The Thinking Rocks

by Butkus, C. Allan

  The rumbling resumed and turned to a roar that was even louder this time. Cano dropped his weapons and fell to his knees with both hands over his ears. Another section of the ceiling came crashing down where he had first been sitting. There was dust everywhere, but than he felt a fresh breeze touch his face. The crack in front of him had reopened. Without thought he grabbed the short spears and squeezed into the crack. He was almost through when the crack again started grinding closed. He pushed his way through tearing the skin on his chest and arms. He got his legs through first and then his arms; he was almost clear as it ground shut. He felt the rock scraping at his head; he twisted and was almost free when it squeezed shut. It had clamped his hair in the crack. He twisted and pulled but it was no use. Then he remembered the black cutting stone. It was still in the breechcloth. Quickly he removed it and cut the hair away that held him captive. Finally he was free, he stood in the drizzling rain and took a deep breath, and slowly he let it out. It was then he tasted something that he had almost forgotten, freedom.

  Return to the river

  Dola moved through the tall grass as quickly as he could without causing a commotion. Earlier he had startled a small flock of ducks and they had made a disturbance as they took to wing. He had seen other wildlife, turtles, small snakes and frogs. He had been able to spear some of the larger frogs and had eaten their legs. He was so hungry he had hardily noticed that they were uncooked. Water wasn't a problem. He was starting to feel more confident and his movements demonstrated it. He hoped that Cano had been able to elude Lomasi. Smiling to himself, he thought about how they had fooled Lomasi with the false trail that wasn't false. He stopped suddenly; he smelled smoke through the light rain. It had to be close if he could smell it. He slowed his pace and kept his head below the top of the grass. Moving slowly as not to disturb the grass and signal his presence, he raised his head to view the opposite bank of the river. A careful examination of the brush growing there revealed a thin plume of smoke rising in the mist of rain. Lowering his head he crept along until he was across from the smoke. Moving his head up slowly, he had a good look at the fire. It was small and it was built near the base of a large tree. Lork sat with an animal skin over his shoulders, his back resting against the tree. He was looking upriver, and had his weapons in his lap.

  Dola moved his eyes without moving his head. The less movement he made, the safer it was. His heart gave a jump when he saw Gennos and Na'pe sitting in the rain; they were tied to a tree near the waters edge. Both of them were looking down the river.

  Dola had an idea. He slowly raised the butt of his spear above the top of the grass and then started to move it back and forth. Na'pe was the first to see it. Dola stopped moving it for a few moments and then resumed moving it again, but this time he moved it up and down.

  Na'pe didn't say anything, but her hand brushed Gennos's leg. He looked over at her, but she only gave a slight nod and kept looking across the river.

  Gennos's eyes scanned the area where she was looking and saw the spear moving.

  Some hunters instinct caused Lork to look toward the prisoners and saw them staring at something across the river, and he turned to look.

  Dola had been watching Lork; when he saw him start to turn, he stopped moving the spear.

  Lork looked directly at the spear but didn't see anything strange. Only a stick in the tall grass. He looked at the prisoners again; they were staring down river. He looked back at the fire; he wished Lomasi would get back so they could return to their camp. His thoughts were soon lost in the flames.

  Dola knew that he had to take a great chance. He moved the spear again and could see that Gennos and Na'pe were watching. He took a breath and then parted the grass and stood so they could see him clearly. He pointed upriver and then sunk down out of sight again.

  Na'pe involuntarily grabbed Gennos's leg.

  Gennos tried to remain calm, but his heart skipped a beat, Dola was alive. He could have shouted for joy. He was alive. He pointed up river. That meant he would be up river waiting. It had to be a part of a plan. It must be that his brother had a plan. He hoped Cano was still alive and near. He probably wasn't with Dola. If he were they would have shown themselves together. He tried to speak as softly as he could to Na'pe. "It is true that they or at least Dola has escaped Lomasi. He will travel upriver. I think Cano and he separated, and it looks as though they have a plan. We will have to wait and see what happens." He paused and then continued, "They will come for us." He reached over and touched her leg because he couldn't reach her hand.

  Na'pe kept her head down and barely moved her lips so that Lork wouldn't know they were talking. "We wait." She glanced at Lork and saw him staring into the flames of the fire. She tilted her head and smiled toward Gennos. "Is it possible that we will be free?"

  Gennos was also looking at Lork as he returned her smile, "Soon, but now we wait for our time to act."

  The sun was just setting when Lomasi and Morf returned to their camp. Lomasi carefully examined the campsite to assure his orders had been carried out. The prisoners were still tied and Lork was watching them with his weapons ready. There wasn't anything he could complain about and this made his foul mood worse. His leg hurt and his limp was more pronounced. Blood had soaked the simple bandage that he had tied over his wounded leg. Morf was exhausted. He went to the fire where Lork sat silently watching. Looking around he saw a bone with some meat still on it. He picked it up and started chewing on it as he looked for something else to eat.

  Lork didn't want to set off Lomasi's anger, but he knew he had to ask what happened. "How went the hunt?"

  Lomasi looked at him to see if there was even a hint of sarcasm in his voice or manner. He could only hear curiosity, "It was long and difficult, and I had to do almost everything". He looked over at Morf, "I'm not sure if some people will ever become good enough to live by their skills in the woods." He began replacing the bandage on his leg as he spoke. "Part of the trail gave way and I was hurt as I fell. You must have felt the ground shake here, many trees and rocks fell.” He looked over at Morf to see if he was foolish enough to contradict him. Morf ate silently without looking up.

  Lork asked, "What happened to those you tracked?"

  "Dead. The little one fell from a cliff. The buzzards got him. The big one tried to get away, but my spear found him." He looked over at the prisoners and said in a voice that was louder than necessary, "He didn't die well, or quickly." He gave a big smile and then turned away from the prisoners. Looking at Lork he said, "If the rain doesn't get worse we will leave at first light. He went over to where the extra food was and located a chunk of meat and sat eating it and drinking from a water skin.

  Na'pe turned away from the fire so that she couldn't be seen speaking. She explained what Lomasi had said in a low voice. When she had finished she asked, "Do you think Cano is dead?"

  "No."

  "How can you be sure?" she asked.

  "Lomasi lied about Dola being dead. We saw him. There is something else that also proves he lies. Did you notice that when Lomasi and Morf returned to camp they didn't have any spears? They only carried a spear thrower and our Canohawks. If they had killed Cano they would have had at least a spear between them. A hunter will not travel without weapons unless he has none to carry." He paused and then added, "Cano must have the last spear."

  Back on the shattered hilltop Cano stood watching the sun setting through the light rain. He was free, but he had much to do and he wasn't sure how he was going to do it. ‘I hope Dola has made it to the river’, he thought. His stomach rumbled and he felt the hunger that he had been suppressing for so long. He looked around. The earthquake had changed the look of the land. Trees were down and the landslides that had crashed through them had changed sections of the forest. Far off in the distance he thought he could see the glint of water from the river. The light was failing fast, and the rain hindered his sight. He was tired, hungry and thirsty, but now he could look at the land as a hunter and not as one
of the hunted.

  He needed food and water. He decided that he would follow the ridgeline up river. He had been only traveling a short time when he saw movement up ahead. He had his short baby spears in both hands and he moved forward to see what had caused the movement. Soon he saw feathers on the ground. Movement came from a fallen tree in front of him. When the ground had shaken it must have caused the tree to fall and trap a bird. He tested the air and found that it was blowing toward him from the branches. The smell was flat and had an almost dusty taste; some type bird, he thought. As he approached the tree he saw a turkey with a broken wing. It was trapped beneath a tree branch that had pinned a wing to the ground. When it saw Cano, it renewed its efforts to free itself, thrashing the ground with its good wing and gobbling loudly. He wasn't fool enough to walk up to the wounded bird; he knew how dangerous a wounded bird could be. As he approached the bird it tried to attack him, but the wing held it securely. Carefully, he moved until he was able to stab through the branches and pin the bird to the ground. As he knelt beside the bird he felt it shudder as life left it, and he could feel the warm blood running over the hand that held the spear. He looked at the blood and at the dead bird. I was hungry and now I can eat. It was then that a thought crossed his mind. I am proud of this kill, he thought. As I was proud of the snake that I had killed. The snake was a lesson from the Great Spirit; this must also be a lesson. I needed food and I got it. Cano sat thinking for a few moments and then put his hands on the body of the dead turkey. Looking down upon it he said aloud, "I thank you for your gift and I will honor your memory." After a few more moments he twisted the body free after cutting the wing off with his new cutting stone. He looked at the black blade and was amazed at how quickly it cut through the flesh and bone. He sliced the bird open and found some eggs with shells that were still soft. He ate the eggs greedily before attacking the flesh. Most of the bird was gone when he finally stopped eating. He saved what was left for the next day; there was no telling how long it would be before he ate again. It was almost dark now and he had to find a safe place to spend the night. He moved down the ridgeline until he found a suitable tree that he could climb and which had a place where he could sleep.

  Dola in the mean time had spent a rather pleasant night beside the river. As he was leaving Gennos and Na'pe he had heard Lomasi return. He had no desire to be near him again. Moving as quietly as he could he was able to travel quite a distance before night fell. He was able to make a soft bed from the grass and he found a nest of duck eggs and had a good meal before going to sleep. Nothing bothered him that night, not even the rain.

  Lomasi woke in a vile mood. He awoke to find the sun fighting its way into the sky. He quickly growled everyone into action. Soon the dugouts were in the river and heading upstream.

  This was not a good trip, he thought. I lost one man and was injured myself. And what do I have to show for my effort? One cripple and one woman. I should have stayed at the clan camp. It would have been better to talk about taking a trip than taking this one, he thought.

  Lomasi and Morf were in the first dugout and Gennos, Na'pe and Lork were in the following dugout. Lomasi had made it clear that he wanted to travel as quickly as possible, and that he would make it unpleasant for anyone that slowed him down.

  Gennos smiled to himself, as he poled the dugout along. He had found ways to look like he was working very hard at poling the dugout, but actually he was providing little help. "Accidentally" his pole would slip on the bottom of the river; at other times he pushed too hard and the dugout had to be redirected on to its original course. It didn't seem that he would ever learn how to do it correctly. No amount of yelling by Lomasi was able to increase the speed to an acceptable level. He even tried beating everyone in the dugouts, Lork included. Still the speed didn't increase to an acceptable level. The prisoners where well aware that each stroke they made brought them one stroke closer to slavery.

  When Cano woke in the morning the rain had stopped. He was stiff from hanging in the tree, but he was glad he had done it. He had heard noises in the night and was glad that he was out of the reach of the unknown. He ate what remained of the turkey, and then moved off. He continued to follow the ridgeline until he came across a game trail that led in the direction he wanted to follow. The trail was wide and he was able to make good time on it. As he rounded a bend in the trail he saw the river far below him. As he paused to determine where he was, he noticed movement on the river. As he watched, he was able to see the dugouts making their way up river. He was ahead of them, but a long way up in the hills. The river curved away from him and then swung back again. They would have to travel farther on the river to reach the same point up ahead than he would have to travel on land. He saw that the dugouts would pass the place where they had camped before their capture, the place where Dola would be waiting for him. It looked as though the dugouts were having trouble with the river current; they appeared to be moving slowly up river. He moved off as quickly as he could; driven by the thought that he had to find Dola and then form a plan to get Na'pe and his brother free. Soon he was traveling at a trot, although he knew it was dangerous. He didn't see anything that could harm him.

  Contact

  In the early afternoon Dola located the campsite they had used the night before they were captured. Now he had to find some away back across the river. He moved farther up the river until he found a suitable log. As he drifted across he smiled as he thought of the turtle on the log; he was now Dola the turtle swimmer. Several places were shallow enough to touch the bottom and this made his crossing much easier. He didn't want to be in the middle of the river when Lomasi came by. When he had finally reached the campsite, he pushed the log back into the current and waded ashore. He stopped and scanned the brush for movement. As he was about to turn away he saw something low moving through the bushes. The wind was blowing toward him. Whatever it was in the brush, it hadn't caught his scent. Dola moved quietly forward with his spear ready. He wanted to be sure that if anything were going to be eaten today, it wouldn't be him. He couldn't make out a form and he didn't want to attack anything without knowing what it was. He stood as still as he could. The form in the brush was close but he still couldn't tell what it was. Suddenly the dark form crashed out of the brush straight for him. He had thought he was ready, but he wasn't. He jumped to the side in an effort to escape and snagged his foot on a low vine and fell. He tried to free himself, but his spear was entangled in the brush and he couldn't get it up to fend off the attack. The form was on him before he could do anything to defend himself. He expected to feel fangs slashing at him; but instead he felt a warm tongue on his face. Looking up he was dumfounded to see Whiteface. She leaped all over him and made happy puppy sounds. When he realized what had happened he released his spear and grabbed her and pulled her to his chest. She twisted away only to jump back into his arms. Finally he got a good grip on her and said "Whiteface, I'm happy to see you. I thought you were gone for good." She stopped jumping around, but continued to lick his face and hands. "I missed you, where have you been?" he asked.

  She didn't answer in words because she had none, but she answered in a language that was universal, her body spoke louder than any words ever could. She pressed her body close to his; she was back with her pack again.

  Dola rolled her over and rubbed her stomach. She looked very unwolf like with her legs in the air and her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. They played until they were both tired and then they lay side by side in the grass. His hand lay on her shoulder and she turned and gently licked his hand. It was as if she wanted to assure herself that he was real and still at her side.

  Later that day while Dola and Whiteface were catching and spearing frogs along the shore, Dola was surprised to see Whiteface stop, look inland and then start a low growl. Dola looked intently at the brush, but couldn't see anything, He motioned for Whiteface to follow and the wolf moved to his side. They both slipped into the brush like shadows. A few moments later there was a
slight movement at the edge of the clearing and then Cano stepped into view.

  Dola let out a yelp and charged from the brush with the little wolf at his side.

  Cano heard the noise and saw movement; he thrust one hand forward for protection and drew back his other arm so that he could strike with his little spears. When he recognized the small forms racing toward him he lowered his weapons and smiled a greeting.

  Dola raced up and said, "You made it, you're alive," he was breathless, but couldn't stop talking. "Look what I found, its Whiteface, we have been catching frogs. Do you want any? How did you get away? Are you okay? Do you have a plan on how to save Gennos and Na'pe? I saw them yesterday, they were still tied up. I let them see me. They know we're going to save them."

  "Slow down," Cano said. "Let us move over to where the trees are thicker, and then we can talk and not be afraid of being seen.” He paused as he scanned the river for movement, “I don't want Lomasi to come up the river and find us again." They were soon hidden by the trees and resumed talking. Cano briefly told Dola what had happened to him since they had left each other. He didn't go into all the details of his escape, but he mentioned escaping from the cave and finding the short spears. Dola told of his trek to the river and then of seeing Lomasi and Morf return to camp.

  "They didn't see me, but your brother and Na'pe did," he repeated.

  As they were talking whiteface came to alert. She looked toward the river and growled deep in her throat.

  Cano motioned for Dola to slide lower in the brush as he did himself. As he scanned the river he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  Dola spoke softly, "What is it Whiteface? Is there danger?" The little wolf stood as if she were made of stone. The growl continued to rumble deep in her throat.