ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

CHAPTER 12 ~ Making Ready for the Hunt

The beach was a busy place. Everywhere Laura and Jon Max looked there were Makah men and women hurrying back and forth from the huge canoes to the longhouses nearby, bringing the equipment and supplies they would need for tomorrow's whale hunt. Eight of the long canoes floated in the shallow water a few feet from the edge of the beach. The blue water of the bay was calm and flat, almost completely free of waves.

The whale hunters knew they might have to stay at sea for several days, chasing the great giants of the ocean. The canoes were being loaded with baskets filled with dried fish and deer meat, freshly picked apples and berries, quail eggs, and nuts of all kinds. There were stacks of woven blankets to wrap up in during the chilly nights at sea.

Laura saw one of the women packing a basket with coils of string and long, sharp objects that looked like twelve-inch sewing needles, carved from some white material. Laura wondered if the over-sized needles were made of whale bone, like Chief Hontu-qui's nose ring.

I wonder what the Makah hunters are going to sew with those giant needles? Laura thought.

Four men walked past Jon Max and Laura carrying a dozen strange bags made of some kind of slick material that looked like gray rubber. Each bag was about two feet across, and they were strung together by a long rope. They seemed to be as light as balloons, so Laura decided the bags must be inflated with air. But she couldn't guess why the whale hunters would be taking big balloons on a whale hunt!

Jon Max and Laura spotted a stack of harpoons lying in the sand next to one of the canoes. They were much longer than the two 5th graders had thought they would be — more than fifteen long! The wooden shaft of each harpoon was thick — as thick as Laura forearm. She couldn't imagine the strength it would take to throw one of these heavy harpoons hard enough to penetrate the hide of a whale.

Qua-yuta had gone over to the stack of harpoons, and he was gathering up several of them Laura and Jon Max joined him, and they helped each other get an armload of the harpoons. The harpoons were so heavy that Jon Max and Laura could carry only four each. But Qua-yuta was carrying six!

Laura remembered that Qua-yuta said his father was going to allow him to throw one of the harpoons during the whale hunt tomorrow. The Makah youth was obviously stronger than he looked.

Qua-yuta placed half of his harpoons into the first canoe, then he turned to his two friends. "Sho-karee, put your harpoons into that second canoe. Nu-konee, put yours into the third one."

Laura tried not to let the heavy harpoons drop too hard into the canoe, so that she wouldn't seem weak to the people around her. But the harpoons still landed noisily when she let them go. The same thing happened to Jon Max when he put his down.

Qua-yuta placed the last of his harpoons into the fourth canoe, making much less noise than his friends, then he said, "Come with me. I want you to meet my father."

Laura and Jon Max followed Qua-yuta along the beach towards a group of men who were inspecting the coils of rope that would be tied to the harpoons. They were looking for any weak spots in the ropes that might break after the harpoons had penetrated the whale's tough hide. The tallest of the men saw Qua-yuta and smiled broadly as the boy walked up to him and spoke.

"Father, these are the friends who helped me and Moa-daht when my little brother fell into the stream." Qua-yuta turned to the 5th graders and said, "This is my father, Mauk-sis-a-noop. His name means Gray Whale Hunter."

"Welcome, friends of my son," Mauk-sis-a-noop said in a formal manner, bowing slightly. "I heard of your brave actions at the place where my son was fishing. You will always be welcome in my house because of what you did."

Jon Max and Laura were grinning with pride at Mauk-sis-a-noop's words of praise.

"Thank you," said Jon Max. "We were just lucky to be there."

"Yes, luck can be very important," Mauk-sis-a-noop agreed. "We are hoping for good luck with tomorrow's whale hunt."

Qua-yuta suddenly remembered what the chief had said about the taboo. "Father, just a short while ago I spoke with Chief Hontu-qui about a very important matter. He would like for you to decide the best way to deal with a situation that might affect the hunt tomorrow."

At the mention of the hunt, Mauk-sis-a-noop's smile quickly faded. "What is it? A problem of some kind?"

"Perhaps, but a problem that can be solved easily, I think."

Qua-yuta told his father about the taboo in great detail, along with Chief Hontu-qui's suggestion that the two visitors be made to leave the village. Mauk-sis-a-noop listened carefully, never once interrupting. When Qua-yuta finished, his father was silent for a long moment.

Finally he said, "Qua-yuta, I think you've handled this situation very well."

Qua-yuta was relieved to hear this, but he still wore a worried look. "Thank you, father. But will Nu-konee and Sho-karee be forced to leave us?"

"No. I am sure that no one will violate this taboo once they've been told of it. Your mother will make sure our guests' belongings are safe until then."

"Thank you, father!" Qua-yuta said gratefully. "And now, we've come to help make everything ready for the hunt."

Mauk-sis-a-noop smiled and said, "Thank you, Son, but we are almost finished with the preparations. The weather is perfect for the hunt. It would seem that our weeks of prayer to Ike'tal have been rewarded."

"Is there nothing else we can do to help?" Qua-yuta said, looking disappointed.

"Perhaps later. For now, why don't you show our guest the things we make and use to hunt the whales. I have been told they come from very far away, and they are eager to learn about us."

"Yes, Father. Their curiosity is as well known as their bravery," Qua-yuta said with a smile. He turned to his friends. "What shall be start with?"

"The harpoons!" Laura and Jon Max exclaimed together.

"Why am I not surprised?" said Mauk-sis-a-noop as he chuckled and headed back to join the men inspecting the ropes.

Qua-yuta lead his friends back over to one of the canoes that held the harpoons. He picked one up and handed it to Laura, who almost dropped it before getting a good grip on the heavy object.

"Why do you make them so heavy?" said Jon Max.

"The heavier they are, the deeper they will penetrate into the whale. They must go in deeply so that the whale will not tear them loose when it rolls over and over in the water."

"Rolls over and over? You mean, the whale doesn't always die right away?" Laura said in a sympathetic tone.

"Oh, it never dies right away, Sho-karee. Sometimes it takes many hours to die."

"Many hours?" said Laura. "With this big thing sticking in it?"

"Yes. In fact, we put several harpoons into it. Even so, there have been times when the hunters chased the whale all night long, even though it had four or five harpoons in it."

"All night? Wait a second," said Jon Max. "If the whale isn't dead, and it's swimming underwater, and it's dark — "

"Hey, that's right!" said Laura. "How can the guys in the canoes follow a whale in the dark?"

"This question has several answers," said Qua-yuta, enjoying his role as teacher to his new friends. "First of all, the people in the canoes have torches — poles wrapped with cedar bark fiber and dipped in whale oil to make them burn a long time."

"Okay, so the canoes have lights on them," said Laura. "But the whale is underwater!"

"Yes, part of the time it is, but it also must come up to breath. Whales are not like salmon, which can breathe in the water."

"Right, they're mammals, like us," said Jon Max. As soon as he said it, he realized that Qua-yuta wouldn't understand 21st Century biology. Jon-Max looked embarrassed.

But Qua-yuta proved himself smarter than Jon Max thought. "If you mean they breath air like us, you're right, Nu-konee. We believe that we are the brothers of the creatures that live in the forest and the sea. That is why we believe in Hishuk Tsawalk which means everything is one, and everything is connected. We must respect the land and the sea, or they will not protect and provide for us."

Laura could barely believe what she was hearing. In her own time period, everybody knew that it was important to protect the environment. But the Makah had already learned this, more than two-hundred years earlier!

Jon Max was still trying to figure out how the Makah followed a whale in the dark. "Okay, I get it. You just follow the whale when it's on the surface, right?"

"No, Nu-konee. Even when the whale is underwater, the hunters in the canoes can still see where they are." Qua-yuta paused, wearing a faint smile as he watched his friends think over this amazing new fact.

Both Laura 's and Jon Max's eyes grew large and round as they imagined the canoes cruising along through the night, following a submerged whale by using some strange Indian ability to see down into the dark water. It was a creepy thought.

Finally Jon Max spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. "That's awesome, Qua-yuta. Can you teach us how to see whales underwater?"

"Yes," Qua-yuta said softly. Then he laughed at the amazed looks on his friend's faces. "But I'm afraid you might be disappointed when you learn the secret."

"I haven't been disappointed by anything here yet," said Jon Max.

Qua-yuta held up the harpoon so that his friends could examine the end. "Part of the secret is in the way we make the harpoons. Look closely at the blade. It's made from a mussel shell which has been sharpened like a knife."

"What are these pointed barbs on the sides, below the blade?" said Laura.

"Those are the tips of elk antlers. They are pointed back towards the shaft of the harpoon so that the head will not come out after it pierces the whale."

Jon Max turned to Laura. "It's kind of like a fish hook. It goes in easy, but it won't come back out."

Laura noticed that the mussel-shell blade had a glossy look. When she touched it, the blade felt remarkably smooth.

"It looks like something has been rubbed on it," she said.

"The blade is coated in spruce pitch to make it smooth, so that it will slide in easily," said Qua-yuta.

Laura felt a little shiver go up her back as she imagined this deadly weapon sinking nto the poor whale's hide. Then she remembered that Qua-yuta said several harpoons were thrown into the whale before it finally died. She remembered the wooly mammoth which the Ice Age Indians had killed with their Clovis point spears.

"You still haven't told us the secret of how to see whales underwater," Jon Max said.

"I've told you part of it," Qua-yuta said, smiling faintly again, still enjoying himself. "Here's the next part. See this long rope tied to the head of the harpoon? After we throw the harpoon, the whale rolls over and over in the water, trying to get it to come out."

"I don't blame it for that!" said Laura.

"When it does this, the harpoon's handle breaks off, leaving the head of the harpoon still in the whale — with this rope attached."

"Let me guess what comes next," said Jon Max. "Your father uses the rope to pull the whale into the canoe, then he bonks it on the head with a stick, they way your mother did with those salmon!"

The three youngsters laughed at Jon Max's joke for a moment. Qua-yuta was still chuckling when he said, "No, no, no, my friend. It isn't nearly that easy, I'm afraid. Look at those inflated bags in the canoe, the ones made of sealskins."

Qua-yuta was pointing at the rubber-like balloons which the two time traveling 5th graders had seen earlier when they were carried to the canoes.

"When I first saw those things," Laura said, "I wondered what they were for."

"Those are floatation bladders," said Qua-yuta. "We tie them to the other end of the rope which is attached to the embedded head of the harpoon."

"I think I get it," Jon Max said slowly. "With those big balloons tied to the rope, the whale can't dive underwater. So, it's forced to stay on the surface."

"Well, not exactly, Nu-konee," corrected Qua-yuta. "The bladders don't make it impossible for the whale to dive, but they do make it harder for the whale to stay under¬water. Because of this, the whale uses up its air quicker and must surface sooner. The bladders also slow the whale down and tire it out when it is swimming."

"Oh! That makes it easier for the canoes to keep up," said Jon Max.

"Right," said Qua-yuta.

Laura sounded impatient when she said, "This is all very interesting, Qua-yuta. But I still don't get how you guys can see whales that are underwater!"

Qua-yuta understood his friend's frustration — and he was enjoying it tremendously. "Think for a moment, Sho-karee. I've given you all the clues to the mystery. Think — and then tell me what the secret is."

Laura glared angrily at the Makah boy for a moment, but then she made herself calm down and ponder the problem. Qua-yuta had said that she had all the clues. So, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself in one of the long canoes, chasing a whale that had already been harpooned several times. The head of the harpoons were firmly lodged in the whale's hide, with the ropes and the inflated bladders pulling it towards the surface when it tried to dive. The long ropes, with the inflated balloons that would be —

Ah-ha! Got it! Laura thought gleefully.

"You just follow the floating bladders whenever they are on the surface!"

"Right," said Qua-yuta, grinning at his friend.

"And I'll bet the canoes spread out when the whale does manage to go under, so that at least one canoe will spot the bladders when the whale has to come back up."

"Right again, Sho-karee. You're a natural born whaler. No wonder they call you Braver than the Beast."

"How does the whale finally die?" said Jon Max. "Does it just bleed to death?"

"No, we use a special lance for the final kill," said Qua-yuta. "I'll show you one of those later."

Jon Max was looking at the long canoe which they stood next to. He realized that it was made from one solid piece of wood, instead of many planks of wood attached together.

"Qua-yuta, ever since I first saw these canoes I've been wondering how they were made."

Laura gave her friend a scornful look. "Aw, come on, Jon-Max — I mean, Nu-konee." She continued quickly before Qua-yuta noticed her mistake. "There's no mystery to that. They just chop down a tree and then carve out the canoe with axes and things. Right, Qua-yuta?"

"Well, that's mostly right, Sho-karee," said the Makah boy. "But it takes many weeks of hard work. The skill needed to make a well-made canoe is handed down from father to son. It's a difficult task."

"Wait a second, Qua-yuta," said Laura. "How hard could it be? I mean, I know you guys don't have chainsaws or anything, but — "

"Excuse me, Sho-karee," Jon Max interrupted his friend gently. "May I ask you a quick question, please? Have you seen anything made of metal since we arrived? You know, metals like steel, iron, and copper — things like that?"

Laura thought for a moment, then she said, "Hmmmm . . . no, I haven't."

"Right. So, not only do the Makah not have chainsaws, they don't even have axes and hatchets — at least not metal ones." Jon Max turned to Qua-yuta, who had been listening to the conversation intently, even though he didn't understand all the words.

"Qua-yuta, what kind of tools do you use to cut and shape the wood?"

"We do have axes, Nu-konee. The cutting part of the axe is made of stone. The handle is made of wood or whale bone. We also have smaller tools with handles made of wood or whale bone, and the cutting part is made from beavers' teeth."

Jon Max and Laura just stared at their friend for a moment, trying to decide if he was kidding them.

"Beavers' teeth?" Laura said, her eyebrows higher than usual.

"Yes, of course," said Qua-yuta, wondering why his two friends were acting so surprised. "Why not? They work pretty well for the beavers, don't they?"

Jon Max chuckled. "He's got us there, huh?"

"Okay, okay," Laura said quickly. "I guess there's a lot more to canoe making than I realized."

"Much more, Sho-karee," said Qua-yuta. "I think we should go talk to one of our best canoe makers. He can explain it much better than I."

Qua-yuta led his friends down the long line of canoes at the water's edge until they came to the one at the very end. In it, several men where stowing the last of the ropes, harpoons, floatation bladders, blankets, food baskets, water bags, and other equipment.

Qua-yuta greeted the men, then he said, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

An old man sat at the far end of the canoe, carefully coiling a long rope. He was much older than the other men, his dark face a maze of wrinkles, his hair as white as the late afternoon clouds. He wore a woven garment wrapped around his hips. His narrow chest and thin legs were bare. He looked up from his work, but his gnarled old hands continued to coil the rope quickly and neatly. He answered in a dry, raspy voice that sounded like the papery brown leaves of fall, blowing along the ground.

"Oh, now he wants to help. Well, I'm afraid I must disappoint you by pointing out that the work has already been done. You've timed your arrival perfectly, son of Mauk-sis-a-noop."

The other men chuckled as they finished the last of their work and headed up the beach. Qua-yuta looked embarrassed, and he quickly said, "Please forgive me, Ohna-tee-nuk. I have been showing our quest around the village, and I didn't realize how late it was."

The old man glared at the three young people for a moment, then he suddenly broke into a big smile to show he wasn't really angry.

"Oh now, hush, hush, hush," Ohna-tee-nuk said in a quiet, gentle voice. "For a boy your age to apologize because he is late is like apologizing for being young. One causes the other, so neither one of them is really your fault, eh?"

"If you are not too busy, I would like you to meet my new friends. This is — "

"Wait! I know this boy!” The old man suddenly shouted, his face suddenly filled with amazement. “This the famous Nu-konee! He is the Hunter of the Snow Cat. And his friend is Sho-karee, who is Braver Than The Beast!"

Ohna-tee-nuk startled the three young people with his unexpected outburst. The old man had a wild, fearful expression on his face. He looked like he was about to fall down and worship the two 5th graders.

Stunned by the old man's actions, Qua-yuta was silent for several seconds, then he spoke haltingly in a voice filled with wonder, "I . . . did not know . . . you had met them before?"

Ohna-tee-nuk waved his hands in the air and looked up at the sky as he shouted, "I have seen them in my dreams! I have predicted their arrival with spirit visions! Qua-utz, the Creator, has written their names across the sky!"

Jon Max, Qua-yuta, and Laura were speechless and wide-eyed with amazement as they heard this strange news. Qua-yuta finally found his voice and said, "Ohna-tee-nuk! Have these things truly happened?"

Ohna-tee-nuk's crazed expression was instantly gone, and he broke into helpless laughter, wrapping his scrawny arms around his belly.

"No, of course they haven't happened, boy!” the old man said, still laughing. “I heard all about your friends earlier today, from the women who brought the supplies to the canoes. News of any strangers always travels among the women like a wildfire through dry winter grass."

All three of the young people blushed red with embarrassment at having fallen for the old man's joke, but after a few moments they joined him in laughter.

"Please, forgive my little trick, children," Ohna-tee-nuk said, still chuckling. "Everyone thinks that just because I am one of the tribal elders, I have to be wise and serious all the time. Bah! I love laughter as much the youngest child!"

Ohna-tee-nuk stood up slowly, grimacing in pain as his stiff joints were forced to straighten. His knees and elbows popped noisily as he stretched himself. He started making his way down the length of the canoe towards the end near the beach, his old legs wobbling danger¬ously in the rocking boat. Laura stepped into the knee-deep water while she held the side, making it more steady for the old man. Jon Max wadded into the water and helped Ohna-tee-nuk out of the canoe, and they both wadded up onto the beach.

"Welcome to our village," Ohna-tee-nuk said warmly to the two time travelers. "Your visit honors us."

"Thank you," said Jon Max. "Everyone has been very kind to us."

"If anybody is not kind to you, just tell me," Ohna-tee-nook said firmly. "I'll beat them up for you."

Jon Max and Laura both decided that they liked this old man as much as anyone they had met in the village. He was like a 5th grader who was disguised as a wrinkled old man!

Maybe he really is a time traveling 5th grade, Laura thought to herself. His wrinkled face, leathery skin, and knobby joints might be a hologram, like the one that disguises me!

But Laura remembered that Ohna-tee-nuk was a tribal elder, which meant he had lived in the village for decades.

"Ohna-tee-nuk, my friends would like to know how we make our canoes," said Qua-yuta.

The old man looked puzzled. "Do they not have such canoes where they come from?"

Jon Max was quick with a clever answer. "We heard that your canoes are much better. We are on a journey to learn new things like this."

Ohna-tee-nuk looked pleased by this remark. "I have a special place in my heart for young people who want to learn. Your chief must be very proud of you."

Qua-yuta pointed at the canoe nearby. "I have told them a little about how they are made, but you know so much more about it."

"After making canoes for more than fifty years, I certainly hope so!" laughed Ohna-tee-nuk. "So, what has Qua-yuta told you already?"

Jon Max told the old man what they had already learned. Ohna-tee-nuk nodded a few times, then he said, "Yes, we start with a cedar tree that has been split down the middle. Then we begin working to hollow out the flat side."

He motioned for the three youngsters to follow him as he waded out into the water next to one of the canoes. He ran his hand along the inside of the canoe.

"Feel the hardness of this wood? If it were not strong, our canoes would not stand up to the challenge of the open sea."

Jon Max and Laura rapped on the inside of the canoe with their knuckles. The dense wood made a deep thumping sound.

"Before the wood can be cut out," said Ohna-tee-nuk, "it has to be softened up. After the cedar tree is cut down, and the log is slit down the middle, the flat side is carefully burned, a little at a time. The burned wood is scrapped away."

"Hey, that's a smart idea," said Jon Max. "Who thought that up?"

"Nobody knows. We've been doing it since the beginning of time."

"That long, huh? Wow."

"After getting the hollowed-out part started," continued Ohna-tee-nuk, "we fill it with water and drop heated stones into it."

"Then you start cooking dinner inside it, right?" joked Laura. Ohna-tee-nuk and Qua-yuta chuckled, but Jon Max looked mildly annoyed.

"Very funny," said Jon Max. "Now hush. I want to hear this."

"Okay, okay," Laura said. "What happens next?"

Ohna-tee-nuk continued. "The heated water softens the wood and makes it easier to cut it out. But it still takes a very long time."

"Qua-yuta told us you have tools that use beaver teeth to cut the wood. He wasn't kidding us, was he?" said Jon Max.

"I'll show you such a tool later. You can even take one back to show your tribe."

"Awesome!" said Jon Max. "Thanks."

"Hey, I've got an idea," said Laura. "Why don't you just train a few beavers to do the job?"

This time Jon Max laughed along with Qua-yuta and Ohna-tee-nuk. "I'll be sure to tell Chief Hontu-qui about your idea at the evening meal," said the old man.

Suddenly a soft voice spoke from nearby. "Qua-yuta? I have waited all day for you to bring your friends to meet me. Have you forgotten the manners your mother taught you?"

Ohna-tee-nuk and the three young people turned to find a pretty young girl standing on the beach, looking at Qua-yuta with an annoyed expression. Her head was tilted forward as she glared at Qua-yuta, her dark eyes fixed firmly on the Makah boy. Her arms were crossed as she tapped one bare foot on the sand. She was about Qua-yuta's age, but very slender and petite, so she was much shorter than him. She had long, black hair that hung straight to her waist. Her dark skin was the color of coffee with a dab of cream.

Qua-yuta suddenly seemed very nervous. "Oh, I'm sorry, Shan-ta! Please forgive me. We've been so busy helping my father get ready for the whale hunt."

"Oh, really?" Shan-ta said skeptically. "And just what have you done that was so helpful?"

Qua-yuta looked pale for a moment, then he quickly sidestepped the question by turning to his friends. "This is Shan-ta. Her name means Little Wise One. She is very good at solving problems." He looked back at Shan-ta. "You'll be pleased to know that I've asked our guests to sit next to you at the evening meal."

Jon Max whispered, "You did?" Qua-yuta shot a desperate look at him. Quickly, Jon Max said, "Oh, right! Now I remember!"

Shan-ta seemed pleased by this news, and she smiled at Qua-yuta. "Well now, that will be very nice. In that case, I forgive you."

Qua-yuta beamed a grateful smile at the young girl. Ohna-tee-nuk chuckled softly while Jon Max and Laura gave each other sly smiles and nodded knowingly. It was obvious that a certain Makah boy had it pretty bad for a certain Makah girl.

Laura turned towards Ohna-tee-nuk and was about to ask him how the Makah managed to split the huge cedar trees in half to make the canoes. As she did so, she noticed several distant objects out in the ocean, long black shapes on the surface of the water. They seemed to be moving towards the village. The sun was low on the horizon, creating a glare on the water's surface that made it difficult to see the distant objects clearly.

Could those be whales? she wondered. It was hard to tell how large they were because they were so far away.

"Ohna-tee-nuk, what are those black things out there on the water?"

The old man turned and gazed at the distant objects, shielding his eyes from the late afternoon sun. He was silent for a moment, then he spun around quickly to face to Laura and Jon Max.

"Canoes! Twelve or more of them and they're rowing fast! You can see the paddles flash in the sun when they bring them out of the water. It might be a raiding party who have come to attack. We must warn the village!"

Qua-yuta waded to shore quickly and then sprinted off towards his father, further down the beach. He shouted over his shoulder as he ran. "Shan-ta! Warn the women!"

Shan-ta nodded and raced off towards the longhouses.

"Come!" Ohna-tee-nuk said to the two 5th graders. "We must find a place of safety!"

Down the beach, Laura saw Qua-yuta telling his father about the approaching canoes. Mauk-sis-a-noop began shouting orders at the men who had been working with him. Several of the men ran off in the direction of the village to summon help. Qua-yuta was among them. He disappeared between the longhouses, and Laura heard shouts from the village, as the warning was past along.

Shan-ta came sprinting back across the sandy beach, her slender legs a blur of motion. She skidded to a stop next to Ohna-tee-nuk, took hold of his arm, and started helping him as he hurried towards the nearest longhouse.

"Come with me, children! We must hide you in the longhouse!"

"We'll be there in just a moment," Jon Max said.

He gave Laura a quick look and mouthed the word "wait". Laura remained silent, and when Ohna-tee-nuk and Shan-ta were far enough away, Jon Max spoke in a low voice.

"I hate to do this, but if there's going to be an attack, we'd better leave." He pointed to his wrist, and Laura knew he meant that they should use the anywhen device.

"Isn't there anything we can do to help?"

"Not this time. I wish we could," said Jon Max as he watched the approaching canoes. They were still a good distance away, but he could tell that the canoes were as long as the Makah's whale hunting canoes, which meant that each one might be holding as many as sixty people. The people in them seemed to be paddling as fast as they could. If they really were a raiding party, they were probably trying to reach the beach before the village could get armed and ready for them.

"I count fifteen canoes in all," said Laura. "If there’s sixty people in each one, that means there will be nine hundred hundred warriors!"

Jon Max nodded grimly, then he spoke to the lifeguard unit on his belt. "Gidget, I guess we're going to have to cut short our visit here."

Gidget's immediate answer surprised the two time travelers. "No, Jon Max, I don't think that will be necessary."

"What?" said Laura and Jon Max together.

"Look closely at the approaching canoes," Gidget said in her calm electronic voice. Suddenly a telescopic view of the canoes appeared in the air, a 3-D image like the one Gidget had given the two 5th graders when they had been on the cliff, looking down on the Ice Age hunters. The image made it seem like that the canoes were just twenty feet away. The canoes had apparently been traveling north, following the shoreline. They had not completed their turn towards shore, so they were not coming straight at the village yet.

Both of the 5th graders immediately noticed something unexpected.

"Those aren't warriors!" exclaimed Jon Max. "There are women and children with them. And elderly people, too".

"Yes," said Gidget. "And notice what the canoes are carrying."

Laura saw what Gidget meant. The canoes were loaded down with numerous baskets and bags. "I think I understand," she said, a smile slowly replacing the look of worry on her face. "They aren't coming to fight. They're coming to trade!"

"Your right!" exclaimed Jon Max. "They've got their canoes loaded with trade goods. Hey, Gidget, who are those people, and where did they come from?"

"I can't be certain," said Gidget, "but I think they are the Nootka Indians, the people who live north of the Makah, on what later becomes Vancouver Island, off the coast of Canada."

"Are these Nootka guys the friends or the enemies of the Makah?

"They are friends. The cultures of the two groups are very similar."

"That's a relief," Jon Max said happily. "As soon as the Nootka Indians get close enough for the Makah to see who they are, the Makah will know they're not being attacked." Then Jon Max cocked his head to one side and said, "But I wonder why the Nootka Indians seem to be in such a hurry? Their paddling like they're being chased by somebody."

No other canoes were in sight, so this theory didn't seem very likely. Laura turned towards Jon Max and was about to mention this when she saw Qua-yuta sprinting up the beach towards them.

"Uh-oh! Gidget, get rid of the telescopic window, quick!"

The Makah boy had not noticed the telescopic image as he approached his two friends, because the image was turned sideways from his direction. It vanished while he was still thirty feet away. Seconds later, Qua-yuta skidded to a stop in the wet sand at the water's edge. He was panting for breath, his face filled with concern for the safety of his friends.

"Why have you not gone to a hiding place?" Qua-yuta said frantically. "The canoes will be here soon, and the warriors are ready to fight!" Qua-yuta held a sturdy bow in his left hand and a spear in his right. A quiver of arrows was strapped to his back.

Shan-ta came running up while Qua-yuta was speaking. Panting for breath, she spoke angrily. "Ohna-tee-nuk wants to know why you two are still standing out here like young fools who do not obey their elders."

Further down the beach, Jon Max and Laura could see dozens of warriors taking up positions along the shoreline, concealing themselves behind rocks above the beach and behind canoes that had been pulled out of the water for repair. Many of them were armed with bows and long spears, and they were ready to launch their deadly weapons the moment the canoes were in range.

A terrible thought occurred to Laura.

"Qua-yuta, listen carefully," she said urgently. "Those guys are not your enemies. They are your neighbors from the north. They're just coming to trade with your people."

A look of troubled confusion came over the Makah boy's face. He looked back and forth from Jon Max and Laura for a moment, then he said, "How do you know this? They are too far away to be sure of who they are!"

"Look closely at the people in the canoes, Qua-yuta. There are women and children with them."

Qua-yuta squinted at the approaching canoes. After a moment, he spoke hesitantly. "I . . . I can't see them well enough to be sure."

"But we can," Jon Max said with a gentle smile. "You'll just have to trust us on this. Your people are in no danger."

Shan-ta had also been peering intently at the canoes. Suddenly she said, "Qua-yuta, I think they're right! I believe I see children among the adults. That cannot be a raiding party."

Shan-ta's words and the calm confidence of these two unusual visitors finally convinced Qua-yuta. After a few seconds he nodded quickly and turned to run back towards the warriors who stood ready to fire on the approaching canoes.

Laura, Jon Max, and Shan-ta watched as Qua-yuta quickly reached his father's position on the beach. They saw the Makah youth talking rapidly and gesturing back towards them as he spoke. But Qua-yuta's father shook his head a few times, an angry expression on his face. Qua-yuta began pleading with his father, but the man was obviously not convinced by the boy's words.

Laura turned to Jon-Max and Shan-ta. "We’ve got to warn the guys in the canoes somehow!"

Jon Max noticed a small canoe nearby, moored between two of the long canoes that would be used in the whale hunt. Laura followed here friend's gaze, and as soon as she saw what Jon-Max was looking at, she knew what he was thinking.

The two time traveling 5th graders ran to the canoe and wadded out into the water. As they were climbing into it, Laura noticed that Shan-ta was climbing in behind her!

"What are you doing?" Laura said.

"I'm going with you. We'll get there faster with three people rowing instead of just two."

A voice shouted from nearby. "Faster still, with four!"

Qua-yuta came running up to the water's edge and then leapt high in the air, landing in the canoe next to Jon-Max.

Jon Max had been struggling with the knot in the rope that secured the canoe to a large stick driven into the sand on the beach. Qua-yuta quickly pulled a stone knife from a sheath on his hip and hacked at the rope until it severed.

The four young people grabbed the paddles from the bottom of the canoe and began stroking out away from shore. As they did so, they heard shouts from the adults. Glancing back over their shoulders, they saw a dozen warriors sprinting towards them. Mauk-sis-a-noop was among them, looking both angry and worried as he shouted at his son to return to shore.

Qua-yuta wore a look of deep anguish as he turned back around and tried not to think about the fact that he was defying his father. In the Makah culture, this kind of action came with serious consequences.

He and the other young people paddled furiously, sending the little canoe speeding through the water. Ahead of them, the flotilla of canoes was drawing rapidly closer. They were moving much faster than the little canoe being paddled by the four young people. But since all the approaching canoes were now pointed directly at them, the women and children which Laura and Jon Max had seen earlier where now hidden behind the paddlers in the front of each canoe.

"I hope you're right about this," Qua-yuta said, looking worried.

"We'll know soon enough," said Shan-ta. Despite being the littlest person of the four, she was handling her paddle well, matching the others, stroke for stroke.

The minutes ticked by, and the distance between them grew less and less. Finally, when they were less than fifty feet from the canoes, Qua-yuta gave the order to stop paddling. He stood up slowly in the canoe and lifted his arms high above his head, his palms open. As he did so, he shouted to the lead canoe of the group.

"Greetings from the village of Chief Hontu-qui! We come to bid you welcome!"

A tall, imposing man stood up in the lead canoe. He wore a long brown cape of woven material which tied above one shoulder, leaving the other shoulder bare. He also wore a tall pointed hat, similar to one worn by the Makah chief. The moment he stood up, the paddlers in all the canoes pulled their oars from the water and let the boats drift towards the little canoe from the village.

"I recognize you, son of Mauk-sis-a-noop. It is good of you to come out and meet us."

"Chief Quelequem!" Qua-yuta exclaimed. A broad smile replaced the worried look on his face. "I am so happy to see you!"

The little canoe and Chief Quelequem's larger canoe drifted towards each other until they were side by side. The paddlers in the chief's canoe grabbed the edge of the little one and held them together.

"I have important news for your father, about the whales," said the chief. "Ride back with us, and I'll have your canoe towed in."

Qua-yuta, Shan-ta, Jon Max, and Laura climbed into the chief's canoe quickly. The moment they were aboard, the paddlers released the little canoe and plunged their paddles into the water. Within seconds the long, sleek canoe was racing along at twice the speed which the little one had been traveling — and no wonder, since this canoe was being propelled by forty strong men!

Laura marveled at the way all forty of the men handled their paddles in perfect unison, like a group of dancers, moving as one. She saw the people in one of the canoes further back take hold of the little canoe and tie a rope to the prow so it could be towed to shore.

When Laura glanced back towards the beach, she saw that they were almost at the beach!

Mauk-sis-a-noop, Ohna-tee-nuk, Chief Hontu-qui, his two catlatis, and many other tribal elders stood on the beach. They had seen the way the four children had been greeted by the people in the flotilla of canoes. As the canoes drew closer to the beach, Chief Hontu-qui recognized his friend, Chief Quelequem.

The good news spread quickly among the worried villagers, and hundreds of women and children were flooding out onto the beach to greet their visitors. The warriors had quickly put away their weapons and were wadding out to pull the prows of the canoes up onto the beach.

Two of Chief Quelequem's paddlers helped him step from the canoe on the beach. Chief Hontu-qui and Chief Quelequem shook hands, while the women and children in the canoes swarmed onto the beach and began talking with noisy excitement to the happy village people. There were glad greetings as old friends found each other in the crowd.

What had started out as the threat of war had turned into a beach party!

Only one person from the village didn't seem to be enjoying himself: Mauk-sis-a-noop. He stood with grim-faced anger
a few yards from the water's edge, his feet planted wide in the sand, his arms folded across his chest as he glared at his son.

Qua-yuta had spotted his father the moment the canoe had landed, and he slowly approached him with a bowed head and a face filled with misery. As he did so, Shan-ta disappeared into the crowd without a word to the three young people. Jon Max, and Laura followed a few feet behind Qua-yuta as he walked towards his father.

Even though the two 5th graders were not familiar with the penalties for disobedience in the Makah culture, it was obvious that Qua-yuta's father was very angry by what his son had done. When Qua-yuta reached his father, he dropped to his knees in the sand and gazed up him with a pleading look.

"Please forgive me, my father. When I saw my friends about to bravely go out and meet the canoes, I felt that I should go with them. We all sincerely believed that the people in the canoes were our friends. We knew that they would be offended if our village met them with weapons, ready to fight."

Mauk-sis-a-noop was silent for a moment, his jaw muscles flexing as he tried to control his anger. Finally he said, "And just what made you so sure that they were not a raiding party?"

Qua-yuta turned and gestured towards Laura and Jon Max as he spoke in an awed voice. "Sho-karee and Nu konee must have the eyes of a hunting hawk! They saw clearly enough to know that there were children in the canoes."

"Did they, now? Well, well," said Mauk-sis-a-noop. He studied Jon Max and Laura for a moment. "And they were willing to risk death if they were wrong, just for the sake of our village." The look of anger was slowly fading from his face.

"Please don't be angry with your son," Jon Max said. "He acted bravely, risking both the anger of his father and the possibility of facing a raiding party."

Mauk-sis-a-noop thought about that for a moment, then said, "Yes, that is true. Even though I am not happy about his disobedience, I must admit that what he did — what the four of you did — was very brave. In fact, I don't think there is a single warrior in the tribe who would have been willing to do it."

The crowd of people surrounding them had grown quiet as they listened to the conversation. Everyone was curious to hear what Mauk-sis-a-noop would do about his disobedient son.

Suddenly the crowd behind Laura and Jon Max parted as Chief Hontu-qui and Chief Quelequem came walking up. Both men seemed to be very excited about something. Shan-ta was holding Chief Quelequem's hand and wearing a proud smile.

"Shan-ta has told us the reason you came out to meet us," the visiting chief said. "Your son and his brave friends prevented both our peoples from making a grave mistake. We are very grateful to them."

Mauk-sis-a-noop reached down and helped his son to his feet, his angry look replaced by a look of pride. He put his arm around his son's shoulders and smiled at him.

Chief Hontu-qui spoke to Laura and Jon Max. "It appears that I underestimated you two. Truly, you must have earned the names you were given. Please except my thanks, Sho-karee and Nu konee." The chief bowed slightly to the two 5th graders, then he turned to Mauk-sis-a-noop.

"Our friends have brought us wonderful news, Master Harpooner. The reason they were in such a hurry to arrive was because, a short while ago, they spotted a large pod of whales heading north! They will be passing our shores very soon."

"So near!" Mauk-sis-a-noop said excitedly. "Could Ike'tal truly be so kind to us?"

"It would seem that the spirit helper of the sea is bringing the whales to our very doorstep," said Chief Hontu-qui. "Are your preparations for the hunt entirely completed?"

"Yes, my chief!" exclaimed Mauk-sis-a-noop. "We are ready!"

"Then I see no reason to delay. Rally your sea hunters, Master Harpooner! Bring us the blessing of the whale!"

NEXT: CHAPTER 13_ ~ Whaling with the Makah
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)