"It is time to travel. We must hurry. When we get to the town, we must find food and blankets."
"Find them?" Matthew's expression was puzzled. "You can't just find those kinds of things. We are gonna buy them?" Matthew asked him.
"I have no white money to buy with, no, we will steal them." Hawk announced.
"But stealin' is wrong." Matthew said, wide-eyed now.
"It is the only way. You want to save your mother, don't you?"
"Yeah…sure but…"
"Then we steal."
"I ain't never stole nothin'." Matthew told him. "Never!"
"I will teach you how."
"If Ma knew this, she'd be mad." Matthew looked at him strangely. "She'd skin both of us alive."
"Perhaps, but since I have no white money, I have nothing of value that the white man would want to trade, then I must steal and be quick about it." Hawk explained. "It means their lives, Matthew!"
Matthew nodded. "Okay, you just tell me what we gotta do then…"
Hawk smiled. "All you have to do, is distract the white people, I will steal, not you."
"Oh, yeah, I can do that." Matthew sighed, happy that he didn't have to do the stealing.
"Good, we must hurry." They moved on quickly, and by the time the town was in sight, Matthew was breathless and it was getting dark.
"It's late, the store is closed by now…" Matthew said. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow won't we?"
"It is good that it is dark, we sneak in, and sneak out before anyone even sees us." He instructed. "No one will be hurt. It is good."
Matthew stayed right behind Hawk, following in his footsteps.
As they got to the store, Hawk tried the door. It was locked. Matthew whispered, "Check above the door for a key. That's where Mr. Jones keeps it."
Hawk did and found it.
They went inside as no one was about. So they helped themselves to several blankets and a basket of food. Quickly they went out the same way they came and put the key back where they found it.
Hawk motioned to Matthew to be quiet and they scampered back into the woods.
"Now we must hurry," Hawk told him.
"Why?"
"Because I will be expected and they might decide to hurt your mother and Jane Ann if I don't get back soon." Hawk explained.
Traveling all night though was hard for Matthew as he wasn't used to running so much. Somehow, he managed to keep up with Hawk and when they reached the edge of the Indian camp, he felt exhausted.
Just then a deer happened by, and Hawk shot it with his bow and arrow.
"That will be right tasty." Matthew exclaimed.
"It is not for us. I take it to them for food. To trade."
"Oh."