boundary issued the "sky-tinted waters" of the
Minnesota River.

As they hurried through the timber belt that bordered the river's edge,
Raven Wing remarked, "they may come down in the marsh."

Ice still lay thick upon the lake, but on the shallower waters it had
begun to melt under the increasing warmth of the sun.

"Can they see us?" asked Hawk Eye as Raven Wing, who was in the lead,
stopped at the further end of the grove.

"No. We have yet time to run across this open space," answered the
younger boy.

On reaching a thicket of willows, the boys halted; then crept in to
almost the edge of a frozen stretch of swamp.

"Here they come!" whispered Raven Wing. As the flock settled on the
marshland, Hawk Eye fitted an arrow to his bow. "I'll take the one close
to the leader," he said. Almost simultaneously Raven Wing let fly his
arrow. The feathered ash wood shafts sped to their marks and two birds
fluttered and fell to earth. Alarmed at the fall of their comrades, the
flock rose in the air, but before they could get beyond arrow range, two
more birds dropped to earth.

"We've outwitted Slow Dog," chuckled Hawk Eye, as he made his way over
the half-frozen ground to pick up his birds.

"He must return empty-handed," laughed Raven Wing, retrieving his
arrows from the birds he had slain. "What do you intend to do with your
first kill?" he asked.

"Give it to Old Smoky Wolf," answered Hawk Eye. "The goose first slain
in the Spring is always made the occasion for a feast."

"I will give mine to my stepfather, Black Eagle," said Raven Wing. "He
will be our chief when Old Smoky Wolf takes the trail of departed
warriors."

"Because you have outwitted him, Slow Dog will now bear another grudge
against you," went on Hawk Eye.

"Perhaps it were better had I not seen the geese," sighed Raven Wing. "I
would not be the cause for further trouble between him and my
stepfather."

"Slow Dog would find one if it suited his fancy," said Hawk Eye. "He has
a tongue with two ends, like a serpent's. But he has no need to look for
an excuse. He has not forgotten that it was you who discovered the
buffalo herd during the great blizzard and so saved us all from
starvation. Had you not done so, he would have succeeded in convincing
many that the famine had been sent by the gods to punish us all for
allowing your mother to hunt with the men. You, he hates. But for you,
he might have persuaded the tribe to elect him chief in place of