Chapter 12
The trek back to the village took longer than it had taken to get to the hunting camp because of the additional burden of the beast they carried. Even with the amount the three had eaten, and what was left behind after dressing the animal, its weight was a formidable burden for the two men. They arrived just as people were beginning to straggle into the square for the evening meal, so the possibility that fresh tiger was now on the menu, even if for only a limited number of diners, made for an especially jubilant welcome. That all partakers would also be subject to the story of the hunt was immaterial. Hans were, after all, even better storytellers than they were hunters, and the better the hunt, the better the story.
As this had been an especially good hunt, it made for an es
