Well, I have hit the dreaded 'Black Hole of EMail'.  Where this is
going I have no idea.  Sorry if it is a repeat. 

Anyway, this is chapter 18 of the Macho Caballo series. 
As always, I am grateful for any C&C.  If anyone spots any problems
with depiction of cultures, please holler.



*********** LAS AVENTURAS DE MACHO CABALLO ************

Disclaimer:  Macho Caballo was inspired by Takahashi
Rumiko's Ranma 1/2.  This is a work of fiction, and no
person, place, or thing mentioned in Macho Caballo is
intended to depict an actual person, place or thing.  As
fiction, the opinions and views expressed by characters are
constructs for the purpose of telling a story, may vary
wildly from the truth, and are not intended to represent
views held by any real person, including this author.  All
other mistakes and errors are mine.  I still don't think
this is a bedtime story for young kids, primarily because of
the salty language.

What has gone before:  Estrellita, running away from home to
escape her overprotective duena, has dragged Sandy along as
she follows Ramon who is on his way to find his sister.  Red
Cloud, Wolfwalker, and Alboro tag along for their own
reasons.


                        MACHO CABALLO

                PART 2:  CHAPTER DIEZ Y OCHO

                          BEAR HUGS





ALL THE GOOD NEWS YOU CAN BEAR:

Clouds had formed later that morning, and the wind now had a
bite to it.

Alboro came ambling along the road as the travelers rested
in the shelter of an outcropping of stone.

"Old man, go home," said Wolfwalker, "You will only slow us
down."

"I haven't yet," smiled Alboro, "You should go on and make
the pass before the rains come."

"There are guards at the pass," explained Ramon.

"They have the pass blocked," said Wolfwalker, "We must go
around.  We will follow a ravine back down the hill which
will take us to their rear."

For a while there was a trail which followed the streambed.
Eventually the banks became so steep that they led their
horses out of the waterworn causeway to struggle alongside
it, fearing a possible flashflood from the gathering
rainclouds upslope.  When a bluff blocked their way, Sandy
found a low bank and led the horses back across the dry
streambed.  Alboro rested on a boulder while Ramon paused a
moment to look back down the trail.

"What are you looking for?" Red Cloud asked, "You are just
staring at the sky."

"I do not know," admitted Ramon, "Maybe eagles.  I thought I
saw movement back down the hill."

She joined him as he gazed over the boulders and rocks.
"Have you thought about what your sister will be like?" she
wondered.

"Well, yes."

Red Cloud wrinkled her nose.  "Are you not concerned what
your sister will think when she finds she has a half-
brother?"

"Well, I..." began Ramon, then a cloud drifted across his
face,  "Are you teasing me again?" he demanded.

"When I am, I will tell you," promised Red Cloud with a
grin. She climbed down the bank.

Ramon followed her, then turned back to his grandfather.

"Come on, Abuelo," said Ramon, "We need to go on.  I'll help
you down the bank."  As he waited for the old man to climb
down from his seat, a feeling of uneasiness came upon him.
He edged higher on the bank and listened carefully.  The
gravel of the bank shivered, pebbles rolled, and the earth
beneath him seemed to shudder.

Ramon scrambled back up the bank as tons of water came
cascading down the streambed.

"Good thing you weren't out in the middle of that!" cried
Alboro, over the roar of the cascading water.

Through the spray and the mist of the thundering flood,
Ramon could see his compatriots waving to him.  He waved
back and indicated that he would wait for the water to
recede.

"We have to find a way on up," Alboro told him, "There is a
squad of soldiers following our trail."

"I thought I saw movement down there, earlier," said Ramon,
"We must hurry before they get here."  He motioned to Sandy
that he would meet them up the stream where the water might
not be so deep.

There were handholds in the rock, so they climbed.  Higher,
the cliff face leveled onto a rugged table broken by chasms.
Clambering over tree trunks washed down by the stream in
previous floods, they found their way blocked by a
depression too wide to jump, with the roaring stream on one
side and a vertical wall on the other.

There was a bear, once upon a time, which strayed too close
to an edge.  This single act of carelessness caused her to
slide, bawling and clawing, into a hole near the stream.
Fortunately for her, the hole was quite dry.  She could be
comfortable here, for the stone floor was cool in the shade
away from the punishing sun for most of the day.  She could
also starve in here, for there was no way out.  There were
cracks on the sides of the hole, wide enough for a man to
slip through but alas, too constrictive for a bear.  As a
result she was moderately upset.  The scarred walls of the
hole bore mute testimony to the way she felt, for she had
tried to climb them many times.  They were too steep and she
could find no purchase to pull herself from her prison.

It was the third day.  She was thirsty, hungry, and worried.
About this time she heard a noise, and over the edge of the
hole appeared a couple of strange creatures.

"We'll have to find a way out the other side," said Ramon,
as he prepared to help Alboro down into the hole.  The walls
of the depression were very steep but there appeared to be a
narrow exit on the far side.

"I am too old for this climbing," complained Alboro.

"You insisted on coming along," said Ramon, "Now you will
have to keep up with us."

"I have a twinge," said Alboro.

"Will you quit complaining and get down there?  We are
falling behind, and those soldiers will be here any minute."

"There is a... Yow!" cried Alboro.  There was a thump and a
rasp of claws as a large bear's paw scraped past the ledge
where Alboro had been kneeling.  Alboro bolted to his feet
and looked around from behind Ramon.

"You moved fast enough," said Ramon, "What's the matter?"
He bent over the edge and saw the large shaggy bear trying
to scramble out of the pit.  "Ayyy, caramba!" he breathed as
he moved back away from the edge, tripping over Alboro in
the process.

"What are you going to do about this?" wondered Alboro.

"When did it become *my* problem?" asked Ramon.

"Well, *I* can't handle her," said the old man, showing his
empty hands.

"You could talk him to death," suggested Ramon.

"We had better do something, we can't stay here!" snapped
Alboro, "Those soldiers are not far behind."

Ramon looked back down the trail.  Sure enough, there were
men coming far below.

"If I could get his attention for a moment, you could jump
down there and get him with your knife," suggested Alboro.

"I don't think so," growled Ramon.  He sat at the edge of
the pit and stared at the bear.  It reared on it hind legs,
looking up at him with wide eyes.  There was froth streaming
from its lips as the bear tried again to scramble up the
sheer side of the pit.  For a moment, the bear paused and
met his gaze, then it attempted to scale the wall again.
Ramon sat and puzzled.  He had less than a half-hour before
the soldiers arrived.  He sat and stared at the bear and
tried to figure out what the bear would do if he climbed
down into the hole.  The answer to that was simple.  The
bear was frantic and angry.  It would kill him without a
moment's hesitation.  He could not kill the bear with only a
knife.  So he sat and stared at the beast, and the bear
watched him.

The bear kept her gaze on the food walking about above her,
pacing back and forth across the stone floor of the pit.
She could almost reach the creature.  One swipe and she
could feast.  If only it would quit looking at her and come
closer...

Alboro lent his voice of encouragement.  "Kill the bear," he
suggested, "Then you can go through the hole in the other
side of the pit that the bear cannot get through."

"There is no way I can kill a bear!" cried Ramon.

"The soldiers are getting close.  Stupid boy!" declared the
old man, "Are you trying to get caught?"

"Only one thing to do," said Ramon.  He went back to the
pile of driftwood and lifted the heaviest tree trunk he
could hoist.  The wood was gnarled and bent, but he managed
to lift on his shoulders.

"Good thinking!" cried Alboro, "That would make an excellent
club!  Use the timber to hit the bear!  Now, that is
bright!"

Ramon glanced at him in annoyance, then dropped the
treetrunk into the pit.  He went back and got another log
and did the same, then went for another.

"You are wasting your time," complained the old man.

"Listen.  I have a plan.  If I can get the bear up out of
the pit, we can..."

Suddenly, the bear swarmed up the timbers and rolled onto
the ledge, almost on top of them.  Eager for prey and weak
from thirst, the bear lunged clumsily and missed Alboro,
getting tangled in the underbrush.  This was the chance they
needed.  There was frantic confusion as Ramon almost threw
Alboro down ahead of him and scrambled down the timbers
which the bear had just climbed.  Disregarding the
improvised ladder, the bear dove off the side of the pit and
stunned itself against the floor.  While she staggered
dazedly, they ran for the other side of the pit and dove
through the hole with inches to spare, onto a shallow ledge
which led upward.

"Why did you do something like that?" demanded Alboro, who
had moved very sprightly for a tired old man, "That was
stupid!  She could have killed you!"

"Perhaps," gasped Ramon, "But by letting him out of the
hole, I got what I wanted, which was to get us past him.  He
got what he wanted, which was to escape from the hole."

"Hmmmph!" snorted Alboro, "So you think everybody got what
they wanted, eh?"

"Oh, no, not really," smiled Ramon, as sounds of surprise
and alarm came from beyond the wall of the pit, back down
the way they had come, "Those soldiers didn't get what they
wanted, I don't think!"

"It was a she-bear," said Alboro, "Pay more attention."



THE LONG VIEW:

>From the heights two figures watched the small group
progress through the drifting mist and clouds.

"I say the centuries have addled your brain," said the
stouter man, a husky bronzed warrior with his hair tied with
eagle feathers, "That and the sun, because of that
ridiculous habit of plucking your hair which you picked up
from that western tribe."

Kaliche snapped his fingers and the rain ceased for yards
around them  "I do nothing without reason," he said, "And
the least action which I take is as delicately considered as
the greatest.  I don't make mistakes."

"I see.  That is why you enlisted those untrained brawlers,
gave them weapons and armor meant for worthier men, and let
them get brushed aside like back alley sweepings?"

The bald man nodded.  "Just so," he said, "It is part of a
greater plan."

"A greater plan.  And that is what you said when we hopped a
ride on those flimsy canoes out of Phoenicia.  This 'plan'
includes the girl, I suppose?"

"The plan includes *a* girl.  A maiden of a particular
lineage.  Except that she was supposed to be carrying a
totem, a talisman.  The boy we had at the pueblo surprised
me.  He had the presence of..." he paused, "I am not certain
who he represents.  No one would be foolish enough to oppose
me."

"You need no one to oppose you.  Not when you are a force
against yourself and anyone who is with you.  Why you even
attacked ME!"

Kaliche squinted and the corners of his lips rose a tiny
bit.  "You were about to kill the boy," he said.

"Ah, yes.  The boy.  What matter is *he*, if he does not
have the talisman?  He was in the way."

"I have forgiven you that, my friend.  No, that was not the
girl I seek.  But he was of the *lineage*.  I could read it
in his actions - he thought himself an only child, but down
deep he was aware of another.  So, I wait.  I do nothing
without reason."

"That is very magnanimous of you, forgiving me.  It was
*you* who turned his lightning on me," the husky man shifted
his weapons as he moved closer to the precipice.  When the
drizzle started again outside the fringe of Kaliche's spell,
the warrior fixed him with a glare and motioned him closer
with a jerk of his head.

"We need this other girl," said Kaliche as he strolled over,
"The future of the world depends on her.  If we fail -
everything ends."



A NECESSARY THING:

They tarried for the night in the shelter of a small bluff
overlooking the trail they would be taking in the morning.
After tending to the horses, they bedded down and watched
the embers of the fire pop and hiss.  Eventually, Alboro
carried his pot of coffee water off into the shadows,
returning with his hands empty.  Ramon saw Red Cloud drift
away moments later.  Her disappearance was punctuated by the
sound of the iron pot clanging onto the stones and the
whickering of horses as they pulled at their restraints in
unease.

"Something's spooking the horses," said Sandy, as he went to
uncover his musket.  Estrellita was sleeping soundly beyond
the campfire.

"It is nothing," said Alboro, "Don't worry about it."

"It is all right," Ramon assured Sandy, "Just some
scavengers nosing about."

"I thought I heard... Sunnovagun!"  blurted Sandy as a
piercing yowl tore across the night.

"Jaguar, heading the other way," said Alboro, "Won't bother
us."

Sandy finally settled back, using his saddle for a pillow,
and Ramon followed Alboro as he went out and refilled the pot,
this time with cold water.

"All right, what is going on?" demanded Ramon.

"I will tell you a thing about your sacred form," said
Alboro as he set the pot precariously near the edge of the
huge rock.

"I don't want to hear it!" growled Ramon.  He glared stonily
at the darkened mesas, until curiosity got the better of
caution.  "What were you going to tell me?" he asked.

"Once in a while, you must take the sacred form.  It is
required."

"No way!" declared Ramon, "I am free of that stuff out here!
There is almost no water at all, certainly less hot water.
I don't have to change unless I want to, and I don't want
to!"

"You don't have a choice, really," the old man mused, "It is
a part of receiving a sacred form."

"Getting cursed, you mean."

"Whatever.  Anyway, now and then you must assume the sacred
form."

"Or what?"

"Or you will assume the sacred form, anyway.  Whether you
want to or not."

"Not me!"

"How did you get the sacred..."

"Will you quit calling it that?  It is not an honor for me
to have to become a weak female!"

Alboro made a long face and continued, "You got the 'curse'
because you smarted off to the spirits at the spring, didn't
you?"

Ramon looked away and nodded.

"You have almost no control over when you change; when you
are splashed with hot water, you will change.  The longer
you wait, the less control you will have.  Until now, it
took hot water to activate the 'curse'.  Soon, if you do not
do it yourself, the water will not have to be so hot.
Eventually, rain drops will do the trick."

"Oh, no," groaned Ramon.

"Of course, once you change over, you must remain in the
sacred form for a while, before you change back."

"How do you know so much about it?  I've seen you spill hot
coffee on yourself, so you aren't cursed!"

Alboro gave him a sidelong glance.  "Are you so sure?" he
asked.

Ramon watched him for a moment.  "Forget it," he finally
growled.

"I will if you will," promised the old man.

Wolfwalker showed up later.  "Where is Red Cloud?" he
demanded.

"You mean you do not know?" asked Ramon.

"She went for a walk," smiled Alboro.

"A walk?  I heard a jaguar out there.  You let her go out
when... there... was... oh," he paused for a moment as the
facts seeped into focus, "Why did she do that?" he wondered.

"It was something she felt she had to do," said Ramon.



THE LEGEND BEGINS:

They were through the mountains and descending into the
rugged arid plain when evening came upon them.  The rains
had let up earlier and the travelers were hot, tired, and
dusty.

"Oh, I can't wait until I can get some hot water," yawned
Estrellita.

Sandy was immediately alert.  "What happens when you get hot
water?" he wondered.

"Why, I take a bath, of course!"  Estrellita grinned
mischievously, "I didn't know you were interested in that!"

Sandy's face burned crimson.  "I'm not!" he stammered, "It
is just that..  that... you know..."

"And you thought *I* would change into something else?" she
leaned closer to watch him squirm.  "What should I turn
into?" she wondered, and stretched her appraising gaze into
a mock stare of shock.  "Oh!" she said, looking into Sandy's
face, "Wow..."  She opened her eyes very wide and breathed,
"Woooooooh!"

"Aa.a.a.a.a!!" cried Sandy as he drove his horse ahead and
out of sight.

"I wish you wouldn't tease him," Ramon admonished her, "He
is very bashful."

"But he blushes so easily!" grinned the rancherita, "I love
it!"

                              
                       --------------


Their horses pulled a little faster as they neared a
village, scenting feed and water.  There they would be made
comfortable and sheltered with other animals.  It was easier
for the horses.  Almost everyone respected horses more than
men.

They came to a hostel, a prosperous appearing establishment
which catered to the traffic on the road running east and
west through the mountains.  Alboro accompanied Ramon into
the building to talk to the innkeeper.

"We were hoping to spend the night indoors," said Ramon, "We
have been traveling two days, and we have a long way to go."

The innkeeper was sitting at a table, papers and bills
spread before him.  "Sit down, please," he said.  "I do not
have a room for even one of you, much less for an entire
party.  We are making repairs."

"We would sleep outside," said Ramon, "We just want to take
a bath and get cleaned up."

"Perhaps we could find a place for the se�orita," said the
innkeeper with a shrug, "A pity you did not come alone, just
you and your abuelo and the se�orita.  If we could, we would
find a room for your Yanquis, for they usually pay well.
But your other companions are Indian.  We never have room
for Indians."  He looked away from them as an excited child
slammed through the door, "Luiz!  What is the matter?"


                            ------

Earlier that day, the bear had crawled out of the pit and
approached the man-creatures as they ascended the trail.
Although several of the soldiers vanished back down the
trail without waiting for her to get close, one soldier
stood still and played with a long stick.  Curious, the bear
paced closer until the man-creature began to back away,
waving the stick in alarm.  He stumbled over a chunk of
driftwood and there was a thunderous bang which hurt her
ears.  The startled bear bawled in alarm and fled.

Since then she had fed on grubs and rabbits.  Fortune
brought her the spoor of the man-creatures from the pit, and
curiosity made her follow it.  Now she had come upon the
village where children played.

The children screamed and yelled as she ambled closer,
tantalizing as they scrambled about trying to get away from
her.  They made so much noise that she became uncertain and
was about to spin around and depart when she smelled a
familiar odor from the inn.  So she decided to sit down and
look about for a while, not realizing that by so doing she
had trapped several children inside the stable.  One of the
man-children had run toward the house while the rest hid in
fear.


                       ---------------


"Papa!  Come quick!  A bear is about to eat us!" Luiz cried.

Ramon's chair clattered across the floor as he jumped to his
feet.  He pushed the boy out of the way and was out of the
door before he thought.  The innkeeper hastily pulled an
ancient blunderbuss from the wall and tried unsuccessfully
to load it.  He scattered gunpowder over the floor as his
hands shook in fear.

The bear reared back upon his haunches, watching Ramon's
approach.

"Give me your lance!" Ramon called to Wolfwalker, "I think
that bear has followed us!"

Wolfwalker tossed his lance to Ramon.  "You should not face
a bear empty-handed," he said.  He readied his bow and a
quiver of red-fletched arrows and stood to one side.

Ramon caught the lance.  "I don't think he looks angry, but
you must be ready," he said, "If I cannot scare him away, I
am going to need help."

Ramon came as close as he dared, getting between the bear
and the villagers.

"Go away!" he shouted at the bear, "Leave us alone!"

The bear regarded him, the creature she considered to be
potential food.  The food was making alarm noises, but the
sounds were noises of anger and annoyance instead of panic.
It was not very frightened, merely excited.

"I helped you and you helped me!" continued Ramon, as he
waved the lance, "We are even!  Go away!"

"You are trying to reason with a bear?" asked Wolfwalker.

The bear gazed about as if in contemplation.  The man-
creature was acting confidently, although she could sense a
modicum of fear from him.  There were too many of the man-
creatures around, with more coming.  She remembered meeting
the man-creature who made loud, painful noises with the
stick.  That one had also stood up to her and had not run
away.

She came to a decision.  She had fed earlier.  She was not
hungry enough to take a chance.  With a -whuff- the bear
lowered onto all fours and turned away.

Ramon was conscious of many eyes watching him as he rejoined
the others.

"We will have a room made ready immediately.  And how would
you like your meals?"  the innkeeper practically bowed and
the children followed them inside.

"Se�orita, who is this man?" Luiz, the boy who had run for
help asked of Estrellita.

"Why that is *Macho* Caballo," smiled Estrellita impishly,
with the tiniest trace of irritation in her voice.

"Don't tell them that!" Ramon said, "I have had enough
trouble with that name back home!"

"I would like for you to be a little less brave and a little
more smart," she snapped, "At this rate you won't live long
enough to find your sister!"




    PREPARATIONS:
    
    Willow Woman stood back a pace to get a better look and
    smiled, pleased with her handiwork.  "You could win the
    heart of any young man," she said, "You should be proud
    that the chief's son has found you worthy."
    
    Lucha tugged the hairbow into a more comfortable
    position. Her suitor had mussed it earlier, and she was
    still angry at him.  "He takes too many liberties," she
    said, "This morning he was bragging about how he would
    remove my maiden's bow and burn it."
    
    "A proper wife destroys her maiden's hairbow to show
    that she is no longer available.  It would be an insult
    for Buffalo Wattle to take it from you as if he did not
    trust you," said her foster mother, "He would not do
    that, That would be very unwise."
    
    "Who said he was wise?  Mother, I am not happy about you
    trying to arrange a marriage.  I do not like this
    person."
    
    "You have always been outspoken," Willow Woman sighed,
    "We have already discussed this.  It is best for us all.
    The tribe needs your strength, and he is both strong and
    brave."
    
    Lucha said, "Even so, he cannot force me.  I have not
    yet announced my willingness to seek a husband, and
    if... when I do, there may be others who apply."
    
    Willow Woman applied her attention to her weaving and
    said, "There will be only one for you to consider."
    
    Lucha ducked to enter the lodge and brushed against the
    pendant as it dangled near the doorway.  The motion of
    the necklace sent cold chills down her spine and made
    her stomach uneasy, so she put away her comb and hurried
    outside again.
    
    Yucca Blossom met her with a gourd cup.  "Here, I want to 
    share this tar-bush tea with you," she said, "Buffalo Wattle 
    can be so simple-minded.  I apologize for him.  He is 
    really a good-hearted person."
    
    "I am not sure this is what I need," Lucha said as she sipped
    the hot liquid, "but thank you, the tea does make me feel better.
    Now can we talk of something else?"
    
    Yucca Blossom held her cup but did not drink.  "Anything," she
    agreed.


BEDDING DOWN:

Compared to the rocks they had slept on the previous night, 
the rope bed was pure luxury.  Ramon stretched hugely.  "Oh, 
man, I am beat!  I can't wait to take a bath!"

He noticed Sandy looking at him with one eyebrow raised.

"With *cold* water!" Ramon snapped.

Sandy covered his ears.  "I don't wanta hear it," he said.



CHAPTER DIEZ Y OCHO:  END

---------------

<Muchas gracias> to Lyn Daniel for her sketches,
suggestions, and encouragement, to my prereaders Yvonne,
Harry, and close kin, as well as to Andre for his excellent
advice (which I did not always heed, but always
appreciated).

James and the Bluejay
   jeeades@ix.netcom.com
Macho Caballo page at:
   http://www2.netcom.com/~jeeades/macho.htm