Bright Morning begins repairing two blankets by using bits of a third. She also starts to store food a pinch or two at a time, saving up for their escape and the journey ahead. She tells Tall Boy about her plan, but he insists the soldiers will catch them if they try to leave and refuses the idea of escaping. One day, they are cutting wood when an Apache man tries to take the wood from them. Tall Boy beats the man with a piece of wood, and that night, soldiers take Tall Boy away. The next day, their captors take Bright Morning and her father to a hearing with an officer. She says that her name is Bright Morning and does not give the officer her real name. She explains that the Apache’s injuries are his own fault, which annoys the officer. As the soldiers lead them away, Bright Morning’s father insists Tall Boy will return home soon.

Bright Morning continues to secretly store supplies. She finds one of the Long Knives’ bayonets and hides it. One night, Tall Boy comes back to them suddenly. He escaped through a hole in the wall of the soldiers’ fort, and he believes he has until morning before they realize he is gone.