175
THE BLUE FEATHER
Jonathan’s group. It seemed to Bardala that to kill one of these
monsters, you had to score a direct hit in the eye or into the
chest, hitting the heart.
“TTTHHHHUMPP!” Went his arrow, striking the thick
reptilian hide, over the heart of a charging Gigantoraptor.
As it tumbled over its feet in death, a thought came to Tital.
This entire thick hide could be tanned, and made into saddles for
the villagers. Why let it be destroyed by the scavenger beasts
that would gather after this huge slaughter? Mahucutah could
handle this tanning job, as his many helpers were better trained
in this skill. Yes, it would work out fine, just not for the
Gigantoraptors. Tital looked at his Casio watch, because it
seemed like the battle went on forever, but only an hour had
really passed by. “Count the dead bodies!” he yelled across the
field to the boys, as all the fighting came to a close. At his
request, Mahucutah posted himself as a lookout high in the sky,
enabling Tital and the boys to count carcasses without fearing a
surprise attack by more raptors. The total came to eighty-three
adults,
forty-six medium-sized,
and
fifty-one
small
Gigantoraptors.
“Is it still clear?” asked Bardala, as she pulled undamaged
arrows from the dead bodies for future use.
“Yes, it’s still clear,” Mahucutah called down.
“Come on down,” Tital told the Spirit, “I have a big job for you
and your helpers. I was thinking that all these heavy hides should
not go to waste. They can be tanned, and made into saddles and
bridles for the villagers. Once you coordinate your Spirit helpers
on this job, would you scout out to the east for us, please? I just
need to be sure the Gigantoraptors have fled far enough to give