Cat of Bubastes #7

Chapter 6:

They go to the hippopotamus hunt and everything is made ready.  There are curious spears with shafts that are attached with a cord, but the shafts are loose so that when the spear is thrown the shaft comes off and sticks in the hippopotamus hide.  The spearhead is attached to the shaft by a long cord.

The men have spotted some hippopotami a long way up the river, like a mile. They head upstream, very silent, or else the hippopotamus will get scared off.  They find the hippopotamus; two dark patches and then the head suddenly pops up when it realizes the men have spotted it.  At that moment, the hunter throws his spear into the hippos hide and it sticks.  The hippopotamus roars and takes off.  It tries to go away, but they follow it and get a second spear into its hide.  The hippo then heads back to its original spot.  Jethro says to Amuba that the hippo gave him quite a fright when it first roared up.  The hippopotamus sinks to the bottom of the pool.  They pull on the shafts and it comes roaring back up again.  Then the peasants all pull and pull on the ropes connected to the shafts, pulling the hippo to shore. The hippo changes direction and charges back into the water; the peasants then begin to pull it in again.  This happens 10 or so times.  Finally, the hunter says to Chebron, "The hippopotamus is getting tired.  Either this pull or the next one, it's going to have to come to shore."  He was right; the next pull, they pulled him to shore.  Once there, all the peasants attacked it.  The hippopotamus gets killed.

Suddenly, they hear a woman cry and rush in that direction.  They arrive just in time to see a girl being pulled into the water by a crocodile.  Chebron rushed in and struck the crocodile on the nose as hard as he could; the crocodile lets go of her, surprised and angry.  The crocodile starts for Chebron but Jethro and Amuba run in.  One of the hunters sees the crocodile's tail.  "Mind the tail," yelled the hunter, but it was too late.  The crocodile knocked down Amuba with his powerful tail.  Jethro rushes to Amuba asks if he is alright.  Amuba answers that he is just bruised a little.

They look for a cottage to take the girl to and find one not very far off.  Jethro tells one of the hunters to go and fetch some water for the girl and he tells another to fetch some women to tend to the girl.  At the cottage, they lay her down on a couch and check with a man sitting there.  The old man says that they are Israelites, he and the girl, but that they had been kicked out of the their tribe for still believing in the one true God.  All the other Israelites now worshipped many gods like the Egyptians.

The girl comes to after the women arrive and the water sprinkled about her face brought her to.  They talk about Israelites and the religion.  Finally, they leave and ponder what has happened.  The man tells them that he is old and will die soon, and he needs someone to take care of this grand-daughter, the girl they just saved.  Chebron says that he will take her into their home as a servant.  The girl's name is Ruth.

They head back and ponder all the things that have happened this day.  Afterwards, Chebron writes a later to his father and bades that the letter be taken to his father with the fleetest messenger they have.  The messenger speeds off into the night.  At dinner, Amuba asks what they will do the next day.  Chebron says, we were going to do this and that, but I'd like to go visit the Israelites again tomorrow.  Amuba says that this is good by him; he is not even sure he'll be able to walk the next day from the tail blow of the crocodile.

The next morning, Amuba wakes up and can't walk.  He feels so sore and stiff, he can't even get up off his couch.  Jethro stays with Amuba and Chebron heads for Ruth's house.  He talks and listens a little more.