky. “It’s a long walk around to get behind them from here. We may not have enough day left.”

Ayla had been listening with more than interest. She recalled the men of the Clan making hunting plans, and especially after she began hunting with her sling, often wished she could have been included. This time, she was one of the hunters. She noted that Talut had listened to her earlier comment, and recalled how readily they had accepted her offer to scout ahead. It encouraged her to make another suggestion.

“Whinney is good chaser,” she said. “I chase herds many times on Whinney. Can go around bison, find Barzec and others, chase bison here soon. You wait, chase into trap.”

Talut looked at Ayla, then at the hunters, and then back at Ayla. “Are you sure you can do that?”

“Yes.”

“What about getting around them?” Tulie asked. “They have probably sensed we are here by now, and the only reason they aren’t gone is that Barzec and the youngsters are keeping them penned in. Who knows how long they will be able to hold them? Won’t you chase them back the wrong way if you go toward them from this direction?”

“I not think so. Horse not disturb bison much, but I go around if you want. Horse goes faster than you can walk,” Ayla said.

“She’s right! No one can deny that. Ayla could go around on the horse faster than we could walk it,” Talut said, then he frowned in concentration. “I think we should let her do it her way, Tulie. Does it really matter if this hunt succeeds? It would help, particularly if this turns out to be a long, hard winter, and it would give us more variety, but we really do have enough stored. We wouldn’t suffer if we lost this one.”

“That’s true, but we’ve gone to a lot of work.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time that we went to a lot of work and came up empty-handed.” Talut paused again. “The worst thing that can happen is that we lose the herd, and if it works, we could be feasting on bison before it’s dark and be on our way back in the morning.”

Tulie nodded. “All right, Talut. We’ll try it your way.”