The Thinking Rocks (27 page)

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.

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.