NYR Page 16

Morning came early and once more the chase was on. Running Bear still carried himself with a casual ease that I envied. I wanted to pause to rest but he showed no signs of slowing down. From time to time he produced more of the jerky and shared the canteen with me.

Finally, some time after noon he paused. He gestured towards the ground and held up his hands, showing four fingers on each and pointed off in one direction. Then he flashed all his fingers and pointed a second direction and then a third time he flashed all his fingers and pointed yet another direction.

I looked in each direction to see what he referred to but the country held nothing but mysteries to me. I looked back at him and shrugged. He again ran through the sequence but I could not determine what he was trying to tell me.

He sat down on the trail and put his head in his hands. Thankful for the respite, I sank to the ground as well, happy to rest my weary legs. We sat there for several minutes in silence and then he abruptly rose and walked over to pick up a nearby stick.

He brought it back and began drawing in the dirt. Intrigued, I stood to look at what he was doing. First he drew several things that bore a passable resemblance to the longhouses, then he drew several stick figures with spears and bows. He looked up at me inquisitively.

I nodded to indicate I knew he meant the village and gestured for him to continue. He drew a large group of people some distance from the village and then drew two people some distance behind them. He gestured towards those two, then at us. I gathered he referenced our pursuit.

He then gestured to the large group of figures again and drew three new groups of figures, then pointed around him, flashing the signs again. This time I understood. The people we were pursuing had split up.