The Cache Read Online Free Page A

We thought that there might be emotional upsets. After all, Fiiniks is our home. We have lived within the shadow or the sacred Kemlbek Mountain for hundreds of years. Some people might not want to leave, even if Fiiniks was knocked flat by a quake twenty years ago and ten volcanoes not over thirty miles away formed in the last twenty years. They might make a lot of trouble. But we decided that it would be for the good of the people if we did find another home. For one thing, besides the fever, which has been getting worse since I was a child, and the threat of quakes and of volcanoes, there is another thing. That is, that this valley can only feed so many people because there is only so much water available. Despite our heavy mortality, the population has been expanding. Food is getting increasingly scarce. Oh, you haven’t suffered, because you’re the son of a rich farmer and slaveholder. But there are plenty of poor people who go to bed hungry every night. And if they keep getting hungrier and more numerous, well . . . I saw the Great Slave Revolt of thirty years ago.”
    “But those were slaves, father!”
    Hozey Rider smiled twistedly and he said, “That’s what you’ve been told, son. That lie has been spread about so successfully that even those who know better believe it now. But the truth is that the lower classes tried to storm the granaries. And only after much blood-shed on both sides was the revolt settled. The granaries were opened, the courts and laws were reformed somewhat, and the lower classes were given more privileges.”
    “Lower classes?” said Benoni.
    “You don’t like to hear that word? Well, it’s part of our way of life to deny that there are such things as classes. But any man who wants to blink two or three times can clear the mist away from his eyes. Would you think about marrying the daughter of a cotton-chopper? No, you wouldn’t. And there are other things. Some people don’t like the idea of slaves.”
    “Any slave who serves fifteen years gets his freedom and becomes a citizen,” said Benoni.
    “That’s very fair. The Navahos never give their slaves freedom.”
    “And so the ex-slave joins the ranks of the poor, is not fed, and loses all his security. No. Anyway, I didn’t puff and pant after you just to discuss our social system.
    “Shortly before you and the others were initiated, we Councilmen talked about asking some of you to extend your first warpath.”
    “Extend?”
    “Yes. Remember, this is not an order. It’s a suggestion. But we would like some of you young bucks, after you’ve taken a scalp or two, not to return at once. Put off your moment of glory. Instead, go east. Look for a place where there is water, perhaps the Great River so many talk about but have never seen.
    “Then, when you report, we can start thinking about moving our people, starting anew there.”
    “Everybody?”
    “Everybody!”
    “But father, if I do this, I may not get back for a long, long time. And . . . and . . . well, what about Debra Awvrez?”
    His father smiled and said, “You think Joel Vahndert may have married her by the time you get back? Well, what about it? She isn’t the only good looking girl in the valley.”
    Benoni gasped in astonishment. He said, “Weren’t you ever in love?”
    “Six or seven times,” said Hozey Rider. “And I loved both my wives. But if I hadn’t married them, I would have met some other women and married them and loved them just as much. You think I’m cynical, son. But that’s only because you’re so young. Anyway, if you have your fiery young man’s heart set on this particular blonde, think of the honor that will be yours if you discover a new country. How can a Navaho scalp compare with this? She will be yours for the asking; any girl in the valley would be yours.”
    “But Joel may have returned and have her! You forget that!”
    “If Joel’s father can catch his son, and he shouldn’t have any trouble following the tracks