Highway of Eternity by Clifford D. Simak Page B

“What have you there?”
    â€œOatmeal. I hope you like oatmeal.”
    â€œOrdinarily, I like it. But I suppose there is no sugar or milk. Horace wouldn’t have thought of those.”
    â€œThere is still some ham. Maybe other stuff as well. When I found the oatmeal, I looked no further.”
    â€œI can gag it down,” she said. “At least it will be warm.”
    When it was cooked, they both gagged it down. She had been right; there was no sugar or milk.
    Finished with breakfast, Boone said, “I’ll go to the spring and wash the dishes, then bring back more water.”
    â€œWhile you are doing that, I’ll pack everything back into the traveler. We don’t want to leave it lying around.”
    â€œDo you want me to leave the rifle with you?”
    She made a face. “I have no idea how to use it. Besides, I doubt there is any danger.”
    He hesitated, then said, “I don’t suppose there is. In case something does happen, get into the traveler and close the port.”
    At the spring he met two wolves, who were lapping water from the spring hole. They retreated politely and let him wash the dishes and fill the pan with water. After he left he glanced back. The two had moved in on the spring again and were busily lapping water.
    Back at the camp, Enid was crouched beside the fire. She waved her hand in welcome when she saw him coming. Standing beside her at the fire, he asked, “Do you have any idea what we should do?”
    She shook her head. “I haven’t even thought about it. If I had some idea where the others could be, we could go there. But they probably did the same as we did—left as quickly as they could, just anywhere to get away.”
    â€œThere’s an awful lot of time to flounder around in if we have no idea where to go,” he said. “Not much sense in leaving here, it seems to me, until we know where to go.”
    â€œEventually Henry will sniff us out. I assume he is with one of the other two travelers.”
    â€œEventually could be a long time,” said Boone. “I’m not about to spend the rest of my days in a continent empty of people. I’m sure you must feel the same. We could go someplace else more to our liking.”
    â€œYes, we could do that,” she said. “But not for a while. If we left a trail somehow that could be followed, we should not break it. We should stay here and hope that Henry finds us.”
    He squatted down across the fire from her. “There could be worse places,” he said. “We’re in no danger here. But I suspect that after a time it could become a little boring. Just plains and buttes, buzzards in the sky, wolves, and bison on the hoof. Nothing ever taking place.”
    â€œWe’d run out of food,” she said.
    â€œThere is plenty of food. Bison and other meat animals.” He patted the rifle. “We’ll live as long as this holds out. After the last cartridge, we can make lances, perhaps bows and arrows.”
    â€œIt won’t come to that,” she told him. “Before it does, we’ll leave.”
    He reached for the pile of wood, laid a few sticks on the fire. “We’ll have to go for more of this. Our supply is running low.”
    â€œLet’s get in a good pile of it this time,” she said. “We don’t want to have to run up to that thicket every day to bring in wood.”
    A low rumbling, from somewhere close by, brought both of them to their feet. The rumbling ceased, then came again, changing to a bellow.
    â€œIt’s the bull,” said Boone. “He’s in some sort of trouble.”
    Enid shuddered. “The wolves are moving in.”
    â€œI’ll go and see,” said Boone. He started and she trotted along beside him.
    â€œNo,” he said. “No, you stay here. I don’t know what I’ll find.”
    Loping along, he came to the sandstone outcropping, ran