She grabbed the newly loaded gun and ran, careless of brush, stones, tree branches, creeks, or anything else. Ian slithered through the wood like a fast-moving snake; she bulled her way through behind him, breaking branches and dashing her sleeve across her face to clear her eyes.
Twice Ian came to a sudden halt, grasping her arm as she hurtled toward him. Together they stood listening, trying to still pounding hearts and gasping breaths long enough to hear anything above the sough of the forest.
The first time, after what seemed like agonized minutes, they caught a sort of squalling noise above the wind, tailing off into grunts.
Pig? she asked, between gulps of air. Wild hogs could be big, and very dangerous.
Ian shook his head, swallowing.
Bear, he said, and, drawing a huge breath, seized her hand and pulled her into a run.
The second time they stopped for bearings, they heard nothing.
Uncle Jamie! Ian shouted, as soon as he had enough breath to do so. Nothing, and Brianna screamed, Da! as loud as she coulda pitifully small, futile sound in the immensity of the mountain. They waited, shouted, waited againand after the final shout and silence, ran on again, Ian leading the way back toward the rose briers and the dead deer.
They came to a stumbling halt on the high ground above the hollow, chests heaving for air. Brianna seized Ians arm.
Theres something down there! The bushes were shaking. Not as they had during the deers death struggles, but definitely shaking, disturbed by the intermittent movements of something clearly bigger than Jamie Fraser. From here, she could clearly hear grunting, and the slobber of rending tendons, breaking bones and chewing.
Oh, Christ, Ian said under his breath, but not far enough under, and terror sent a bolt of black dizziness through her chest. In spite of that, she gulped as much air as she could and screamed, Daaaa! once more.
Och, now ye turn up, said a deep, irascible Scottish voice from somewhere below their feet. I hope yeve a turkey for the pot, lass, for well no be having venison tonight.
She flung herself flat on the ground, head hung over the edge of the cliff, dizzy with relief at seeing her father ten feet below, standing on the narrow ledge to which hed led her earlier. His frown relaxed as he saw her above.
All right, then, lass? he asked.
Yes, she said, but no turkeys. What on earth happened to you? He was disheveled and scratched, spots and rivulets of dried blood marking his arms and face, and a large rent in one sleeve. His right foot was bare, and his shin was heavily streaked with blood. He looked down from the ledge, and the glower returned.
Dia gam chuideachadh, he said, jerking his chin at the disturbance below. Id just got Ians deer skinned when yon fat hairy devil came out o the bushes and took it from me.
Cachd, said Ian in brief disgust. He was squatting beside Brianna, surveying the rose briers. She took her attention off her father for a moment and caught a glimpse of something very large and black among the bushes, working at something in a concentrated manner; the bushes snapped and quivered as it ripped at the deer, and she caught sight of one stiff, quivering hoofed leg among the leaves.
The sight of the bear, quick as it was, caused a rush of adrenaline so visceral that it made her whole body tighten and her head feel light. She breathed as deep as she could, feeling sweat trickle down her back, her hands wet on the metal of the gun.
She came back to herself in time to hear Ian asking Jamie what had happened to his leg.
I kicked it in the face, Jamie replied briefly, with a glance of dislike toward the bushes. It took offense and tried to take my foot off, but it only got my shoe.
Ian quivered slightly beside her, but wisely didnt laugh.
Aye. Dye want a hand up, Uncle?
I do not, Jamie replied tersely. Im waiting for the mac na galladh to leave. Its got my rifle.
Ah, Ian said, properly appreciating the importance of this. Her fathers rifle was a very fine one, a long rifle from Pennsylvania, hed told her. Plainly he was prepared to wait as long as it tookand was probably a lot more stubborn than the bear, she thought, with a small interior gurgle.
Ye may as well go on, Jamie said, looking up at them. It may be a wee while.
I could probably shoot it from here, Bree offered, judging the distance. I cant kill it, but a load of bird shot might make it leave.
Her father made a Scottish noise in response to this, and a violent gesture of prevention.
Dinna try it, he said. All yell do is maybe madden itand if I could get down that slope, yon beast can certainly get up it. Now away wi ye; Im getting a crick in my neck talkin up at ye.
Bree gave Ian a sidelong glance and he gave her back the ghost of a nod, acknowledging her reluctance to leave her father shoeless on a ledge no more than twenty feet from a hungry bear.
Well bear ye company for a bit, he announcedand before Jamie could object, Ian had grasped a stout pine sapling and swung himself down onto the cliff face, where his moccasined toes at once found a hold.
Brianna, following his example, leaned over and dropped her fowling piece into her fathers hands before finding her own way down, more slowly.
Im surprised ye didna have at it wi your dirk, Uncle Jamie, Ian was saying. Bear-Killer, is it, that the Tuscarora called ye?
Bree was pleased to see that Jamie had regained his equanimity and gave Ian no more than a pitying look.
Are ye maybe familiar with a saying about how a man grows wiser wi age? he inquired.
Aye, Ian replied, looking baffled.
Well, if ye dinna grow wiser, yere no likely to grow older, Jamie said, leaning the gun against the cliff. And Im old enough to ken better than to fight a bear wi a dirk for a deers carcass. Have ye got anything to eat, lass?
Shed quite forgotten the small bag over her shoulder, but she now took it off and groped inside, removing a small packet of bannocks and cheese supplied by Amy Higgins.
Sit down, she said, handing this to her father. I want to look at your leg.
Its no bad, he said, but he was either too hungry to argue or simply conditioned to accept unwanted medical treatment by her mother, for he did sit down and stretch out the wounded leg.
It wasnt bad, as hed said, though there was a deep puncture wound in his calf, with a couple of long scrapes beside itthese presumably left as hed hastily pulled his foot out of the bears mouth, she thought, feeling a little faint at the vision of this. She had nothing with her of use save a large handkerchief, but she soaked this in the icy water from the rivulet that flowed down the cliff face and cleaned the wound as well as she could.
Could you get tetanus from a bears bite? she wondered, swabbing and rinsing. Shed made sure to have all the kids shots up to dateincluding tetanusbefore theyd left, but a tetanus immunization was only good for what, ten years? Something like that.
The puncture wound was still oozing blood, but not gushing. She wrung out the cloth and tied it firmly but not too tightly around his calf.
Tapadh leat, a gràidh, he said, and smiled at her. Your mother couldna have done better. Here. Hed saved two bannocks and a bit of cheese for her, and she leaned back against the cliff between him and Ian, surprised to discover that she was very hungry, and even more surprised to realize that she wasnt worried by the fact that they were chatting away in the near vicinity of a large carnivorous animal that could undoubtedly kill them all.
Bears are lazy, Ian told her, observing the direction of her glance. If heis it a he-bear, Uncle?has a fine deer down there, hell no bother to climb all the way up here for a scrawny wee snack. Speakin of whichhe leaned past her to address Jamiedid it eat your sandal?
I didna stay to watch, Jamie said, his temper seeming to have calmed as a result of food. But Ive hopes that he didnt. After all, wi a perfectly good pile of steaming deer guts just at hand, why would ye bother wi a piece of old leather? Bears arent fools.
Ian nodded at this and leaned back against the cliff, rubbing his shoulders gently on the sun-warmed stone.
So, then, cousin, he said to Bree. Ye said yed tell me how it was ye came home. As weve likely a bit of time to pass He nodded toward the now-rhythmic noises of tearing flesh and mastication below.
So, then, cousin, he said to Bree. Ye said yed tell me how it was ye came home. As weve likely a bit of time to pass He nodded toward the now-rhythmic noises of tearing flesh and mastication below.
The bottom of her stomach dropped abruptly, and her father, seeing her face, patted her knee.
Dinna trouble yourself, a leannan. Time enough. Perhaps yed rather tell it to everyone, when Roger Macs with ye.
She hesitated for a moment; shed visualized it many times, telling her parents the whole of it, imagined herself and Roger telling the tale together, taking turns but seeing the intent look in her fathers eyes, she realized belatedly that she couldnt have told her part of it honestly in front of Rogershe hadnt even told him everything when shed found him again, seeing how furious he was at the details she had shared.
No, she said slowly. I can tell you now. At least my part of it. And washing down the last bannock crumbs with a handful of cold water, she began.
Yes, her mother did know men, she thought, seeing Ians fist clench on his knee, and hearing the low, involuntary growl her father made at hearing about Rob Camerons cornering her in the study at Lallybroch. She didnt tell them what hed said, the crude threats, the ordersnor what shed done, taking off her jeans at his command, then slashing him across the face with the heavy denim before tackling him and knocking him to the floor. She did mention smashing the wooden box of letters over his head, and the two of them made small hmphs of satisfaction.
Where did that box come from? she interrupted herself to ask her father. Roger found it in his adopted fathers garagethats a place where you park a car, I mean she added when she saw a look of confusion touch Jamies face. Never mind, it was a sort of storage shed. But we always wondered where youd put it at this end?