"Maybe it's just in his imagination."
"We'll know soon." Robin said.
"Thanks a lot."
"You're going to have to chew this now, Teal, and swallow the juice. Swallow as much as you can."
I gave it to her and she grimaced. It tastes horrible."
"Chew it!" Robin and I screamed at her simultaneously. She closed her eyes and chewed.
"We have to make a fire. Robin, and boil the leaves in water."
"What water?" she asked.
I smirked and lifted my canteen. "What
choice do we have?"
We broke another thick branch. and I sifted through the sand and rocks under the brush until I found the thickest dead twig I could. I beat it open with a rock and brought the first branch to it. Robin gathered some dry moss and we took turns rubbing and rubbing, spinning the branch just the way Natani had shown us. It seemed to take forever, but finally there was some smoke. Encouraged, we both worked harder and harder, bearing dawn as he had instructed until, finally, a tiny flame was born.
Cheered, we fed it the dry moss carefully until we had a good flame.
"I can't believe you two did that." Teal said, watching calmly, her eyes opening and closing. Suddenly, as if the sight of the fire was too much, she began to heave. She vomited hard and fast, moaning and groaning.
He said whoever was bitten would be very sick." I reminded Robin.
"Oh, I'm going to die," Teal moaned, embracing herself.
Using more branches and thin vines. I devised a way to hold the canteen over the flame. Into it. I stuffed the remaining snake weed. When I thought the water was boiling, I fished out the leaves, and then, using the thin vines of the bush, we wrapped them around Teal's wound, again as Natani had instructed. Teal vomited again, but now she was just dry heaving and really suffering.
"What do we do now?" Robin asked,
"Looks like we take our rest earlier than I had hoped," I said.
Using the backpack to fix a pillow for Teal, we urged her to try to sleep. She was shivering now The desert night had dropped the temperature to where it was actually cold. Robin fed the fire, building it until we had some decent flames.
"Make it gigantic," Teal muttered. "Maybe someone will see it and come help us."
"Maybe," Robin said, and started to forage for more wood.
"Be careful. Robin. I used all the snake weed in the bag on Teal."
She walked on tiptoe, gently moving brush, avoiding big rocks, and gathering twigs and branches as quickly as she could. Teal watched with a dazed look on her face.
"Will I be all right?" she asked me.
"Sure." I said.
Of course. I had no idea if she would be all right. How poisonous was the snake? How much poison was in her body?
How effective was Natani's weed medicine? Was it crazy to believe in him? The treatments he had given Robin and Teal for their sunburn seemed to help, and the ointment he had given them for their hands helped. The Indians lived side by side with all this danger, these creatures. What they had to help themselves must work or they wouldn't use it, I thought.
Teal's eyes closed and opened. She shivered and moaned. If she died out here, it would be so horrible. I thought. It made me rage against Dr. Foreman. but I did so silently, for I didn't want to stir Teal up and worry her any more.
Robin returned again and we fed the fire. It did provide warmth. The embers rose with the smoke and traveled out and away with the wind.
"Anyone looking for us would see this," Robin said. I nodded.