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With the
darkness, the cold had also begun to take hold. She realised that in a few
hours the ground would start to freeze over. “If his injuries don’t kill
him, the cold will,” Manana mused. Looking to the sky, the now apparent
stars indicated a clear and cold night was coming. Over the ridge of the
gully, the upper half of the moon was just beginning to show. Manana was
going to be grateful for the light it would give soon.
Turning her
attention once more to the bird, she decided to get started. First she placed
the bag containing her collection of insects on the ground, careful to keep the
ends secured. Using the string from her collection pouch, she bound the four
corners tightly together to stop any of the insects from escaping. Picking up a
large stone, she placed that on top of the bag as well. Next she retrieved her
pouch and made her way carefully out of the gully. About ten metres away, she
had noticed a small pond. She intended to collect some water from there before
the freeze began.
When she had
collected her water and returned, she looked to the bag of insects. She shook
with a shudder of revulsion as she prepared to do what was needed. Picking it
up, she undone the string that held it fast. Thankfully, due to the darkness,
she was unable to see what was happening with her insect collection. With the
bag open, she spat the masticated garlic inside, immediately replacing
what she had chewed
with a fresh batch. Next she poured a little water onto the mix, then some sage
and finally some leaves from the valerian plant.
Closing the bag once
more, she twisted the top closed and bound it with the string. Kneeling down,
she set the bag on a flat stone, and with a last little shudder began to pound
it with a large stick found previously. Turning the bag over and over, she beat
gently on the outside. Occasionally she would stop and reopen the bag to add
more water, or chewed sage and valerian.
As she worked, she
thought subconsciously about what she was doing. Sagewood she knew was used for
most cures. It was called sage after the word meaning wise. As a medicinal
herb and general tonic, it was said that sage was the secret of a long and
healthy life. In her experience, it certainly seemed used for a variety of
cures including: Liver problems, coughs, colds and constipation. The old folks
even inhaled the vapour into the lungs to counter rheumatism.
As for the valerian,
this was also called “All heal” and reputed to be the best tranquilliser
available. She wished she could make a draft of tea from the herb. Brushing
aside such thoughts of tea and comfort, she returned to her chore of pounding
the bag. Satisfied that she had churned it enough, she opened it for
inspection. Again she shuddered with revulsion, as she looked into the bag.
She noticed there was still some movement among the crushed semi liquidfied
concoction, she knew it was the automatic function of some nervous system, as
opposed to the possibility of some creature being alive. Feeling the bag for
weight, she judged it to be in the region of a quarter kilo. “Not much,” she
had to admit, but it would have to do.
Kneeling once more
in front of the eagle, she took her knife from where it lay on the ground, and
dipped it into her poultice. The eagle was sleeping so deeply, it was only the
slight rise and fall of its chest that indicated it lived. Reaching towards its
beak, she used her fingers and gently pried it open. She could not help feeling
some fear. “If it closes its beak now,” she thought, “he’ll certainly have
something to eat.” Her fears proved to be unjustified. The eagle gave no
indication that it was anything other than deeply unconscious.
While she held his
beak ajar, with her other hand, she picked up her bag and started to pour a
little of her mixture down the eagle's gullet. When she judged it was enough.
She placed the bag down. With her free hand, she began to massage the eagles
neck to ease the passage of the food-medicine mix down. This operation was
repeated six times and took just over an hour to complete, until the bag was
empty. When she had finished, she paused a while to assess her next action.
Her earlier
experience inside the eagle's body had shown her that he had suffered two broken
ribs, a broken leg and a fractured wing bone. All of these injuries meant she
could not try and move him by herself. She doubted if she could physically lift
the bird, let alone carry him out of the gully. That would defiantly prove
fateful. Deciding what she would do, she promptly went into action.
Taking her knife
once more, she started to cut long strips from her jacket. What had once been
her favourite coat soon became reduced to nine long pieces of leather. She
started with the leg first. Lifting the appendage with her left hand, she
gently ran her fingers lightly over the feathery boot, until she located the
precise area of the break. Slowly she began to massage, her delicate fingers
finding the exact areas to apply pressure. As she massaged she hummed a tune
that came to her from deep within. One she was sure she had not heard before.
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