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Robinson crouched in a clump of mesquite, and, running his hand over the little sprigs and shoots growing out of the desert floor, pondered his position. There was very little to ponder.
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At the camp, in the gray light that comes before daybreak, Yoshihiro sat before a bonfire talking about the night's events. He knew that he should've been asleep---he was too old now to work without adequate rest---but he was too excited to feel sleepy yet. When he thought of the priest's escape he felt as proud as if the accomplishment were his alone. And there was more news----but he would have to wait until daybreak to share it with the others. No point in waking them now...
Kimoto emerged from the tent and came right to him. "The old man grows worse," he said despairingly. "He needs broth, nourishment. From where shall he get it?"
Yoshihiro stood up, a bit creakily. So he would be able to share his news, he thought with pleasure, but said only, "Come."
Kimoto followed him. At a bush on the edge of the compound, Yoshihiro pointed to the carcass of a deer. "Brought here during the night," he said.
Kimoto stared at it wondering. Then, "Robinson?" he asked.
"Enough that it is here," Yoshihiro replied enigmatically, savoring the surprise. "Maybe it will save the old man's life."
"Let's get it to the cooktent," Kimoto said. "Today, there will be proper food." He paused. "It must have been the Korean, but I thought he would not take life."
"True." Yoshihiro nodded. "Yet in one way, it was the Korean. Those two" gestured toward the men he had been talking with beside the fire---- "were the ones who caught the deer. But it was Robinson's example that prompted them. They decided that if he could escape from a guarded tent, alone and unaided, then vanish from the compound altogether, they could at least make an effort to improve our lot here."
"But a Korean Hwarangdo----"
"Is not the same as an ordinary man. So. But each has his own skills and must find his own way. And Suji was a gamekeeper at a large estate before he was caught poaching. He found he had not forgotten how to build a snare."
Kimoto looked from Suji to the deer to Yoshihiro. "It was a good night, then," he said finally. "Let us see what we can do for the old man now." Hoisting the deer easily over his shoulders, he moved off to the cooktent.397Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWpjNCFua0
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As daylight brightened, the clang of the railroad's rising bell rang through the still morning. Robinson, hearing it, paused for a moment, then returned to his digging.397Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQsHcZBQVG
When he had completed a hole big enough to hide in, he started assembling sagebrush. He had to be careful not to take too much from any single place; a careful searcher might notice. And he could not be sure how much time he would have before the search began. Yet there was a certain pleasure, like that of gardening, in this work, and he noticed the details of the American wilderness with a practiced eye. The leaves of this plant, dried, would make a pleasant drink; the roots of another could be food.397Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcXBdkRxe8
There was a slight smile on Robinson's lips as he sat down to weave the brush into a cover for his hiding place. This was not the country of his upbringing, but it was not so strange that it would fail to nourish its children.397Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfPsAHpK4S
