THE LONE RIDER
After Running Dog had left them, Sun Bird made preparations to resume
their advance toward the distant Blackfeet camp. Profiting by the
warning which the scouts had brought, the cautious young war leader
determined to make every provision for the safety of the war party. In
addition to the two expert scouts riding along each flank, Sun Bird
appointed a strong rear guard under command of Sitting Eagle. Then, as a
further precaution against blundering into a trap, he asked White Otter
and Little Raven to accompany him on a reconnaissance far in advance of
the war party.
"My brothers, you must wait here until we are far ahead," he told the
Minneconjoux, as he rode away.
Once beyond sight of their comrades, the three young scouts realized
that their mission was a perilous one. They had little doubt that foes
were on both sides of them, and it was possible that the Sioux war
party had already been discovered. In that event there was great
probability that crafty foes might circle around behind them, and
separate them from their companions.
"We must watch sharp," cautioned Sun Bird.
He hoped to lead the war party within an easy day's travel of the
Blackfeet camp. Then he planned to go into hiding and send scouts under
cover of the darkness to locate the Blackfeet ponies and reconnoiter
about the village. In the meantime Sun Bird realized the constant peril
of colliding with his enemies. However, he relied upon the skill and
daring of his scouts to give him timely warning of an approaching war
party. As they were riding cautiously across the plain they again saw
the war eagle circling high up toward the eastward. They stopped and
watched it with great interest.
"See! our brother, Huya, has come down out of the clouds," said Sun
Bird. "I believe he is flying around over there to show us where our
enemies are hiding."
Soon afterward they saw a solitary horseman ride over a distant rise of
the plain. He quickly discovered them, and immediately stopped his pony.
For some moments he continued to watch them. Then he turned about and
galloped from view. The Sioux also had stopped at sight of the
stranger, and now that he had disappeared Sun Bird was at a loss to
determine just what to do. The rider had been too far away to be
identified, but his actions made it plain that he was neither Feather
Dog nor Proud Hawk.
"Perhaps he is one of the scouts that Feather Dog told about," suggested
Little Raven.
"Yes, that may be true," said Sun Bird. "White Otter, what do you make
of it?"
"I do not know what to make of it," acknowledged White Otter. "That man
saw us. If he is a scout he will go to tell his people about us. It is
bad. We must watch sharp."
"We are scouts," said Sun Bird. "We must tell our brothers about this
thing."
"It is the best thing to do," agreed White Otter.
"I will go back, and tell them about it," Little Raven volunteered.
As the others agreed, he immediately turned his pony, and rode back to
warn the war party. The main company of Minneconjoux had not come in
sight, and Sun Bird and White Otter felt somewhat anxious for the safety
of the youthful scout who had gone to meet his tribesmen. If a strong
force of foes were loitering in the vicinity, it would be easy for them
to intercept the solitary Minneconjoux. In spite of his youthfulness,
however, Little Raven was an experienced warrior, and Sun Bird felt
certain that he was competent to look after himself in an emergency.
"Sun Bird, I believe that warrior is watching over the top of that
hill," White Otter declared, suspiciously.
"How do you know that?" Sun Bird inquired, anxiously.
"I do not know it, but I believe I saw him peeping over the top of that
hill," replied White Otter.
They looked anxiously toward the grassy knoll, and strained their eyes
to discover the skulking foe. The thought that he was watching made them
uneasy, and they were eager to learn if their suspicions were true. It
was some moments before White Otter finally became convinced.
"Yes, I see him," he declared, positively. "He is peeping over the top
of that hill. I see his head over there near that little bush. Watch
sharp."
"Yes, yes, I see his head," Sun Bird declared, a moment later.
Convinced that the mysterious horseman really was watching them, they
believed that he was waiting to learn if they were followed by a larger
company. They had little doubt that he was a scout reconnoitering in
advance of a force of their foes.
"It is bad," White Otter said, uneasily. "That man saw Little Raven ride
away. He will know that some one is following behind us. He will watch
until our friends come. Then he will tell his people about it."
"Yes, I see that it is bad," said Sun Bird. "Perhaps if we ride over
there we can chase him away."
"Come," White Otter proposed, recklessly.
As they cantered briskly toward the knoll, the scout withdrew from
sight. They felt quite sure that he had merely slipped farther down the
opposite side of the ridge, and was still peering cautiously over the
top. As they felt convinced that the horseman was alone, they had little
fear of running into an ambush. When they got within arrow range,
however, they approached with great care. As a precaution against
attack, they separated and rode forward several arrow flights apart.
Once at the foot of the slope they rushed their ponies to the top, and
prepared to attack whoever confronted them. The scout, however, was
nowhere in sight. They searched the plain in vain; the mysterious
stranger had entirely disappeared. For a moment or so they were
completely baffled. Then White Otter suddenly smiled, and nodded
understandingly.
"I know about it," he told Sun Bird.
"Tell me," Sun Bird asked, eagerly.
"That scout is very sharp," declared White Otter. "He has thrown his
pony, and he is hiding over there in that high grass."
"Yes, I believe that is where he is hiding," agreed Sun Bird.
The spot where they believed the scout had concealed himself was many
arrow flights away, and they knew it would be difficult to discover him
at that distance. They felt almost certain, however, that he was still
watching them from his new hiding place. The thought disturbed them. His
persistence made them suspicious. They wondered if he were trying to
fool them with some wily bit of stratagem.
"Well, we will ride over there and chase him out," proposed Sun Bird.
They had not gone an arrow flight, when a pony suddenly rose to its feet
in the long grass. An instant later the rider sprang upon its back and
raced away toward the south. He was too far in the lead to be easily
overtaken, and besides, the Sioux realized that it would be perilous to
follow him. They watched, therefore, while he sped across the plain.
"We have chased him away--it is good," said Sun Bird.
"Perhaps something bad will come of it," White Otter warned him. "If
that man is a Blackfoot, he will tell his people about us. Then it will
be hard to get near the camp."
"Perhaps he is a Crow," Sun Bird suggested, hopefully.
"Lean Wolf has told us that the Crows are over there," White Otter
reminded him, as he pointed toward the west.
"That is true," agreed Sun Bird. "But perhaps they sent scouts over here
to look for the Blackfeet."
White Otter remained silent. The appearance and the actions of the
unknown scout had made him wary. He feared that the Sioux war party was
in imminent danger of being surrounded and attacked by a superior force
of foes. The possibility distressed him. There seemed little chance of
avoiding the peril.
"Sun Bird, I believe the best thing to do is to find our people," White
Otter declared, finally. "Perhaps Lean Wolf and Feather Dog have told
them something."
"Yes, we will go to find our brothers," agreed Sun Bird.