chu-ta-win and cho-gay walked slowly toward a lake that lay like a great turquoise before them. strange animals hurried, scurrying and crawling in every direction, and birds darted hither and thither.
the eagle indicated with one wing what seemed to be a huge mountain rising high in the east. “the mantle of the night,” he said. “it is the blanket that is let down every night over the earth to hide the face of the sun, for if it were not hidden just so often all growing things would dry up. it is very old now, the night-blanket, and holes are beginning to show. we, below, call them stars, and if it wasn’t for those holes,” he added, “we would have no moon, for when the moon is thin and pale it slips through one of the holes and comes close to the earth to give us light to try to make up for the loss of the sun, for the moon god has never approved of the night-blanket and is much more gentle toward earth folks than the sun.”
[177]they were now near the lake and cho-gay could see, near its edge, a little old man, sitting by a huge drum. the old man held a great padded stick in one hand and looked constantly to the east.
“that is chaco,” whispered the eagle, “keeper of the thunder drum. he looks toward the east for the signal of the sun, and when he sees that, he pounds the drum and that is the signal for the water clan—see, those little fairy-creatures sitting all around the lake. they each have a gourd dipper in their hand and, at the signal of the drum,[178] they dip water from the lake and pour it through the water-holes to the earth. that is the rain, and the sound of the drum is thunder, and the flash of the sun-signal is the torch that we call lightning. we will speak to chaco. but listen,” he added more cautiously, “we must speak in rhyme. it is the only language he knows, and if we speak differently he will grow very angry and send hurricane winds over the earth. that is the way they come. he has lungs of leather and his voice, when he is angry, is louder than the thunder drum.”
“all right,” answered cho-gay in the same low voice the eagle was using, “you speak to him then.”
chu-ta-win looked at cho-gay a little doubtfully.
“no, you speak first. it isn’t so hard, but i’ll probably have to do the real talking, as i’ve had more practice.”
there was a snicker from over their heads and cho-gay saw a flash of red, as kaw dropped to a near-by bush, evidently with the intention of over-hearing their conversation. the eagle was immediately uncomfortable and spoke to cho-gay a trifle stiffly:
“go on, why don’t you speak? chaco is waiting.”
the old man had raised his head and was watching[179] them as they drew near. he was silent, waiting for the first word to come from them. it did not come very easily. cho-gay was not quite at ease and cleared his throat two or three times before he began, haltingly:
“we are from the earth below,
and we’ve come to see if you know
where’s the charm of wongo, the bear;
we can’t find it anywhere.
can you tell us where it is?
or, if not, then where it was—
not exactly that i mean,
but where once it might have been?”
there was a choking sound from chu-ta-win and an echo of it from the bush, where cho-gay knew kaw was listening, and then the eagle gave him a little push to one side and began hurriedly:
“we have come, he and me,
to find out and to see
if your wisdom can show
us the right way to go—
just to see, or find out,
quite without any doubt,
just exactly the place,
or the spot or the space,
where the blue charm is hid.
where he lost it—he did.”
[180]this was too much for kaw. such an attempt at rhyming struck him as too funny for words and his voice, subdued but trembling with mirth, came to them from the bush:
“i have heard a constant rumor
of the rain-man’s sense of humor—
let us hope that it is true—really true—
for of rhymes of man or bird,
that’s the worst i ever heard,
i am shocked, my friends, quite shocked, at both of you.”
then in a voice mimicking chu-ta-win’s, he continued:
“oh, where is the blue charm hid,
for he lost it, yes he did.
oh, my goodness, gracious, gumption—what a joke!
for the stone was really his—
won’t you tell us where it is?
it’s a wonder wise old chaco didn’t choke.
“but go on my friends, and ask—
i’m made happy by your task—
and if chaco, here, can stand it, so can i.
stand up firm and take your time,
all the air is filled with rhyme,
and, no doubt, you’ll strike a fine one, by and by.”
chu-ta-win grew red in the face and shot furious glances toward the bush, but cho-gay, with a self-conscious grin, made the best of the situation and[181] kept his eyes on the old man, who seemed not to have heard kaw’s low voice, but was thinking deeply on what the eagle had said. presently he nodded his head slowly and spoke in answer:
“chaco knows of what you speak,
and has seen the blue charm stone
when the clouds from eagle peak
o’er the mountain woods have blown.
but there was no storm that night,
and the moon god brightly shone.
it was lost within his light,
he can tell you, he alone.”
the two nodded gratefully to the old man for his words.
“come,” said chu-ta-win, in a low voice, for the rain-man was again looking toward the east for the sun’s signal, and had apparently forgotten that they were there. “shall we go to the moon god now? i doubt if we find him to-day. you see—what’s that!”
cho-gay jumped suddenly, as kaw lit on his shoulder and began to whisper in his ear:
“now! we are going to do it! listen—i’ll call chaco over here, i know how. then you and chu-ta-win jump for the thunder drum and push it through the nearest water-hole. you see that big one, right there? that little water-creature[182] cannot interfere. then jump on chu-ta-win’s back and drop through the hole—both of you. you’ll have to be quick and don’t look back. the sun god will blind you with lightning if you do. tell chu-ta-win it is for the life of timbertangle we work—now! quick!”
and cho-gay breathlessly repeated to chu-ta-win the directions kaw had given him. the eagle looked shocked and astonished, but before he could protest kaw called out in a good imitation of chu-ta-win’s own voice:
“chaco, quick! the sun god’s call!
come! he’s calling one and all!
see, his golden arrows fall!
chaco, quick! the sun god’s call!”
as the old man rose hurriedly and confusedly took a few steps toward the east, cho-gay leaped toward the thunder drum and with a sudden push sent it whirling toward the water-hole a few feet away and then, with another push, down through the opening into which it disappeared.
[183]
all three dropped through the hole
[184]kaw was at the hole instantly. “quick! chu-ta-win! quick! cho-gay!” he called, and almost before the words were out of his mouth all three dropped down through the hole—first the eagle, who spread his wings instantly, then cho-gay, who[185] fell on the broad back and held on tight, and then kaw, flying easily down after them with a chuckle of triumph in his voice.
several pairs of eyes stared in furious amazement from the hole above, which now looked like an opening in a dark cloud, and great arrows of lightning flashed from it. just then a loud rumble came from far below.
“the drum! the drum!” shouted kaw in glee. “it has lit on the bed of leaves made by wongo on skull-top mountain, and the little bear is beating it with all his might and main. hurrah! hurrah! we’ve won! we’ve won!”
just then great sheets of opal-colored mists began to drift toward the earth from the holes in the clouds and cho-gay felt wet drops on his face. a little gray hawk, flying from below, began to sing in a high excited voice. as his words came to them more and more clearly the very air seemed to echo the music and all timbertangle seemed to be singing:
“oh, brown the earth and gray the sky,
and desert and stream and pool are dry—
but in the east the rain clouds fly.
ah-heee, little brother, ’twill rain, ’twill rain,
ah-heee, little brother, ’twill rain!
[186]
“i felt a drop on my feathered breast,
the rain clouds come from the east and west;
i felt a drop in my sheltered nest!
ah-heee, little brother, ’twill rain, ’twill rain,
ah-heee, little brother, ’twill rain!
“now over the world a joyous hush!
then comes the storm with a sudden rush—
the great drops patter on sand and bush!
ah-heee, little brother, the rain, the rain!
ah-heee, little brother, the rain!”
then, how it came down! it seemed as if chaco and the rain-people above were trying to drown them. the rain came in great sheets and floods of water and the three drew in their heads as far as possible and shot down toward the earth almost as fast as the raindrops themselves.
suddenly there was a cry from chu-ta-win and he began to moan in a frightened voice:
“one of the arrows from the sun god must have struck me! i am bleeding to death! oh, what shall i do? oh, what shall i do?” he began to sink even more rapidly toward the ground. sure enough, a great, red stain was growing on his back and crimson drops were falling fast. when they reached the earth he lay still with closed eyes while cho-gay and kaw bent over him.
suddenly the crow began to laugh and chu-ta-win[187] opened his eyes to look at him. then he opened them wider at what he saw, and raised himself up, forgetting for a moment his fright.
“where did you come from?” asked the eagle, “and where is redskin?”
“oh, redskin,” answered kaw in a voice that was choking with laughter, “redskin is dripping off your back! the rain transferred him from me to you. cho-gay declared the color was fast—but—oh, haw—haw—haw—i don’t think even he knew how fast!” and then as he saw that the eagle was beginning to understand what had happened, he started to hop up and down in his usual, grave way, and to chant:
“sometimes very dull is the eye of a crow,
but the eye of an eagle—oh, never—oh, no!
oh, never. oh, never—
for truly whoever,
has heard of the eye of an eagle that’s so!”
chu-ta-win watched kaw for a moment, while the rain poured in a steady stream from his feathers and dripped from the bush from under which cho-gay followed their every word. then a slow grin spread over the eagle’s usually fierce features—perhaps at the comical appearance of kaw, whose feathers were most wonderfully streaked with red[188] and black, with here and there a smear of white from his bill.
“well, we’re even, kaw,” he said at last. “i don’t think that either of us can laugh at the other in the future, and i promise not to laugh at you any more if you’ll forget to-day and not laugh at me!”
“a bargain!” cried kaw. “ho, all timbertangle! listen to this:
“the crow and the eagle have made a pact!
oh, sing a song of the thunder drum!
this day and hour it becomes a fact!
oh, sing a song of the thunder drum!
never until the world shall end,
shall either laugh at the woes of his friend,
but only help him those woes to mend!
oh, sing the song of the thunder drum!”
