Chapter 19The next morning, we put Todoh under stress by cutting out twenty head of steers and heading for Trickling Water. I fretted the animals were not yet meaty enough, but Matthew assured me they would go a long way toward alleviating hunger among our kinsmen.
My spirits lifted when I saw Winter Bird. We tarried beside the small party’s campfire to bring one another up to date and to pay Bird for his wares. Matthew had claimed it was a small load, but the packs burdened our two horses to the point I feared we might have to walk back to the farm. This was a blind transaction, as we did not take time to unload the packs and examine each piece, but I was prepared to stand any loss should I have miscalculated the value of the goods.
Before my young friend and his companions departed, I
