Free The Trek: Darwin's World, Book II (The Darwin's World Series 2) by Jack L Knapp Page B

working elsewhere. He stopped at the tribe’s communal kitchen.
    “How are we doing on food, Colin?”
    “I’m a little worried, Matt. I figure maybe three weeks on half-rations if we don’t get something. That stag-moose helped, and the horsemeat you and Lilia brought in is enough to add a little fresh meat to the jerky I’ve been depending on.
    “But Lee’s hunting and I expect they’ll find something. I’ve also got people building a fish weir in the stream. They can bait it with grubs until we catch something. After that I’ll clean the fish and dump the guts in the weir for bait. I think we’ll be adding fish to our diet by tomorrow. Lilia and the Wise Woman are out looking for plants. I’ve seen a few things I know are edible; I may put Sal to tending the fire and go looking myself. Greens, maybe a few mushrooms too.”
    “You can identify mushrooms? You know which ones are safe?”
    “Oh, sure, nothing to it. I’ve been doing it all my life.”
    “OK, if you’re sure. Maybe teach a few of your assistants too.”
    “I can do that. Was there anything else?”
    “Now that you mention it, Colin, I’ve picked up a man who’ll be camping with me. Name’s Piotr, he camped with Pavel before. What do you know about him?”
    “He’s a willing worker. Quiet, never caused trouble. He helped me when I was learning how to set up a travel camp. I think he went back to working for Pavel after that.”
    “OK, thanks. Know where he’s camped?”
    “Sure, he’s back near the end of the clearing. But I think he’s down at the stream right now, helping Sal set up the fish weir.”
    Matt nodded to Colin and decided to see what was happening at the stream.
    Sal, a stocky olive-skinned man, was clearly in charge. Two younger men were cutting wrist-thick branches with axes and two others were working in the shallow water.
    Sal and the two axemen had been in the water too; their buckskin trousers were wet to mid-thigh. It appeared that the work crew was taking turns in the cold water, work for a time, switch off with someone else.
    “I remember meeting you before, Sal. How’s the job going?”
    “We’re making progress, Matt. I’ve got the opening all finished and we should have the catch-basin part done in less than an hour. Glad you’re back.”
    “Glad to be back, Sal. Which one’s Piotr?”
    “He’s the one holding the sticks. Dominick’s doing the hammering. We’re driving the sticks into the stream bottom, then lacing them together with green willow stems.”
    Matt nodded. “That should work fine. I see you’re leaving a gap of what, inch and a half?”
    “About that, yes. The little fish can escape, and I don’t want them anyway; too much work, not enough meat. I could make fish soup with the bits of meat, but some of our people don’t like the taste. I don’t have the spices to do it right, anyway.”
    “I’ve been hungry enough to eat it, Sal, but I can’t say I like it. Anyway, send Piotr to me when you finish with him, OK?”
    “You can take him now. We’ll have this done in less than an hour and I’ve got a couple of boys hunting grubs and worms. I’ll toss a couple of those in and keep the kids busy tossing in more every few minutes. I expect a fish or two will follow the bait upstream. There’s a clay deposit and I’ve already got a basket of damp clay. I’ll gut the fish, then coat them with clay and put them in the coals to bake. Just cook the whole fish that way, if it’s not too big. We’ll have baked fish and fresh greens for supper!”
    “OK, Sal, thanks.
    “Piotr!”
    At the call, a stocky, sandy-haired man looked up from where he was weaving willow branches through the uprights they’d hammered into the streambed.
    “Come on out, Piotr. We can gather up your gear and take it to my camp. You’ll be staying with us now. We’ll go hunting tomorrow morning early, and if you’re camping with us, I won’t have to go hunting you when I get up.”
    “You’re