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Show 87 £_"FH mark the days with small rocks on the floor of our room so I will know when the six days are up," Apa said. "Good," Chua said, leading Apa to the ladder above the kiva. "I can't go down there," Apa said. "But the secret room is down here," Chua said, standing on the ladder. "I won't go down into the kiva. It's for the men only," Apa said. "You must," Chua said. "Ahote gets more dangerous each time he has visions." "I know that," Apa said, "but you must find some other place." "Wait here while I check to see if there is another entrance." Chua climbed down the ladder and walked around the snake wall into the secret room. When he looked closely, he could see that the walls in the opposite comer of the room didn't come together either. He walked through the opening into a series of small rooms. Soon he found himself in the storage area where the dried com had been. "I've found a way," he said to his mother, when he ran back around to the top of the kiva. "There's another opening. I just didn't notice it before." ( As he helped his mother to the storage room, he saw a cradleboard in the comer of one room. "Look, Mother," he said. "A board for the baby to sleep on." "And for me to carry on my back," Apa said, smiling. Chua wanted a baby to hold and love. He grinned as he thought of teaching his little brother to walk and then run. They would run across the mesa together. Chua picked up the cradleboard and led the way to the secret room. |