Rahan. Episode Sixty Two. By Roger Lecureux. The share of the Chiefs. A Puke (TM) Comic.

Rahan.
Son of the fierce ages.Show more

Episode Sixty Two.

By Roger Lecureux, drawn by Guy Zam.

The share of the Chiefs.

The starving child barely had the strength to chew the root.
He had no reaction when, remembering the distant days when he, too, had suffered from hunger.
The son of Crao approached him.

Did you get lost in the forest?
Rahan will bring you back to yours, little man!
No, O-Naa and Ka-haa ate all the meat.

Following the child's footsteps, Rahan came upon arid ground.
Men and women were prostrate at the entrance to a cave.

Page Two.

This little man belongs to your clan, does he not?
What unworthy hunters are you to abandon him without food!
And where are O-Naa and Ka-Haa who ate all the meat!?

I am O-Naa-the-chief.
And here is Ka-Haa, the sorcerer, and Trank and Kawi, our best hunters!
But who are you, to dare to discuss our custom!
Four men came out of the cave. These were sturdy.

I am Rahan, the son of Crao!
If your custom is to let hunger consume the youngest of the men, then Rahan is against your custom!

If the hunting is good, everyone eats their fill.
But game is rare! The custom is that the best in the clan eat first!

And the “Best” are you!
Rahan despises chiefs and sorcerers who do not know how to lead their clan into territories rich in game!

Page Three.

Trank and Kawi will make you pay for this insolence "Hair-of-Fire"!
On an order from the sorcerer, the two sturdy hunters rushed towards the son of Crao.

Rahan does not like to fight with "those-who-walk-upright"!
But when you force him to.

He does not run away from the fight!
A rapid blow disarmed Trank.
Another thunderbolt threw him to the ground.
Argh!

Kawi's powerful arms were already surrounding him.
Kawi is more loyal!
He does not use a knife!
But Rahan still has to get rid of him.

An admiring clamor arose.
Uprooted from the ground, the hunter fluttered over the shoulder of the son of Crao.

Page Four.

Only O-Naa-the-chief, Ka-Haa the sorcerer and Trank were furious.
Your knife, Kawi! Kill! Kill!
No! "Fire-hair" did not draw his weapon! He fought fair.

And he flattened Kawi!
Rahan Is Brave!
Kawi will share his meat with him!
Rahan had just made an ally, but also three enemies!

Before arriving in your territory, Rahan crossed a game-filled forest.
He does not want your meat, Kawi!
Better yet, he will bring some back for these little men!
Which of you will dare to accompany him?

The men of the clan remained prostrate.
Our clan does not often hear wise words, Rahan! Kawi will go with you!

Shortly after, the son of Crao and his new companion plunged deep into the forest.
Why do your people not abandon their land without trees? Without game?
Ka-Haa says we were born there and we must die there!

Page Five.

And Kawi spoke of the unjust custom of his clan.
From the few animals captured, the chief and the sorcerer first took their share.
Trank and himself took theirs!

And the others share what’s left.
It is often not much. Sometimes it is nothing!
Watch out Kawai! Wild boars went this way!

Rahan had barely pointed out the tracks when the thickets began to crack.
A herd was chasing them! A Herd from which they could only flee!

The son of Crao was already in a tree when Kawi, stumbling against a root, fell, fifty steps in front of the "Boars"!

He was going to be trampled, crushed, disemboweled!
Your hand Kai! Your hand!

The hunter who was getting up saw his companion rushing towards him, agile as a "Four-hands"

Page Six.

He suddenly felt himself being pulled into the void.
And the herd broke under him!

They stopped and returned under the tree in which the two men had taken refuge.
We will escape them by the “Path of Branches”!

But we will not return to the cave alone!
Oh!
Repeating his feat, Rahan plunged into the void.

Suspended on the vine, he dangerously brushed against the spines of the large wild boars and seized, in flight, a young boar by the scruff of the neck!

A little later.
What a misfortune to give up so much meat!
We cannot face these "Boars", Kawi!
But we will make some come to us!

Page Seven.

O Naa, Ka-haa, Trank and the others were waiting for their return.

A “Marcassin”! for moons O Naa has forgotten the flavor of this flesh!
This “Marcassin” comes back to him!

O Naa only thinks about filling his belly with good flesh!
But Rahan only thinks about these!
Tomorrow, the little ones will eat!

Kawi had now taken Rahan's side. It was he, who until the end of the day, "Protected" the Marcassin.
While the son of Crao made a flexible bow and long arrows.
We should have killed them both! Before they give the clan a miracle!

As night fell, Rahan and Kawi set out on the lookout.
Tied to a tree, the boar growled.
Do you think they will come?
"They” will come! They always come!

Page Eight.

It was a long wait but, at daybreak, a pair of great boars emerged out of the forest.

The animals cautiously approached the boar, scenting it with their snouts.
When they sensed the danger, it was too late.

Ra-ha-ha!
Rahan's arrow and Kawi's spear had flown away at the same time!
Both attained their goal!

The animals were heavy. The two companions were only able to bring one back to the cave.
That is enough to feed the whole clan!
And you will find another Boar at the entrance to the forest!

The son of Crao expected an ovation.
But everyone remained worried. He suddenly understood
They fear being wronged by O Naa and Ka-haa!

Page Nine.

The chief and the sorcerer, in fact, were already preparing to cut up the boar.
Stop!
It was Rahan who killed the Boar!
He is the one who will do the sharing!

A moment later, the ivory knife cut into the flesh.
Sharing will be fair! Everyone will receive the same share!

Ha-ha-ha! You want to deceive the clan, “Fire-hair”!
A large piece sometimes contains less flesh than a small one!
What Proof will we have that your shares will be equal!?

The son of Crao thought.
How to make the sharing indisputably equitable?
And suddenly.
Rahan knows how to convince you!

Two scenes came back to his mind.
A game that the children of the Blue Mountain sometimes played on a tree trunk.
And the scene where he was held above the void by a rock that made Exactly his weight.

Page Ten.

Combining the two ideas, he conceived of a rudimentary balance.
He placed two pieces of meat there, which he estimated to be of the same weight.

Ha-ha-ha!
But this first attempt was disappointing.
The scale, mis-centered, leaned towards the smallest piece!

And this object proves nothing!
If you had not brought back a Boar, you would deserve to have your skull broken, like this.

The heavy ax fell on one end of the scale, throwing the piece of meat placed at the other end very high!

But the son of Crao did not despair.
He realized the cause of his failure.
The arm of the scale was not perfectly centered!

Page Eleven.

This time you will no longer betray Rahan!
It was easy for him, despite some trial and error, to discover the exact point of balance

At this point, he notched the bamboo.
The notch which would serve as a reference and would facilitate the pendulum movement.

O Naa can now cut himself the piece of meat he wants!

The chef feverishly cut a large wedge of flesh.
It is yours, O Naa!
But everyone will have the same, just as your share!

A moment later the son of Crao preceded with the sharing.
He added or subtracted carefully to balance each part with that of the chef who served as tare.

And the cave clan, that day, could satisfy its hunger.
Thanks to the wonderful "Bamboo-of-justice", Rahan has gained the trust of my brothers!

Page Twelve.

But he has attracted the hatred of O Naa, Ka-haa and Trank!
The three men indeed stayed away and considered with bad things.

The “Bamboo-of-justice” is evil for all three of us!
We must send "Fire-hair" to the territory of shadows and return to our custom!

Killing Rahan will be difficult!
Look, the clan almost considers him a leader!
Patience! An opportunity will present itself!

That day, a joyful group brought back the second Boar from the forest.
And it is possible to do even better brothers!

Rahan saw, five arrow flights from here, a deep pit.
It can become a trap for large beasts!

Page thirteen.

Impatient to put this idea into practice, the son of Crao went to this pit at dawn.

It will take large bamboos and lots of palm fronds to hide it!
The pit was deep. Its wall, worn by time, was as smooth as his ivory knife.

He immediately got to work, going to the nearby forest and cutting very long bamboos.

He did not know that O-Naa, Ka-Haa and Trank had followed Him
He is alone and we are far from the cave!
This is the opportunity we've been waiting for!

Rahan had just placed his load of bamboo when the trio appeared.
He did not even have time to face them!
Ha-ra!

Page Fourteen.

Ha-Ha-HA!
Everyone in the clan will believe it was an “Accident”!
Poor “Fire-hair” who “slipped” into the trap he was preparing!

Although the shock was severe, he was only stunned.
And O-Naa's laughter reached him.

Then he caught a glimpse of Trank's silhouette.
Oh! He is still alive! We must finish him!

If We do not kill him, the clan will save him from the trap and he will tell everything!
We have to kill him with these rocks!

No vines, or any projections allowed the son of Crao to escape from the granite trap.
And big stones started to fall.

Which he tried to avoid by pressing himself against the wall.
O-Naa, Ka-Haa and Trank are cowards!

Page Fifteen.

Only laughter answered him while rocks continued to fall, bigger and bigger.

To avoid one of them, Rahan jumped and stumbled against one of the trunks that lay at the bottom of the pit.
Oh! The bamboo of justice!

This trunk had just reminded him of the scales.
The ax blow of O Naa.
The quarter of meat thrown into the air!

If the Trunk holds, Rahan could also be thrown out of the trap!
He placed the trunk on the support which would allow the rocking effect.

And when the trio was silhouetted against the sky, pushing a huge rock, he moved the trunk so that it would be exactly where the projectile would fall.

Page Sixteen.

When the rock fell, he was already at the end of the trunk, Legs extended to help propulsion.

And it was extraordinary, fantastic.
The son of Crao was thrown skyward like a volcanic bomb!

Ra-ha-ha!
You will pay for your perfidiousness!
The three dumb-founded men saw him spring out of the pit and fall right in front of them.

The Trio, panicked by the incredible feat, wanted to flee.
But Rahan was faster!
Argh! No!

Argh!
O-Naa was the first to be thrown into the hole.

Page Seventeen.

He had barely reached the bottom before Ka-Haa joined him there!
Argh!

The Clan will decide your fate!
By momentarily forgetting Tank, the son of Crao made a mistake!

Because he was turning, his back to the scoundrel who, thirty paces away, was about to throw his long spear!
“Fire-hair” will die!

A scream made Rahan suddenly turn around.
And he saw Trank falling down, with an arrow in his side!
Argh!

He saw Kawi emerging from behind a rock.
Kawi has arrived just in time!
This is the first time he has used this weapon!
Rahan could not have done better than Kawi!

Page Eighteen.

A little later, Kawi informed the Clan.
Rahan hunted for us, and these three scoundrels wanted to kill him cowardly!
May they be forever banished from the clan!

O-Naa and the Sorcerer, at the bottom of the pit, called out for help.
Their clamors reached as far as the cave.
Hear them, Kawi.
Maybe we could.
Kawi hears nothing!
And you, my friends, do you hear anything?

The clan hears nothing!
And the clan, from now on, will obey Kawi!
The son of Crao knew that O-Naa and Ka-Haa were condemned!
In those wild times, the justice of “Those Who Walk Upright” could be implacable!

When Rahan left these men, the new leader accompanied him to the hills.
Goodbye, Brother!
Mine will never forget you!
And Kawi will follow your wise advice!
He will lead the clan to the lands of game.
And never again will meat be shared other than with the “Bamboo-of-justice”! Farewell!

Index:
https://rumble.com/v3486cm-rahan-index-of-episodes-by-roger-lecureux..html

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