little people. He spotted Vala Golden Hair and her awful child and moved to put his arm around her shoulder. Jeek frowned. This was not right. Tog was the mate of Enga Dancing Flower. They should stay together to protect each other. The older birth-brother of Jeek, Teek Bearclaw, was near to their mother, so Jeek walked to Enga and patted her hand. He was rewarded with a smile, but her eyes darted away from him, watching Tog and Vala. Her eyes were sad.
As Jeek stood next to Enga, his mind was filled with buzzing from the tribe. There was much agitation at the thought that the Mikino were near enough to smell. Jeek sniffed again, very deep into his nose and brain, and almost recoiled at the odor of the little people. This odor had been conveyed to them with the stories of Panan, so they all knew what it was.
A mighty roar split the air. Jaguar! Jeek nearly fell to his knees. The fearsome cats in their cages were near enough to hear. The tribe was very, very close to the Mikino village. The smell of fear sprouted from each Hamapa.
Now Jeek caught a whiff of the large cats. The hair on his skin prickled and rose up.
The tribe had still not reached a place where game abounded, so they all knew the Mikino must be hungry. Even if they ate a large amount of plants, there were not many plants here.
Jeek wondered why they had not left this place, but before he could think further, the small beings burst upon them from the scraggly brush.
Their high-pitched shrieks paralyzed the Hamapa, filled them with terror for a moment. Then each female dropped her pack and reached inside for her spear. Each male drew his knife from his waist pouch.
Before anyone could lay a weapon on a Mikino, they had slid close and cut the food pouches from most of the adults. They were very quick. Fee Long Thrower and Ung Strong Arm, the two best mammoth hunters, flung spears at the thieves as they scurried away. Ung hit one in his tiny leg. All of them raced away. The wounded Mikino left a trail of Red. It was a trail no Hamapa would follow, as it would lead to their village. That was a place they would not go.
Jeek saw Panan sitting and holding his leg. He drew closer and noticed Red gushing from the leg. He called his mother, the Healer, and she dressed the wound with honey and dried grasses, then bound it with a strip of hide.
Hama and Hapa both urged the tribe to get out of the area quickly. All obeyed. Several more roars sounded as they fled.
Vala Golden Hair had seen the injury of Panan and let him lean on her as they went.
When they had marched quickly for as long as they could, dragging their burdens, and those with young carrying them when they could no longer walk, Hapa told them to stop.
We have gone far enough. No one is following us. We must see how much food we have left.
Vala still had her pouch, since Tog had pushed the thieves off her. Hama also had hers. The Elder males and several others had made a barrier around her. But there were only those two pouches of jerky. Cabat the Thick looked upward and shuffled his feet, then thought-spoke to his tribe.
I have some dried fish in my bundle.
Jeek felt the disapproval aimed at Cabat. They all knew he had meant to keep the fish for himself. He would never have shared it if this disaster had not happened. Jeek kept the thought to himself, but he wondered what else could go wrong. Were the Hamapa, the Most High People, beginning to act a bit like the Mikino? Keeping food to oneself was not the Hamapa way. He had thought the troubles within the tribe, the large troubles, were over after the killer of the former Hama was found. He thought his tribe would all see that they had to pull together to make it to a land where they could live. If they did not pull together, they might not make it there.
An even darker thought came from Hama.
We have traveled in the wrong direction, fleeing the small people. We are going toward the Great Ice. We must keep going away from it.
The three Elders,
As Jeek stood next to Enga, his mind was filled with buzzing from the tribe. There was much agitation at the thought that the Mikino were near enough to smell. Jeek sniffed again, very deep into his nose and brain, and almost recoiled at the odor of the little people. This odor had been conveyed to them with the stories of Panan, so they all knew what it was.
A mighty roar split the air. Jaguar! Jeek nearly fell to his knees. The fearsome cats in their cages were near enough to hear. The tribe was very, very close to the Mikino village. The smell of fear sprouted from each Hamapa.
Now Jeek caught a whiff of the large cats. The hair on his skin prickled and rose up.
The tribe had still not reached a place where game abounded, so they all knew the Mikino must be hungry. Even if they ate a large amount of plants, there were not many plants here.
Jeek wondered why they had not left this place, but before he could think further, the small beings burst upon them from the scraggly brush.
Their high-pitched shrieks paralyzed the Hamapa, filled them with terror for a moment. Then each female dropped her pack and reached inside for her spear. Each male drew his knife from his waist pouch.
Before anyone could lay a weapon on a Mikino, they had slid close and cut the food pouches from most of the adults. They were very quick. Fee Long Thrower and Ung Strong Arm, the two best mammoth hunters, flung spears at the thieves as they scurried away. Ung hit one in his tiny leg. All of them raced away. The wounded Mikino left a trail of Red. It was a trail no Hamapa would follow, as it would lead to their village. That was a place they would not go.
Jeek saw Panan sitting and holding his leg. He drew closer and noticed Red gushing from the leg. He called his mother, the Healer, and she dressed the wound with honey and dried grasses, then bound it with a strip of hide.
Hama and Hapa both urged the tribe to get out of the area quickly. All obeyed. Several more roars sounded as they fled.
Vala Golden Hair had seen the injury of Panan and let him lean on her as they went.
When they had marched quickly for as long as they could, dragging their burdens, and those with young carrying them when they could no longer walk, Hapa told them to stop.
We have gone far enough. No one is following us. We must see how much food we have left.
Vala still had her pouch, since Tog had pushed the thieves off her. Hama also had hers. The Elder males and several others had made a barrier around her. But there were only those two pouches of jerky. Cabat the Thick looked upward and shuffled his feet, then thought-spoke to his tribe.
I have some dried fish in my bundle.
Jeek felt the disapproval aimed at Cabat. They all knew he had meant to keep the fish for himself. He would never have shared it if this disaster had not happened. Jeek kept the thought to himself, but he wondered what else could go wrong. Were the Hamapa, the Most High People, beginning to act a bit like the Mikino? Keeping food to oneself was not the Hamapa way. He had thought the troubles within the tribe, the large troubles, were over after the killer of the former Hama was found. He thought his tribe would all see that they had to pull together to make it to a land where they could live. If they did not pull together, they might not make it there.
An even darker thought came from Hama.
We have traveled in the wrong direction, fleeing the small people. We are going toward the Great Ice. We must keep going away from it.
The three Elders,
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