Sahara Crosswind Read Free Page B

struggled up from his knees. Every muscle, every bone, every joint groaned in protest. His first few steps were little shuffling motions. His throat was too dry to permit much sound, so he had to make do with little ahs of agony.
    Had the camels decided to desert him then, there would have been nothing he could do about it. But they remained motionless, save for the constant scrunch-scrunching of those grinding jaws on the dry scrub.
    Jake shuffled up to the next camel, touched the back of its leg, tch-tched a second time, and marveled as the great beast obediently buckled down to its knees. Now that the storm was over and they had run through their panic, they seemed almost to welcome a semblance of their normal routine. He moved to a third camel and was met with the same dutiful response.
    With the line now anchored by three settled camels, Jake began reshaping the line. First he untied the remaining staves so that they could not tangle about the camels’ legs. Then he unleashed one halter at a time, leading the camels back and retying them so that the double-humped camel was placed in front.
    After moving the three still-standing animals, he approached the center kneeling beast. Touching the stave to its side as he had seen the herders do, he gave a sharp “hup, hup,” then jumped back as the neck swiveled around and the animal let out a deep, yellow-toothed groan. His heart in his mouth, Jake stepped forward, touched the side a second time, and hupped as loud as his dry throat could manage.The camel groaned another loud protest, but this time it lurched upright. Jake led it around and tied it in line, then did the same with the second kneeling animal. By then all six standing beasts were groaning in unison and stamping their pie-shaped flat hooves on the dusty earth.
    Even though the lead camel still knelt in patient watchfulness, Jake had to use both hands to lift his leg up and over the animal’s broad back. He too groaned as aching muscles fitted themselves back into the uncomfortable position. He tapped his camel’s side, hupped a sharp command, then hung on and groaned again as the camel rose, its pitching motions reeling him back and forth.
    But then he was up, high off the desert surface, with seven great animals groaning and stamping and waiting his command. He tapped his camel’s side, hupped as loud as he could, and watched as the animal lumbered forward. He felt the line tug taut and begin moving behind him. Jake pulled his dry, cracked lips into a grin and raised the stave over his head with the sheer joy of getting it right.
    By the time the sun began its rapid descent from late afternoon into night, the thrill had long since faded. Jake’s entire body was one great thirsty ache. He had stopped trying to peer through the dimming light at the cliffs. Despite hour after hour of jouncing pain, they did not appear to have come any closer. Jake kept his head down, piloting his string of animals by their lengthening shadows.
    Even with his eyes focused downward, they were almost through the patch of meager green before Jake’s mind lifted from its fog of fatigue and thirst. He pulled on the bridle rope with what strength he had left and managed a single tched croak from a throat almost swollen shut. Thankfully, the camels appeared as ready to stop as Jake. At his tap the lead camel swung down in a motion so abrupt that Jake almost tumbled over. Once down, he found himself without the strength to lift his leg free. Jake gripped the camel’s hide with both hands and slithered groaning to the cool desert floor.
    Only the fear of the string pulling free and leaving him lost and alone in the desert vastness kept him from giving in to his fatigue. Jake scrambled to his feet, found himself unable to straighten up. Gripping the stave and hobbling forward like an old man, he walked to each camel in turn and touched them behind the knees. Three welcomed the invitation to kneel, three