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Show 42 r JV^ I don't need to be treated like this, thought Chua. First the Snake Clan ki&ked me out; next I have to deal with Ahote, and now this boy. I can get along on myy oZwn >x f Y^ U*\& $4 without anyone, he thought. Clawing Eagle ruffled his feathers and stood erect U Chua didn't need anyone! He climbed back down the wash and onto the mesa, jogging back to the cliff dwelling. The blood on his ear had dried. "Mother," he called as he returned to their rooms, but there was no answer. "Mother," he called again. She was gone. Panic filled him. He raced quickly through the surrounding rooms calling, but there was no answer. His father was gone, and now his mother. He would have no one. He took a deep breath. I must be calm, he thought. If I seek the peace my father gave me, I'll know what to do. I'll go back to our dwelling and follow her footprints. He started in their rooms, looking for a sign of scuffling or animal prints. He saw neither. He could see his mother's sandal prints clearly in the fine dirt. There was no extra set of prints, so he knew Ahote had not returned. He followed her footsteps from room to room and from level to level. Would he find his mother safe? He was glad the dust and dirt had not been swept away so tracking was easy. Deep in the cliff dwelling were the storage rooms. How cool they felt. "Mother," Chua began calling again. "I'm here," returned Apa. "I was afraid something happened to you," Chua said. 3 ni/»A "I'm fine," Apa said. |