CHO-GAY climbed as quickly as possible to the broad back of the eagle and made himself comfortable between the great wings. He had to lie forward on his stomach, with his arms around the eagle’s neck, as the smooth feathers, though warm, were very slick and he had no wish to slide off. It was a queer sensation to feel the earth drop away from beneath him, as they rose swiftly into the air from the rock shelf of his cave, and the rocks and trees seemed to sink down to the ground. Cho-gay could hardly realize that it was he who was rising above the earth, he seemed to stay still and everything else to move.
Presently all Timbertangle lay beneath them, a great mass of tangled, brown tree tops, with here and there a bald knob of mountain rising above them. Even these soon flattened out into a mottled plain stretching far, far away in every direction—a plain that grew hazier and less distinct every moment, as they were flying very swiftly and almost directly up—and soon Timbertangle was[167] altogether lost to sight as light, wind-blown clouds drifted between them and the earth beneath.
The eagle flew very easily, with no apparent effort, and his great wings rose and fell with a motion as regular as the beating of a heart.
Long before this, Kaw, feeling that he could not keep up with the strong flight of the eagle, had lighted on the broad back beside Cho-gay, and his bright eyes turned in every direction, taking in the surroundings.
The cool wind whistled by their ears, but Cho-gay’s skin was tough from constant exposure to all kinds of weather, and the wind made little difference to him.
Kaw was enjoying himself thoroughly. “I only wish there was a pool somewhere near,” he said in an undertone to Cho-gay, “so that I could see how I look. How about this color—will it come off easily?”
Cho-gay stared hard as the realization came to him that from previous experiments he had found that this particular color did not come off easily. He whispered this to the crow.
“Well,” said Kaw, when this had been made clear to him, “that’s nice—a pretty pickle, I call it. I must say I can’t blame you though. There is some gain in everything, and no matter how old[168] I get to be, I will never turn gray!” He chuckled suddenly:
“Who ever heard of a crow that was red?
Oh, bless my poor feathers and bones!
My friends will all think that old Kaw is dead,
And shed many big tears and groans!”
“Well,” said Kaw cheerfully, “I’d better give you a few instructions while I have the chance,” and he lowered his voice so that Cho-gay could barely hear. “You might as well know now that we are going to the Up-above Country to steal the Thunder Drum.” Seeing a startled look in Cho-gay’s eyes, he quickly added, “I have it all planned out, so there will be no danger to anyone.”
“I was not thinking of myself,” said Cho-gay gravely, “but you know if the Up-above people get mad they’ll send terrible storms and blow down trees and perhaps do much damage.”
“I thought of that,” whispered Kaw. “The Thunder Drum was made, long, long ago, by a man-animal of your people, an Indian Chief of great bravery, and was, by some strange magic, stolen from him by the Up-above people. I’ve no doubt that one of Chu-ta-win’s ancestors helped, for it would take an eagle to carry it up, so it’s just as well that he helps us now. There have been many[169] who have tried to get the Drum back to the earth-people, but they didn’t have as good a scheme as I’ve got. All I will want you to do is to get the attention of old Chaco, the keeper of the Drum, on something else so he will not notice me while I scout around a bit. Ask him if he can tell you where to find the blue charm Wongo lost. It was the great charm of the Bear Clan and he has been afraid ever since that the other bears would discover that he has lost it. You know the Up-above people see everything that happens on the earth.”
“What good will it do to steal the Thunder Drum?” asked Cho-gay.
“What good?” snapped Kaw. “Don’t you know that it is the Thunder Drum that brings the rain? Every time Chaco, the rain-man, beats it, the people of the Water Clan pour water through the holes in the clouds and it falls to earth. If we once had the Thunder Drum in Timbertangle, there would be no more dry seasons, for we would beat it ourselves when we wanted, rain.”
“Look! Little brother,” called Chu-ta-win, “there are the sun-clouds, and they guard the way to the Up-above Country.”
A great bank of clouds rose before them, so white of themselves and so brilliant with sunshine that Cho-gay had to close his eyes, and when he[170] opened them again, though it had been but a second or two, they had slipped through the clouds and were rising above a new and wonderful world. There were hills and canyons and desert, but they were all in the wonderful colors of the sunset and never remained long the same.
The trees were purple, with leaves of gold that glittered like polished flint in the sunlight, and there were lakes and rivers like huge splashes of turquoise. Strange animals ran and crawled among the bushes and the air was full of birds that flew close and talked to them, and others that soared above and below as if curious to see who these visitors to their country might be. A great hawk flew toward them, followed by several old owls and an ugly-looking vulture.
“The keeper of the gateway,” called Chu-ta-win, in a low voice. “He will ask why we are here.”
“Welcome to you, Chu-ta-win,” called out the hawk as he approached, “but who comes with you?”
“Two brothers of the earth born,” answered Chu-ta-win. “I have brought them to see your wonderful country.”
“What do they wish here?” asked the hawk again, and before the eagle could answer, Cho-gay spoke for himself:
[171]“We c............