Bab 157: Chapter 158

Regaining consciousness on the ground wasn't one of his most noble moments, especially when Joel recalled how he arrived there. The bloody jaguar tribe, not so much the mighty heroes he'd imagined them, took them on, and won dammit, mostly because one of the golden-eyed cats, through gritted teeth while strangling Joel in a neck hold said, "You idiot, you're going to need your strength if you wish to win back your woman. Just lie still and let me knock you out."

Give up? What madness was that? Since when did he and his best bud calculate odds? Although, noting only he and Kendrick remained standing against the warriors ? warriors, he might add, who still outnumbered them three to one ? Joel sighed and finally gave in. He wouldn't do Ruth much good dead, and besides, if they wanted him unconscious and not dead then it meant perhaps things could still turn out all right.