Part 2

Then the hail stopped, the storm cleared away as swiftly as it had gathered, and the brothers left the mesa carrying the stones for which the Gods had asked. On the rocky stairs leading from the pueblo to the ground, the magic hail stones were shining and melting in the sun.

[Illustration]

Tse-intyel, the home of the Gods, was far away beyond the deserts and the mountains, but the brothers made the long journey safely. Hah-Tse-Yalti, their father, though unseen by them, protected them and brought them food.

After spending a night by the Pool of the Whirling Logs, the boys climbed the Broad Rock of the Gods. They began their climb long before the dawn, and arrived at the top just as the sun appeared at the far rim of the earth.

From the flat top of Tse-intyel, the Gods could see all the wide Indian world,--the deserts, the waste lands, the river pastures, the dark canyons with the sun silvering their western rim, the lonely little hills, the snowy mountains, and the great plains where the buffalo herds moved like slow cloud shadows over the immense and tawny land.

Then Hah-Tse-Yalti took his sons by the hand, and led them before the Gods. The chief of the Gods was he whom the Navahos call “The God-Who-Is-Stronger-Than-Fear.” The brothers then gave the Gods the three sacred stones, and sang the Healing Song.

When they had finished, the God-Who-Is-Stronger-Than-Fear touched the blind boy upon the eyes, and the lame boy upon the knee. And the blind boy saw again, and the lame boy limped no more.

So the brothers gave thanks to the Gods, and rejoiced at their healing, and Hah-Tse-Yalti rejoiced with his sons. When the time came for the boys to go, Hah-Tse-Yalti led them to the eastern edge of Tse-intyel, showed them their canyon home, and told them of the trail of the Gods which led to it.

[Illustration]

Homeward to the canyon of their childhood went the boys, homeward to the cliff dwelling and to Kai their mother.

[Illustration: Homeward to the canyon of their childhood.]

And the Navahos say that the twins became great heroes, and taught the Indian peoples the Healing Song they sing to this very day.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

Footnote [A] Pronounced “chay.”

Transcriber’s Notes

Perceived typographical errors have been silently corrected.

Illustrations have been moved nearer to the text to which they refer. As a result, the page numbers listed in the Illustrations table may be incorrect.