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Show 10 free. The mud seemed to soothethe pain. His fingers were numb from the tight ropes, and he struggled to untie the knots that held his feet prisoner. The rain had stopped by the time he finished and he feared the hunting party would return before he could escape. He felt around the smoldering fire for his fur mat and pouch. It was too dark to see anything. Suddenly, the moon appeared from behind the clouds. He spied his pouch lying in a heap beside a large bag one of the hostile braves had been carrying. He gathered up both of them and began running. Raindrops pelted the earth once again. The Great Spirit had sent the rain, for it had helped him get free, and now it would wash away his footprints. With the light, his enemies would hunt for him, of that he was certain. He would not stop to rest all night. He once feared the dark, but now it was his friend. He was not sure of directions, but traveled mostly by instinct. Finally, toward morning, he could go no farther. Exhausted, he crawled under a fallen tree and fell alseep. Nuiji's eyes opened to see sun and blue sky. It had stopped raining. The earth had been washed clean and was being dried off by the sun between left-over clouds. He sat up and reached for his pouch of food. His eyes fell upon the large, leather bag he had picked up while escaping. Anxious to see what it contained, he pulled it apart and looked inside. His eyes grew wide and he drew in his breath. Here were things as precious as his turquoise-beautiful Macaw feathers and olivella shells that caught every ray of sunshine and turned it a different color. Such things could only have come from the Land of Great Waters. Once his grandfather had talked of such a place. The ancient ones of his tribe sometimes wore a necklace of feathers and shells in certain religious ceremonies. How unbelievable that he, Nuiji, would take home such treasures! His name |