The Packhorseman

16. Tugalo

16 Tugalo “Old Hawk’s Mother will never give me any peace,” said Otter Queen.“My life in Keowee is misery.” William sighed and stared up at the bark roof above their bed. Time had passed and Otter Queen’s feelings were still the same. “There is nothing we can do about the Birds,” he said, “this is the town where we live. This is our Verona.” Otter Queen sat up suddenly. “There is something we can do, Willy! If this is Verona, we can go to that other town.” “What are you talking about?” “We can do what Romeo and Juliet were trying to do in the story.We can go away. We can go into the woods and find the Gunsmith and his crew and finish the hunting season with them. It would not be forever, but for a little while I would not have to be stared down by the Birds every time I go to the river to fetch water.” “And maybe when we come back, things will be better here,” said William. “Oh, Willy, are you thinking about going hunting? Would you do this for me? I know the Gunsmith would be happy if we want to join him. Hunting for deerskins is hard work, and it’s cold out there in the woods.” She leaned over him and laughed. “But we have always liked the woods.” “I don’t know what Sam would say,” said William. He was thinking hard about it now. “I can’t go if it would leave him short-handed. But on the other hand, he might be glad to see us out of town. We’ve put him in a bind, making him straddle between Birds and Wolves.” Otter Queen kissed William and pulled him into her arms and for a mo- Tugalo / 189 ment he just held her tightly, feeling her belly against his, knowing that deep inside her a child was forming.Then he got up and dressed. He went directly to the store, arriving before Sam and Jim-Bird did. When Sam came in, William got right to the point. “Otter Queen wants to go join up with the Gunsmith’s deer hunt. She wants to get away from the Birds for a while, let things calm down around here. If it’s all right with you, I will go with her to protect her and keep her company. And I may try my hand at deer hunting.” Sam thought about it for a moment then nodded his head. “I can see the sense of it. I can’t even say I’m surprised to hear about it. Something needs to happen, and this sounds good enough. We can get by without you for a while. Just remember what I’ve said all along. While you are serving the Wolf clan, you can’t be serving me. So you’ll lose out on quite a bit of your pay for the season . You might be able to make it up in deerskins, but that would take some hard work. Do you know what you’re getting into?” William laughed and shook his head. “I never do, it seems.” “A hunter is on a lower rung of the Indian trade ladder than a packhorseman is,if you can imagine that.You will be out there in the winter weather with your nose freezing and your clothes caked with deer blood and guts. The farther to the southwest you hunt—and you have to go in that direction, because that’s where the deer are—the more likely you are to run into a Creek who will want to add your scalp to his collection. In that light you’re a tad better off than the Cherokees are, for the Creeks might spare you as an Englishman, though you can’t count on it. And don’t forget to add in the fact that the Cherokee hunters are not going to be overjoyed to have a white hunter at work in their territory. That is what you’re in for, and more than that most likely. But if this is what you want to do, go ahead and do it.” William was feeling happy. “It is what I want to do, so long as I’m not leaving ye short of help.” “We’re well into the slack season now,” said Sam. “Most of the hunters are stocked up and in the woods and won’t be back...