Young Crow Raider

by Francis Lynde Kroll

“I’ll do my best,” Bent Arrow promised.

Clawing Bear made the sign of dismissal. Bent Arrow got to his feet and stepped out of the tepee. He looked about the camp to see what the other boys were doing. There were two younger boys playing near one of the tepees, but Bent Arrow could see none of the boys of his own age. He remembered that they had planned to hunt rabbits. He knew where they would be hunting, but it was too late to join them. The sun was so warm that Bent Arrow decided this would be a good time to practice diving. He hurried through the camp and along the path to the river.

Usually, the chief in charge of a hunting party selected a place along the river for a camp. Chief Barking Wolf had chosen a place near a spring and back a short distance from the river. Bent Arrow went to the top of the low hill which was between the camp and the river. As soon as he was at the top of the hill, he began to run. He raced to the riverbank, leaped high, and dived into the water. It was a clean dive, barely making a splash.

“If I dive that well tomorrow, the other boys won’t get to duck me,” he thought, as he rose to the surface.

He climbed out of the river, went up the hill, and again made a running dive. This was a good dive, too. He climbed up onto the bank and rested. The camp swimming teacher had been urging the boys to practice swimming under water. Bent Arrow decided that he would make one more practice dive. If it proved as good as the others, he would see how far he could swim under water.

To make the practice more fun, he pretended that he was escaping from enemies. When he was ready to dive, he bent low and ran as hard as he could. His dive carried him well out into the river. He knifed into the water with no more splash than a jumping fish would have made. He held his breath and swam under water with the current. He stayed under until it seemed his lungs would burst. At last he let his head rise above the surface enough so that he could breathe. While he gulped fresh air, Bent Arrow’s eyes were measuring the distance he had covered. He had swum much farther under water than he had supposed he could. Keeping up his game of escape, he sank below the surface again.

The next time he was forced to raise his head, he found that he was below the first bend. That was almost as well as a warrior could do. He noticed a clump of brush overhanging the river near him. If he really were a warrior trying to escape from enemies, that would be the place to leave the water. He swam toward the shore and managed to grasp one of the low-hanging branches. Carefully he pulled himself out of the water onto the bank. He crept behind the clump of brush and stretched out to rest.

Bent Arrow lay still, letting the sun warm and dry him. As long as he pretended that enemies were following him, it was easy for him to lie quiet. Suddenly he heard a faint splash which sounded as though it might be near the other bank of the river. He was almost certain that the splash had been made by a jumping fish, but an escaping warrior would neglect no precaution. Cautiously Bent Arrow raised his head until he could see between the branches of the sheltering bush. He jerked his head down as suddenly as though he were ducking an arrow. He had seen a Sioux warrior bending down to drink on the other side of the river.

Bent Arrow raised his head until he could see