Odyssey From Africa 11c

Chapter 11c (The Island Kingdom, continued...) Every member of the party Had their fill of roasted sea-flesh All the dogs and Rosy also Wolfed down all that they could swallow Then they rose up and departed Heading north along the coastline Journeyed all day without stopping By late afternoon arriving At a sheltered sand embayment Where they halted for the evening Quickly setting up a campsite Posted guards and lit a wood fire Several other warrior parties Now converged upon the beachfront From the north along the coastline Coming east from the interior Warriors of the Island Kingdom All along the beach their campfires Flickered in the deepening shadows Voices murmured in the night air Han and Kwona and their family Shared a supper with their escorts In a mood of quiet tension Sleeping little in the nighttime Matto's thoughts were with Ipiki How his creature would endure the Ocean crossing in a sail boat So he made some preparations Up and down the sandy shore he Gathered victuals for Ipiki Caterpillars, grubs and insects Held within a chamber fashioned From a shell of coconut and Kept alive with grass and seaweed To ensure a fresh supply for Many days upon the ocean In the light before the morning Han and Kwona stood together Looking to the sea horizon For the moment of the sunrise Then upon the dawning skyline Objects faintly could be sighted First the needle tips of ship-masts Then the sails and hulls of vessels Soon they saw a whole flotilla Tacking in toward the shoreline Han could see that these were masters Of the craft of wind and sailing Han had once experimented With a sail to speed his vessel But for fishing work he favoured Boats with paddle and outrigger Which were nimble in manoeuvre With an unimpeded workspace. As the ships approached the shallows All the warriors rose to meet them Leading ships now rode the breakers Groups of men hauled each boat shoreward Just beyond the foaming wave front Then began the mass embarking To each ship a group of warriors Fast converged then climbed the gunwales Han and all his family running With their group of armed companions To their designated vessel Han now boarded with his family Rosy and Ipiki with them Strong arms helped them climb the hull-sides Matto tried to shield Ipiki From the salty sprays of water As a dozen barefoot sailors Launched them back into the breakers