Chapter 14: Elephant Mountain - The Next Day
“Blake, quiet—do you see her?”
“Yes, but I’m afraid if we just stand up we’ll scare the
daylights out of her. Look, let’s just be still and
see which way she goes—whatever she’s got
there, that basket doesn’t look like it can hold
anymore. She’s probably heading back to the
village.”
As soon as the woman was well out of sight, Sutton
and Blake came out from their hiding place, quickly
spotting a well-worn trail heading in the exact
direction the villager had taken.
Sutton looked at Blake. “All right, this is what we
are going to do. Since we don’t have any weapons and
we’re not here to hurt anybody, I think the best
thing is to walk straight-up that trail with our
heads high and when we come to the village, walk
right in.”
“You know, Major, that’s exactly what the early
mountain men would do when they found an Indian
village and the Indians really respected them for
that and treated
them like honored guests. So you’re right—that’s what we
should do, too.”
As the two men slowly made their way down the trail,
Blake’s attention was drawn to the immediate beauty
that surrounded him. “Look over there, Major. What a
beautiful waterfall.”
“Yes, it certainly is. Just look at what these
talented Khmer are able to do. No wonder
their ancestors were able to build Angkor Wat.
Let’s stop for a second, I want to get a drink. Hey
Blake! Smell that?”
“Yeah, I do. The village must be near.”
Again, Blake and Sutton began walking. The trail
became more defined, turning gently to the right.
Blake spoke. “I must say that this is rather
intense—I mean, the two of us just walking into
their village unannounced. There it is.”
“Come on, we can do this. I don’t think we have
anything to be afraid of. But let’s take off our
sunglasses. Judy mentioned this to me last night.
Let’s look as normal as possible. And she also said
to smile a lot.”
Adjusting their appearance, the first villagers
spotted the two strangers approaching. Then other
villagers began to notice. Soon the whole village
was in an uproar—dozens of children, bare
foot and brown, pushed forward to see—some of their
mothers grabbing their arms to keep them back.
Seeing this, Blake couldn’t help but notice the
children’s fearlessness. That was a common thread
that seemed to characterize children everywhere.
Blake had experienced it—teaching rappelling. His
younger students slid fearlessly down the ropes
like little monkeys while his adult students had to
be re-assured, time and time again. Blake had always
wondered why aging makes us more cautious, instead
of the other way round.
As far as walking into the village, that was
now impossible. The villagers stood blocking the
way—not out of defiance but rather just their sheer
numbers and enormous curiosity.
Sutton and Blake just stood there looking at the
children. Even though Judy had told them to smile,
naturally they were unable to do anything else, but
smile. Who could resist such adorable little
faces—just as were all the beautiful Khmer
children they had seen since arriving in Cambodia. A
brave little girl inched her way forward; her sweet
smile touching Sutton’s heart. Her little brother
stood clutching her dress.
Momentarily, the crowd quieted down. But when Blake
reached out to pat the girl on the head, a small boy
off to his left looked very hesitant, not sure what
to think of these strange looking men.
Sutton smiled as the villagers surrounded them.
Several of the men appeared to have weapons by their
sides. Looking straight ahead, Sutton then spoke.
“Do any of you speak English?”
