115: The Hundred at the Bend
The small accumulating Sui patrol of one hundred came up the western face at the noon of the fifth day of the first moon of the seventeenth year.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the past four days, Heizi at the *staff-officer's bench* of the master's hut had laid in the small accumulating *holding-arrangement* the master had — at the past dusk's saying — approved.
The arrangement was — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two years' accumulating training — a small accumulating *layered defensive shape* against a hundred-strong Sui patrol's accumulating engagement: the *eleven* would hold the upper bend's accumulating bottlenecking at the small accumulating *first wave*; if the bottlenecking broke, the eleven would withdraw to the grove's accumulating natural defensive shape, where the small accumulating twelve old pines and the small accumulating brush of the past nineteen years' accumulating natural growth would force the small accumulating Sui's accumulating *real numbers* into small accumulating clusters of three and four at every approach. The eleven would, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, hold each cluster at the small accumulating *quarter-circle* and the small accumulating *cut at the recovery*.
The master would hold the cot at the back of the hut. Ah Chou at the small accumulating *medic-and-second-eye* would, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four days' planning, be at the small accumulating *back position* near the master's cot, with the small accumulating *fifth veteran* (Liu Wenchang, by the small specific accumulating reading at his accumulating leg's accumulating healed shape) at his side as accumulating protection.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the lame brother's accumulating eye-station report at the dawn of the fifth day, the Sui patrol of one hundred was — at the small accumulating foot of the path — at the small accumulating *staging* shape. They would, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past hour's accumulating watching, come up by the noon.
They came up.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the past two hours of the noon's accumulating engagement, the eleven held the upper bend's bottlenecking against the small accumulating *first three waves* of the Sui patrol's accumulating attack. The first wave broke at perhaps fifteen Sui dead. The second at twenty more. The third at perhaps eighteen more. By the small specific accumulating reading at the second hour, the small accumulating Sui patrol was at perhaps forty-seven dead.
The remaining fifty-three pushed through at the third hour.
The eleven withdrew to the grove.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the small accumulating *grove's defensive shape* of the next two hours, the eleven held the grove's accumulating *natural-pine-cluster* defensive against the small accumulating remaining Sui patrol at the small accumulating *layered-cluster* engagement.
By the dusk of the fifth day, by the small specific accumulating reading at the small accumulating count, the small accumulating Sui patrol of one hundred had — at the engagement's accumulating reading — been at the small accumulating *thirty-one Sui surviving* shape. They retreated south at the small accumulating *third hour of the dusk*.
The eleven had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk's count — taken the small accumulating *cost*.
The cost was at the small accumulating *seven*.
Seven of the eleven dead.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk's accumulating *staff-officer's accounting*: *Yan Shaozhong* (the senior veteran, taken at the second wave's accumulating *quarter-circle's recovery* by a Sui veteran's accumulating *real* counter); *Liu Erlang* (the bog-iron-helper, taken at the third wave's accumulating *thrust-and-set* by a Sui spear at the side of the chest); *Cao Hu* (the second bog-iron-helper, taken at the grove's accumulating *cluster-engagement* third minute by a Sui saber at the throat); *Liu Wenchang* (the forge-helper, taken while protecting Ah Chou at the back position by two Sui veterans who had broken through the grove's eastern lip at the late accumulating engagement); *Tian Erjia* (the runner who had replaced Sun Erlin's runner-position, taken at the grove's accumulating central engagement by a Sui arrow at the chest at the third minute of the cluster-engagement). And — by the small specific accumulating reading at this dusk — two of the brothers.
*Lu Jingzhi*. Wounded at the *block-and-set's* third recovery at the grove's accumulating cluster-engagement. Ah Chou had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past hour — laid in the small accumulating *full medic's* shape at his accumulating wound. The wound was — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past quarter hour's accumulating examination — at the small specific accumulating *deep cut at the side of the abdomen*. Ah Chou had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past quarter hour's accumulating saying — laid in the small accumulating *real medic's* careful binding. The wound was — by the small specific accumulating reading at this dusk — at the small accumulating *will-perhaps-heal* shape, by the small specific accumulating reading at Ah Chou's careful eye, but not — by any small specific accumulating reading I am giving — *certainly* heal.
Lu Jingzhi was — at the dusk — laid at the small accumulating *medic's tent's* small accumulating cot.
And — by the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk's accounting — *Tie-zhu*. The lame brother. Taken at the grove's accumulating *defensive holding-place* of the corner against the south face of the hut at the small accumulating *fourth minute* of the cluster-engagement, by a Sui veteran's accumulating *real* spear at the small accumulating *side-window* of the chest, while the lame brother — by the small specific accumulating reading at his accumulating *defensive corner* discipline — held the corner against three accumulating Sui veterans who had broken through at the small accumulating eastern lip and were attempting to reach the master's cot.
The lame brother had held.
The three Sui veterans had broken at the lame brother's accumulating *spear-and-knife* at perhaps the small accumulating *first thrust*. The fourth wave of two further Sui veterans had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the small accumulating second-thrust — been taken by Wang Er at the small accumulating *thrust-and-set's* arrival from the south face's accumulating *clear ground*. By the small specific accumulating reading at the past quarter hour's accumulating reading — Tie-zhu had taken the spear at the side-window during the small accumulating *third minute* between the first thrust's accumulating success and Wang Er's accumulating arrival.
The lame brother had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past quarter hour's accumulating reading by Ah Chou — died at the small accumulating *first hour of the dusk*.
Heizi at the small accumulating *staff-officer's accumulating count* of the dusk laid the small accumulating *Tie-zhu* at the small accumulating *staff-officer's small specific personal dark catalog*.
Beside the names of Mei-er and Yan Liu-er and Ah Si and the eastern-pine hermit and the unnamed fourteen-year-old and the unnamed bandit and the boy of the seventh household and An Ashi-er/Lu Cheng-yi and the unnamed daughter at the crossroads, he set: *Tie-zhu of southern Hebei village, the lame brother, the carpenter's apprentice's nephew of Old Lu the carpenter of the lad's accumulating foster village, the small specific *defensive corner* whose accumulating spear-and-knife had held the corner of the master's hut at the small specific moment Wang Er's accumulating arrival required, dead at the dusk of the fifth day of the first moon of the seventeenth year, age twenty-six.*
He filed.
He did not — at the dusk — weep.
He had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past nine years and ten months — not wept since the low rock at the hamlet of two wells.
He kept the discipline.
He filed.
He filed: *the lame brother, who at age twelve had pulled a thorn out of his own foot at the small specific accumulating careful watching of the carpenter's bench in the village; who at age eighteen had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the *third moon's small specific *I will come back* of the past nine years and ten months — promised Lan-gu of the hamlet of two wells that he would, in some accumulating year, come back to her with the small accumulating *finished bird*; who had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past nine years and ten months — kept the small accumulating *unfinished bird with the charcoal-eye that he had finished himself at the past third year* in the inner pocket of his coat at every small accumulating walk of the past nine years.*
The small accumulating bird was — by the small specific accumulating reading at Heizi's accumulating reading at the small accumulating *staff-officer's accounting at the dusk* — still in the lame brother's accumulating coat.
Heizi took it from the lame brother's accumulating coat at the dusk's accumulating laying-out of the body for the burial of the morning.
He held it for one beat.
He laid it in the inner pocket of his own shirt against his ribs, beside the small finished indigo pouch with the *生*.
He filed.
In the small lighter catalog of moments, he set: *the small specific dusk of the fifth day of the first moon of the seventeenth year, when the lame brother held the corner of the master's hut at the small specific moment that Wang Er's accumulating arrival required, and died at the small specific *side-window* of his accumulating chest at the small accumulating fourth minute of the cluster-engagement.*
The dark catalog stood at twenty-five named entries plus the *unnamed thousand+*.
The lighter catalog stood at perhaps one hundred and twelve items.
That night Heizi at his watch sat at the small banked fire at the front of the south face.
He did not weep.
He filed.
He sat his watch through.
The lame brother had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past nine years and ten months on the road — been the small accumulating *carpenter's apprentice* who had built the lean-to at the small flat place behind the long low ridge, who had carved the small accumulating four wooden bowls of the household's accumulating accounting, who had laid in the small specific *Khotanese cut* at the eastern post of the lean-to that had — by Lao Wen's accumulating saying at the past first day at the hut — traveled west-to-east across decades of accumulating apprentices.
He had not, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two years, returned to the hamlet of two wells.
He had not, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past nine years and ten months, finished the small accumulating *promise to Lan-gu* he had laid at the door of her household.
The bird was at Heizi's pocket now.
It would, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, be at the small accumulating *carrying-down* shape Heizi would, by the small specific accumulating reading at the next several years, lay at the small specific accumulating *some unfound year* of returning to the hamlet of two wells, if the country allowed.
Heizi filed it.
He sat his watch through.
In the morning, the brothers buried the lame brother and the five fallen veterans at the small accumulating *eastern slope* of the master's compound, by the small accumulating *upper-hills burial protocol* the master had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past nineteen years and ten months — laid for any small accumulating dead at the grove of twelve pines.
The master at the cot — by the small specific accumulating reading at the morning's accumulating saying from Ah Chou — heard the names. He coughed once. He laid one hand once at his accumulating brow. He said in the small low voice: *six. Plus Lu Jingzhi at the cot. The lad has, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two days, taken the small accumulating cost-of-six-plus-one.*
Heizi nodded.
He filed.
The small accumulating *eleven* was now, at the morning of the sixth day of the first moon of the seventeenth year, the small accumulating *five-and-master*.
Heizi, Wang Er, An Ashi, Ah Chou — and Lu Jingzhi at the medic's cot.
Five.
Plus the master.
Per the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, the household had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past nine years and ten months — returned to the small accumulating *six* of the original *six brothers + master*, minus the lame brother. Lu Jingzhi at the medic's cot would — by Ah Chou's accumulating eye — perhaps heal, by the small specific accumulating reading at the next several weeks; perhaps not.
The household held.
That dusk Heizi at his watch sat at the small banked fire.
He listened.
The shape of the silence was — by the small specific reading at this evening — the shape of a small specific *staff-officer-and-apprentice* whose accumulating *eleven* had, at the noon yesterday, become the *five-and-master* with the lame brother in the eastern slope's accumulating burial-ground.
He filed it.
He sat his watch through.