They were camped on the shores of the Brule where many of the tall trees had been cut down and floated down the river. The old men discussed this while the younger men set to work repairing the canoes. The women looked after the children while they prepared a meal. Man Killer tended to her canoe, patching the holes with wautab, or pitch, that she had gathered from the fading number of pine trees. She had grown used to this over the years and worked alongside the men if the situation called for it. She could fight and had killed many braves while defending them against attacks from the Sioux. Some of these braves were the finest fighters of their enemies and her name was well known.
He watched Man Killer for a while and finally walked over to where she squatted over her canoe. “You do fine work,” he said. “Maybe when you are finished you can help me with mine?”
“Don’t hold your breath,” replied Man Killer.
“What else can I do if my canoe sinks in the deep water? That is funny, right?” Stump Nose asked, laughing at what he thought was a very funny joke. When Man Killer did not respond, Stump Nose picked up a passing spider and began to slowly pull off its legs.
Man Killer saw this and quickly turned away. “Hilarious,” she said. “Now, will you give me some room to work? I have four babies to look after and plan to take a bath before we get moving,” she immediately regretted saying this last part. The look in Stump Nose’s eyes was one of desperate hunger.
“Need someone to wash your back?”
“I do not. Please leave me alone.”
He dropped the one-legged spider and watched it twist in agony. “I am good with my hands…”
“I will cut them off and make paddles out of them. It can be done.”
Stump Nose was puzzled by this. He looked down at his large hands and shook his head. This wasn’t going as planned and he needed to go back to his mother and tell her what Man Killer had said. She would know what to do. He grunted, leapt on a hapless toad, and walked away.
She ran her hand through her hair and fought back the tears that were behind her eyes. She pulled her knife from her belt and thought about crawling into the thicket and cutting the veins in her arms. They might not even miss her. She closed her eyes and saw her father’s face. The fleeting glimpse was all it took for her to stick the knife back in her belt. She returned her attention to her canoe and tried to put Stump Nose out of her thoughts.
Huck