True Son knew he was getting sick. It had been a long time since he left his Indian family, and he had not heard from them. He remembered his old life with longing, and he convinced himself that he would hear from his family by spring.

Eventually that time passed, and now he realizes he is “dead to his Indian people.” Even worse, True Son senses that his Indian spirit has been tamed by the white man. He has even wielded a hoe, something Cuyloga told him was beneath a man’s dignity. True Son wants only to obey the voice inside him that says he must let himself sink into the darkness and escape the prison cell of his bedroom.

Tonight, however, he is vaguely aware that something unusual has happened. He hears horses and a commotion below him, and soon Gordie comes to tell him that Aunt Kate saw an Indian looking through the kitchen window; she shooed him off with her broom.

True Son allows the hard knot inside him to melt a bit, and he feels the first stirrings of hope. After Gordie is asleep next to him, True Son gets up slowly, adjusting to moving once again. He puts on his Indian clothes and climbs out the window. He stops in a field and gives a familiar call; finally Half Arrow cautiously answers him.

True Son wants to take Half Arrow back to his home, but Half Arrow hesitates. He is unwilling to tell True Son that Half Crane is dead until he takes his cousin to Little Crane’s body. When True Son asks how Little Crane died, Half Arrow explains what happened after the two friends arrived in town last night. He tells True Son the two stories Little Crane told Owens, thinking they were humorous and harmless. In fact, the stories incensed Owens, who does not understand Indians’ humor.

Rage burns in True Son’s breast when he sees that Little Crane was scalped. After they give their friend a fitting burial, the boys go to the Owens’ house and Uncle Wilse appears at the door but does not recognize True Son at first. He says Little Crane will not be causing any more trouble; then he recognizes his nephew and grabs him.

Half Arrow emerges from the shadows and strikes Wilse, but Wilse is a large man and nearly kills both boys. Half Arrow escapes the man’s grip and strikes Wilse in the head with his hoop pole; when the man falls, Half Arrow prepares to cut out his heart until True Son regretfully stops him.

The boys cut off some of Wilse’s hair until someone inside the house raises the alarm. The Indian boys fade into the night and True Son takes Half Arrow to the Butlers’ barn and shows him what he has stolen from the house. Half Arrow is impressed with the rifle. The alarm has been sounded in Paxton Township as the boys make their way to the mountain.