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Show 105 <^-' As the sun set in the west, the painter of the sky matched the gold and red of the earth again. It was hard to tell where the sky left off and the end of the earth began. Chua and Toho approached the rim of the beautiful Great Painted Canyons. Sheer cliffs of red and gold dropped off into a giant crevasse winding through the rock mesa. The walls of the canyon were deeper than anything Chua had ever seen before. At the bottom wound a muddy river. "It looks no bigger than a spun thread of wool from here," Chua said. "It's a swift, dirty river," Toho said. "Come, I will show you the eagle's nest." Chua gazed over the cliff to a small ledge part way down the rock. The nest was made of large sticks. Some of them looked longer than Chua was tall. The nest was lined with soft feathers and fur. Maybe rabbit fur, thought Chua. "There's no young eagle in the nest," Chua said. "We're too late in the year for that," Toho said. "It'll be almost impossible to catch one that can fly." "We must try," Chua said. "Where's your pahos?" "It's here in the pouch," Toho said, pulling the prayer stick from its hiding place and fingering it in his hand. Chua watched him stroke the turkey feather nestled next to two sticks, a small comhusk pouch, and a down eagle feather. Knotted string held it all together. "Pray to Sotuknang that the pahos will help you catch an eagle," Chua said. Toho raised his arms to Sotuknang. "Our clan is in great need of eagle feathers." Then he dropped the pahos down into the nest below. The boys waited. |