Three Adventure Tales Read online

  Amanda didn’t want to admit how frightened she had been. She listened as the singers sang three more songs. Then some of them paddled away in their dugout canoes. Others went off to work or to eat.

  There were cooking fires burning outdoors now. Will and Amanda followed Fox-of-the-Water to where Sunset Moon was pouring the salmon berries from the berry basket into a wooden box in which water was boiling. The slave woman was adding more hot stones to the water.

  Fox-of-the-Water handed bowls and spoons to Amanda and Will. “Take what you want from those.” He pointed to more wooden boxes near the fire.

  The food was a lot like what they had eaten the night before, but it was fresh and good-tasting. And it was fun to eat breakfast in the open air.

  When they had finished eating, Sunset Moon handed each of the three children a round basket. She smiled at Amanda. “Please don’t let Fox-of-the-Water go fishing until he brings me fresh water.”

  Fox-of-the-Water led the way back along the beach where they had walked the day before.

  “What will we put the water in?” Will asked him.

  The Indian waved the basket he was carrying. “In these, of course.”

  “I never knew baskets could hold water,” Amanda said.

  “They’re easier to carry than wooden boxes,” Fox-of-the-Water told her.

  The children came to the little house where the saya-gay lived. Bright Star was sitting on the wooden platform in front of his house. He was busy making something and didn’t seem to notice them. Fox-of-the-Water put his finger to his lips and tiptoed around the house to reach a path into the woods.

  The path led through a grove of trees with tiny green crab apples on them. In sunny spots between the trees Amanda saw patches of big purple clover.

  They walked until they came to a line of willow trees growing on the bank of a creek. Fox-of-the-Water leaned over to fill his basket with water. Amanda and Will filled theirs, too.

  The three children picked up the water baskets and were about to turn around and go back the way they had come. They looked up and saw something leaning over the creek.

  It was a mother bear! And beside her were two little cubs.

  The children stayed as still as they could, hoping the bears had not seen them.

  The mother bear was staring down into the creek. The three children saw her reach into the water. A second later the bear had a big fish in her long, sharp claws. She threw it onto the bank and turned around to eat it. Both the two little bears tried to get a bite of the fish at the same time. Their mother growled and pushed them away.

  When she had eaten all that she wanted, the big bear turned away from the fish and left it for her cubs to finish. She sniffed the air.

  At once all the hair on the bear’s back stood on end. She looked around and caught sight of the children. Her little eyes seemed to glow red.

  Keeping between her cubs and the children, the bear began to move closer.

  None of the children wanted to run away and leave the others behind.

  Amanda swung her water basket and splashed the bear in the face. This only made the bear angrier. She stood up on her hind legs and made a dive for Amanda.

  At this moment there was a loud rattling noise. Amanda was so startled that she slipped on a patch of damp moss and fell in front of the bear.

  At any moment Amanda expected to feel the sharp claws or the teeth of the bear. Instead she heard that rattling noise and the sound of laughter.

  She looked up to see the black bear running into the woods after her frightened cubs. A strange creature with the head of a fish was chasing the bears. The fish creature was shaking a rattle and laughing at the same time.

  Amanda stood up. She saw her brother and the Indian boy standing side by side with their mouths open. Amanda thought they looked like fish, too. She began to laugh and couldn’t stop.

  Fox-of-the-Water whispered, “Be careful! Nobody laughs at the saya-gay!”

  The bear and her cubs went crashing through the underbrush toward the deeper woods away from the shore. Then the witch doctor turned around and came back to the children.

  He took off the carved wooden mask he was wearing. “I just finished making this for the Welcome Salmon Day, and I wanted to show it to somebody. It’s lucky that I came here.” He looked at the sky. “The Power of the Shining Heavens must be watching over you.”

  “Thank you for chasing away the bear, Bright Star.” Amanda looked at the mask. She saw that the fish’s eyes were made of pearly shell and the mask was painted black and red. She smiled at the saya-gay. “It’s a wonderful fish, Bright Star. I’m sure the salmon will like it.”

  Bright Star smiled back at her. In spite of the bone he wore in his nose, Amanda thought he had a nice face. “That sort of bear is usually timid,” the witch doctor told her. “This one was trying to protect her babies. And she knew that you were afraid of her. If she had been one of those fierce bears, I couldn’t have scared her away so easily.” He turned to the boys. “I think Sunset Moon must have asked you to fetch water. She won’t like to be kept waiting.”

  “You saved Mandy’s life, Bright Star. Thank you.” Will held out his hand.

  The witch doctor held the fish mask and the rattle with one hand and took hold of Will’s hand with the other. “You do not know how happy this has made me,” the witch doctor said.

  Fox-of-the-Water bowed. “My family is in your debt, Bright Star.”

  “It is an honor, Fox-of-the-Water.” The saya-gay bowed. “I must return to my work.” He walked back toward his house.

  Amanda picked up her water basket and filled it from the creek.

  “You were both very brave,” Fox-of-the-Water said.

  “We weren’t any braver than you,” Amanda reminded him. “Bright Star was the brave one.”

  “Bright Star has magic power over animals—and over people, too,” the young Indian told them. “I would not have the courage to laugh or even smile at him. Nor would anyone here. And I would never be brave enough to touch his hand the way you do!”

  The three children walked as fast as they could with the heavy baskets of water. Sunset Moon was waiting for them beside her outdoor cooking fire.

  The salmon berries had been stewed to a mush and were now spread out on mats to dry in the sun.

  Sunset Moon put the baskets of water in a shady place near the wall of the house. She handed Fox-of-the-Water a strange basket that looked like a long tube with a funnel at one end.

  “You take one end and let Will hold the other,” Sunset Moon said. “Mandy, do you think you can carry the burden basket?”

  “Yes,” Mandy said, wondering what the burden basket was like.

  Sunset Moon strapped a basket with a flat bottom to Mandy’s back. “Good fishing!” She went back to her work by the fire.

  “Why didn’t you tell your mother about the bear?” Amanda asked the Indian boy.

  “I’m supposed to watch out for bears. I didn’t want to be punished.” Fox-of-the-Water led the way along the beach. He held the wide end of the long, skinny basket. Will had the narrow end. Amanda came after with the burden basket on her back.

  When they came near the saya-gay’s house, they saw the witch doctor talking to an old woman. He was holding a box of carved and polished black stone.

  Bright Star scooped out three handfuls of dried plants from his stone box and dropped them into a wooden bowl the woman had in her hand. “Stir these into a very little water and put them on your aches. They will make your skin feel hot, but the pain will go. Save these herbs and use them whenever you need them.”

  The woman bowed low and went away, carrying her bowl.

  The saya-gay walked over to the children.

  “Where did you get the beautiful box?” Mandy asked.

  Bright Star smiled. “I made it. I’m always looking for pieces of this kind of rock. If you find any, let me know.” He looked at the long, skinny basket the boys were carrying. “Where are you going to fis
h?”

  “In the little stream Mountain Echo gave to Brave Warrior last winter,” Fox-of-the-Water told him.

  “I wish you luck.” The medicine man went back to his house.

  Fox-of-the-Water walked faster. Will had to hurry to keep up. Amanda marched after them.

  The Indian boy turned away from the beach and went into the woods. Amanda couldn’t see a path, but he seemed to know where he was going. The farther they went from the shore, the deeper the woods became. Amanda looked hard at every shadow. She didn’t want to meet another bear.

  The trees were different from the ones at the shore. They were much taller, and they were evergreens. Thick moss made a carpet on the ground and covered the branches overhead.

  Fox-of-the-Water walked slowly. He seemed to be listening.

  Amanda was beginning to think they were lost when she heard the splash and gurgle of a stream.

  “Here we are!” Fox-of-the-Water said. The dark branches of the trees did not meet above the little stream. The blue sky could be seen here, and the rippling water sparkled in the sun.

  Fox-of-the-Water stepped into the stream.

  Will put down his end of the long, skinny basket and took off his socks and sneakers. Amanda slipped out of the straps of the burden basket and set it down. By the time her feet were bare, both boys were in the stream with the basket tube.

  Amanda waded into the cool water and went to help them.

  Fox-of-the-Water placed the wide end of the basket downstream. He showed Will and Amanda how to put sticks and underbrush across the stream on either side of the long tube so the fish could not swim upstream, except through the tube.

  The Indian Boy climbed out of the water and began to walk along the bank. Amanda and Will went after him.

  The stream became wider and deeper. Fox-of-the-Water cut three leafy branches from a bush. He gave one to Amanda and one to Will. With the third he started to whip the water of the stream.

  “What are you doing?” Will asked.

  “Trying to scare the fish, of course,” Fox-of-the-Water told him.

  Will and Amanda rolled their jean legs high over their knees and waded into the water, beating it with the leafy branches. They followed Fox-of-the-Water back up the stream to where they had left the fish trap.

  The Indian boy leaned over the long tube and peeked through the basketwork. He picked up the wide funnel end and started to drag the heavy fish trap to the shore of the stream. Amanda and Will helped him lift it onto the mossy bank, where Amanda had left the burden basket.

  Now Will looked into the trap. “Wow!”

  Fox-of-the-Water placed the wide end of the tube in the burden basket and held it steady while Amanda and Will lifted the narrow end into the air.

  The tube was full of fish. There was no room in it for them to turn around and swim out. The children dumped them out, tail-first, into the flat-bottomed basket.

  Amanda tried to pick it up. “We won’t be able to carry all these. Let’s put the little ones back.”

  “Not these.” Fox-of-the-Water held up a slender, silvery fish. “Sunset Moon uses them to make oil.” He chose all the fish he wanted to keep. Will and Amanda let the others go free in the stream.

  “I’m hungry,” Fox-of-the-Water said.

  “So am I,” Amanda told him.

  “Me too.” Will looked around. “I see blueberries over there. Are we allowed to eat them?”

  “I don’t know if Mountain Echo gave the berry patch to Brave Warrior along with the stream,” Fox-of-the-Water said, “but neither of them would mind if we ate some with our meal. It would be different if we picked all of them. We can eat a few while the fish is cooking.”

  The Indian boy pulled a handful of dried cedar bark out of a leather bag that hung at his waist. He found a hardwood stick.

  Amanda and Will watched him twirl the stick back and forth like a drill in the soft, woolly bark.

  “Get some firewood ready,” he said. He went on twirling.

  By the time they had gathered a pile of dry twigs and sticks of all sizes, a tiny flame was flickering in the dry cedar bark. The children added wood little by little until they had a cooking fire.

  Fox-of-the-Water used his bone knife to clean a large fish. He set it close to the fire. The fish was held upright in a split stick tied together at the top with a piece of cedar bark.

  When the fish was cooked on one side, Amanda turned the stick so that the other side faced the heat.

  All three children took turns watching to make sure the fish did not burn. In between watching, they nibbled blueberries off the bush.

  Amanda picked three very large leaves from a plant growing near the stream. “We can use these for plates.”

  As soon as the fish was cooked, Fox-of-the-Water cut thick slices off it. They all ate with their fingers. Amanda and Will had never known that fish could taste so good. Everybody had second and third helpings.

  After the meal, Will and Amanda put their sneakers on. Will kicked dirt onto the fire and stamped on it. Amanda and Fox-of-the-Water cupped their hands and brought water from the stream to soak the ground.

  The burden basket was heavy with fish now. The three children tried taking turns at first. Then they looped the straps so that they could all get a grip on the basket. They walked back through the dark woods, stopping now and then to put down the basket and rest.

  After what seemed an age, the trees became smaller and brighter green. Still the children walked and walked. They were hot and tired when at last they came out onto the sunny beach. They set the basket down in the shadow of a rock.

  “I’m going for a swim!” Fox-of-the-Water took the knife from around his neck, the leather bag from his waist, slipped out of his shirt, and put everything under a stone. He raced across the sand and splashed into the little foaming waves. “Come on in. The water’s fine!”

  Will and Amanda took off their sneakers. They ran to the water and jumped in.

  Fox-of-the-Water was swimming dog-paddle style. After a while he stopped and watched Will and Amanda. They had both learned to swim at the Y.

  “I wish I could swim like that,” the Indian boy said. “You go so much faster than I do.”

  “We could teach you how,” Amanda told him.

  The Indian boy looked at the sun. “Maybe tomorrow,” he said. “We’d better get home with those fish.”

  The tide had gone out since they started swimming. The wet sand was covered with oysters.

  “If we didn’t have such a heavy load in the basket, we could take these back to Sunset Moon,” Fox-of-the-Water said. “She loves oysters.”

  Amanda saw a black stone sticking up under a pile of shells. “That looks like the same kind of stone Bright Star used for his beautiful box!”

  “That stone is good for making arrowheads,” Fox-of-the-Water said. “The saya-gay might give me the leftover chips. I need some new arrows.” He started to dig the stone out of the sand.

  “If we don’t get it now, the sea may take it back again.”

  Will and Amanda helped him raise the stone. It was nearly two feet long and almost as wide, but it was thin and flat like a piece of slate. The three children carried the stone above the high-water mark on the beach and hid it under a bush. Amanda broke a twig off the bush.

  Will was shivering now.

  “We’re taught to run up and down the beach after a swim until we’re warm.” Fox-of-the-Water started running.

  Will and Amanda decided to run, too.

  As soon as they were warm again, the children picked up the basket of fish and carried it back along the beach.

  The saya-gay was sitting on the platform in front of his house, making something out of feathers. He came over to look into the basket. “Ah!” He lifted out a shining fish. “This will do for my supper.”

  Amanda thought Bright Star was very rude. He never said “please” or “thank you” and just took what he wanted. She waited for Fox-of-the-Water to tell the saya-gay about the
black stone. The Indian boy didn’t say a word. He always seemed to be frightened of the witch doctor.

  Still, there was something about the little man that had made Amanda like him even before he had saved her from the bear.

  “Bright Star,” she said, “we found a black rock like the one you used for your box.”

  The saya-gay was so excited that he almost dropped the fish he was holding by the tail. “Where did you see this rock, Mandy? I’d like to get it before anyone else finds it.” He put the fish into a basket of water near the door of his house.

  “It was in the wet sand at low tide,” Will told him. “We dug it out and hid it under a bush.”

  Bright Star went into his house and came out with a mat rolled up under his arm. “Mandy,” he said, “would you please show me where to find the rock?”

  “First I have to help the boys carry these fish to Sunset Moon,” Mandy told him.

  “We don’t need help, Mandy!” Fox-of-the-Water said.

  “Let me fix those straps.” Bright Star looped the burden straps to make a double harness. The boys were side by side now, with the basket on their backs. They trotted off like a pair of ponies.

  “Come on, Mandy.” The saya-gay carried his rolled-up mat over one shoulder and walked beside Amanda. They talked as they went along.

  “Why are you so polite and friendly to Will and me and so mean to Fox-of-the-Water?” Amanda asked. “He’s scared of you.”

  It was a little while before Bright Star answered. “Something tells me you’re very different, and I can talk to you. I have to keep all these people afraid of me or I can’t help them. If they thought I was just like them, they wouldn’t believe in me. It’s lonely. I haven’t talked to anybody like this since I was thirteen years old. That’s when I knew I was going to be a saya-gay.”