MYSTERIOUS SIGNALS
Fearful that a company of foes might have taken shelter in the little
grove of cottonwoods, the Sioux determined to take every precaution
against a sudden attack. While Little Raven remained in the ravine
with the ponies, White Otter and Sun Bird seated themselves upon the
plain to listen for sounds from the grove. All was still. They began
to wonder if they had been needlessly alarmed. At that moment one of
the ponies whinnied softly. White Otter and Sun Bird scrambled wildly
into the gully. Little Raven had already seized the pony and turned
its head out of the wind. The other ponies also seemed restless and
nervous, and White Otter and Sun Bird attempted to quiet them.
"It is bad," White Otter said, softly. "I believe some one is riding
this way."
The thought was startling. The Sioux stood beside their ponies,
listening uneasily. One question flashed through the mind of each of
them. Were enemies approaching stealthily under cover of the
darkness? They heard nothing to give them a clew. Many moments passed.
The silence increased their suspense. They believed they were in
peril. It seemed folly to loiter in the ravine.
"Come, we will go," whispered White Otter.
They mounted the ponies and rode from the ravine. Once on the plain,
they stopped for a moment to listen. Then the pony again attempted to
call, but Little Raven silenced it with his riding quirt. The warning
was significant. The Sioux believed that strange horses were close at
hand. They turned their ponies and rode silently away into the night.
It was some time before they ventured to speak.
"Well, my brothers, I believe Ma-ya-sh came to find us," White Otter
laughed, softly, when they were beyond earshot of the ravine.
"Yes, White Otter, I believe your words were true; I believe scouts
were peeping over that ridge," Sun Bird told him.
"Do you believe they saw us?" Little Raven asked, anxiously.
"No," replied White Otter. "Perhaps they found out about our ponies."
Although they realized that it might be perilous to linger in the
vicinity, the Sioux determined to remain within sight of the grove
until they learned if their suspicions were real. When they reached a
low ridge, a considerable distance to the eastward, they decided to
stop and wait for daylight.
"See, pretty soon it will be light," said Sun Bird. "Then we will find
out if there is any one over there in that place."
When the night shadows finally lifted from the plain, White Otter and
Sun Bird concealed themselves below the crest of the ridge to watch,
while Little Raven waited at the base of the slope with the ponies.
The grove was in plain sight, and the Sioux watched expectantly.
"If there are hunters over there, pretty soon they will ride out to
look for buffaloes," said Sun Bird.
"Perhaps they are watching," White Otter reminded him.
A few moments later they saw two horsemen ride from the grove, and
turn toward the ravine. They rode across the plain at an easy canter,
and showed little caution. As they drew near the ravine, however, they
became more careful. Once within arrow range, they stopped, and it
was apparent that they were watching the top of the gully. Then they
rode slowly forward.
"Those are the scouts that peeped over that hill," declared White
Otter. "I believe they are trying to find out about us."
The horsemen had disappeared into the ravine. The Sioux had been
unable to identify them. They felt certain that the strangers would
soon find the pony tracks. The idea alarmed them.
"Perhaps they will follow us," suggested Sun Bird.
"Watch," said White Otter.
The horsemen had suddenly appeared. They had crossed the ravine, and
were riding slowly over the plain. The Sioux knew at once that they
were looking for pony tracks. It was not long before they found them.
They followed the trail a bowshot or more, and then they stopped. They
were looking directly toward the ridge. The Sioux watched them in
breathless suspense. They were straining their eyes to identify them,
but the distance made it impossible.
"I cannot tell who they are," declared White Otter. "Can you tell
about it?"
"No; they are too far away," Sun Bird told him. "Perhaps they will
come closer."
"I believe they are talking about it," said White Otter.
At that moment the horsemen turned their ponies, and galloped off
toward the west. They crossed the ravine, and rode toward the grove.
They passed it, however, and continued toward the ridge farther to the
westward. It was not long before, they disappeared.
"It is bad," declared White Otter. "Now we do not know who they are."
"Well, we know that our enemies are in this place," Sun Bird told him.
"Now it will be useless to look for the buffaloes. If Ta-tan-ka comes,
those scouts will tell their people about it. Yes, I believe they are
looking for buffaloes."
"My brother, I feel different about it," said White Otter. "Perhaps
those scouts are with a war party. Perhaps they are Pawnees. Perhaps
they are going to fight my people. I must find out about it."
Sun Bird remained silent. It was not the part of a warrior to ask
questions. He waited for White Otter to explain his plans.
"Now I will tell you what I propose to do," White Otter told him. "We
must stay here and watch. Perhaps those scouts are trying to fool us.
Perhaps they are trying to make us believe they have gone away. I
believe they are peeping over that hill."
"Well, they will not catch us," laughed Sun Bird.
While White Otter continued to watch, Sun Bird crept down the slope to
tell Little Raven about the two mysterious horsemen. The ridge to the
westward was far away, and White Otter knew that it would be
impossible to discover any one who might be hiding there. He had
little doubt that at least one of the unknown riders had stopped to
watch the plain.
"Did you see anything?" Sun Bird inquired anxiously, when he returned.
"No, I did not see anything, but I believe some one is watching over
there on that hill," White Otter told him.
"Then we must be cautious," said Sun Bird.
They watched until the day was half gone, and then, having seen
nothing to indicate that foes were loitering in the vicinity, they
began to feel somewhat reassured. They wondered if the two horsemen
might not have been stray hunters who had been led to the grove by the
antelopes. Having found the fresh pony tracks, they might have feared
to loiter in the locality. In spite of the possibility, however, the
Sioux resolved to take no chances.
"We will keep watching," declared White Otter.
Soon afterward their patience was rewarded when they saw what appeared
to be a cloud of dust or smoke rising behind the distant ridge. They
watched it with great interest. For some time it puzzled them. It was
faint and indistinct, and they wondered if it was dust raised by the
hoofs of buffaloes or ponies. Then they noted that it seemed to rise
intermittently in puffs, and continued in one particular spot.
"So-ta, smoke," White Otter said, finally.
"Yes, yes, it is smoke," agreed Sun Bird.
"Those scouts are calling their people," declared White Otter. "I
believe it is a war party."
"We will see," said Sun Bird.
In a short time the smoke faded from the sky. The Sioux felt sure that
the signal had been seen by those for whom it was intended. They had
little doubt that a company of horsemen were riding across the plain
on the other side of the ridge.
"It is bad," said White Otter. "Those scouts found pony tracks at the
place where the trees grow. They followed them to that gully. They
found them coming this way. Then they were afraid, and went to call
their people. I believe they will try to find out about us."
"Well, my brother, they are a long ways off," Sun Bird reminded him.
"We can keep away from them."
"We must stay here and watch," declared White Otter. "Perhaps it is a
big war party of Pawnees. Perhaps they are going to fight my people. I
believe something bad will come of it."
"We will keep watching until we find out about it," Sun Bird assured
him.
As time passed and they saw nothing more, White Otter became uneasy. A
disquieting possibility had suddenly presented itself to his mind. It
filled him with distrust, and awakened fears for the safety of his
people.
"I do not like this thing," he told Sun Bird. "That ridge goes a long
ways. We cannot see over it. Perhaps a war party is riding along
behind that hill. Perhaps they are going to the lodges of my people. I
would like to look over that hill, and find out about it."
"You must not try to do that," Sun Bird cautioned him. "It would be
foolish. I believe scouts are watching over there. If we show
ourselves they will come after us."
White Otter remained silent. He was worried and perplexed. He believed
that what Sun Bird had said was true. Still he knew that if a war
party of foes was moving against the Ogalala camp it was his duty to
learn of it, and carry a warning to his people. For the moment,
however, he saw no way of accomplishing it. The ridge from which he
was watching was parallel with the ridge to the westward, and there
was a wide expanse of open plain between them. To reach the other
ridge it would be necessary to ride out in full sight of any foes who
might be watching from concealment. White Otter realized that such a
maneuver would be foolhardy. He decided that it would be impossible to
do anything before nightfall.
"Yes, my brother, I see that what you say is true," he said, finally.
"The lodges of my people are three sun's travel away. It is a long
ways. A war party travels slow so that the ponies will be fresh when
the fight begins. There is only one thing to do. We must keep watching
until it gets dark. Then we will ride over that hill, and try to find
out about those people."
"I believe it is the best thing to do," said Sun Bird.
Late in the day, however, they saw something which convinced them that
the two horsemen had been part of a clever stratagem to deceive any
one who had been watching. An eagle suddenly appeared high over the
plain, and flew toward the grove of cottonwoods. It was evident that
the bird intended to alight in the timber. The Sioux watched closely.
Once above the grove, the eagle set its wings and dropped toward the
trees. Then, as it got nearer, it rose and circled far out over the
plain. The Sioux were quick to understand the significance of the
maneuver.
"Hi, Hu-ya saw something down there among the trees," White Otter
cried, excitedly.
"Yes, I believe there is something over there in that place," said Sun
Bird.
"I believe scouts are hiding there," declared White Otter. "Hu-ya has
told us about them. It is good."
They watched the grove with new interest. They knew that Hu-ya, the
great war bird, was not likely to be frightened by Ma-ya-sh, the
prairie wolf, nor Ta-to-ka-dan, the antelope, nor even by great
Ma-to-ho-ta, the bear. They felt quite certain, therefore, that Hu-ya
had discovered other enemies in the grove.
"Perhaps a war party is hiding over there," said Sun Bird. "Perhaps
they found out about the ponies. Perhaps they sent those scouts to
fool us."
"I do not believe a war party is hiding in that place," White Otter
told him. "A war party would go away while it was dark."
"Yes, I believe that is true," agreed Sun Bird.
The Sioux were perplexed. Although the actions of Hu-ya, the war bird,
led them to believe that the grove concealed some of their foes, they
were unable to guess why the latter had loitered in the timber. While
they were trying to solve the mystery they saw another smoke signal
rising behind the ridge. It appeared in the place where they had
discovered the other signal. The smoke column was light and
indistinct, and soon broke into intermittent puffs. In a few moments
it ceased.
"Now I know that some one is hiding over there where the trees grow,"
declared White Otter. "I believe they are scouts. I believe they
found out about the ponies. It made them cautious. I believe those
riders went to bring the war party. I believe, they will come to that
place when it gets dark. We must watch out."
"I believe they are Pawnees," said Sun Bird.
"I do not know who they are, but I am going to find out about it,"
White Otter told him.