As his mother embraced him, Okwaho saw through the entrance into the stockade a woman coming out of the Snipe Clan longhouse. She stopped to stand unmoving in front of the door. Her name was Bird Flying and she was the mother of Tawis. The look on her face—seeing Okwaho alone without her son—was not one of joy.

Tawis, Okwaho thought.

Immediately, all the pain he’d been holding back flooded his heart. Tawis, his best friend. They had been friends since they’d been able to take their first steps. It was Tawis who, at the age of only two winters, walked over to him as he sat outside by the fire and smiled at him. Then Tawis had handed him a ball.

His mother saw the distress in his face. She leaned over and took him gently by the arm.

“Was it Atatarho?” she asked. “Has he finally decided to . . .”

“No.” Okwaho said. “Enemies . . . enemies surprised us as we were fishing. They were Standing Stone People, Oneidas. Just three of them. They know where our village is. And they captured Tawis and I . . . I . . .” His voice choked and he could not say more.

“You escaped,” his mother whispered into his ear. She held him for a time without speaking, then she loosened her embrace.

She turned to look at Okwaho’s father. He and four of the strongest and fastest men in the village had now gathered near the gate. They’d heard what Okwaho said. It was clear they’d made a plan quickly to go in pursuit of the Standing Stone war party.

But Holds the Door Open and the four other men stood there waiting. A decision such as this could not be made by men alone. In their little breakaway village where there were no elders, Wolf Woman had become the head clan mother. Did she agree?

She held up both hands and swung them toward the woods. As one, the men turned and began running, disappearing onto the forest trail. If they were lucky—or unlucky, for when there was fighting someone always would get hurt—they might catch up with the raiding party before night. Though their village was devoted to avoiding aggression, seeking to rescue someone just taken captive was a different thing. If they caught up to the Standing Stone party, perhaps there would be no fight. Faced by an equal or larger force of strong men—they might just release their captive and retreat.

Even in these days when fighting seemed to be everywhere, it was the job of any man leading a raiding party to keep his men safe. Losing even one man in battle was a disgraceful thing.

If only I could go with them, Okwaho thought, feeling the anger building inside him like a tightly clenched fist. I would strike them hard!

Wolf Woman gently pulled him back.

“Come,” she said. “You need to tell Bird Flying what happened to her son.”