The third man laughed. “Listen to him. Brave.”

Okwaho reached up to grasp the roots above him. There looked to be enough space for him to pull himself up. He put one foot on a root that extended underwater, then lifted himself a finger’s width at a time. Before long, his head and shoulders were above water. Still without making a sound, he pushed and pulled himself farther up until his whole upper body was out. The wide tree trunk still blocked his view. He leaned carefully to one side to look around the old tree. Now he could see the opposite bank.

There stood the three men, at the edge of the stream. One of them, perhaps the one with the calm voice, was holding Tawis by one arm. He was a tall, good-looking man, with blue curving lines, each ending in a star, tattooed across his cheeks. There was a smile on his face. In another circumstance, he appeared to be someone who would be pleasant to meet. That was not true of the other two men. One of them, the broad-shouldered one with big muscles, wore a scowl on his face. The second man was the tallest of the three. His head was shaved and half of his face was painted black. His face was expressionless, his eyes shining like those of a snake.

“It will do you no good to stay silent,” he said. “Even if your friend gets away now, we will get him later. We’ve seen how small your little village is. When we decide to come back with a large war party, we will get him after we have killed your few warriors.”

Hearing those words, Okwaho’s heart sank. I should go back to our little village and warn everyone. But how can I leave Tawis?

Not sure what he should do, Okwaho pulled himself up a little farther, starting to swing up and free his legs. But as he did so, one of the roots he was holding broke with a sharp snap. Okwaho froze.

Three pairs of eyes turned quickly in his direction. But not the eyes of Tawis.

“RUN!” Tawis shouted as he yanked his arm so quickly that he freed himself from the grasp of Calm Voice. Then he threw himself at the legs of the other two, sending them backward into the stream.

Okwaho had no weapon. He was only a boy and they were three grown men. And so, not so much because he wished to save himself, but more because he wanted to honor his friend’s brave sacrifice, he knew he should do as Tawis said. He pushed himself up, scrambled to his feet.

“Hah-ah,” Calm Voice laughed, grabbing Tawis by both arms. “You see what I mean. My mother will love this boy. You two catch his friend. Running will dry you out.”