Attack of the Amazons by Gilbert L. Morris Page B

“Where’s Reb?”
    â€œHe’s hiding,” Wash said, rolling his eyes upward.
    â€œHiding? Hiding from whom?”
    â€œFrom that girl who chases him everywhere. That Tanisha.”
    Sarah could not help smiling. “Well, I guess he’s flattered that she likes him.”
    â€œNo, he isn’t.” Wash shook his head definitively. “She’s about to drive him crazy. Every time he turns around, she’s right there picking at him. I think she’s already proposed to him.”
    â€œYou mean she wants to
marry
him?”
    â€œShe don’t talk about marrying. She just wants him to be her ‘mate.’ That’s the way she put it.” Wash shook his head grimly. “That ain’t no way for folks to behave. I’m plumb worried about Reb.”
    â€œHave you seen Jake?”
    â€œYeah, he’s right next door over there. I guess he’s no worse off than the rest of us. The folks that took him in are pretty easygoing. They’re a little bit older than most. I expect we’ll get to talk to him a lot. All hetalks about is getting some gunpowder and blowing up this whole village!”
    â€œI don’t guess that’ll do. I need to talk to Reb.”
    Wash leaned closer, “Well, you have to find him. He’s over there behind them buildings. That’s where they do the tanning. Don’t tell Tanisha, though. I think Reb’s about ready to jump the wall if she don’t leave him alone.”
    â€œI won’t tell her.” Sarah made her way to the tanning sheds, where she found Reb sitting behind them, looking miserable.
    â€œReb,” she said. Then, when he jumped up, she said quickly, “No, I didn’t bring Tanisha.”
    â€œGood!
That female is going to drive me crazy. You know what she wants to do?”
    â€œI heard.”
    â€œAin’t that an awful thing to think about?” Reb groaned. “What am I going to do, Sarah?”
    â€œI take it you’re not contemplating marriage?”
    â€œAre you crazy? That female would drive me absolutely up a tree! I got to get out of here, that’s all there is to it.”
    â€œI know—it’s bad over where we are too. Some-thing’s got to happen and happen quick.”
    Reb looked at her hopefully. “Why don’t we try to bust out of here? I talked to Dave, and he’s about ready to make a break.”
    â€œWe can’t do that,” Sarah said. “They’d run us down in no time in the jungle. You know that. We’ll just have to wait.”
    â€œI reckon that’s right, but something better happen quick.”

10
The Game
    A s the days stretched on, life became more and more miserable for the Sleepers. The girls had it better in many respects, for they were treated with some consideration. None of the young men, though, had anything good happen to them.
    In desperation, and to break the monotony, it was Dave who suggested on one of their afternoons off, “Why don’t we play a little touch football?”
    His suggestion caught on, and Jake fashioned a sort of football out of leather and stuffed it with moss. It did not look a great deal like a football, but when he tossed it to Dave, Dave put his fingers on the seam and threw a long, spiraling pass to Reb, who caught it easily.
    â€œToo bad we don’t have enough people for a real game,” Dave said.
    But soon they were lined up, playing and forgetting their troubles. It was a fairly even match, for Dave could throw a pass better than anyone else, and Reb could catch anything that came into his area.
    There was a lot of laughter, and since there was little to do at that time of the afternoon, quite a few village men gathered around to watch. The game intrigued them.
    â€œSome of you guys want to play?”
    â€œYes.” Gaelan stepped up, and Rolf was right behind him. Soon they gathered enough players for two teams.
    It became