The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen Page A

feet and followed the men outside. The women were already up. They had the fires going and were serving bowls of the hot mush.
    There was no talking. The men ate quickly and gathered their weapons.
    Mark finished his food and went to collect his spear and bow and arrows If they were going on a hunting trip he didn’t want to be left out.
    Leeta touched his shoulder. She had a worried look on her face. "Mawk. Se dtsik nah. Nah." She shook her head.
    "What? You don’t want me to go? Sorry, I have to. I can learn a lot from these guys. Besides, I don’t want them to think I’m a sissy or something."
    Leeta stomped her foot. "Nah. Mawk. Nah."
    Mark folded his arms. "Yes, Leeta. Yes."
    She made an angry face and marched to the young man who had awakened him. They argued in a whisper for several minutes. Then she dragged him over to Mark. "Mawk. Tukha."
    Mark nodded at the man. "Tukha."
    The young man seemed upset about something. He motioned for Mark to come with him. The two of them took their place at the end of the line and followed the rest of the men out of the village.
    Once they were in the forest, the group moved into a trot. Occasionally a couple of the men would break off from the rest, then meet them farther down the trail.
    Mark would have liked time to study the new terrain but every time he slowed, Tukha urged him to keep up.
    About noon the group stopped to rest and eat. Mark was amazed at the number of birds they cooked. Somehow, the two men who had kept leaving the group had managed to shoot enough along the way for every member to have plenty of food.
    They were allowed one drink from a skin bag containing water and then they were on their way again. Tukha always stayed at the end of the line with Mark.
    It was obvious they weren’t hunting for small game because they passed up several good opportunities to kill rabbit creatures. Mark decided they must be after something big.
    At dusk the men gathered around the chief, who held out a small skin pouch containing a tarlike substance. Each put his fingers in and smeared some of the mixture on his face.
    When Tukha was finished with his own face he decorated Mark’s. The tribe looked different now. More fierce and warlike.
    They walked silently through the forest for another half hour until they came to a sandy clearing.
    Mark couldn’t believe his eyes. It was another small village. He was excited. So there were other people on this planet. Some of them were bound to know about the light. Someday, when they understood each other better, maybe he could get Leeta to come with him and talk to them about it.
    The men spread out and hid in the bushes until long after the sun went down. Then the chief raised his club. They stormed out of the trees and raced down into the village yelling and screaming.
    Mark started to join them but Tukha grabbed his arm roughly. "Kakon nah. Tsid Lee-ta. Sek tu." Mark wasn’t quite sure what he said except that he didn’t seem to want him to go and it had something to do with Leeta.
    Tukha pointed at the bushes, indicating where Mark was to stay. He raised his club threateningly. "Sek tu."
    "Okay. I’m not stupid. I can tell when I’m not wanted." Mark sat down in the sand.
    When Tukha was sure Mark wasn’t going to follow him, he turned and ran into the village after the others.
    Still not sure exactly what they were up to, Mark moved to his knees so that he could see what was going on.
    The scene in front of him was chaos. The arrow people were setting fire to the huts and running through the compound overturning cooking pots and smashing things.
    Mark was stunned. He didn’t understand. These were supposed to be the good guys. The same friendly peaceful people who had practically adopted him the day before were now doing everything they could to destroy this village and the people in it.
    The men in the huts were taken by surprise but they soon came out fighting. The arrow people were ready. They fought one on one and drove