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She re the child’s life Brun even helped her out of the water She had felt a wars that were long and straight, a body too thin and too tall, blond hair and blue eyes and a high forehead hadn’t mattered Some of the clan tried to learn to swim after that, but they didn’t float well and had a fear of deep water
I wonder if Durc could learn? He never was as heavy as anyone else’s baby, and he’ll never be as muscular as most men I think he could…
Who would teach him? I won’t be there, and Uba can’t She will take care of him; she loves him as much as I do, but she can’t swih, and he’ll protect Durc He won’t let Broud hurt my son, he proood leader, not like Broud…
Could Broud have started Durc growing insidehow Broud had forced her Iza said men did that to women they liked, but Broud only did it because he kne much I hated it Everyone says it’s the spirits of totems thatenough to defeat my Cav
e Lion I didn’t get pregnant until after Broud kept forcing ht I’d ever have a baby…
I wish I could see hie, like I am He’ll be the tallest man in the clan, I’m sure of that…
No I’ain
Stop thinking about hiot up and walked to the edge of the river It doesn’t do any good to think about hiet me across this river!
She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn’t notice the forked log drifting close to the bank She stared with detached awareness as the outstretched liled branches, and watched, without seeing, the log bu moments But as soon as she saw it, she also saw its possibilities
She waded into the shoal and dragged the log onto the beach It was the top portion of the trunk of a good-size tree, freshly broken by violent flooding farther upriver, and not too waterlogged With a flint hand-axe, which she carried in a fold of her leather wrap, she hacked off the longer of the two forking branches fairly even with the other one, and tri stubs
After a quick look around, she headed for a clu on a fresh woody vine loosened a long tough strand She walked back pulling off the leaves Then she spread her hide tent out on the ground and du basket It was time to take stock and repack
She put her fur leggings and hand coverings in the botto with the fur-lined wrap now that she wore her summer wrap; she wouldn’t need the where she would be next winter, but she did not care to dwell on that She paused again when she picked up the soft supple leather cloak she had used to help support Durc on her hip when she carried him
She didn’t need it; it was not necessary for her survival She had only brought it with her because it was so that had been close to him She held it to her cheek, then carefully folded it and put it in the basket On top of it she put the soft, absorbent leather straps she took along to use during her s went in She went barefoot now, but still wore a pair when it et or cold, and they earing out She was glad she had brought a second pair
She checked her food next There was one birchbark packet of ar left Ayla opened it, broke off a piece, and put it in her ain after this was gone
She still had several cakes of traveling food, the kind the round-up dried hts of the rich fat made herwere lean, for the etable food she collected, she would slowly starve on a diet of pure protein Fats or carbohydrates in some form were necessary