The Thinking Rocks

by Butkus, C. Allan

  Na'pe motioned the brothers to sit and spoke some gibberish before saying, "Pretend that you don't understand."

  Cano cocked his head to one side like he was thinking, and then put his hands on top of his head. Gennos followed his actions.

  Na'pe started to shout gibberish at them, but was interrupted by Lomasi's shouts. She fell silent.

  The brothers dropped their hands and sat with downcast eyes.

  Lomasi spoke angrily to Na'pe. She listened with her eyes downcast before turning again to the brothers. She again spoke in gibberish first and then said, “He wants you to learn to make baskets. Look confused and make mistakes. When we finish the baskets we are to head upriver to his clan."

  Gennos nodded his understanding, and then started digging a hole in front of him. Cano followed his example.

  Lomasi screamed in rage, he grabbed Na'pe and threw her to the ground. She lay there quietly while Lomasi screamed at her. She was silent until he stopped raving. Then she said something that caused him to take a deep breath, shout again and then stamp off toward the trees.

  Cano asked in a low voice, "What did you say to him?"

  Keeping her face away from Lork who stood silently to one side, she smiled and said, "I said you both are not very smart and can't seem to understand instructions."

  Gennos spoke softly "You are very good, but be careful. I don't want you to be hurt. There is another thing you must remember. Cano is slow to understand."

  Cano didn't look at his brother; instead he looked over at Dola. "Dola, later you may have company when you get thrown in the river."

  Dola kept his fingers working on his basket as he said, "Are you coming in with me?"

  Both Gennos and Na'pe had to hide their smiles from Lork.

  Cano spoke softly again, "I think I'm trapped more than once. Maybe I should learn to make baskets and stay here."

  Na'pe spoke sharply and loudly to them in gibberish and then said, "Lork is trying to listen, and we must start on the baskets, remember to work slow and make mistakes. I will pretend to be angry." She gathered some long strands of grass and sat in front of them and demonstrated how to weave the bottom of the basket. As she worked she spoke softly, "I don't think that they have baskets at their clan campsite. Lomasi seemed very excited when he saw the basket I was carrying when they caught me."

  Gennos thought that she had a voice that he could listen to all day. She was quite a woman. "We don't have baskets at our old clan either. Having baskets like these would save a lot of work," he said.

  Lork and Morf were working on their weapons, and Lomasi was off in the forest hunting. Lork was instructing Morf on how to improve his skill with the spear thrower. The brothers couldn't understand a word of their conversation, but they watched carefully and were able to understand how the spears were made and how to use them. It was obvious that it required a significant amount of skill and practice to master its use, but the rewards in the distance a spear could be thrown more than compensated for the effort. Cano couldn't wait until he could try one.

  Gennos had been studying the throwing process, "Notice how the short stick in his hand bends when he throws the short spear. That is the secret of the long range. The short stick makes your throwing arm longer. I can make one of those."

  Cano answered, "I want one of the first you build. If I had known a weapon like this existed, we could have been more careful in approaching these men."

  Gennos said, "We have to escape first, then I'll make you one. In the meantime we have to get some baskets made."

  The process of weaving is so simple that it was difficult to make mistakes. They had to improvise ways to slow the process down. Their baskets were lopsided and loose. It was doubtful that they would stay together, much less actually be able to carry anything. As they continued to work they found that their speed was increasing and the quality of the baskets was improving. They found ways to make the baskets look good, but still have flaws that would cause them to fail.

  Cano, who was just finishing a lopsided basket said, "The strange thing about this is that if we hadn't gotten caught, we wouldn't have found out about the spear throwers."

  Gennos picked up on that and said, "Next time, if there is a next time, let’s try to learn something without becoming prisoners." He looked over to Na'pe and said, "If any part of this experience can be called good, it is meeting you. After we escape I look forward to learning more about you and your people."

  She blushed before answering, "You seem sure that we will escape, and that gives me hope. I was sure that I would end up in Lomasi's camp. I didn't want that, but I had no choice. You have given me hope." She gave him a warm smile before continuing, "My clan is far from here, I will not only tell you about it, but I will show it to you if you take me there. My father is the medicine man; he is powerful and will welcome you."

  Gennos looked over at Cano, received his silent approval and said, "We look forward to meeting him, and returning you to your people." He paused and then added, "I was training to be a medicine man in our old clan. I look forward to meeting your father."

  She looked at Gennos with a smile in her eyes and said, "I look forward to a time when I can thank you in a more appropriate manner for all your help."

  Cano looked over at his brother and was surprised to see that he was blushing. He was beginning to understand what was happening. He smiled; his brother needed this. He had been alone for too long. Abruptly his smile had faded and he felt a spear of guilt stab at his heart. He had not thought of Ceola in days. He tried to shake the feeling off, but it would not go. The fault was not his, it was hers, and she had rejected him. But why did the pain come when he thought of her? The spear of guilt was embedded too deep to be removed by placing blame on another. His mind seemed to be in a jumble. Did his not thinking about her mean his love was dying? He did not like to think about these things, he needed to stay busy and think of other things.

  Dola looked at Cano's face and then over to where Gennos and Na'pe where looking at each other. At first he thought that Cano wanted Na'pe. But the look on his face told a different story. What he wanted wasn't near, although the memory of it was. He still thought of Ceola, but she had made a choice and walked a different path. His sister had made up her mind when she should have followed her heart. The thought brought confusion to Dola. If Ceola had followed her heart then she would be a prisoner too. She was safe where she was, and we aren't. Maybe she was right after all. Well, he thought, there isn't much we can do about it. He returned to his basket weaving.

  They worked all day on the baskets. Na'pe showed them how to fit the baskets together so that they wouldn't take up so much space. This also allowed them to put the worst of the basket inside others that didn't look as bad.

  It was near dusk when Lomasi returned from his hunt, he had killed a small deer. After inspecting the pathetic baskets, he shook his head and then he spoke to Na'pe. It was obvious that he was angry, but then he was always angry. He dropped the deer at her feet and walked away to speak with Lork. Na'pe dragged the deer over to the fire and began to gut the deer with a cutting stone. She seemed intent on her work, but she was watching for a chance to do something she had been planning for days. When no one was watching her, she took the cutting stone and hit it a glancing blow against one of the large stones that held the fire. She was in luck and the stone flaked. Quickly she wrapped it in some leaves she had for starting the fire and hid the jagged piece of stone in her breechcloth.

  Lomasi returned with Lork and spoke with Na'pe. She sat and listened quietly until he was finished and then nodded her head. Turning to the brothers she spoke in gibberish and made strange motions with her hands and arms and then said, "He wants to take you out on the river so that you will know how to use the dugout," she shifted her eyes from Gennos to Cano, "You will be next. I'm sorry, but this is going to be painful, He is not a good teacher. It is best if you appear to be slow to understand."

  Gennos stood and placed his hand on his
shoulder and pointed the other hand toward the river.

  Na'pe spoke gibberish angrily before saying. "That was good, but watch out now, I have to do this," she moved close to him and slapped his head. She spoke in gibberish again and then turned away.

  Lomasi yelled in frustration and then picked up the wood switch he used for "Training". He walked down to the river and they all helped launch the dugout. Lomasi sat in the rear of the dugout and used his switch to lash their backs as he shouted instructions. A long pole that was flat on one end and straight on the other end propelled the dugout. When the water was shallow they used the straight end to pole it along and when the water was deeper they used the flat end to paddle it. The dugout was heavy and slow to respond, but it was a great improvement over their raft and much faster. As night fell, they were ordered to shore by Lomasi's yelling, and his well placed blows. It was a painful lesson for both brothers.

  Lomasi was pleased. They wouldn't have much trouble going upstream and he had enjoyed hurting them. He preferred using the pole to inflict pain, but he had better accuracy with the switch.

  After the dugout had been dragged up on the bank, Lomasi motioned with his spear for Gennos and Cano to return to the fire. When they got there Lomasi again surveyed the baskets that had been completed. He was less than happy with the results. He screamed at Na'pe and threatened Gennos and Cano. He seemed to ignore Dola. Finally he took some of the food that Na'pe had prepared and moved away from the fire. He did not sit with Lork or Morf.

  During the day when she wasn't being watched closely, she had removed food, a little at a time and given it to the brothers and Dola. Now with Lomasi not watching she gave Gennos a generous piece of venison. She moved closer to him and said, "I have something for you here," as she reached down into her breechcloth to retrieve the flake of cutting stone, she noticed Gennos had gone pale. She handed him the wrapped sliver of stone.

  He looked at her and started breathing again, "Oh, I thought that you were going to, ah I mean, I thought you, never mind. "What is this?" He said as he hid the small packet.

  She realized what she had done and what he had thought was going to happen. She smiled in spite of their situation, and she said, "It's not what you thought, but it's important. It is a cutting stone, when the time is right we can use it. Hide it somewhere near, don't let them find you with it or there will be trouble." She moved back to her work at the fire.

  Lomasi had finished eating and looking over toward Lork, he shouted a command. Lork in turn turned toward Morf and shouted to him. Being the low man on the chain of command he got the jobs that no one else wanted. Consequently, he rose and motioned for Cano and Gennos to return to the gnarled tree where they were to be tied for the night. The brothers rose and started to walk over toward the tree with Morf following them, but were stopped by a yell from Lomasi. He walked toward them angrily carrying a spear. The brothers stood with their eyes downcast. They weren't sure what they had done wrong, but were sure they would soon be punished for it. They were surprised when he motioned them to sit.

  Turning to Morf he spoke harshly and then struck him with the shaft of the spear. The blow landed on the side of Morf's head, and knocked him to his knees. Lomasi stood screaming at him and pointing toward the brothers. He struck him again and then grabbed him by the hair and twisted his head at a painful angle until he was looking up into Lomasi's face. The leaders voice became very soft, anger dripped from each word, as he spoke he pointed toward the brothers. Then he let go of Morf and stepped back. Painfully, Morf rose to his feet; he didn't make eye contact with Lomasi. He stood there waiting for the next onslaught of anger. It was very quiet.

  Lomasi didn't speak; he stood looking at Morf for what seemed a long time before he slowly handed him the spear. He turned slowly and stood with his back toward Morf. It was plain that he was giving Morf the chance to redeem himself in his own eyes by attacking him while his back was turned and he was unarmed. Tension was heavy in the air as Morf shifted the spear in his hand. Lomasi had not moved.

  It was obvious what Lomasi was doing, he was demonstrating who the leader was. If Morf challenged him and won, the group would have a new leader. If he failed the group would be smaller by one. If the attack were successful, it would be the chance for the captives to overpower Lork and Morf and escape. There was a silence in the forest that could almost be felt. No one moved or spoke. Then an owl spoke with a soft "Who? Who?" The call faded away, unanswered into the forest. The call seemed to break the spell. It was Morf who moved first.

  Two things had kept Morf from striking with the spear, common sense and fear. If he failed in his attack he knew he would die. He could kill him with a single thrust of the spear. He could see the spot that he should strike, just below the ribs, in the lower back, to the side of the backbone and above the hip. He knew the spot and he had the weapon. What he didn't have was the confidence in his ability to defeat Lomasi. He didn't want to be a leader; he just wanted to live an ordinary life. His decision made, he lowered the spear.

  Lomasi was no fool; he had been watching the faces of those seated around the fire. He was waiting for an indication from them that an attack was coming. He was ready to roll away and then attack. The faces around the fire relaxed and he knew the threat was over. He smiled to himself; everyone here knew who the leader was.

  Morf turned toward Gennos and motioned him to rise. When Cano started to also rise he shouted and motioned with the spear that he was to stay. He prodded Gennos roughly as they moved off to the gnarled tree. When he had secured him he returned and motioned Cano to the tree. After tying him to the tree for the night he returned to the fire. He followed the same actions when he took Na'pe and Dola to the tree. Not once did he look toward Lomasi.

  Lomasi had moved to the fire for more food. He was proud of his demonstration. He felt good. He thought maybe I should use the girl in front of all of them. It had been a while since he had been with a woman; he felt a stirring in his loins. She wasn't much to look at, but she was a woman. He looked at her and then rejected the idea. There was plenty of time for that when they reached their clan. He sat down and watched Morf's actions as he returned to the fire. No threat there he thought.

  When darkness had settled and it appeared that the captives where asleep, Dola asked, "Why did Lomasi do what he did to Morf? I was scared. I wasn't sure what was happening".

  Cano answered, "He was testing Morf to see if he was a threat. Did you see how Lomasi stood watching us? He was watching to see if Morf would strike. Lomasi is not stupid; he was also testing us to see what we would do. I hope he couldn't tell what I was thinking. I was hoping that this was our chance."

  Gennos spoke quietly while watching the fire for movement, "By not doing anything we may have gained a small advantage. We appear to offer no threat to them. Lomasi wants them to keep their guard up and be ready for trouble. Morf and Lork see no threat from us. We must continue to do what they want and to be slow to understand. When they underestimate us and our ability, that is to our advantage."

  "I agree," said Cano. "We will soon be in the dugouts and headed up stream. Maybe we can arrange to tip the dugouts over and escape", he paused and then continued, "And we will need weapons. Keep your eyes open and when the time comes try to get one. But remember above all else they must not consider us a threat. If you think they might see you getting a weapon, don't get it. We don't want them waiting for our escape. We must surprise them."

  Gennos smiled at Na'pe and said, "We must sleep now, the time will come soon when we may want to sleep and can't."

  As they settled down for the night, the air changed its scent. Rain was coming. A short time later lightning flashed across the sky and was followed closely by the crash of thunder and the fresh smell of new rain. The wind caressed the trees and they responded with a gentle swaying of branches which seemed to beckon the rain. The wind continued to increase; soon the tops of the trees were rolling with the wind. Then the rain came, first in a few small drops, then
larger drops that splattered as they hit the leaves and ground. The wind began to moan through the trees and then changed to a howl as the rain came in waves. The lightning lit the sky and silhouetted the trees. Thunder was so loud that they could feel it. The gentle evening had been transformed into a nightmare of sound and fury. The wind continued to increase and soon branches were being ripped from the trees that had beckoned to it earlier that night.

  The captives couldn't move to shelter because of their bonds. They tried to reach each other in an effort to gain some shelter from the storm. The only two that made any contact at all were Gennos and Na'pe. They were only able to stretch out their hands and reach each other's fingertips, because of the tightness of their bonds. They all crouched in the mud and tried to stay warm.

  The storm lasted the night before slacking. It changed to a steady drizzle. When morning finally came, there was only a slight change in the color of the sky.

  The current in the river increased as the rain continued to pour down. There were broken branches and even whole trees where being washed past the campsite. The river began to rise. Hopi's grave was gone; as was Hopi, the river had claimed them both.

  Lomasi, Lork, and Morf had to move the dugouts twice that day, to keep them from being washed away. They were all in a foul mood as they had little more shelter than did the captives. They huddled under the overturned dugouts, but it did little to keep them dry because of the rain that soaked the ground and ran to the river in small streams. Their fire had gone out and they were as cold as their prisoners.

  When the rain stopped it was almost dusk. Lomasi had Dola and Na'pe brought to the recently rebuilt fire so that they could prepare the last of the venison and fish. The food was turning foul, but it was all they had.

  When Na'pe and Dola returned to where the brothers were tied they brought food. They were becoming quite skilled at hiding food in their clothing. As the brothers ate, Na'pe told them what she had heard. "We leave here at first light. Gennos and I will be in the dugout with Lork. Cano and Dola will be in the front dugout with Lomasi and Morf. They will tie us in to the dugout so that we can't escape. I have more bad news; they think that we may try to tip the dugouts over and escape. They will be watching for us to try."