The Thinking Rocks (38 page)

Lomasi stood quietly in
the center of the campsite and looked around.  There were tracks on the
ground that confirmed his suspicions about who had been here.  He knew
they had been here recently.  The tracks were still fresh and the ashes of
the fire had not settled or blown away.

There was the smell of
smoke in the air.  He frowned, the fire was out and it had been out for
some time, but yet there was the smell of smoke in the air.  He looked
inland and noticed a slight change in color near a stand of trees.  It
appeared to be smoke, but why a fire there?

He fitted his spear into
the spear-thrower and then moved toward the trees.  Morf stood quietly
awaiting instructions.

As Lomasi moved toward the
smoke he found small signs that something heavy had been pulled along the
ground.  The pain in his leg reminded him to watch for a trap.  As he
entered the trees the smell of smoke got stronger.  Then he saw the
source.  The dugout was lying upside down and there were fires smoldering,
one on the bottom and another on its side.  He called to Morf to come
quickly.  He rushed forward and tried to knock the fire off of the bottom
of the dugout.  The wet wood had been smoldering and although it burned
slowly it had created a crater about the size of his head

When Morf arrived he saw
Lomasi trying to put out the fire on the bottom of the dugout. He rushed
forward and kicked at the fire on the side of the dugout.  Some of the
burning wood broke loose and fell to the ground.  He then scraped handfuls
of dirt together and threw it on the smoldering wood.  The damage to the
side of the dugout was much more critical than to the bottom.  The wood
was drier on the sides than on the bottom and had burned better.  A hole
had been created that reached from the top edge of the dugout almost to the
bottom.  The dugout would fill with water if they attempted to use it.

Lomasi had finished
putting his fire out and had used his spear point to scrape the last of the
embers from the wood.  Turning toward Morf, he examined the damage to the
side of the dugout.  "You should have worked faster; the damage is
the worst where you worked."

Morf silently accepted the rebuke.

Lomasi stood
silently looking down at the charred hull. "We must move it back to the
river and then repair it."

It was difficult, but
they were able to drag and push it through the brush back to the river. 
Lomasi made a mixture of grass, mud and small rocks, and attempted to patch the
hole in the bottom of the dugout.  The side of the dugout was damaged
beyond repair.  While Lomasi worked on the dugout, Morf found suitable
saplings and constructed poles that they could use to propel the dugout. 
He lashed smaller sticks in a flat pattern to one end of the poles so that they
could also be used as paddles when the river was too deep to reach bottom with
the poles.

They found that the
dugout filled with water as soon as it was launched.  Lomasi decided that
they would continue the chase in the dugout despite the damage.  It would
be difficult and even wetter than using the raft they had constructed, but it
would allow them to travel faster.  They were only a day behind the
escapees and he was driven by his desire for revenge.

Morf squatted in the water
at the rear of the dugout.  The water filled the dugout and it handled
little better than the raft had.  Lomasi was in the water too, but the
motion of the dugout caused the water to be deeper in the rear than in the
front.  Morf sat mournfully thinking; just when you think things can't get
any worse, they do.  Then he looked down into his lap as the water swirled
around him.  He was water soaked and then saw that things were indeed
getting worse.  Several leeches were having a meal at his expense. He
quickly removed them using a spear point, and tossed them in the river. 
It was then that things started to look better.  He noticed that a large
leech had crawled up Lomasi's back and was feeding.  He sat silently
watching it feeding.  He knew that if he brought it to Lomasi's attention
it wouldn't help.  Somehow he would find a way to blame the leech's bite
on him. Morf sat silently watching the leech's body swell with blood.  It
was a shame, he thought, that leeches don't grow bigger. One about the size of
my leg would be fine at a time like this.  Then I would be able to go
home.

The dugout continued to
wallow its way downstream after the small group of escapees.

Much farther downstream
the other dugout was fairing much better. The scenery had continued to
change.  There were more small islands then they had seen previously.
Occasionally they saw large islands with tall trees.  Some of the trees
grew directly in the river.  The trunks of the trees were strange; they
were very wide at the base and tapered upward.  There were also small
rounded growths sticking out of the water around the bases. Not all of the
trees looked like these. There were other tall trees that also grew in the
water that had bright colored flowers growing on them.  At places there were
tall grasses growing and many small birds. The trees also held many different
kinds of brightly colored birds.  The sounds they made were pleasant to
hear.

The dugout was moving
along swiftly in the strong current.  They had been taking turns guiding
it, while those that rested ate the dried turtle meat, or dozed off.

Na'pe's
voice was soft as she spoke, "Soon we will come to a big place in the
river that I don't like.  After we pass this place it will not be too much
farther to the Mother River.  Then you will see a real river.  It
will not be long after that, we will reach my Clan."

Gennos asked
"This bad place, why is it bad?"

"You
will see; it's dark and dangerous.  The trees block most of the light and
it's easy to get lost.  The current gets slower and it is harder to
follow.  The current seems to go into places were it ends, and then you
have to try and find your way out. There are strange animals and big fish like
the gar that killed Hopi.  There are turtles bigger than the one Cano killed." 
She hesitated and then said, "And big gators, very big gators.  Some
are longer that this dugout."  She paused again and her shoulders
gave an involuntary shudder, "But the things I hate the most are the
snakes. We must be careful of them; they are in the water and in the
trees."

Cano clenched his mouth
shut.  Not more snakes, he thought, I've had enough of them, but he said
nothing.

Gennos said, "Do
you think you can remember how to get past this place?"

"I hope so. 
Lomasi didn't like the place either, but that was because he became lost
there.  I didn't try to help him.  I was hoping that my people would
have come after me.  My people know of this place and the ways of the
river. I will try to show you its secrets," she said.

The river wasn't deep in
this area, but it was wider than it had been.  Cano noticed another island
coming up.  "Let’s stop here and get out and stretch.  I need to
feel solid ground under my feet."

They all thought that it
would be a good idea if they stopped for a short while and got out of the
dugout.  As soon as the dugout reached the bank, Whiteface jumped out and
started exploring the shore.  They all climbed out and walked around to
loosen up the stiffness in their arms and legs.

They hadn't been on the
island long when the stillness was shattered.  Whiteface's frantic barking
could be heard coming from the tall grass where she had disappeared.  It
was follow by a loud hissing cough; it was a strange sound, almost a
bark.  Whiteface came flying out of the grass and rushed to the dugout and
jumped in.  She turned in the direction she had come from and bared her
fangs.

A large black shape
parted the tall grasses; it stopped and then rose to its full height.  It
was a black bear that was taller than Cano.  It stood looking with its
beady eyes at the small group, trying to decide if they were a threat or
not.  It twitched its nose, trying to scent these strange creatures.

Gennos broke the spell
by saying in a soft voice, "Everyone move slowly back to the dugout, don't
move fast or turn your back to the bear."

After a few moments
hesitation, all except Cano were slowly moving away from the bear and back to
the dugout. Whiteface was silent; she seemed to sense that now was not the time
to be noticed.

Cano slowly
turned to face the bear, the muscles in his shoulders rippled as he
straightened his back and then he smoothly drew his Canohawk.  He balanced
its weight in his hand easily, and then he shifted his grip from the throwing
position to a chopping hold. He stood silently looking at the bear.  He
didn't want to fight the bear because he knew what the outcome would be.

When the others were in
the dugout, Cano moved over to it slowly.  The bear stood watching and
then raised its head higher and then cocked its head to the side, and gave a
coarse roar.  Cano could feel the roar in his bones.  He moved
smoothly toward the dugout and then stopped. Now comes the hard part he
thought, I will have to turn my back on the bear. I really don't want to turn
my back; he may think I am afraid and then attack. Cano knew that animals
attack when they have the best chance for a clean kill.  My problem, he
thought, is that I can't launch the dugout without turning away from the
bear.  He stood facing the bear and working up his courage, he had to turn
away.  He heard sounds of movement from the dugout.  Slowly he turned
his eyes away from the bear and toward the dugout.  He had to turn his
head to see what was happening.  The sight he saw warmed his heart. Both
Dola and his brother where crouched in their position in the dugout.  They
had each loaded spear-throwers and their arms were cocked and ready to cast
their spears.

Softly Gennos said,
"Come Cano, I think it’s time to leave."  His eyes were locked
on the bear.

Cano turned
slowly, laid his Canohawk in the dugout and then pushed the dugout into the
feeble current.  When he was waist deep in the water he pulled himself
smoothly into the dugout.  The bear stood watching as the dugout drifted
away.  It dropped down to all fours, tossed its head and snorted. 
Then it shambled back into the tall grass without looking back.  After
they had drifted around another bend in the river and everyone was breathing
normally again, Gennos said, "Next time I get to pick out the place we
rest.  That last place was a real bear."  Cano didn't argue.

Later that
day when the light had just begun to fade, Na'pe said, "We should camp
soon.  The night will be dark and we are close to the dark place.

Gennos picked a small island near the center of the
river.  They spent a quiet night, but no one slept well.  They all
wondered what the next day would bring.

Black Bayou

The next morning they
pushed off from the shore as the sun rose. As they drifted along Na'pe spoke,
"My people are of the Mother River.  There are places where the river
flows into strange places.  Some are good and others are bad, sometimes it
is hard to tell which is which.  We call these places that are by the
river, but not the river, Bayou. Where we are headed it is called Black
Bayou."  She paused before continuing, "As I said before this is
not a good place, my people stay away from it.  Sometimes people that go
there don't return."

Gennos was interested,
"But you were here with Lomasi, and now you return.  Maybe this is
only a bad place for some." 

She looked at him for
sometime before answering, "You may be right, but I don't like the
place.  There is death near and you can feel it when you are there."

"I can understand
what you say, but there is death everywhere.  We can only live by killing.
Maybe this place is like any other.  It could be that you felt badly
because Lomasi had you in his power when you were here last," said Gennos.

She looked into his eyes
before answering, "As I said, you may be right, yet I would like you to
tell me these things again after we leave Black Bayou."  Then she
added, "If we do.  The place is evil."

Gennos tried to smile,
"I will, and then you will know that we have passed through it without
harm."  He wanted to cheer her up, "You may have forgotten, but
we have Dola and his spear that is there to protect us."

She wasn't cheered,
"It will take more than a spear to get us to safety."

There was little
talk.  Before the sun was overhead the river started to change.  The
trees along the banks were taller and the trunks wider.  The branches hung
down.  There was no wind and the current was slower, it was difficult to
see where the river was going.  There were plants in the water that were
strange; they were round and flat. They floated on the surface of the water.   
Some of the plants had white flowers on them.  Some had frogs on them that
escaped with a soft "Plunk" as the dugout approached.  Sometimes
bubbles would float to the surface as if something was below the surface, yet
nothing could be seen.  Occasionally a plant would soundlessly float to
the surface, roots and all.  Although the water was flat and clear, it had
a brownish cast to it. As they moved farther into the bayou it became darker
because of the tall trees.  There were long strands of moss hanging from
the tree branches.  Many of the branches were dead and some had fallen
into the water. There were small leaves and some twigs floating on the surface
of the water, but nothing indicated any river current.