The Mammoth Hunters - Jean M. Auel [364]
“I’ve seen it before,” Ranec said, “but I could see it as many times as there are stars in the sky and never get tired of it.” Both Ayla and Jondalar nodded in agreement.
“It can be dangerous, though,” Jondalar added.
“How did this ice get here?” Ayla asked.
“The ice moves,” Ranec said. “Sometimes it grows, sometimes it shrinks back. This split off when the wall was here. This pile was much bigger then. It has been shrinking, like the wall.” Ranec studied the glacier. “I think it was farther away last time. The ice may be growing again.”
Ayla swept her gaze across the open landscape then, noticing how much farther she could see from her higher vantage point. “Oh, look!” she cried, pointing toward the southeast. “Mammoths! I see a herd of mammoths!”
“Where?” Ranec said, suddenly excited.
The excitement spread through the hunters like fire. Talut, who had started around the side at the sound of the word “mammoths,” was already halfway up the ice pile. He reached the top in a few strides, put his hand across his forehead as a sunshade, and looked where Ayla had pointed.
“She’s right! There they are! Mammoths!” he boomed, unable to restrain his emotion, or the volume of his voice.
Several others were climbing up the ice, each looking for a place to view the great tusked creatures. Ayla stepped down out of the way so Brecie could stand in her place.
There was a certain relief in sighting the mammoths, as well as excitement. At least they were finally showing themselves. Whatever it was that the Spirit Mammoth had been waiting for, she had finally allowed her creatures of this world to present themselves to those who were chosen by Mut to hunt mammoths.
One of the women of Brecie’s Camp mentioned to one of the men that she had seen Ayla standing on the very top of the ice pile with her eyes closed, turning her head as though Seeking something, or perhaps Calling it, and when she opened her eyes, there were the mammoths. The man nodded in understanding.
Ayla was staring down at the shape of the pile of ice below, about ready to descend. Talut appeared beside her, smiling as big a grin as she had ever seen.
“Ayla, you have made this headman a very happy man,” the red-bearded giant said.
“I didn’t do anything,” Ayla said. “I just happened to see them.”
“That’s enough. Whoever happened to see them first would have made me a very happy man. But I’m glad it was you,” Talut said.
Ayla smiled at him. She really did love the big headman. She thought of him as an uncle, or a brother, or a friend, and she felt he cared about her the same way.
“What were you looking at down there, Ayla?” Talut said, starting to follow her down.
“Nothing in particular. I was just noticing that you can see the shape of this pile from here. See how it comes in on the side where we climbed up and then curves back around?”
Talut gave it a cursory look, then found himself looking closer. “Ayla! You’ve done it again!”
“Done what?”
“You have made this headman a very happy man!”
His smile was contagious. She smiled back. “What makes you happy this time, Talut?” she said.
“You made me notice the shape of this ice pile. It’s like a blind canyon. Not quite complete, but we can fix that. Now I know how we’re going to hunt those mammoths!”
No time was lost. The mammoths could decide to move away, or the weather could change again. The hunters had to take advantage of the opportunity immediately. The hunt leaders conferred, then quickly sent out several scouts to investigate the lay of the land and the size of the herd. While they were gone, a wall of rock and ice was built to block the open space in one side of the cold canyon, making the tumbled pile of ice into an enclosure with only one opening. When the scouts returned, the hunters gathered to devise a plan