Chapter Ten
“Keep them back!” I said testily.
Far Horizon shewed the gawkers back from the fire for what must’ve been the tenth time. By nature I wasn’t an overly crabby person, but the current stress of the situation was having an adverse effect on me.
I’d never made gunpowder by myself before and in general it had been a long time since I’d seen my grandfather do it. I only hoped that I was getting the mixture of ingredients right.
My grandfather had always used to say ‘there’s gunpowder and then there’s good gunpowder’, which is why he’d always insisted on making his own. The ingredients I had to work with were a little make do, but they seemed of good enough quality.
One thing for sure was that I didn’t want to find out right now whether or not my concoction was volatile or not. One of the hazards of gunpowder making is that it starts out as a liquid, a liquid slowly cooked and reduced over a fire until most of the moisture is gone from it.
Sweat beaded along my brow as I spread more of the sandy paste out on the sheet of leather that was held in suspension several feet above the flames of the fire below. One time my grandfather while making powder had fallen asleep and one of the drying boards had dipped to the side and some powder had spilled. It had all gone up then and the powder shack had exploded.
Grandfather, other than being a bit singed, had come out of it unscathed, but that had been the last time he’d made his own powder. I was hoping to not have a similar experience.
Far Horizon cleared his throat and I spared him a glance. He signed, “This black dirt is going to help us against the enemy?”
Glancing back to the powder that was now crumbling into gritty specs I smiled grimly as I said, “O ye of little faith.”
A few minutes more and it was done. With Far Horizon’s help I brought the stretched out piece of hide covered in black dust away from the flames. Together we laid it on the ground a safe distance from the fire.
Scooping the gunpowder together with my bare hands for fear of using anything that could cause a spark I amassed quite a sizable pile of it. Reaching off to the side I picked up a small gourd. The gourd was hollowed out inside and I commenced to pour the gourd full of the gunpowder one handful at a time.
When the gourd was packed full I took some cloth and tightly wadded it up to seal off the small hole in the top of the gourd where I had poured the gunpowder through. Now it was time for the moment of truth.
Far Horizon had watched me curiously throughout the process and hopping up to his feet now he helped me up. Smiling I thanked him and he made a gesture I’d never seen before.
“What does that mean?” He looked away and shrugged and I thought his face had a bit of a blush to it.
I was going to find out what that hand sign had meant, but for now I had a bomb to let off. Oh how I hoped it wasn’t a dud!
If all my efforts had resulted in a dud then Far Horizon stood to lose a lot of respect in the eyes of the tribe. I did not want that even as I did not want to disappoint my husband by failing to provide a means with which to fight the superior technology of the enemy with.
“Did you make that fire I asked you too?”
Far Horizon nodded quickly and I moved past him. At the edge of a small bluff I saw the large fire that had been made in a wallow lower down and away from the camp. The fire was well within throwing distance.
Warriors were everywhere along the bluff’s edge and calling out loudly I gestured for them to move back a little. They did so, but not very far. Taking orders from a woman was new for them.
So be it, if any of them got burned or blasted with gourd fragments it was on their head as I’d done my part to warn them. Looking at the heavy gourd in my hand I prayed out loud in my native tongue, “Oh God please let this work!”
Drawling back my arm I launched the gourd. My aim was good. The gourd hit glancingly off the ground before the fire to then roll forward directly into the flames. I instantly winced in expectation, but nothing happened.
Nothing continued to happen and I began to feel the weight of stairs on my back. Looking heavenward I pleaded softly, “God……… - KABOOM!!! - …..”
My feet left the ground and I was flung backward along with all the others that had been standing closer than I had advised. A fire ball of flame consumed the wallow in the prairie and sent firewood pieces and clumps of dirt flying everywhere, even as a thick column of black smoke hung heavy in the air.
Staring up at the dissipating smoke I commented abstractly in my mind that perhaps I’d put too much nitrate into the mixture. As it was I was pretty sure the combination that I had come up with would blow a gun barrel apart, but then the current potency of the blend was well-suited for destruction employed in the form of bombs.
Glancing around I saw laughing warriors helping each other up off the grass. Somehow laughing didn’t seem to be appropriate right now. Didn’t they understand how close I’d come to sending us all to Kingdom come?
Far Horizon was laughing along with the rest of them. He pulled me up and looked repeatedly from me to the crater in the prairie below us. He seemed at a lack for what to express, but his general excitement was communication enough. Finally he calmed enough to sign and when he did I instantly wished he hadn’t.
“The explosion…… it reminds me of you when we……” He left the rest unsaid, but he’d already said too much, which had been seen by far too many. I don’t think I’d ever been more mortified in my life.
Warriors were laughing everywhere. My face felt like it was engulfed in the flames of the explosion of a few moments ago. I turned to leave and escape, but Far Horizon spun me back and before I could protest he was kissing me openly in front of everyone. I would never forgive him for this.
The kiss broke off and in surprise I found myself lifted up to be seated on Far Horizon’s shoulder. He began to then run down the slope and parade through the camp.
I clutched at his other shoulder and head for support, if he could of he would have been screaming, but as it was the other warriors more than made up for his lack of a voice. Women everywhere were being lifted up to be seated on the shoulders of warriors.
The profoundness of what was happening in the moment wasn’t lost on me. This universal respect being directed at all the women was something new among these people of the prairie.
I gazed at the faces of the surprised women that had been borne aloft as I was. There was joy and a dawning surprise as if something precious was being given to them that they’d never had before.
It was beautiful and I wiped at my tears. Laughing I realized I must look a sight as I had just wiped black powder residue all across my face. It didn’t matter.
Looking down to Far Horizon I caught him looking up at me. He signed, “Thank you. You have made my people whole.”
The sincerity of his face matched the emotions I saw in his eyes. Okay maybe I could forgive him.
I scooted forward and turned and he let me slide down him. I wrapped my legs around his waist and holding his face I whispered with a smile, “Like gunpowder going off huh?”
He made a whistling noise followed by an explosion that had him flinging his hands wide from where they had been supporting me. Laughing I clung on to him and kissed him passionately completely unmindful if anyone else saw how besotted I was with this man. It was a good day.
Peaking an eye open I witnessed a great many other women being kissed in like manner as I was. I closed my eyes commenting dryly to myself on the strong likelihood of there being a lot of babies in the not so distant future.
That was fine by me as it meant that my child would have lots of playmates growing up. A good day indeed.