The Thinking Rocks Read Online Free Page B

tonight.  He would have Moki and Loki act out their part of the hunt
but he would direct it, as a chief should. His thoughts shifted from hunting to
Ceola.  He would show her that he was the best choice for a mate. 
Never mind Cano, he thought. There was no way that Cano would look better in
Ceola's eyes than he would tonight.
    "Come,
we must leave this place.  Already there are buzzards circling.  They
will attract other animals, and I don't want to have to explain to a big cat
why he can't have our turkeys.  Even though the brave hunter Loki is
protecting us, we must still be on the lookout for danger. Moki, you watch
behind us and if a big cat comes, you tell Loki, and he can sit on it so we can
get away."  The only one that didn't think that it was funny was
Loki, who was holding his sore nose and limping along.
    On the
way back to the camp Moki noticed Bana studying the ground at a small stream
they were crossing. When he got to the spot, he found what had interested
Bana.  There was a track in the soft mud, the fresh track of a
saber-toothed cat.  A big one.  They moved off quickly, not wanting
to meet it in the gathering darkness as the day was coming to an end. 
They should be able to make it to camp before it was too late.
    Ceola
     
    Back at the
camp Ceola was excited. Koonai had said that tonight would be the ritual of
passage to womanhood for Sorou and her.  Sorou was Bana's sister and the
daughter of the chief.  Ceola knew the time for her to start her search
for a mate had finally come.  Soon she would have her own fire and a man
to care for.  It was time for some serious hunting. She had two realistic
choices, Bana and Cano. Bana was the chief’s son and would probably be the next
chief in time.  It would be nice to the chief’s mate. However, there was
something about looking into Cano’s eyes the made her breath quicken.  It
would soon be time for her to make a choice.  Ceola walked toward the
center of the camp carrying the cleaned and partially tanned snakeskin. 
She was sure that Cano would be happy to see her and that he would compliment
her on the work she had done on the skin.  She liked him and in other
circumstances, she wouldn’t have any reservations about how to act toward
him.  He was young and strong, and a girl could also fall into his deep
brown eyes.  He had a quick smile and seemed to care for her. She wished
again that her mother were still alive; she felt so cheated that she was
gone.  Why the Great Spirit had taken her was a mystery.
    Ceola
remembered clearly the day her mother died.  They had been camping on the
bank of a large river. It was early evening and the sun was just about to
set.  They had eaten well this evening. The men had killed a large tree
sloth and brought back as much meat as they could carry. She and the other
women had the job of cutting the meat up and cooking it for the rest of the
clan.  The food was good but it came at a price.  She smelled like
blood and meat. Her mother, Tayla, and the other women had gone down to the
water's edge to clean themselves after eating.  It was not wise to wander
through the forest smelling like food.
    They had
been splashing in the shallow water for a few minutes and gossiping about their
children and the men when a large log came drifting down toward them. 
They paid little attention to it because it didn't appear to be
dangerous.  There weren't any branches sticking out that could cause
injury and it was moving slowly. Tayla was farther out in the water than the
other women and had her back toward the log.  Ceola was standing on the
shoreand saw the log was getting close to her
mother, "Mother, there is a log behind you, be careful."  Tayla
turned toward the log and saw a strange thing; it looked as though the log had
eyes, what a strange thing, a log with eyes. Suddenly, the log blinked its eyes
at her!  The realization that the log wasn't a log came too late. She
turned to run for the shore but