Bailey and the Santa Fe Secret Read Online Free PDF Page A

practice.”
    “Yes, we do,” Elan said. “But we also have some that have fallen by the wayside.”
    “Like what?” Bailey asked.
    “Well, for instance, we used to have a rite of passage for boys when they turned thirteen.”
    “Rite of passage?” Bailey gave him a look. “What’s that?”
    “It’s when you’re declared an official adult of the tribe.” Elan thought for a moment. “It means you’re not a little kid anymore, and you have adult responsibilities.”
    “I’ve heard of other cultures that do that, too,” Elizabeth said.
    “Do you have to get a job and not go to school anymore?” Bailey asked.
    “No, not like that,” Elan said. “The boys had to prove themselves.”
    “Prove what?” Bailey looked at Elan like he was slightly crazy.
    “Prove that you’re ready for manhood.”
    “How?” Bailey asked.
    “The boys used to have to climb the rock face by the Puye Cliff dwellings by hand—no ropes or tools allowed.”
    “That sounds dangerous!” Beth said.
    “That’s part of the reason they don’t do it anymore.” Elan’s face dropped a bit, and Bailey sensed his disappointment. “It’s a sheer cliff, straight up and down, with only a few hand-and toeholds for men to pull themselves up with. The whole tribe would come to watch and cheer on the boys. Now they just have a special ceremony for us and perform a rite of passage dance to say you’ve become a man.”
    “Did anyone ever fall from the cliff?” Elizabeth’s eyebrows lowered over her hazel green eyes.
    “Sometimes,” Elan said. “But then that gave them the chance to show their bravery through injury. It still proved their manhood. No one ever died.”
    “Did you already have your rite of passage ceremony?” Bailey dipped her fingers in the water and back to her clay.
    “Yeah, they did it a few months ago.”
    “So you’re officially a man now?” Beth asked, color rising to her cheeks.
    “I guess,” Elan said. “I don’t feel any different.”
    “Well, I’d say you’re a man whether you feel like it or not.” Bailey looked up from her project. “You had your rite of passage, and you already have a job.”
    “Yeah.” Elizabeth nodded, her color returning to normal. “You even help take care of your mom and sister. You definitely have adult responsibilities.”
    “I wish the boys at school could see it that way.” Elan’svoice was soft and low.
    “What difference does it make?” Bailey said. “What they think doesn’t decide who you are.”
    Elan paused and seemed to think about what Bailey said. “I still wish I’d had the chance to prove myself on that cliff. That would settle it once and for all.”
    “Unless you fell and cracked your head open,” Bailey said. “Then you’d be sorry you took the chance.”
    “I’d show them I could take it like a man.” Elan sat up tall and puffed out his chest. “Maybe one day I still will.”
    “Now you’re talking crazy.” Aiyana was much further ahead in shaping her bowl than Bailey and Elizabeth were.
    “What’s so crazy about it?” Elan asked his sister. “Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of boys have scaled the Puye Cliff dwellings. People used to live in them!”
    Aiyana eyed him smartly. “Yeah, but they’re closed to the public now because it’s too dangerous.”
    “They’re closed to the public because people were damaging the old cliff dwellings,” Elan corrected. “They want to preserve them for history.”
    “And
because it’s too dangerous,” Aiyana countered. “Mama says people were afraid they’d get taken to court if someone climbed up there and fell.”
    “Sounds like there were several reasons to close the cliff dwellings to the public,” Elizabeth put in. “I’m sure you’re both right.”
    Bailey breathed a sigh of relief that Elizabeth was stepping into the brother and sister squabble. She knew her friend was a great peacemaker, a quality she hoped she’d learn someday. But for now, she usually found