“THE TRICK WHEN USING a fire drill,” I informed my audience several minutes later, “is to pay attention to your supplies. Fire board”—I held up a flat slab of wood that had splintered free when a tree landed half under the rock shelter a season or more prior—“bone-dry tinder”—this was lint out of pants’ pockets from the backpacks combined with fibrous scrapings of inner tree bark—“and a strong, straight stick.”
“Can I go first?” Val’s enthusiasm helped me overlook the fact I couldn’t operate the fire drill one-handed. I’d wanted to save the day a second time, creating fire out of thin air to make up for my truncated cave. But teaching the skill was almost as inspiring, and dragging branches into the shape of a bonfire was still useful work.
Plus, it was impossible to turn Val down when s
