DARING SCOUTS
At dark White Otter called the Cheyennes to assemble in the ravine.
Then he announced his plans.
"My brothers, I am going to the Kiowa camp to find out about Red Dog,"
he said. "I will try to find out about the ponies. Then I will come
back and tell you what to do. You must wait here. Keep a sharp watch.
Do not let the Kiowas find you. If you hear them coming, ride away to
that place where the trees are. If I do not come back before another
sun goes away you will know that something bad has happened to me. I
will watch out. I do not believe the Kiowas will catch me. Now I am
going to ask Sun Bird and Little Raven to go with me. Sun Bird knows
about that camp. Little Raven will help us with the ponies. Now, my
friends, I am going away. Pretty soon I will come back and tell you
about Red Dog."
When Running Crow told the plan to the Cheyennes, they expressed their
disapproval. Most of them wished to accompany White Otter on the
perilous expedition. They believed that it would be foolhardy for the
three Sioux to go without them.
"White Otter, I will tell you how my brothers feel about this thing,"
said Running Crow. "They say that it would be foolish for the Dacotahs
to go to that camp alone. The Kiowas are watching. Perhaps you will
meet them. There will be only three of you. There will be many Kiowas.
Perhaps you will be killed. Then your people will say, 'The Cheyennes
held back. They were afraid. They sent our brothers ahead to die.'
Then we would feel bad. Come, take some of these brave warriors with
you. Then if the Kiowas come after you, it will be easy to get away."
"Running Crow, I have listened to your words," replied White Otter.
"If too many of us go to do this thing, the Kiowas will hear us. We
must not let them know that we are here until we are ready to rush
into the camp. Do not feel afraid. Nothing will happen to me. Once I
went to that camp with my brother Sun Bird, and took away ponies. I
will go there again."
"Well, my brother, I see that you propose to go ahead with this thing,
so I will not talk any more against it," said Running Crow.
"It is good," declared White Otter.
Soon afterward the three Sioux scouts rode away. When they were a
bowshot from the ravine White Otter turned toward the south. He felt
quite certain that the Kiowas would expect the Cheyennes from the
north or the west, and he believed it would be safer to approach the
camp from the southward.
"Yes, it is the best way to go," said Sun Bird.
They eventually circled toward the east, and crossed the ridge without
encountering their foes. Then they rode cautiously in the direction of
the Kiowa camp. They knew that it was located beside a wide stream to
the eastward of another low ridge. Having passed the scouts, the Sioux
hoped to reach the second ridge without being discovered. It seemed a
long time before it finally loomed up before them. Then they stopped.
The camp was only a short distance away. White Otter suddenly began to
sniff.
"So-ta, smoke," he said.
The wind was blowing toward them, and they caught the odor from the
Kiowa fires. They spent some time listening for voices from the ridge.
The way appeared to be clear. They rode slowly forward. They had gone
only a short distance when White Otter suddenly stopped his pony, and
dismounted.
"It would be foolish to ride closer to that place," he said, softly.
"I believe scouts are watching on the top of that hill. If we ride
over there they will hear the ponies. I will tell you what I propose
to do. Little Raven, you must stay here with the ponies. Sun Bird, you
must go ahead with me. Little Raven, you must listen sharp. If you
hear anyone coming toward you ride away. Do not let the Kiowas know
who you are. When we come back we will make the call of To-ka-la, the
little gray fox. Now we will go ahead."
"I will keep your words," Little Raven said, quietly.
White Otter and Sun Bird disappeared. A few moments later they stopped
at the base of the ridge to listen. The silence reassured them, and
they crawled cautiously up the slope. Once at the top, they looked
eagerly toward the east. They located the camp by the glow from the
fires. Then they saw them twinkling far away among the trees. They
watched with the grim, silent satisfaction of a panther that has
discovered its prey.
"Come," whispered White Otter. "We will go down there and look for
the ponies. Then we will crawl up to the camp and try to find out
about Red Dog."
They moved carefully down the ridge, and hurried across the plain. On
a former expedition they had learned that the Kiowas pastured their
ponies to the northward of the camp, and they turned in that
direction. They had no thought of attempting to run off the ponies,
however, for they realized that such a maneuver would cost the life of
the Cheyenne chief. Besides, they felt certain that the piebald and
the roan and the best of the Cheyenne war ponies had been taken to the
camp for safe keeping. They believed that the rest of the stolen
ponies were with the great herd of Kiowa ponies that were turned loose
upon the plain in the vicinity of the village. White Otter was eager
to locate them so that the Cheyennes would know exactly where to find
them when they came to attack the camp.
"Perhaps the Kiowas drove them close to the lodges," suggested Sun
Bird.
"Yes, it may be true," said White Otter.
They circled carefully about the plain, searching for the ponies, but
were unable to find them. They finally became convinced that the
crafty Kiowas had driven them close to the camp. It was the usual
precaution in times of danger.
"Well, we will not look any more," said White Otter. "The night is
passing. There is little time. Come, my brother, we will creep up
close to the camp. Perhaps we will find the ponies there."
They turned toward the Kiowa village, and advanced with great caution.
They stopped many times to make sure that the way was open, before
they finally came within bow shot of the camp. It was located in a
grove of cottonwoods that lined the banks of a stream. The lodges
showed distinctly in the light from the fires, but the trees made it
difficult to see into the village.
"We must go closer," declared White Otter.
At that moment a dog began to bark, and they stopped in alarm. Had the
dog caught their scent? Their hopes weakened at the thought. They
listened, fearfully, expecting to hear the other dogs take up the
challenge. Their fears, however, were not confirmed. The dog soon
became quiet. The peril had passed.
"It is good," whispered White Otter. "We will go ahead."
They moved through the darkness as silently as shadows, and
approached close to the edge of the timber. Then they stopped. They
were almost within leaping distance of the camp. They feared to
advance nearer because of the dogs. Then White Otter suddenly thought
of a way to overcome the peril.
"Come, my brother, we will climb into this big tree," he proposed.
"Then we can see into the camp, and the dogs will not find us."
"It is good," said Sun Bird.
They climbed noiselessly into a large cottonwood, and went
sufficiently high to obtain a splendid view of the Kiowa camp. The
Kiowas were assembled about a large fire, and a warrior whom the Sioux
took to be the chief was talking excitedly. In a few moments they
recognized him. They had outwitted him several years before.
"Hi, I know that warrior--it is 'The Lame Wolf,'" laughed Sun Bird.
"Yes, I see who it is," replied White Otter.
A moment afterward they made a still more interesting discovery. They
saw a number of ponies tied at one end of the camp, and among them
they identified the piebald and the roan. They were tied before a
lodge, and the Sioux believed that the Kiowa who occupied it was the
one who had taken the ponies from the Cheyenne camp.
"Pretty soon we will take them away," said Sun Bird.
White Otter kept still. He was searching the camp for Red Dog. The
Cheyenne chief was not in sight. White Otter became alarmed. He
wondered if the Kiowas had already killed their prisoner. The
possibility staggered him. He fastened his attention upon the man who
was addressing his people. He appeared to be telling them something
important. They were listening with serious attention. The entire
tribe seemed to have assembled at the council fire, for the Sioux saw
men, women and children in the group. Then the speaker suddenly
pointed toward one of the lodges, and the Sioux looked eagerly in the
direction. A moment afterward the robe was drawn from the doorway of
the lodge, and three warriors appeared. The Sioux instantly recognized
one as Red Dog.
"Watch sharp!" said White Otter.
The appearance of the Cheyenne chief threw the Kiowas into a turmoil.
They rose to their feet, and began to shout, and jeer, and threaten
their foe. The latter walked slowly forward between his guards. He was
badly crippled and walked with difficulty, and the Kiowas laughed at
his misfortune. Several boys followed behind him, mimicking his gait.
The eyes of the Sioux flashed dangerously.
"I would like to kill those people," declared Sun Bird.
"Wait," White Otter said, grimly.
Red Dog was led to the council fire. The Kiowas immediately began to
threaten him. They crowded closely about him, shouting and shaking
their fists, but the Cheyenne appeared calm and fearless. Then the
warrior whom the Sioux had recognized called out sharply, and the
Kiowas fell back. A moment afterward he addressed the prisoner. The
Sioux wondered if he was speaking in the Cheyenne dialect. Red Dog
gave no indication that he understood him. When the Kiowa finally
paused, and appeared to be waiting for a reply, the Cheyenne remained
silent. The Kiowa laughed scornfully, and turned away. Then Red Dog
was taken back to the lodge.
The Sioux felt greatly relieved. They believed that Red Dog would be
spared for the night at least. The thought gave them hope. They
believed that the following night they might be able to rescue him
from his predicament.
"We have found out what we wished to know," said White Otter. "Come,
we will go and tell the Cheyennes about it."
"Yes, we must get far away before the light comes," declared Sun Bird.
They were about to descend, when they suddenly heard voices. The
speakers were approaching the camp. They were close to the tree in
which the Sioux had concealed themselves. The latter waited anxiously
for the prowlers to pass. They believed that they were scouts who had
been watching on the plain. Then the voices ceased, and the Sioux
became uneasy. They wondered if the scouts had gone. They watched to
see them enter the camp. Long moments passed. The scouts failed to
appear. The Sioux wondered what had become of them. Then they heard
them talking directly beneath them. They had stopped at the tree. The
Sioux wondered if they had been discovered. They feared to move. At
last they heard the Kiowas passing on. A moment afterward they saw two
warriors enter the camp.
"Now we will go," said White Otter.
They descended from the tree, and sped safely into the night. Dawn
was almost at hand when they finally found Little Raven.
"You have come--it is good," he said. "Did you find Red Dog?"
"Yes, we saw Red Dog in the Kiowa camp," White Otter told him.
"Did you see the ponies?"
"Yes, our ponies are in that camp," said Sun Bird.
"Hi, that is good," declared Little Raven.
"Did anything happen to you?" White Otter asked him, as they rode
toward the Cheyennes.
"No, nothing happened to me," said Little Raven. "I listened sharp,
but I did not hear anything."