The Thinking Rocks (39 page)

Na'pe's voice broke the
silence; she spoke softly, "The water in the rivers that we have traveled
was muddy.  The waters here are clear.  Where those trees grow,"
she pointed to the trees with the large bases and the short nubs growing in the
water, "The waters are browner.  We think that the trees make the water
brown and still."  She stopped for a few moments; she was listening
to something.  "Do you hear the soft "YUK---YUK"
sound?" They all listened and then nodded. "Those are the sounds of
gators, little gators."  She continued, "Little gators mean that
there are big gators around too.  It is not possible to have one without
the other. Beware."

Cano was watching the
waters near the dugout when he was startled to see a flicker of movement, like
a passing shadow. Then a huge pointed head broke the surface of the bayou; it
was much larger than his head.  Its black eyes were unblinking and seemed
to swell out of the head, and there were spike-like spurs surrounding them. It
had a fearsome bony beak that curved downward over its lower jaw.  It was
colored a greenish brown and some type of growth was growing on it in
patches.  The body below the head was of appalling proportions. 
There were large bony plates covering the body and its front legs ended with
long curved claws.  The head rose out of the water on a neck that was as
big as Cano's waist.  It continued moving up from the water until the head
was level with the top edge of the dugout. The unblinking eyes seemed to stare
into his heart. It silently and slowly opened its bony mouth; it was all white
inside. There appeared to be a red worm twisting and wiggling in the bottom of
the mouth.

It took Cano several
moments to realize that it was a huge turtle that was looking up at him. 
The turtle that he had killed was only half the size of this one. A spear of
fear ran through his body.  Was the spirit of the turtle here for
revenge?  Before he could move or do anything, the ominous head slipped
below the surface without causing a ripple, and was gone as quickly as it had
come.

Cano looked to the
others in the dugout to see if anyone else had seen the turtle. They all
appeared to be looking elsewhere.  He looked back to where the turtle had
been, but of course there was nothing to be seen.  He started to doubt
that he had seen anything.

As they moved along
through the tall trees and the water plants, they were overwhelmed by the
silence of the place.  Even when there was a sound, it only seemed to
intensify the silence that followed.  No bird sang, the water was silent,
and even the "Yuk—Yuk" sounds had died.

Even though the water
had a brownish cast, it was clear enough to see the bottom. They could see dead
tree branches on the bottom and small silver fish that flashed away as they
approached. The water was about as deep as the dugout was long.

Dola, who was squatting
in the front of the dugout, saw what looked like a large log that was submerged
just below the surface.  It was as large as the dugout.  The log
seemed to move slightly.  Dola looked from the log to the water around it
for signs of a current; there didn't appear to be any. The log was still
drifting slowly. Strange, he thought.  The log had strange bark on it; the
pattern was the same over most of the trunk. One end appeared to be broken off;
it was splintered and sharp looking.  Then a strange thing happened. 
The log started to move backward slowly.  As it came along side of the
dugout, Dola saw that the log wasn't a log.  It was a huge fish; it must
have been the same kind that had killed Hopi. Dola turned and caught Na'pe's
attention, he pointed to the fish.

She looked at him
questioningly at first and then caught sight of the fish.  "Gar"
she said softly.

Gennos and Cano heard
her speak and turned to the place she was looking. Cano caught his breath when he
saw the fish, then he reached for his big spear.

Na'pe motioned to him to
stop and said, "No, if you strike him, he can knock us all into the
water.  He will attack the dugout."

Cano understood, but he
kept his spear in hand and ready.

As the fish stopped
swimming backward, the dugout drew closer.  The Gar was near the surface
and it watched the dugout through its large round eyes.  The fish's body
was long and thin, its fins were near the tail. The mouth was long and narrow;
it was filled with jagged teeth. The only movement that it made was with the
small fins below its gills; they seemed to flutter slowly.

It must have determined
that the dugout was no threat. It made a leisurely movement with its tail and
it glided away.

There was a
collective sigh from the occupants of the dugout.

As they
drifted through the bayou, they saw many more Gars resting near the surface.
Many were as big as a man, but there were many more that were only as long as a
man's arm.  They appeared to be feeding on frogs and small fish.

As they floated farther
into the bayou, it appeared to be a forest in the water.  The strangely
shaped trees blocked the sun and it was difficult to tell where to go or where
you had just been.  Na'pe appeared apprehensive, but confident.  She
watched the trees and the sky when it could be seen.  She peered at the
water and motioned softly which way they were to pole the dugout.  As they
progressed it continued to get darker, even though the sun was overhead. 
The branches of the trees were high and little sunlight was able to penetrate
them.

In some places there
were huge spider webs that stretched between the trees.  The spiders
varied in size, as did their webs. Some of the spiders were as large as a man's
hand, while others were almost too small to see.  Dola used his pole to
tear down the webs and brush them aside so the dugout could get through. 
When one of the unlucky spiders would land in the water, fish appeared from
nowhere to devour it.  As they approached a large web that was high above
the dugout and stretched between two trees, Dola pointed.  The dugout
coasted until it was below the web.  They saw the bones and some feathers
from a small bird that had been caught by the web and then killed and eaten by
the spider. They poled the dugout away quickly in case someone decided to drop
in unexpectedly.

Cano looked
past Dola and saw something strange moving in the water.  It was swimming
with its head high above the water.  As he watched he saw that it was a
snake.  It seemed to be crawling across the water.  He remember that
someone had told him that snakes that swim with their heads above the water
were deadly, and those that swim with their heads in the water are harmless.

"Dola, watch out
for snakes in the water. Try to keep them away from the dugout," said Cano
excitedly.

Dola saw the snake and
tried to use the pole to keep it away from the dugout.  "I see
him."

Na'pe saw the snake and
she confirmed Cano's thoughts when she said, "Those can kill, keep it away
from us."

"I will," said
Dola.

The snake continued to
evade Dola's pole and stayed headed for the dugout.  Dola shortened his
grip on his pole and attempted to get the tip of it under the snake and flip it
away. The snake dodged the pole and went out of sight underwater.  It was
very fast and difficult to see, even in the clear waters of the bayou.

"Its too close, I
can't get my pole to reach it," Dola said. "I think it’s still headed
for the dugout."

There was a scramble for
spears in the dugout.  Soon everyone was scanning the water around the
dugout for signs of the snake. Gennos saw the snake's head appear beside him
and drove his short spear down into the body behind the head. The snake hissed
and twisted its body around the spear. Holding the spear by the end, he lifted
the impaled snake from the water and flipped it and the spear away from the
dugout.

The snake made a large
splash when it landed.  Even at this distance the snakes hisses could be
heard as it tried to twist free of the spear. Finally after raising bloody
foam, the snake broke free of the spear.  It turned and started swimming
back toward the dugout.  Even with the gaping hole in its body it came
quickly, it seemed to glide across the surface in twisting loops.

When it was in range,
Dola smashed his pole down onto its head.  It twisted away, and then with
surprising speed it struck at the pole.  Dola swung again and hit the
hissing snake, driving it underwater.  It disappeared, only to reappear
and strike at the pole again.  Before Dola could swing again the snake
started to climb his pole toward the dugout.  He gave a shout and twisted
the pole attempting to dislodge the climbing snake. The snake was coming fast
and he couldn't shake it loose, so he threw the pole and snake away from the
dugout.  They landed with a splash and the snake disappeared into the
water.

Na'pe called out,
"Watch the water; it will still try to get here."

They all turned their
attention to the water around the dugout.  The snake appeared in the water
next to Cano.  It coiled its body in a series of S's as it lay on the
surface, and then attempted to leap from the water.  It was able to get
its head over the edge of the dugout; but the rest of its body was still in the
water.  Before it could use its grip on the dugout to pull itself in, Cano
struck with his Canohawk and severed the head from the body. The body twisted
away toward the bottom of the bayou, but the bloody nub and head fell into the
dugout.  Cano flicked the head into the water with his Canohawk.

Everyone in
the dugout except Na'pe was smiling.  She was scanning the water and the
trees overhead.  Cano's smile faded as he saw the worried look on her
face.  "What's wrong, do you see something?"

"Not
yet, but I'm worried, sometimes -------" She stopped and pointed. 
Another snake was swimming toward the dugout.  It was swimming with its
head high out of the water.

"Don't worry, I can
take care of it," he said.  When the snake was nearer he swung his
pole so that it just skimmed the water, it struck the snake in the head and the
cracking of bones could be heard.  It twisted away, turning loops in the
water.  Cano smiled and looked over at Na'pe, his smile faded as he saw
her pointing at the water in front of the dugout. Another snake was swimming
toward Dola.  He hadn't had time to retrieve his pole after throwing it
away with the first snake, but he had picked up his spear and was poised to
attack the snake when it was within range.

Cano heard his brother
shout and he turned in time to see him smash another snake at the side of the
dugout.  He twisted around and looked to the rear in time to see yet
another snake, this one dropped from a tree branch. Soon another followed it
from the same tree.

Na'pe called out again,
pointing toward her side.  More snakes were coming.  It was as if
they had received a signal from the dying snakes and they were coming to attack
the dugout.  More snakes dropped from the trees and the water seemed to be
alive with twisting death.

Cano didn't answer; he
was busy smashing snakes.  He heard a growl from the front of the dugout
and turned in time to see Whiteface attack a snake.  Instinctively she
grabbed it behind the head, her milk teeth stabbed in until the bones
broke.  The snake was dead, but it didn't know it. It also had instincts,
it threw its coils around the pup and started to squeeze.  The little pup
was brave, she was being hurt, but she wouldn't let go of the snake's head.

Dola moved without
thinking, he grabbed the snake's tail and with a snapping motion was able to
unwind the snake from Whiteface's body.  Still the little wolf wouldn't
let go of the snake's head.  The snake was stretched out and Dola was able
to chop off its head, with his Canohawk.  The pup shook the snake’s head
one last time and then cast it aside. Dola flipped the body of the snake into
the bayou.

Gennos and Na'pe were
now deeply motivated, and they had the dugout moving surprisingly fast. The
waters on all sides of the dugout appeared to be alive with snakes.

Na'pe sensed danger
behind her, and as she turned, she saw the pointed head of a snake emerge from
some of their supplies in the bottom of the dugout.  It must have dropped
from a tree. Its white mouth was spread wide and its front teeth dripped a
clear slime that was death.  Before she could twist away Gennos's Canohawk
struck, and the head lay snapping on the supplies.  Gennos grabbed the
snake by the tail and was rewarded with a strike from the bloody nub where its
head used to be.  It caused him to yell and twist back as he flipped the
body overboard.  He smiled shyly at Na'pe.  Pointing to the bloody
mark on his arm he said, "Its blood, not mine."  He then tossed
the snake's head out of the dugout.

She looked at him and
said, "I owe you my life."

He smiled at her,
"I would like that.  I will trade you my life for yours."

They looked at each
other wordlessly; their bodies were speaking so loudly that they wouldn't have
been able to hear words, even if either of them could have spoken.

Dola called from the
front of the dugout, "Look!"  He pointed to the water. The
snakes were disappearing. A snake would be swimming, there would be a swirling
in the water, and the snake would be gone. They had no idea what was happening
but they liked it.  The water was boiling around the dugout.  The
mystery was solved as a snake neared the dugout.  As Cano raised his pole
to strike it with his pole, a brownish streak smashed into the snake and sped
away with it.  It was one of the Gars they had seen earlier.  The
Gars were feeding on the snakes.