Meanwhile the sentinels on the hills missed little of the movement in
the valley. They quivered with rage as the horsemen dismounted and
entered the agent's house, for that seemed a defeat for their friend;
but when the strangers remounted and rode away all were reassured, and
Two Horns said, "I will go down and see what it all means."
One by one the principal native employes reappeared. Crane's Voice came
out of the barn, where he had lain with his eyes to a crack in the wall,
and Peter Big-Voice and Robert Wolf stepped cautiously into view from
behind the slaughter-pen. Old Mary, the cook, suddenly blocked the
kitchen door-way, and, with tremulous lips, asked: "Cowboys gone?"
"Yes, all gone," replied Jennie, much amused.
"Good, good," replied the old woman.
"Where have you been, Mary?"