“I-I don’t know,” Neil answered. In desperation, he faced the scarred leader and asked, “
The scarred lips clamped shut again, and the eyes expressed bewilderment.
Slowly, painstakingly, the Maya leader repeated something in his own tongue, and waited for a response.
“What did he say?” Erik asked.
“I don’t know. But he looks kind of angry because we’re not answering.”
The scowl deepened on the scarred face. Angrily, the leader shouted another order, and the Mayas began to close in, their spears ahead of them.
“Friends,” Neil said frantically. “We are friends.”
The leader of the band frowned again and raised his hand. Immediately the soldiers stopped advancing. He studied Neil closely.
“Friends,” Neil repeated, almost making it a question this time. “Let’s show him what we mean.” he said to Erik.
He grasped Erik’s hand and began to shake it. “Friends, see? Big friends. All big friends. Shake hands, see?” He grinned at the Maya soldiers, feeling quite foolish at his own antics.
Erik grinned too, his teeth flashing behind his brilliant beard. He pumped Neil’s hand vigorously and then threw his arms around him and caught him to his chest in a bear hug.
“Gee whiz, Erik,” Neil protested. “You’re Strang- hey, for Pete’s sake!”
“Smile,” Erik muttered through clenched, glistening teeth. “Smile, Neil.”
Neil beamed as Erik released him and took his hand again, squeezing it tightly, threatening to rip his arm from the socket.
Olaf stood by, obviously displeased with all this nonsense.
Neil smiled graciously at the Maya leader and extended his hand. “Friends?” he asked.
The dark eyes clouded in the scarred face, and the leader stepped back cautiously, away from Neil’s extended hand.
Neil shook hands with Erik again. “Friends,” he said.
He turned to the scarred soldier once more and held out his hand.
“Friends?” he repeated.
The soldier’s face changed a little, and a flicker of understanding sparked in his eyes. His mouth began to edge upward at the corners as he stepped forward cautiously. He stopped and said something to another soldier. The other soldier nodded his head vigorously and answered the leader.
Neil kept his hand outstretched and said, “Friends.”
Slowly, the leader of the band took another hesitant step forward, his spear ready. He stood several feet away from Neil, and leaned over, extending his hand in cautious little spurts of movement. His eyes were on Neil’s-large and brown.
Suddenly they crinkled at the corners and the Maya’s twisted mouth split into a wide grin. He extended his hand fully, ready to grip Neil’s in friendship.
And at that moment, Olaf decided to ram his heavy shoulders into one of the Mayas and make a break for the forest!
Olaf’s shoulder struck the bewildered Maya with considerable force. The Maya struggled to keep his balance, using his spear the way a tight-rope walker uses a balancing pole. In spite of his efforts, he flopped unceremoniously to the ground as Olaf leaped over him and sprinted for the protection of the trees.
Rapidly, the scarred captain snapped an order, and a soldier stepped forward and pulled the toplike affair from his belt. Holding the string in his fingers and the weapon tight against the palm of his hand, his fist suddenly lashed outward in a swift, open-palmed motion. The top whipped out, seemingly reluctant to leave the Maya’s hand. And then it sped across the clearing on the edge of the forest, the air whistling behind it.
Olaf had just reached the protection of a huge boulder and was ready to scramble behind it when the top collided with the base of his skull. There was a dull thud as wood met bone. Olaf collapsed to the ground like a fallen tree. Efficiently, the Maya pulled in the string, and the top trailed across the leaves, rasping gently as it moved. He wound the string around it and once again stuck it into his belt.
Two soldiers hastily crossed the clearing and seized Olaf by the arms. They lifted him until he hung limply between them, and then hauled him back to the captain, his legs dragging through the leaves.
The captain gave a sharp order, and the two men carrying Olaf headed toward the city. A soldier stepped behind Erik and prodded him with his spear. At the same time, Neil felt the sharp point of a spear in his back. The captain spoke softly to six of his men. They nodded and headed into the forest.
“They’re probably going after the rest of our party,” Neil whispered to Erik.
Erik nodded, and two sharp spear thrusts put an end to further conversation.