Old Wûlkûtska was on the farther side of the mountain, looking over. He threw his mortar at Pitoíois, but she saw it coming and dodged. That minute the old man was there at the camp.
“I am sweating. It’s awful hot!” said he. [[329]]
“You have been eating bones,” said his sons, and they began to scold him.
Pitoíois gave him meat and bones, then said to the brothers: “Let us leave him and go over two mountains.” At the foot of the second mountain there was a large river.
“Are there any fish in this river?” asked Pitoíois.
“A great many,” said the eldest brother. When she took off two of her dresses to go into the water, the youngest brother said: “Put on your dresses; they will get stiff and hard.”
“I can fix them,” said Pitoíois, and she began to catch fish with her basket. Soon she saw her father-in-law watching her. Just his forehead and eyes were above the top of the mountain.
He thought: “I will have her now; she hasn’t seen me yet.” That time the old man talked to his mortar, said: “Hit her if you can, but if you can’t, fall on the ground. Don’t fall in the water.” He threw the mortar, but Pitoíois saw it coming and dodged. The mortar fell on the ground with a terrible noise. The brothers were roasting meat; they heard the noise and ran toward the river. Pitoíois dropped her basket and fish, and ran toward the camp, crying.
“What noise was that?” asked the brothers.
“It was your father’s mortar. It struck near me. He is trying to kill me.”