章節 15: Chapter 15: What is Interest
Led by the patrol soldiers, Chief Sleeping Bear and his entourage entered the camp of the Double Wolf Clan. Soon they saw the chief of the area, who was also an old man in his fifties or sixties.
"Hello." Chief Twin Wolf first glanced at the prisoner, then greeted him indifferently.
"Well, hello." Chief Sleeping Bear responded, then pointed at the captive and said, "I came to visit you this time not for anything else, but for him - your people tried to steal our horses, but obviously he failed."
After a pause, he continued: "First of all, I want to know why he did this. I asked him, but he refused to say anything."
Chief Shuanglang was silent for two seconds, then lowered his head slightly and said, "I don't know why he stole the horse. It was his own action... I'm sorry that this happened."
"Act on your own?" Chief Mian Xiong obviously didn't believe it.
"That's right." But Chief Two Wolf has already made up his mind, "The Big Chief said that the Apache are our friends, and we will certainly respect your property. But there are always some greedy people who destroy our friendship, and this is unavoidable."
"You are right, the Comanches and Apaches are friends." Chief Sleeping Bear nodded. But he did not believe this. The Apaches and Comanches had conflicts in history, and since the humiliating alliance between the Comanches and the Cheyennes, the so-called friendship no longer existed.
The relationship between the two ethnic groups now can barely be considered neutral.
Although the friendship no longer existed, Chief Sleeping Bear obviously did not intend to further damage the relationship between the two parties, so he said: "In this case, let's stop here. The two horse thieves have paid the price for their greed, their lives and an arm."
"I will now hand these two people back to you. I hope it will not affect our friendship."
As he spoke, Chief Sleeping Bear signaled to untie the ropes on the captives and to remove the bag containing the body of another horse thief from the horse's back.
After being untied, the prisoner walked up to Chief Twin Wolf, still keeping his head down without saying a word, but his body was trembling slightly, as if he was crying.
The Twin Wolf Chief sighed softly and patted him on the shoulder: "Go let the Shaman take a look at your injuries."
The prisoner raised his hand, wiped his face, turned and left.
Chief Twin Wolf then said, "It is getting late. If you do not mind, please allow the Twin Wolf Clan to hold the ceremony and entertain you."
Chief Sleeping Bear waved his hand and said, "No need for a ceremonial reception. We can just rest here for one night. The horses are tired after running all day."
The two sides exchanged a few more polite words and as it gradually darkened, they both prepared to rest.
Chief Sleeping Bear borrowed two tents from the Twin Wolf Clan so that the people who were traveling with him could sleep.
For safety reasons, the two borrowed tents were located at the edge of the camp. In case the Twin Wolf Clan had any bad intentions, it would be easier to escape. At the same time, people were arranged to take turns to guard the tents at night.
Ma Shao was the person on duty in the first half of the night, because he had a pocket watch and knew the exact time.
Throughout the first half of the night, he held a pocket watch in one hand and a Kentucky rifle in the other, keeping an eye on the movements around him, and occasionally going outside and walking around the tent.
However, apart from the armless horse thief appearing near the tent in the middle of the night, there was nothing noteworthy.
The second half of the night was equally peaceful.
After a night, the people of the sleeping bear clan woke up from their sleep, packed up simply, and prepared to ride back on horseback.
"Chief." Ma Shao found the chief.
"What's wrong?" The old chief looked at his expression.
The horse whistle said, "Do you think the Comanche who stole the horse really acted on his own?"
"Of course not, but we have no evidence to prove that he was instructed by someone else." The old chief said, "We have nothing to lose, so let this matter pass. If we have a hostile neighbor, it will be a big trouble."
"No, what I mean is..." Ma Shao motioned the chief to look to the east of the camp, where the Twin Wolf Clan raised their horses. "Look at the horses there. There are too few of them, not even one horse for one person. It's obvious that something has happened, like an attack or horse plague."
"That's probably why they planned to steal the horse."
The old chief frowned slightly, then approved his idea: "Indeed, but what does this prove?"
Ma Shao added: "Chief, I think we should take the initiative to understand their problems, and then consider providing them with some help, such as lending them some horses, so that they can get through the current difficulties."
"Why should we help them?" Several tribesmen asked in confusion.
Ma Shao explained: "If they are always in a state of crisis, they will definitely take risks and steal or even rob nearby clans. We, who have the most horses, will be the first to bear the brunt."
"Instead of passively taking such risks, it is better to actively lend them horses, which can not only improve the relationship but also earn some interest."
"What is interest?" a tribesman asked blankly, and most of the other tribesmen also cast questioning glances.
Ma Shao: "…"
After hearing what he said, the old chief thought for a while and finally shook his head: "Our relationship with the Comanches is no longer the same as before. There is no need to help them."
"As for the attack, since they are short of horses, they probably won't dare to attack us. Even if they really dare to come, they will definitely not be our match. The Sleeping Bear Clan is now more powerful than ever, especially with the powerful bow you made. We can easily defeat them."
The strong bow designed by Ma Shao greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the Mianxiong clan. Everyone could clearly feel that the efficiency of hunting was significantly improved.
In addition, after the merger of the two clans, the size of the Mianxiong clan has continued to expand, with a population exceeding two hundred and the number of horses exceeding six hundred. At least at the clan level, it is already considered powerful.
"But Chief, didn't you also say that we should unite?" Ma Shao advised again.
"That being said, but...what if we lend them the horses and they don't return them?" The old chief didn't want to take the risk of losing some of the horses in vain.
Seeing that the chief had no such intention, Ma Shao did not persuade him any more. They then rode away from the Double Wolf Camp and returned to the clan along the same route.
The Comanche horse thefts came to an end and seemed to be forgotten.
After returning to the clan, it was not yet dark. Taking advantage of the evening glow, Ma Shao found a pile of wooden boards, ropes, cowhides, tendons and other things. He squatted next to Hei Feng and gestured with them.
"Brother Whistle, what are you doing?" The little beast came over with a curious look on his face and asked when he saw his strange behavior.
"Nothing," said Ma Shao casually, without any intention of explaining, because he was designing something that most Indians had never used.
He is designing stirrups.
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