Book Read Free

The Thinking Rocks

Page 20

by Butkus, C. Allan


  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.

  The trail continued upward and then there was a switch back in the trail that came up behind the boulder. As Cano left the trail and climbed around the boulder, his weight caused it to start to shift its position. He froze in position and remained there until the rock had stopped moving. He then moved carefully back to safer ground. After his breathing slowed down, he backtracked until he could see the balance point of the huge stone. He moved up behind the rock and tested to see if he could cause it to fall. He could move it, but could he do it at the right time? There were problems to consider. Should he lay in wait here and try to crush Lomasi and Morf? If he was successful the hunt was over. If he wasn't they would have a good chance of capturing him and he didn't like that idea at all. It was then that he realized that he had already made up his mind. He wouldn't have put the stakes in the ground if he hadn't meant to stay and try to crush his pursuers. Smiling to himself he looked for a spot where he could see the trail, but not be seen. The best spot for seeing the trail wasn't close to the boulder. He would have to wait until they came up the trail and then crawl over to the boulder and push it down on them when he thought they were below it. He lay his spear down and crouched in the shade as he watched the trail below. He was tired and glad for the chance to rest; before he realized it was happening, he was asleep.

  Lomasi and Morf came to the place where there the two trails met. Lomasi stopped and looked both ways, trying to determine which way his escaped prisoners had gone. On the original trail farther up he could see two buzzards sitting in a dead tree. He decided to see what they were watching. When he got closer he found the place where it appeared someone or something had fallen. He remembered the cry he had heard earlier. He wasn't sure what had happened, but maybe one of the prisoners had fallen. It could be a trick to make him think that this was the end of the trail. He couldn't get close enough to the edge to see down, but the presence of the buzzards was an indication that something was dead. He wasn't one to believe something just because he wanted to. He decided to go back down the trail and see if they had taken the trail back to the river.

  When they got to the new trail, Lomasi led the way. They traveled down it quite a way before he found the first sign that someone had come this way, and he smiled to himself. They thought they could fool him. When he caught them he would make them sorry that they had caused him this trouble. As he found each clue he pointed them out to Morf with a wave of his hand. He moved farther down the trail until they came to a large brush pile that had fallen across the trail. He scanned the brush for signs of passage, but he could find none. He didn't give up. They climbed through the branches until they had reached the other side. It was slow and difficult, but they finally reached the other side and examined the ground for signs. Nothing indicated that anyone had come this way. He was starting to have doubts about the trail. They traveled farther down the trail before coming to an area covered with soft mud. No footprints were visible. There was no way past this point without leaving a trail. Lomasi realized he had been tricked, they had continued on their original trail. This trick had gained them time to move farther away. With a snarl at Morf he began to retrace their tracks. They had taken too long on the false trail; he took out his anger on Morf. He lashed him with his tongue all the way back to the cliff. The buzzards had moved on and he wasn't sure if they had flown away or if they were feeding at the base of the cliff. Lomasi paused for only a moment, he wanted to get his hands on Cano, he was sure he was the one that left the false trail. He moved off at a fast pace after telling Morf to stop making so much noise.

  Cano woke with a start; he wasn't sure how long he had slept. He looked for the sun to determine how much time had past, but the skies were covered in dark clouds. He started to doubt that the plan would work. Maybe they had caught Dola and made him tell where he was. Maybe they should have tried to take the other trail and make it back to the river. He sensed something that quieted his worrying, he felt someone coming. There were no sounds that would signal someone approaching. But he knew that danger was coming up the trail. He held his breath and watched the trail below through the brush.

  Lomasi came up the trail followed by Morf. He kept scanning the trail ahead and quickly spotted the boulder above the trail. He started to turn to Morf, when he saw the bent twig on the trail. Without thinking he rushed forward and picked up the twig and began examining it.

  This was the chance that Cano had been waiting for, he saw Lomasi rush forward and then Cano dropped out of sight and crawled over to the boulder. He placed his back against the boulder and started pushing. He pushed with all of his might and was rewarded by a shifting of the boulder. It went crashing down onto the trail below.r />
  Lomasi heard a sliding sound and looked up, small rocks were starting to fall toward the trail and the boulder had moved past the point where it would stay in place. It was coming down. He leapt from the trail into the tall grass at the trails edge, as the boulder crushed the spot where he had just been standing. It bounced as it hit the trail and then soared over his head and into the trees below.

  Morf had been standing out of the boulders path and still stood in the center of the trail trying to figure out what had happened.

  Lomasi was stunned, but that quickly turned from anger to rage. The boulder had almost killed him. It dawned on him that the falling of the boulder and the twisted twig that he had found on the trail were connected. He started to rise and felt a searing pain in his right leg. He looked down and saw a stick protruding from his right calf. He pulled it out and was rewarded with a gush of blood. He stood unsteadily and yelled for Morf to come over.

  Morf moved toward Lomasi quickly, but stopped outside of striking distance. He was afraid that he was about to be blamed for the boulder and the wound. Lomasi yelled for him to get a piece of leather and a rawhide cord. Morf stood there shaking for a moment before his mind grasped what Lomasi had said. Quickly he cut a strip of leather from his breechcloth with his cutting stone and then handed it to Lomasi along with a rawhide strip from his carrying pouch.

  Lomasi snatched the items from Morf's hands with a growl. Still scowling he tied the leather around the wound to stop the bleeding. Next he pulled up some grass and scrubbed the blood from around the wound. As he cast the bloody waste away, he looked over at Morf. He was so angry that he was having trouble thinking. "Do you have any idea what just happened?" he asked.

  Morf started to shake his head, but then stopped and said, "A boulder fell and you hurt your leg."

  Lomasi exploded in rage, "You fool! Do you think that boulder just fell? It was pushed; do you think that this stick just happened to be where I could fall on it? We were attacked. I was attacked." He stood there shaking with rage, and then he turned and looked up at where the boulder had been. He saw Cano's smiling face looking down at him. He roared at him and tried to climb the embankment, but it was too steep. He stopped and looked around for his weapons. He saw them on the trail where he had dropped them when he had leapt away from the boulder. The throwing stick was smashed, but both spears were still intact. He looked back up to where he had seen Cano's face, but he was gone.

  Cano realized he shouldn't have stayed around to see the damage the boulder had done, but he needed to know. When he had seen Lomasi screaming at Morf, he felt a warm glow spread through his body. Lomasi could be hurt; he wasn't as good as he thought he was. When he had looked up, he had to smile down at him. The smile didn't pay Lomasi back for all the abuse that he had received, but it was a start. He knew the smile was a mistake, but it was one that he would make again if he could. He scrambled away knowing they would be after him with a vengeance now.

  Lomasi yelled at Morf to get his weapons. Morf still had his throwing stick and spear, but now Lomasi only had two spears left and his throwing stick was broken. Morf retrieved Lomasi’s spears and handed them to him.

  Lomasi snatched them out of his hand, "What am I supposed to do with these? You fool; give me your throwing stick and spear. At least I know how to use them." He grabbed them and then started to limp up the trail after Cano.

  Morf followed as quickly as he could, but not so fast that he would get close to Lomasi.

  Up the trail Cano was moving quickly. The rest he had while he was waiting gave him a burst of energy, not to mention the people behind him that wanted to kill him. He thought about Dola, and hoped he had eluded them. If they had caught him they would have brought him with them. He must be well on his way to the river now. All I have to do now is escape and get back to the river. He increased his pace to out distance his pursuers. The trail was near the ridge of hills and tended to flatten out. This was good and allowed him to travel fast. What was not good was that the brush was thinner and there were fewer trees. He thought he was safe, but then he heard something strike the ground. He looked around and saw a spear sticking in the ground. Where did it come from? He looked down the trail and saw a blurred movement coming his way. Before he could realize what was happening, a second spear grazed his leg and stuck in the hillside. Far down the trail he could see Lomasi getting another spear ready to throw. Cano started up the trail, but then he stopped and rushed back. He picked up each spear then held them high so that Lomasi could see, and then broke them in half and cast them over the edge of the trail and into the trees below. He then motioned to Lomasi to follow. Then he dodged away before Lomasi's final spear could find him.

  Lomasi was shaking with anger, "You fool," he screamed at Morf. "Can't you do anything right? Your spears don't fly straight. If I had used my spear we would have him now." With that said, he stalked after Cano.

  Morf was not fool enough to correct him; Lomasi had been using his own spears.

  Cano hurried ahead. He was looking for a narrow place on the trail where he could hide and get Lomasi with his spear when he passed by. He was sure with Lomasi out of the way he could take Morf without much trouble. The only problem was there was no place to hide. He hurried on, hoping for another idea. His pursuers still were behind him, but they were cautious now, they knew he was dangerous.

  Lomasi and Morf were making better time than Cano thought. They had been eating better meals the last few days and Cano had not. They were closing in on him and he didn't know it.

  The sun was getting lower and the skies continued to cloud up. The wind had ceased to blow and there was feeling of impending change in the air.

  Lomasi rounded a bend in the trail and was surprised to see Cano attempting to scale a brush pile that blocked the trail. Although he was still a fair distance away he was well within range of Lomasi's spear thrower. He had his last spear already fitted to throwing stick. He gauged the distance and then seemed to sense the air before launching the spear. It flew in a gentle arc up and then down toward its target. It descended swiftly and would have been an excellent shot, if Cano's foot hadn't slipped and caused him to drop lower in the brush pile just as the spear landed. The spear had been aimed for the center of his back. As it was, it gave his head a glancing blow and knocked him from the brush pile and off the side of the trail. The grass was deep and smooth. Cano's body slid over the edge and plunged down the hillside. He fell a great distance before tumbling to a stop before a mound of rocks.

  Lomasi's shout of joy had faded to a groan as Cano's body fell down the hillside.

  Morf smiled and then jumped up and down, "That was a great shot, can we go back to the river now?"

  Lomasi turned without speaking and stared at him. Then in a low voice said, "Listen carefully, we will return to the river when I have his head on a stick."

  Morf nodded and stood waiting to see what they would do next.

  Lomasi glared at him and finally in disgust said, "Go find my spear, and you had better not have broken it."

  As Morf walked over to where the spear had landed he wondered how he could have broken the spear when it was Lomasi who had cast it. He knew if he asked it would get him in more trouble than the question was worth. When he found the spear it wasn't broken, and he returned it to Lomasi without comment.

  A Dark Place to Hide

  Cano hurt all over. He could see flashes of colored lights and everything seemed to keep moving. He tried to make it stop, but the pain grew more intense. Finally, when he was sure he could stand it no more, the lights stopped flashing. He had no idea where he was or what had happened. Strangely he could smell wet leaves. He found that he could open his eyes. He could see an ant trying to carry another ant. As he watched, his breathing became more normal and his head started to clear. As the ants moved out of view he heard a noise. Looking up he saw Lomasi and Morf climbing down the hillside. The sight of them jolted him back to consciousness. His first thought was escape, but where?
Which way to go? He was near a mound of rocks; he crawled toward them and saw a dark entrance to a seemingly small cave. He crawled forward. He heard a shout and crawled faster. Just as he crawled inside a spear struck the ground at the entrance to the cave. Cano tried to look around the cave, but it was dark and he couldn't see anything. He had no idea of its size. He knew that they would be coming in for him soon. In desperation he reached out and pulled the spear from the ground. At least he had a weapon. The entrance was small and they only could come in one at a time. This time he could fight. He stood there and then he heard a sound come from behind him. It was soft sound, like something small was being dragged along the ground. He stared into the cave, but could see nothing. The noise stopped, he thought that he had just imagined it, but then it started again. It was getting closer. He smelled something, but couldn't place it. The noise stopped again. Cano heard Lomasi arguing with Morf outside the cave. Their attack would come soon, this time they would kill him. He was too dangerous to have as a prisoner.

  Cano knew he was trapped as he crouched in the darkness of the cave. He tried to think of a way out. He thought about the day and the problems he’d had. He had escaped with Dola, he had hurt Lomasi and Morf, and he had tried to smash them with a boulder. He had helped Dola escape. These were all good things, but there were things that went wrong. Na'pe and his brother were still prisoners. He was trapped in a cave and the people outside wanted to kill him. His head hurt, and he was hungry and thirsty. He had to think of some way out of here.

  Then he heard the dragging noise again. It was a soft noise and this time it came from more than one place. The smell was back and it was stronger than before. He realized with dread what the smell was. Snakes.

 

‹ Prev