A NIGHT OF SURPRISES
Late in the day half of the Pawnees withdrew toward the east. The
Sioux felt certain that they had gone to watch the buffaloes which
they had killed. The rest of the company came nearer to the timber.
Then they began to taunt and threaten the Sioux. The latter took no
notice of them. They waited anxiously for the end of the day, hoping
that darkness might make it possible to escape.
"There are not so many Pawnees; perhaps we will be able to get away,"
Little Raven said, hopefully.
"They will watch sharp," White Otter told him.
Although the company had been reduced by half, the Sioux were still
outnumbered by ten to one. They felt encouraged, however, when the
Pawnees showed no further inclination to attack them. The sun was
getting low in the west, and the day was passing. They were eager for
night.
Then, as twilight was settling upon the plain, two scouts returned
from the east. It was evident that they had brought word of great
importance. The Pawnees appeared to be much excited. They had gathered
about the scouts, and were talking earnestly. A few moments later the
Sioux were amazed to see the entire company ride off toward the east.
"Watch out, it is a trick," said Sun Bird.
"I believe those riders came back to fool us," declared Little Raven.
White Otter offered no explanation. He was watching the Pawnees with
grave interest. As they continued across the plain, an alarming
possibility flashed through his mind. He turned excitedly to his
companions.
"My brothers, I believe the Pawnees have found the Cheyenne hunters,"
he said.
"It is true," cried Sun Bird. "Perhaps the Cheyennes found those dead
buffaloes. Come, we will follow the Pawnees, and find out about it."
"Wait," said White Otter. "We must be cautious. Perhaps scouts are
watching to see what we propose to do. We will fool them. We will ride
toward the Place-where-the-warm-wind-blows. Then when it gets dark we
will circle around and come back to the place where the Pawnees killed
those buffaloes."
"It is good," said Sun Bird.
They waited a few moments longer to make sure that the Pawnees had
actually gone. Then, as they saw nothing of them, they mounted the
ponies and rode toward the south. They held the ponies to an easy
canter, and kept a sharp watch behind them. The Pawnees failed to
appear.
"Wa-kan-tun-ka, the Great Mystery, has given us our lives," declared
Sun Bird.
"It is true," said White Otter. "Perhaps we will be able to help the
Cheyennes. I believe we will find them over there near those
buffaloes."
At dark they turned sharply toward the east. They went a long way
before they finally circled toward the north. They rode in silence,
listening sharply for sounds from the Pawnees. The night was still.
"Perhaps the Cheyennes are getting ready to fight the Pawnees,"
suggested Sun Bird.
"That would be bad," declared White Otter. "If the Cheyennes are over
there we must find them, and tell them to come away. They must go to
help their people. There is little time. I am thinking about Red Dog,
and the women and children in that camp. Perhaps the Kiowas have
killed them."
When they finally drew near the place where the Pawnees had killed the
buffaloes, they stopped to listen. Then, as they heard nothing to
alarm them, they advanced with great caution. The sky was bright with
stars, and they were able to see a short distance through the night.
They knew that they were to the eastward of the place where they had
first seen the buffaloes.
"Pretty soon we will circle around, and go over there," said White
Otter.
They turned toward the west, and soon came in sight of the ridge from
which they had discovered the Pawnee hunters. A few moments later a
pony called within bowshot of them. They stopped in alarm. Then a
voice challenged softly from the darkness. Little Raven recognized the
Pawnee dialect. He immediately replied.
"It is good, my brother," he said in the Pawnee tongue. "Where are our
enemies?"
"They are hiding over there among the trees," said the Pawnee. "Our
brothers are watching."
"It is good," Little Raven told him. "We will go ahead. You must keep
watching."
"Who is with you?" the Pawnee inquired, curiously.
"I hear something--keep quiet," Little Raven said, craftily.
The next moment they rode up the ridge. They listened uneasily, for
they feared that the Pawnee might become suspicious and follow them.
As they heard nothing to verify their fears, they crossed the ridge
and moved stealthily out across the plain.
"Little Raven, you are as sharp as an old wolf," whispered White
Otter. "You have done a great thing. Now we know that the Cheyennes
are over there where the trees grow."
They also knew that sharp-eared Pawnee scouts were on guard, and they
feared that it would be difficult to avoid them. The Sioux moved
forward with the alert, nervous caution of frightened deer. They had
not gone far when the ponies snorted and swerved aside. They stopped
in alarm. Then they discovered one of the dead buffaloes. They had
difficulty in persuading the ponies to pass it.
"Perhaps the Pawnees will hear us," whispered Sun Bird.
"Listen," cautioned White Otter.
Some one was riding toward them. Their hearts beat wildly. They feared
to move. Many anxious moments passed. Then the sounds gradually died
away. What had become of the rider? Which way had he gone? They
listened anxiously for a clew. It was a long time before they felt
secure. Then, as the stillness continued, they moved slowly forward.
"The way is clear," White Otter whispered, finally.
They continued their perilous advance. Then they heard the cry of the
big gray timber wolf, somewhere behind them. It was the favorite
signal of the Pawnees. They feared that their foes had discovered
them. They stopped and listened. In a few moments they heard the call
farther out on the plain. The Pawnees were signaling. What did it
mean?
"Perhaps that scout back there is telling his friends about us," said
Sun Bird.
"No, no, he does not know about us," Little Raven assured him. "I
fooled him. He took us for Pawnees."
"Perhaps the Pawnees are getting ready to rush against the Cheyennes,"
said White Otter.
The possibility startled them. They realized that if the Pawnees were
closing in upon the grove there was not a moment to spare. They
stared anxiously into the night in an effort to locate the timber. It
was hidden in the darkness. There was nothing to guide them in the
proper direction. They knew that it would be easy to pass beyond it.
The blunder might prove fatal.
"We must watch sharp," whispered White Otter.
They circled cautiously until they eventually saw the clump of trees
showing darkly through the night. Then they stopped and listened
suspiciously. They felt certain that Pawnee scouts were close at hand,
and they feared colliding with them. The wolf calls had ceased. The
plain was steeped in silence. The Sioux moved forward.
"If the Pawnees find us, we must ride fast toward those trees," said
White Otter.
"Perhaps the Cheyennes will take us for Pawnees, and kill us," Little
Raven told him.
"When we get close we will call out and tell them who we are," replied
White Otter.
They advanced directly toward the timber. There was not a sound. The
silence aroused their suspicions. Were the Pawnees, too, advancing
toward the grove? They wondered if a company of those crafty foes had
dismounted, and were creeping quietly forward under cover of the
darkness. Alert to catch the slightest sound, the three daring scouts
moved on. When they were near the timber they stopped. They felt sure
that the Cheyennes were watching at the edge of the grove. They
believed that it would be perilous to go nearer without warning them.
Still they feared to call. They listened for sounds from their
friends. The grove was silent.
"Stay here with the ponies," White Otter whispered. "I will crawl
ahead, and find our friends. If the Pawnees come, ride to the trees."
He left his pony with Sun Bird, and disappeared into the shadows.
Realizing that the Cheyennes might take him for a foe, he feared to
make the slightest sound. When he was close upon the grove he stopped
to listen. The silence continued. White Otter dropped to his hands and
knees and crept still nearer. He was within a few bow lengths of the
timber. Each moment he expected to hear the subdued murmur of voices,
or the restless stamping of ponies. He heard neither. The stillness
puzzled him.
"Ho, Cheyennes, I am a Dacotah," he called, softly. "I have come to
help you."
He waited in great suspense. There was no reply. Had the Cheyennes
failed to hear him? Were they unfamiliar with his words? He knew that
many of the Cheyennes understood and spoke the Dacotah dialect. He
crept forward until he was within leaping distance of the trees. Then
he repeated his message. Again it went unanswered.
"It is mysterious," he murmured, uneasily.
While he waited, the cry of the timber wolf sounded across the plain.
It made him impatient. He feared that the Pawnees were preparing to
charge upon the grove. His fears were strengthened a moment afterward
when the cry was repeated from another part of the plain. Twice more
it rang ominously through the night; each time from a different
direction. White Otter believed that the Pawnees were ready to
advance. There was no time for further caution. He rose, and ran
recklessly to the edge of the timber.
"Cheyennes, I am a Dacotah, hold your arrows!" he cried.
There was no one there. White Otter hurried into the grove, calling
the Cheyennes. They failed to answer. He circled frantically through
the timber. The grove was deserted. He was overcome with astonishment.
For a moment he stood staring wildly into the shadows. Then he was
roused by the sound of ponies. They were close by. He ran to the
plain. Sun Bird and Little Raven met him.
"There is no one here--the Cheyennes have gone," White Otter told
them.
They heard him in amazed silence. The announcement overwhelmed them.
They had expected to find a strong force of Cheyennes waiting at the
edge of the grove.
"Well, there is no time to talk about it," Sun Bird said, anxiously.
"Listen, the Pawnees are closing in. That is why we came ahead."
"Yes, I hear them," replied White Otter. "If we stay here they will
surely catch us. We must try to get away."
"It will be a hard thing to do," Sun Bird told him. "The Pawnees are
all around us."
They heard the boastful war songs of their foes echoing weirdly across
the plain. It was evident that the Pawnees saw little need of caution.
Believing that they had trapped the Cheyennes in the timber, they were
riding boldly forward to attack them. For an instant the Sioux forgot
their peril in their joy at the escape of their friends. Then they
realized that they had run into the trap from which the Cheyennes had
apparently escaped.
"The Pawnees are getting close, we must go," said White Otter.
"Watch out for scouts," Sun Bird cautioned him.
Once again the Sioux rode carefully across the plain. This time they
turned directly toward the east. They knew that the Pawnees were
riding to meet them. There seemed little chance of avoiding an
encounter. The possibilities filled them with gloomy misgivings. Once
discovered, they feared that they would be surrounded and speedily
annihilated. Still they believed that it would have been even more
perilous to have taken shelter in the grove. Their one chance was to
slip between the Pawnees in the darkness.
The Sioux were many arrow flights from the timber when they finally
stopped to listen. The ponies raised their heads. The Sioux drew
tightly on the lariats to prevent an outcry. Then they looked
anxiously for their foes. They failed to discover them.
"Watch out, they are close by," whispered White Otter.
Then they heard the Pawnee ponies. They were coming directly toward
them. The Sioux crowded closely together, and waited. They had drawn
their arrows, and were prepared to make a fierce fight. The moments
seemed endless. At last they heard the Pawnees talking. An instant
later a rider confronted them. Before he had recovered from his
surprise, the Sioux swept him aside, and broke through the circle of
foes. Lashing their ponies to desperate speed, they rode safely away
before the Pawnees recovered from their bewilderment.
"Ride fast!" cried White Otter. "Some of those warriors will follow
us."
They had not gone an arrow flight before they heard a company of
Pawnees racing after them. Determined to hold their lead, they forced
the ponies to still greater speed. Then they heard the great company
of Pawnees thundering toward the timber. They chuckled gleefully.
"They will find out something big," laughed Sun Bird.
In a few moments the night rang with the shouts of the Pawnees. They
were attacking the grove. The Sioux listened with keen satisfaction.
Then the noise suddenly subsided. Having encountered no resistance, it
was apparent that the bewildered Pawnees were investigating. As the
stillness continued, the Sioux felt certain that the Pawnees were
racing silently about the plain in an effort to find their foes.
"Now we must fool those warriors behind us," said White Otter.
He turned sharply toward the north. Then they listened to learn if the
Pawnees had followed them. Their hearts filled with joy as they heard
them racing away toward the east.
"We are safe!" Little Raven cried, joyously.
"Yes, we got away from them," said White Otter.