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later a time was sure to come when he would have to mingle with people, and he
must look as they did. His dark skin was not unusual here. The Yakuts, the
Tungus, the Golds, and the Buriats were all as dark as he and some darker.
Meanwhile he prepared a way incase of flight. Hiking through the dense forest
he found a way that was relatively free of obstacles, one he could run over if
need be. In his mind he charted every move, every turn, every step he might
take. The chance that he might have to escape over this route was slight. No
one could guess where he might be when flight became necessary, but if it
happened close to the village or at night from his hideout, he would have the
route clearly in mind.
Many miles away, near the head of the Ningam River, he prepared an emergency
hideout. The region was isolated, and there was much game which he did not
hunt. He might need it at a later time. He found a place where several
blown-down trees had lodged in the branches of their neighbors. One, a great
spruce, had heavy branches that swept the ground. Under it grew a smaller
spruce with a skirt of branches that touched the ground also. Other trees had
fallen in such a way that any approach was difficult and it looked like just
what it was, a tangle of brush and fallen trees.
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Under it he prepared a hideout that was perfectly concealed. Here, too, he
planned a way in and another way out, if need be. Heavy growth overhead and
the recently fallen spruce provided perfect cover. He gathered fuel and
stacked it around in sheltered places, but in such a way that it could have
fallen where it lay.
If he had to escape suddenly with nothing but what he wore, he could find
shelter here. When time came for him to leave on his escape, he could stop the
first night in this place.
That night in the Baronas cabin he said, "I must have some clothing. Is there
anyone here who can make it?"
"All of us, after a fashion," Baronas said, "but not the things you need.
They will have to be purchased."
"You have connections?"
"Of course, but you are larger than any of us but Peshkov, and he is broader
in the body than you." He paused, sipping tea. "You must realize that those
who are willing to supply us secretly would be immediately alert if they
suspected you had come among us. We are considered Russian even if fugitives.
You would be an enemy."
"Clothing is not easily obtained. It means standing in line, waiting,"
Natalya said. "That would be impossible. It is hard enough for any citizens to
buy the clothes they need. There is never enough."
She looked at him thoughtfully. "I could make you a shirt."
"It would help," Joe Mack said. "Clothing I can make, but not to pass in a
town or city. The clothing I make is for the forest. In a city it would be
noticed at once."
"Not so much as you might think," Baronas said. "In Siberia, people wear
whatever they have. You dress like some of the Ostyaks. The Ostyaks," he
added, "are hunters, too. And along the rivers they are fishermen."
"I will make you a shirt," Natalya repeated. "I have some cloth." She left
the room.
Baronas looked up at him, smiling faintly. "Do you realize what that means,
my friend? Such material is difficult to obtain."
"She must not do it," Joe Mack said. "I can get along."
"Perhaps. You do not realize how fortunate you have been. You have not been
seen. If you were seen, you would be recognized at once for what you are, a
stranger and a fugitive. There are spies everywhere, but in your case everyone
is a spy.
"To report you or to capture you would put one in a position to ask favors.
Your friend Colonel Zamatev, for example, could arrange many benefits for
someone who led them to your capture, so it would not only be a duty to turn
you in, it could be profitable.
"The shirt," he added, "would help. It would make you look more Russian."
"I must find a way to get clothing," Joe Mack said. "Before spring comes I
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must have a coat and pants."
Baronas shook his head. "Impossible! And," he added, "even those who look to
you for meat would be fiercely jealous if you obtained clothing they cannot
get."
"Nevertheless  "
"I know." Baronas shrugged. "We would help you all we can. But we all need
clothing. Natalya needs clothing, as do I. It is hard for anyone, but for us
who live in the forest it is almost impossible. Is it so easy, then, to have
clothing in America?"
"You have only to buy it. There are many shops and tailors as well. If one
has the money it is no problem."
"And the money?"
"Most of us work at something. We have our poor, of course. Our world is
changing, as is yours, and new skills are demanded, more training, more
education. Trades that once ensured a man of a good living for his family are
good no longer.
"When my father was a boy he had a friend who wanted to become a steam
engineer. Most of the threshing machines were steam in those days and running
them paid well. A few years later, threshing machines were run by gasoline
tractors. Now much of that has changed, too.
"Men used to follow the harvest of grain from Texas to Canada, shucking
wheat, threshing it. Now combines do it all, and there is no need for all that
labor. Once it was not only a way to make a living, but it was an adventure
for a young man. All that is gone."
"Are there many who live by trapping, as you do?"
"Trapping? Very few. Some men who live close to wild country, of course, but [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]