"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 Old Smoky Wolf."
"He hates Black Eagle," said Raven Wing, sadly.
"Because he knows our warriors will choose Black Eagle to succeed Old Smoky Wolf," added Hawk Eye.
As the boys neared camp, Slow Dog came out of the bushes by the river bank. A scowl spread over his face on seeing the dead geese. "He is a great hunter when the birds fly down to be killed," he sneered.
SLOW DOG CAME OUT OF THE BUSHES BY THE RIVER BANK.
"Had they not changed their course, your arrow would have slain one," answered Raven Wing, quietly.
Slow Dog turned on his heel and walked to his tepee. The two boys continued on their way. Presently they halted beside Old Smoky Wolf's lodge. At the sound of approaching footsteps, the aged chief had bade his wife go out to greet whoever the visitors might be.
Hawk Eye handed her one of the birds he had slain. "'Tis the first goose brought to earth. Hawk Eye would present it to our chief," explained the boy. As he and Raven Wing were about to turn away, Old Smoky Wolf appeared in the doorway of the lodge. He gravely thanked Hawk Eye on learning of the gift.