circling sharks.
A rubbish dog was the best food to take too. Even strips of salted shark went bad in the glare of the sea, but you could kill a tied-up dog to eat whenever you wanted to go ashore, or make a tiny cooking fire on board and roast it piece by piece.
He ran back to the camp. Some of the women had returned. They sat in the shade, laughing and talking, wrapping their tubers in arrowroot leaves. But there was no sign of Leki, or her mother, or his own mother either.
His mother would worry when he wasnât at the feast. Thatâs what mothers did: they worried. ButLeki could explain where heâd gone. His mother would be glad when he brought back a wife, he told himself.
âLoa!â One of his friends gestured for him to come over and sit with them.
Loa pretended he didnât hear. He looked over to where the netted rubbish dogs had lain. Only one was left â a small female. She glared at him as he walked up to her.
âYouâll do.â He picked her up by the cords that bound her paws and carried her upside down.
The dog struggled, but she didnât make any sound. Rubbish dogs didnât make much noise: just growls, if you came near their pups, or long slow howls at night. This one didnât even whimper. Her jaws were tied too tightly.
He slung the dog into his canoe, then lashed her securely to the side next to his spear so no wave could wash her away.
He hesitated.
This was a big thing â to leave his clan, to try to find a wife all by himself. Young men went off to find wives, even sometimes stealing them. But not alone.
Should he wait? Ask some of his friends to come with him tomorrow?
Deep down he realised he didnât want to go at all. He didnât want a wife from a different clan. He wanted to be at the feast as everyone ate his pig meat and exclaimed; he wanted to make his pigâs-teeth necklace; he wanted to hunt pig again in a few daysâ time.
But he had told Leki he would go. He wasnât going to hang around the edges of her feast, like a rubbish dog looking for her scraps of attention.
He had to go! Now!
He pushed the canoe over the sand, through the first waves, then clambered in. He began to paddle across the lagoon, towards the reef and the sea beyond.
Someone shouted from the shore. He looked back, but he was already too far away to see who it was. He waved, then turned back to paddling.
The rubbish dog stared at him from the end of the canoe.
CHAPTER 7
The Dog
Her back was bruised where the bony boy had flung her into the canoe. Her legs ached from being tied in one position. She needed to drink, to howl. But she was tied too tight to move.
She sniffed the salt water, trying to find familiar smells. It wasnât right to be out here on the sea. It wasnât right to be tied up either, or to be alone away from the other dogs, with just a boy. Bony Boy, she thought, not a pup but not grown up either.
She wriggled to ease the pain in her legs. Suddenly her muzzle felt a sharp edge on the canoe. Cautiously she rubbed her nose along it.
The rope moved, just a little.
If she could get the cords off her muzzle then she could bite through the cords that held her paws. She could bite Bony Boy too.
She could be free.
But first she needed to move the cords. She rubbed again, slowly, keeping her eyes on Bony Boy as he paddled.
CHAPTER 8
Loa
The breeze ruffled the surface of the lagoon. Loa paddled towards the white water that led out to the open ocean. The sea was rougher beyond the reef, but he needed to leave the safety of his own lagoon if he was going to paddle along the coast to the headland clan.
He tried to think of returning with a bride of his own. Sheâd have plump legs and a little round tummy, to show how good she was at finding tubers and catching birds â¦
Reality spat in his face with the windblown spray from the waves on the reef. How could he get a wife like that, when even Leki â who had known him
A rubbish dog was the best food to take too. Even strips of salted shark went bad in the glare of the sea, but you could kill a tied-up dog to eat whenever you wanted to go ashore, or make a tiny cooking fire on board and roast it piece by piece.
He ran back to the camp. Some of the women had returned. They sat in the shade, laughing and talking, wrapping their tubers in arrowroot leaves. But there was no sign of Leki, or her mother, or his own mother either.
His mother would worry when he wasnât at the feast. Thatâs what mothers did: they worried. ButLeki could explain where heâd gone. His mother would be glad when he brought back a wife, he told himself.
âLoa!â One of his friends gestured for him to come over and sit with them.
Loa pretended he didnât hear. He looked over to where the netted rubbish dogs had lain. Only one was left â a small female. She glared at him as he walked up to her.
âYouâll do.â He picked her up by the cords that bound her paws and carried her upside down.
The dog struggled, but she didnât make any sound. Rubbish dogs didnât make much noise: just growls, if you came near their pups, or long slow howls at night. This one didnât even whimper. Her jaws were tied too tightly.
He slung the dog into his canoe, then lashed her securely to the side next to his spear so no wave could wash her away.
He hesitated.
This was a big thing â to leave his clan, to try to find a wife all by himself. Young men went off to find wives, even sometimes stealing them. But not alone.
Should he wait? Ask some of his friends to come with him tomorrow?
Deep down he realised he didnât want to go at all. He didnât want a wife from a different clan. He wanted to be at the feast as everyone ate his pig meat and exclaimed; he wanted to make his pigâs-teeth necklace; he wanted to hunt pig again in a few daysâ time.
But he had told Leki he would go. He wasnât going to hang around the edges of her feast, like a rubbish dog looking for her scraps of attention.
He had to go! Now!
He pushed the canoe over the sand, through the first waves, then clambered in. He began to paddle across the lagoon, towards the reef and the sea beyond.
Someone shouted from the shore. He looked back, but he was already too far away to see who it was. He waved, then turned back to paddling.
The rubbish dog stared at him from the end of the canoe.
CHAPTER 7
The Dog
Her back was bruised where the bony boy had flung her into the canoe. Her legs ached from being tied in one position. She needed to drink, to howl. But she was tied too tight to move.
She sniffed the salt water, trying to find familiar smells. It wasnât right to be out here on the sea. It wasnât right to be tied up either, or to be alone away from the other dogs, with just a boy. Bony Boy, she thought, not a pup but not grown up either.
She wriggled to ease the pain in her legs. Suddenly her muzzle felt a sharp edge on the canoe. Cautiously she rubbed her nose along it.
The rope moved, just a little.
If she could get the cords off her muzzle then she could bite through the cords that held her paws. She could bite Bony Boy too.
She could be free.
But first she needed to move the cords. She rubbed again, slowly, keeping her eyes on Bony Boy as he paddled.
CHAPTER 8
Loa
The breeze ruffled the surface of the lagoon. Loa paddled towards the white water that led out to the open ocean. The sea was rougher beyond the reef, but he needed to leave the safety of his own lagoon if he was going to paddle along the coast to the headland clan.
He tried to think of returning with a bride of his own. Sheâd have plump legs and a little round tummy, to show how good she was at finding tubers and catching birds â¦
Reality spat in his face with the windblown spray from the waves on the reef. How could he get a wife like that, when even Leki â who had known him
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