The Thinking Rocks (26 page)

Cano said, "That
sounds like a plan to me. Let’s see if we can wear them out chasing us."

They moved deeper into
the brush. Cano knew that they were leaving a trail that would be easy to
follow, but they didn't have any choice.  Soon the going got easier; they
found a game trail that led from the hills to the river. By continuing up into
the hills they were able to make better time, but then so could their
pursuers.  The sun was getting higher in the sky and they were both hungry
and thirsty from the climbing.  Cano knew that unless they found a way to
lose the pursuers, they would be recaptured.

Cano stopped and said,
"Listen, I hear something." 

Dola stopped and wished
his heart would stop pounding so that he could listen too.  At first he
could hear nothing, but then he heard it. The sound of running water.

Cano had moved off, and
he called back, "This way!"

They were soon at a
small stream that tumbled over some rocks on its way to the river.  After
satisfying their thirst they found some roots that were edible.  They were
tough and had a strong flavor, but they could be eaten.  They knew that
they should keep going, but they needed rest.  As they munched on the
roots they listened for sounds of pursuit.  They couldn't hear anything
above the bubbling of the small stream.  Dola's cut leg was starting to
hurt and was sure to slow them even more.

Cano sat looking at his
surroundings and then rose and walked over to a dead sapling.  He broke it
free and then stripped the branches from it.  It wasn't much of a spear
and it wouldn't be a match for a spear thrower, but it was better than
nothing.  He saw Dola watching and smiled. "Come here, I have
something for you," he said to him.  When Dola had limped over, Cano
handed him the short spear that Lork had thrown at them at the river. 
"What you now hold in your hand is not just a spear; it is the spear of
your enemy.  When the time is right, I want you to return it to
them.  Do you understand?" Cano asked.

Dola hefted the spear in
his small hand and then looked up at Cano, "Oh yes, I understand, and will
be very glad to return it when the time is right."

Cano returned the smile;
now they were both armed. They moved off as fast as they could, knowing that they
had stopped too long.  They kept climbing until Cano saw a tall tree that
looked as though it would be easy to climb and it would provide a good view of
the country below them.  He climbed it carefully and then peered through
the leaves at the forest below.  At first he didn't see any thing except
trees, and then he saw a movement.  He was soon able to make out the
figures of two men, Lomasi and it looked like Morf bringing up the rear.

Dola called up
softly, "Do you see anything?

Cano climbed
down before answering, "They come. Lomasi and Morf are following. 
They are still far off but they seem to have our trail. I would have thought
that they would be much closer.  Something must have delayed them. We had
better keep moving; maybe we can wear them out.  If they are worn out,
they may make a mistake, and that will help us."  Cano didn't mention
that they were tired, and they might be the ones to make the mistake. As they
hurried up the trail Cano's mind kept searching for something that could elude
Lomasi.  They had to do something soon; Dola’s limp was getting worse.

A short time later they
came upon another game trail.  This one led to the river by a different
path then the one they were on.  It seemed to lead downstream, not
upstream as their current trail did.  Cano stopped and stood thinking for
a moment.  "I have an idea.  If we split up they will have to
choose which of us to follow.  Lomasi will want to get me. I think he will
keep Morf with him.  We have to think of some way that we can out think
them. There may be a way for you to escape."

Dola said, "I don't
want to escape without you."

Cano replied, "I
understand that, but it may be the best way, your leg is getting worse, and I
won't leave you behind.  Do you want us both to get caught?"

Dola fought back
tears.  A hunter doesn't cry.  "No, but I want to be a help.
Isn't there another way?"

Cano answered,
"There may be many other ways, but I don't know what they are.  This
is the best I can do now."  He paused for a moment and then smiled,
"I have another idea. Lomasi will expect us to split up.  We have to
fool him.  We will split up, but he won't know it.  Come with
me."

Dola looked confused,
but he followed Cano quietly.

They continued their
ascent as Cano scanned the trail in front of them.  As they rounded a
corner in the trail on the hillside, they found a cliff with a steep drop
off.  At the edge of the trail there were deep leaves and knee-high grass.
The edge dropped out of sight because of the steepness of the slope.  They
could not see the base of the cliff from their position.  They stayed back
from the edge because of the long drop to the forest below.  No man could
survive such a drop and live.  The trail approached the edge of the cliff
closely.  It gave Cano an idea.

He looked back down the
trail; he didn't see what he wanted. He walked farther up the trail and saw
what he was looking for.  He called Dola, "Come, help me carry this
log."

They carried the log
back to the drop off by the trail. "Be careful not to let the log drag on
the ground," Cano grunted as they moved the log.  "Now let’s
drop it here in the leaves."

Dola asked, "Are we
going to drop this on them when they come up the trail?"

"No," Cano
replied. "We are going to make it look like one of us slipped and fell
down the cliff."  Cano looked around and then said, "That's only
part of my new plan."  He moved cautiously forward and then pushed
the log over the edge.  As soon as its full weight was in the leaves and
grass it slid over the edge.  There were a few moments when there was
silence as the log fell.  Cano's voice startled Dola when he screamed,
"Help...Ahhh" his voice cut off sharply as the log landed with a
crashing sound.

Dola looked at Cano and
asked, "Did one of us just fall to our death?"

Cano smiled, "Yes, it was you.  Now there is
only one of us to follow."

A
False False Trail

Cano then
outlined his plan to Dola.  What they were going to do was confuse
Lomasi.  They were going to convince him that one of them had fallen over
the cliff and that the remaining person had headed back toward the river. 
Lomasi would probably see through the trick of dropping the log over the cliff
and try to find where they really were headed. Cano would leave tracks heading
back toward the river, and some broken branches that Lomasi would find. He
would want to believe it, and hopefully follow it.  In the meantime, they
would carefully retrace their steps to their original path and then travel up
the trail into the forest as they had been doing.  Then the key part of the
plan was for Dola to travel back through the brush and pick up the trail to the
river farther down than they had traveled while they set the false trail. 
Cano would continue up into the hills and lose Lomasi and Morf in the forest
after they had realized the false trail led nowhere
.

Dola looked confused,
"Let me see if I understand what we are going to do.  We are going to
pretend that one of us fell over the cliff and was killed.  Then we are
going to make a false trail for Lomasi to follow toward the river.  Then
we are going to come back here without leaving a trail, and we will travel up
this trail until we separate for real this time, and I cut through the brush
and pickup the trail to the river beyond where Lomasi would have tracked
us.  Then I should actually get on the trail that we pretended we were
going to take and go where they thought we were going at first.  Is that
right?"

Cano said, "I know
that it sounds strange, but I think that it will work. We are going to let him
think that he knows what we are doing.  After he follows the false trail
he will not find any signs that we went that way.  He will know that he
has been tricked.  He will come back up the trail looking for us this
way.  He will see the marks at the cliffs edge and may believe that one of
us has died.  It doesn't matter if he really believes it or not. He will
want to believe one of us is dead. If one of us is dead, then he only has one
more to catch.  He has to keep looking like he is in charge.  In the
meantime you will be safe sneaking back toward the river.  He won't go
back that way because it was a false trail.  Does it make sense to
you?"

Dola nodded, "Maybe
I've been around you and Gennos enough to understand what we are trying to
do.  We will make a false trail, and then convince him that it is a false
trail.  When he gives up on it, we will use it to escape. If that is
right, I understand."

Cano was excited and
nodded, glad that Dola understood what they were doing.  He said,
"When you get to the river, follow it to the last campsite we used before
we met Lomasi and his men.  I will meet you there when I get away from
them.  Then we will go find my brother and Na'pe."

Dola looked doubtful,
"I still wish that there was some way that we could stay together. 
What will I do if you don't make it back to the campsite?"

"You will do what
you must do.  But don’t worry, I will be there." Cano replied
soberly.

Dola was reluctant to
leave, but he realized it was their best chance at escape.  He reached out
and grasped Cano's hand and looked into his eyes, "Come to the river soon,
we have important things to do."  He held up the short spear Cano had
given him, "I will wait for you so that we can return this
spear."  With that said, he faded into the woods with spear in hand,
heading down toward the river.

Cano watched as he had
entered the trees for only a moment before he too moved back down the trail,
with his makeshift spear in hand.  It was time to leave the false
trail.  He noticed the sky was starting to gather dark clouds; it looked
as though it might rain again.  There was a single buzzard circling
overhead, he hoped it wouldn't follow him.  He watched for a few more
moments as it continue to circle, but it appeared to be more interested in the base
of the cliff where the log had fallen than it was in him. As Cano turned a
curve in the trail he noticed another buzzard had arrived and was also
circling.

Dola was deep in the
woods near the trail and moving quietly through the brush.  He stepped
carefully and tried to avoid moving leaves in an unnatural way.  He told
himself that he must move swiftly like a cloud on a windy day.  He had
been moving for a long time, but he hadn't come as far as he would have liked.
He smiled to himself; maybe he should try to travel like a faster cloud. 
No, he decided soberly, speed was not something he needed.  What he did
need was not to be noticed.  He moved on steadily.

Cano had walked back to
the junction of the two trails and then started down the trail toward the
river.  He left small signs that showed that the trail had been
traveled.  He left part of a footprint in some soft soil, and then farther
down the trail he broke a small branch. The last clue he left was to overturn a
moss-covered stone.  Then he carefully retraced his path without leaving
any sign.

Meanwhile, way down the
trail Morf was hungry and tired.  His neck hurt from the blow that Cano
had landed in the dugout.  He could feel the pain with each deep
breath.  The trail they were on was steep and he was taking many deep
breaths.  He wanted to rest, but knew that Lomasi was in a rage.  He
wasn't going to do anything that would direct that rage at him.

Off in the distance a
cry could be heard that ended abruptly. Lomasi stopped and stood listening; he
didn't breathe as he listened.  He raised his hand for Morf to stop; he
turned to him and said "Quiet".

Morf was glad for the
break; they had been traveling without a stop since they left the river. 
Lomasi had delayed in leaving the river; he had wanted to be sure the other
captives would be secured until they returned.  Lork had strict orders not
to get close to them and to have his spear thrower always at hand.  They
then had to search the area around the river to be sure that Cano and Dola
weren't hiding and watching for a chance to overpower Lork and escape with the
others.  All the delays kept making Lomasi angrier, even though it was his
decision to delay the chase.  Morf had found out long ago that it was best
to do as he was told and not ask questions.

Lomasi
listened for a few more moments, and then motioned Morf to follow.  The
cry had not been repeated.  It had come from higher in the hills in the
general direction of the trail they followed.  Lomasi's eyes seemed to be
constantly moving.  He scanned the trail, the brush, and finally the
sky.  A movement caught his eye; he noticed a buzzard slowly circling in
the sky up ahead.  This was not significant he thought, the skies usually
held at least one of them. Then he noticed another join the first. 
Interesting, he thought.  He increased their pace much to Morf's
displeasure.

High above them Cano
trudged upward.  He came to a break in the trees and saw a huge rock
suspended above the trail.  He hoped it was secure, if it fell he would be
crushed under its gray mass.  As he hurried past it he had an idea. 
That seems like a nice bolder he thought, I think I will give it to
Lomasi.  He moved off the trail and searched for dead branches that were
about the same size as one of his fingers and as long as his arm.  When he
had gathered an armload, he sat and broke them into pieces as long as his
forearm.  He then returned to the edge of the trail and carefully stuck
them in the ground with a sharp end sticking up.  The ground was hard and
rocky and he had a difficult time getting them the way he wanted them. 
Some had to be propped up with stones; others were pressed into foliage on the
trails edge. He walked back down the trail and then returned. He looked for
anything that might give his plan away.  He made a few changes just to be
certain that the mini spears wouldn't be noticed.  Next, he went back down
the trail and removed as many of his tracks as he could with a branch from a
bush.  He purposely didn't make it perfect; he wanted them to come this
way. When he was satisfied with the way his trail looked, he stopped below the
boulder and folded a green branch in half and dropped it on the ground. 
It looked out of place.  He smiled to himself and then continued up the
trail.