Audio Transcript Auto-generated
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Chapter 13 Island of the Blue Dolphins.
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I did not sleep much.
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The night before I went to the place of the
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sea elephants.
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I thought again about the law that forbade women to
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make weapons.
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I wondered if my arrows would go straight, and if
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they did, would they pierce the animals?
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Tough hide.
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What if one of the bulls turned on me?
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What if I were injured and then had to fight
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the wild dogs?
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As I dragged myself homeward, I thought about these things
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most of the night.
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But when with the sun, I was up and on
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my way to the place where the C L offense
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live. When I reached the cliff, the animals had left
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the reef and gathered along the shore like gray boulders.
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The bulls sat on the pebbly slope below them.
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The cows and their babies played in the waves.
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Perhaps it is not right to speak of young.
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See elephants as babies, for they are as large as
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a man, but they're still babies in many ways.
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They follow their mothers around, waddling along on their flippers
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like Children, learning toe walk, making crying sounds and sounds
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of pleasure.
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That Onley the young make, and before they will leave
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the shore and learn to swim, their mothers have to
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push them into the sea, which is often difficult to
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do because of their size.
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Some distance separated the bulls from each other, for they
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are bad tempered and very jealous by nature and quick
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to fight over anything that displeases thumb.
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There were six of them below me on the slope,
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each sitting alone in a great chief like a great
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chief watching the herd of cows and babies.
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The cow was a smooth, has a smooth body and
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a face that looks much like that of a mouth
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with a sharp pointed nose and whiskers.
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But the bull is different.
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His nose was, has a large jump on it, which
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hangs down over his mouth.
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His skin is rough and looks like wet earth that
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has dried in the sun and cracked.
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He is an ugly animal from the top of the
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cliff. I looked down at each of the sea elephants
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and tried to choose the smallest of the six.
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They were all the same size, save one, which was
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the farthest from me and partly hidden by a rock.
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He was about half as large as the others, a
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young bull, since no cows were playing among the waves
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in front of him.
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I knew that he did not have a herd of
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his own and for that reason would not be so
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wary or quickly angered.
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Quietly, I left myself down over the edge of the
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cliff to reach him.
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I had to pass behind the others, be being careful
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not to alarm them.
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They fear nothing and would not move if they saw
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me. But it was better, I thought, not to put
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them on their guard.
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I carried my new bow, which was almost as tall
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as I Waas and five arrows.
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The path was rough and covered with small stones.
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I took pains not to send them tumbling down the
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slope. I also careful not to be seen by the
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cows, which get alarmed easily and would have warrant warned
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the rest of the herd with their cries.
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I crawled behind a big rock near the young bull.
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I then got to my feet and fitted an arrow
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to the bow, although I suddenly remembered my father's warning
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that because I was a woman.
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The bow would break.
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The sun was far in the West, but luckily my
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shadow fell away from the young bull.
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The distance between us was short on his back was
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turned squarely toward me.
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Still, I did not know where to place the first
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arrow, whether in his shoulders or in his head.
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The skin of the sea elephants is rough, yet very
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thin, but beneath it are thick layers of fat.
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And though his body is large, his head is small
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and make support target Well, I stood there behind the
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rock, not knowing what to Dio again.
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Aware of my father's warning that a bow in the
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hands of a woman would always break in a time
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of danger, the animal began to move toward the shore.
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At first I thought that by some chance he had
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heard me.
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I soon saw that he was on his way toward
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the cows that belonged to the old bull.
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Sitting nearby.
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The sea elephant moves fast in spite of his size,
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waddling along on his great flippers, which he uses like
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hands. The bull was nearing the water.
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I let the arrow go, and it went straight at
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the last instant, he changed direction, and though the bow
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did not break, the arrow passed harmlessly.
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The one side I had failed to notice that the
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old bull was moving down the slope until I heard
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stones grading against each other.
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Quickly, he overtook his rival and, with a single thrust
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of his shoulders, overturned him.
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The young bull stood as high as a tall man
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and was twice the length.
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Yet from the force of the blow, he rolled into
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the water and lay there, stunned.
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The old bull bore down upon him, swinging his head
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and bellowing so loud it echoed against the cliffs.
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I, the herd of cows and calves who were lying
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in the waves and scratching their backs with their flippers,
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stopped to watch the battle to the cows were in
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the bull's path as he had waddled toward his rival,
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but he went over them as if they were small
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stones. Using his tusk like teeth, he ripped a long
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gash in the young bulls side.
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The young bull raised himself, and as he turned, his
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small eyes shone fiercely red.
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When the old bull slash at him again, he struck
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first and sunk his teeth into the other's neck.
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He did not let go, and the two rolled over
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in the waves, splashing water high into the air.
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The cows had scattered by now, but the other bulls
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still sat quietly on the slope.
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The two fighters paused, getting ready for a new attack.
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It was a good chance to send an arrow into
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the young bull, who lay on his back with his
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teeth, still grasping the others neck.
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But I hope that he would win the battle and
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I stood there and did not move.
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The old bull had many deep scars on his head
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and shoulders from battles he had fought before.
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Suddenly, he lashed out with his tail, trying to lose
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the hold of his neck and struck the side of
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a rock with his tail against the rock.
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He flung his body out of the water and thus
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broke away.
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He came quickly up the slope, his great mouth open,
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the young bull close behind him.
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He came toward me and in haste to get out
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of his way.
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Not knowing whether he was bent on attacking me, I
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stepped back.
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In doing so, I tripped over a stone and fell
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to my knees.
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I felt a sharp pain in my leg, but was
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quickly up.
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By this time, the old bull had world around and
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turned upon his pursuer so fast that the young bull
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was taken by surprise again.
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The young bulls flank was ripped deep and again the
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force of the blow threw him backwards into the water.
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The waves grew redder from his blood, but at this
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time he rolled over and was waiting for the charge.
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He met the old bull with his shoulder.
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The sound was like rocks crashing together Once more.
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The young bull caught the others throat, and together they
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disappeared beneath a wave.
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When they came up, they were still locked together.
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The sun had shown down and it was so dark
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I could no longer see clearly.
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My leg was now beginning to hurt.
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Since I had a long way to go, I left
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them. I could hear their bellows as I went up
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the cliff and for a long time afterward, Chapter 14.
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My leg hurt so much.
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By the time I had reached the house that it
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was hard for me to crawl under the fence and
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move aside the heavy rock for five sons.
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I could not go out because my leg was swollen
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so badly and I had no herbs with which to
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treat it.
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I had enough food to eat, but on the third
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day, the water in the basket ran low.
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Two days later, the basket was empty.
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It was necessary then, for me to go to the
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spring in the ravine.
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I started out when the sun rose.
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I took with me shellfish to eat, also my spirit
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and my bow and arrows.
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I went slowly for I had to crawl on my
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hands and knees, carrying the food tied to my back
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and dragging the weapons.
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There was a short way to the spring, but it
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was other over many rocks, which I could not climb,
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so I had to take a longer way through the
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brush. I reached the ravine when the sun was overhead.
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The spring was not far off, and I rested there,
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though I was very thirsty, cutting a lobe from a
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cactus bush to chew on.
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Well, I was resting there, sucking the juice from the
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cactus. I saw the big gray dog, the leader of
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the wild pack in the brush above me.
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His head was down and he was slowly moving, snipping
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the tracks I had made.
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He saw me soon after I saw him and stop
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behind him was the rest of the pack trotting along
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one after the other.
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The pack stopped, too.
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I took my bow and fitted a narrow, but as
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I did this, the big dog faded away into the
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brush and was quickly followed by the others.
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In the time of one breath, they were gone.
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There was nothing to aim my arrow at.
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It was as if they had not been there at
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all. I listened.
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They were moving so silently I could not hear their
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steps. But I was sure that they would try to
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surround me solely.
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I crawled on, stopping to listen, to glance back, to
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measure the distance between me and the spring.
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My leg hurt.
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I left my bow and arrows behind as I went
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on for the brush had grown heavy and I could
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not use them in one hand.
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I dragged my spear.
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I came to the spring.
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It flowed out of a crack in the rock and
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the rock rose high on three sides of it.
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The wild dogs could not attack me from any of
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these directions.
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So I lay on the earth and drank.
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Watching the ravine below me.
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I drink for a long time and filled my basket
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and then, feeling better, crawl toward the mouth of the
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cave. A ledge of black rock ran out above it.
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Some low bushes grew there, and among them, with just
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his head showing, said the big gray dog.
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He did not move, but his yellow eyes followed me,
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turning slowly.
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As I drew near the cave, another head showed behind
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him and another.
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They were too far away for me to reach with
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my spear.
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Suddenly I saw a brush moving on the opposite back
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of the bank of the ravine.
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The Pac had split up, and we're waiting on both
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sides of the ravine for me to pass wth, Um,
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the cave was now in front of me.
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I crawled to the mouth and into it above me.
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I could hear feet running and the cracking of brush,
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which was followed by silence.
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I was safe.
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I knew the wild dogs would come back and they
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did as night fell, stalking around in the brush until
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morning but not venturing close.
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Although the mouth of the cave was small.
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Once you were inside, it spread out and you could
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stand up.
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Water dropped from the roof and the cave was cold
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without a fire.
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But here I stayed for six sons until my leg
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was well, crawling out on Lee once to fetch water
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from the spring while I was living there, I decided
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that I would make the cave into another house where
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I could stay.
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Should I again get hurt or sick?
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And this I did as soon as I was strong
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and could walk.
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The cave went back into the hill around many turns,
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but I needed Onley that part, which lay near the
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opening and which the sun could reach during some of
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the day.
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A long time before this, my ancestors had used the
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cave. Why?
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I do not know.
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And along the walls on each side they had cut
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figures in the walls or in the stone.
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There were figures of pelicans floating on the water and
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flying of dolphins, whales, sea elephants, gulls, Ravens, dogs and
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foxes near the opening of the cave.
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They had also cut too deep basins in the stone,
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which I decided to use for storing water.
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Since they held much more than the baskets.
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I made shelves in the side of the rock, as
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I had done in the other house, and gathered shellfish
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and seeds to store there.
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I also gathered herbs from the hill above the spring
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in case I should need them.
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The bone arrows I had first made, I likewise took
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to the cave.
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But the last after I had made a good bed
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of seaweed and collected dry wood for my fires, I
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closed the opening with stones except for a small hole
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at the top, which I could crawl through all this
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I did, thinking of the days I had been sick
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and without water.
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It was hard work, much of it man's work.
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But not until I was finished did I go back
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to the place where the sea elephants lived.
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The tide was low when I reached it.
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Far up on the slow play, the body of the
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old bull gulls had picked its bones clean, but I
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found what I had come for some of the teeth
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were as long as my hand and half its with.
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They were curved at the tops and some were broken.
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But when I had ground the best of them down
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with sand I had for my work Four good spear
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points brought at the bottom and very sharp at the
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ends. I made two more spears from these points and
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at last was ready to go to the Cave of
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the Wild Dogs.
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Chapter 13 14 Questions.
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Why does Khurana want to kill a C Elefant?
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How does Karen I get injured?
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Where does Karen ago to fully heal?
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What does Khurana find in the cave?
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How does Caronna finally get the teeth?