When the band of raiders and their captives reached the river, two soldiers were sent out, one upstream, the other downstream to find a suitable spot to cross. The children were offloaded from the carts and herded together to facilitate easy guarding. Gisse collapsed on the grass. Her legs felt like jelly. She had been standing all day. To stretch out and relax her body was wonderful.
The two scouts returned and conferred with the leader of the group and the two cart drivers. The Jordan river was not flowing strongly but there was still a fair amount of water, making safe crossing tricky. After some discussion, they decided on two spots.
The one spot, where the river was wide, and therefore the water quite shallow, would be used for the children and the men to cross. The other, was narrow but very deep. The carts would be floated across here with less chance of becoming stuck in the mud and not too far to haul them across.
When they started crossing the river, Gisse looked everywhere to see if she could find Jaden and ask him to give her a lift on his horse, but he was nowhere to be seen. When she eventually caught sight of him, he was on the other side helping with the carts.
Before entering the water she took off her clock and tunic and with her sandals made a bundle which she held above her head. She waded into the water dressed only in her undergarments. When she reached the other side, she headed for a bush to remove her wet undergarments. Some soldiers saw her and started in her direction, thinking that she was about to make her escape. She smiled at them and indicated that she had to relieve herself. They stopped their advance but stood gazing at the bush, just as a precaution.
When Gisse got behind the bush, she quickly removed her wet clothes and put on her tunic and sandals. The wet undergarments were wrung out as best she could and stuffed in her cloak's pockets. Hopefully they would make a fire tonight and she would have a chance to dry them. She then casually walked out from behind the bush much to the relief of the two soldiers. The carts were across but the leader had decided that the children would walk to the place where they usually camped for the night. His reasoning was that the children had been in the carts the whole day and needed the exercise. Also, most of the children didn't have a change of clothing and needed to dry out. Everything was ready so the convoy set off on it's way.
That evening, after they had set up camp and eaten supper, Gisse went in search of the soldier named Jaden. She had to go quickly because all the children were to be chained together for the night. Once chained, she wouldn't have a chance to speak to him. She wanted to ask him something. She found him sitting by one of the fires. He was concentrating on the repairs he was making to his saddle and talking to some other soldiers at the same time. Gisse approached and stood near him but did not want to interrupt so she didn't speak.
Some of the other soldiers noticed her and started whispering and laughing and bumping each other. One of group piped up, "Hey Jaden! Your little wife has come to check up on you."
Jaden looked up. "She's too young to be a wife" He said without emotion. The other soldier replied, "Good thing too....you wouldn't be able to afford her on your meagre wage. She's going to be a real looker when she's older so she will fetch quite a price."
Jaden got up and walked away, not wanting to engage in the fireside banter. Gisse followed. When they were out of earshot of the other soldiers, he stopped, but without turning around he said. "Stop following me. What do you want? You should be with the other children, not walking around. It's not safe."
"I'm not scared. I'm here with you" She answered. He turned and looked at her with that expressionless face he had perfected.
"Perhaps it's me you should fear"
Gisse didn't understand his answer and she desperately wanted to ask him a favour before they were chained together, so she pleaded.
"Please may I ride with you on your horse till we reach wherever we're going?
"No"
"Why not? There are other soldiers who have children riding double?"
"I said no! Are you deaf?"
"I get tired from standing all the time "
"Then sit"
"I would sit but the cart is full of the other children's mess. They can't always keep it in. Their bladders are full and the stops are few.
The smell is revolting."
"Enough of this talk. I'm tired of listening to your problems."
The soldier stormed off, leaving her alone.
Gisse entered the camp just as the soldiers were tying the two ends of the chain, supporting the shackles, to the two carts. She hurried over to the fire where she had been drying her undergarments. She grabbed the clothing and fell in line with the other children, waiting to receive a blanket and be shackled for the night.
The night was uneventful. Everyone was fed and very tired, even the raiders. So everyone slept well.
The following morning, the shackles having been removed and a few biscuits and a hot drink downed for breakfast, the children lined up to climb into the carts.
Gisse was just about to climb in, when she was grabbed by the arm and half dragged out of the line. Eventually, gaining her balance, she looked up to see who was manhandling her so. To her surprise it was Jaden. He never looked at her but continued to pull her along until they came to the horses. He mounted his horse and put out his hand. Gisse hesitated for a moment, then gripped his hand. He pulled her up to sit in front of him. Kicked his horse and galloped off to join the rest of the convoy.
Jaden chose to join the rearguard. Two soldiers rode at the back behind the carts. Their job was twofold. They would watch and see if any children didn't jump out of the carts to escape. More importantly, they would ride off the track and standing very still in the shade of a tree or cover of a cliff, watch the track behind them to see if the raiders were not being followed.
For a long time they rode in silence.
Gisse broke the silence.
"Why did you put me in front of you? The other children riding double all sat behind the rider?"
Jaden answered, "The others weren't children, they were older. You are small, you would fall off if you sat behind me."
"I would not"
"You would"
"I might be small but I'm not that young"
Suddenly Jaden burst out laughing
Puzzled, Gisse inquired, "What are you laughing at?"
It took some time for Jaden to calm down. When he did, he said,
"You need a bath....you stink!"
