Little Eagle awoke as the first, faint streaks of dawn were lighting up
the eastern sky. He sat up, trying to decide what sound had wakened him.
He glanced toward the other pile of leaves and saw Angry Wolf struggling
to sit up. Angry Wolf managed to raise his head, but immediately let it
sink back upon the leaves.
“Where am I?” Angry Wolf asked weakly when Little Eagle bent over him.
“We’re camping by ourselves,” Little Eagle answered.
“Where are—” Angry Wolf began but stopped when Little Eagle raised his
finger to his lips in the signal for silence.
“You have been badly wounded,” Little Eagle explained. “When you have
eaten, I’ll tell you about it.”
Little Eagle held one of the water bags to Angry Wolf’s lips so that he
could drink.
“I’ll get meat for our breakfast,” Little Eagle told him.
Little Eagle saw that the chill morning air was making Angry Wolf
uncomfortable, but he was afraid to build a fire until he had scouted
around their camping place. He tied the one empty water bag to his belt,
took his bow and arrows, and started off.
Little Eagle didn’t go directly to the stream. Instead, he circled the
camp to look for signs of enemies. Not until he had completed the circle
did he start toward the creek. On the way, he stopped often to look and
listen. By the time he reached the stream, he was sure that there were
no enemies near.
He studied the place where deer came down to drink. There were signs
that deer had been there a short time before. It wasn’t likely that
others would use the same watering place soon, so Little Eagle shot
another squirrel. He cleaned and dressed it at the stream.
As soon as he was back at camp, Little Eagle built another fire. He
spitted the squirrel on a stick and roasted it over the coals. When the
squirrel was cooked, Little Eagle carried it to Angry Wolf. Angry Wolf
took it, but he didn’t have strength enough to tear it apart. He handed
it back to Little Eagle. Little Eagle twisted off a chunk which he
handed to his friend. Angry Wolf accepted the piece of meat, but he
didn’t start to eat. Little Eagle looked at him questioningly.
“I eat when you eat,” Angry Wolf told him.
Little Eagle took a piece of the meat for himself. Both of them ate
until the meat was gone.
“Now tell me how I came here,” Angry Wolf ordered.
As briefly as possible, Little Eagle told him all that had happened
since Angry Wolf had been knocked from the horse. As he finished his
account, Little Eagle looked toward Angry Wolf. The other boy’s eyes
were closed and he seemed to be asleep. Little Eagle picked up his bow
and arrow and got to his feet.
“Where are you going?” Angry Wolf asked, opening his eyes.
“We need more meat,” Little Eagle explained. “I’m going to try to get a
deer.”
“Let it go until tomorrow,” Angry Wolf answered. “You have done
everything. You need a rest. Tomorrow I’ll be strong enough to do my
share. Let the hunting go until then.”
Little Eagle tried to hide the doubt he felt when he looked toward his
friend.
“We are in much-fought-over land,” he pointed out. “Tomorrow some of our
enemies may come here. Then we would have no chance to hunt.”
“That is true,” Angry Wolf agreed slowly.
“I’ll put a bag of water where you can reach it,” Little Eagle told him.
“There is much game. I shouldn’t be gone long.”
“Prop me up and put my bow near me before you leave,” Angry Wolf
suggested.
Little Eagle found a large limb which had been blown from one of the
trees during a storm. He dragged this over and put it behind Angry Wolf.
He put a water bag as well as the bow and arrows where Angry Wolf could
reach them easily.
“I have some good hunting arrows,” Angry Wolf said. “Take two of them.
Any hunter might miss one shot.”
Little Eagle selected two arrows from Angry Wolf’s quiver. Before
leaving, he made another scouting trip around their camp. When he had
made sure that there were no enemies near, he started off.
Little Eagle went to the creek. He studied the place where deer came to
drink. There were many tracks on the other side of the creek. He wet his
finger and held it up to tell from which direction the wind was blowing.
He gave a pleased nod when he found it was blowing from the other side
of the creek toward him. He jumped across the creek and went straight
into the wind.
Little Eagle picked his way with care. He went slowly, being careful to
make no sound that would warn game ahead of him. He hadn’t gone far when
he sighted five deer grazing in a small meadow.
The meadow was completely surrounded by trees. Although the deer were
grazing near the middle of it, they were within bowshot of the nearest
trees. Little Eagle dampened his finger again and tested the slight
breeze. It was blowing directly from the deer toward him.
As he worked his way toward the deer, Little Eagle noticed that the stag
constantly lifted his head and sniffed as though sensing danger. Little
Eagle was sure that he was moving so quietly the deer couldn’t hear him.
With the wind blowing from the deer toward the boy, the stag couldn’t
catch his scent. Still the animal continued to sniff and move about
uneasily.
Little Eagle stopped. In some way his movements must be carrying a
warning to the deer. However, while Little Eagle remained motionless,
the stag continued to sniff. Suddenly he snorted and bounded high into
the air. While Little Eagle watched helplessly, the whole herd raced
away. In a moment he saw the cause of the deer’s alarm. Two big gray
wolves dashed out of their hiding place toward the nearest doe. Both
wolves sprang, but both missed, and the deer were gone.
Little Eagle was so angry that he brought the bow up and took aim at one
of the wolves. Before he let the arrow fly, he remembered that it was
one of Angry Wolf’s good hunting arrows. If he missed the wolf, or
merely wounded it, the arrow would be lost. Reluctantly he lowered the
bow.
There would be no chance to stalk those fleeing deer. Little Eagle knew
the stag might lead his herd for miles before he allowed them to stop
and graze again. When he saw the wolves slink off to the right, Little
Eagle turned to his left.
He continued until the sun was straight overhead without finding another
herd of deer. Disappointedly, he turned back toward the creek. This was
too far for him to carry a deer if he managed to get one. Besides, he
didn’t like to stay away from Angry Wolf so long. Angry Wolf was better,
but he was still far from well.
Twice on the journey back to the creek, Little Eagle saw small herds of
deer. Each time the wind was blowing from him toward them. They caught
his scent and dashed away long before he was within bowshot of them.
Little Eagle reached the creek at a place far downstream from where he
had crossed before. He turned to follow the bank to the place where he
had crossed. He had covered about half of the distance when he saw a
stag and two does grazing near the creek. The deer were in a small,
grassy glade. They were so far from the trees that it didn’t seem
possible for Little Eagle to get close enough to them. Still he didn’t
want to give up without trying.
He tested the wind again. Before he started toward the deer, Little
Eagle worked his way to a point where the wind was blowing from them to
him. From the cover of the trees nearest the deer, Little Eagle measured
the distance with his eye. It was too far for a bowshot. He would have
to try to reach the clump of shrubs between him and the deer.
The deer continued to graze while Little Eagle crawled toward them. He
reached the clump of shrubs without alarming the game. He was still a
long bowshot from the deer, but as there was no more cover between him
and them, he had to risk a shot from where he was.
As Little Eagle slowly raised his bow, the stag lifted his head and
sniffed suspiciously. Little Eagle took careful aim at the nearest doe.
He pulled the bowstring back with all of his strength. At the instant
Little Eagle released the arrow, the stag snorted and gave a tremendous
leap. Before the doe could heed the warning, the arrow struck her. The
doe crumpled to the ground. Little Eagle gave a low cry of triumph. Here
was food to last several days.
Dressing the deer was slow work. It had looked easy when Little Eagle
had watched a warrior do it. He found it wasn’t nearly so easy as it had
looked. He could have skinned the deer more quickly if he hadn’t been so
careful not to cut a hole in the hide. This was the first deer he had
ever shot. He had been told that if a hunter removed the hide from the
first deer or buffalo he shot without cutting a hole in it, he would
always be a successful hunter.
When he finally had the hide removed, Little Eagle looked it over
carefully. He had done it. There wasn’t a single hole. He finished
dressing the carcass and tied it as high in a tree as he could reach.
When that was done, he carried the hide to the stream where he buried it
in the soft mud. He went back to the carcass and cut off a large chunk
of meat to take with him.
Little Eagle approached camp uneasily. He had been gone much longer than
he had planned. In that time many things could have happened to Angry
Wolf. As he stepped into sight of the camp, Little Eagle stopped
abruptly. Angry Wolf had picked up his bow and was holding it with an
arrow pointing straight at Little Eagle. In his surprise, Little Eagle
didn’t notice that Angry Wolf hadn’t the strength to draw the bowstring
back. When Angry Wolf saw that it was Little Eagle approaching the camp,
he lowered the bow.
“You are better,” Little Eagle exclaimed.
“By tomorrow I’ll be able to travel,” Angry Wolf assured him.
As soon as he had a fire started, Little Eagle cut steaks from the piece
of meat he had brought to camp. He noticed that both water bags were
empty, so he took them to the creek and filled them while the meat was
cooking.
While they were eating, Angry Wolf insisted that Little Eagle again tell
all that had taken place since he had been wounded.
“I owe my life to you,” Angry Wolf said, when Little Eagle finished the
account.
“You would have done the same for me,” Little Eagle insisted.
“I wouldn’t have known how,” Angry Wolf admitted. “When we were trying
to get horses from the Crows, I thought I should do it because I am
older than you. Now you have proved that you are the real leader.”
“There are many things I should have learned from our teacher,” Little
Eagle protested. “In winter camp I will learn more.”
For a time both boys were quiet. When Angry Wolf broke the silence, he
spoke gravely.
“It is a long journey on foot to the winter camp,” he said.
“Old-man-of-the-north might send snow to catch us on the prairie.”
Little Eagle shuddered. He knew what it would be like to be caught on
the prairie in a blizzard. They had no tepee to shelter them, nor
blankets to keep them warm. There were places where they might travel on
foot for several suns without seeing a tree. If they were caught in one
of those places, they would be without fuel or shelter.
“We must get horses,” Little Eagle urged.
“It is late in the season for hunting parties to be here,” Angry Wolf
said. “There may be no one from whom we can take horses. Besides, our
medicine is not strong. We didn’t get any horses from the Crows.”
“What are we to do?” Little Eagle demanded.
“Perhaps tomorrow we can decide,” Angry Wolf suggested. “It may be that
while we sleep, you will have a dream to guide us. You have studied
under Clawing Bear. You might have a medicine dream like a medicine man
or a warrior.”
“I hope I do,” Little Eagle responded.
Little Eagle took the log away from Angry Wolf’s back. As soon as Angry
Wolf had stretched out on the pile of leaves, Little Eagle put armloads
of leaves over him. Before he crawled into his own pile of leaves,
Little Eagle covered the fire with dirt.
When he awoke in the morning, Little Eagle could taste disappointment
like bitter food. He had hoped that a dream to guide them would come to
him in his sleep, but there had been none. He glanced toward Angry Wolf.
The look on Angry Wolf’s face told plainly that he had had no vision
either.
Angry Wolf got slowly to his feet. He stood for a moment, weaving from
side to side. Little Eagle jumped up and ran to him when it looked as
though Angry Wolf would fall. He steadied Angry Wolf while the wounded
boy sat down.
“I’m still weak,” Angry Wolf admitted unhappily.
“You are stronger than you have been,” Little Eagle encouraged him.
“That is the first time you have been able to get to your feet.”
After he had eaten, Angry Wolf again stood up. He was able to take only
a few steps before he had to sit down.
“It will be another day before I can travel,” he said.
Little Eagle picked up the water bags. One was empty and the other had
only a little in it.
“Drink this,” he said, offering the water bag to Angry Wolf. “I’ll fill
both of them and bring more meat back to camp.”
“We should get closer to the stream,” Angry Wolf told him. “This is too
far for you to carry water and food. Besides, you are making a trail
which can easily be seen if an enemy comes this way.”
Little Eagle had thought of the danger of an enemy stumbling onto his
trail. Wherever they camped, there would be danger of someone finding
them. Here was the added danger that the trail leading to their camp
would be found.
“I’ll try to carry you,” he offered.
“I’ll lean on you and walk,” Angry Wolf replied.
Little Eagle kicked dirt over the fire. He brushed about the camping
place with a small branch. It wasn’t possible to hide the signs that
they had been there, but by brushing over the ground, Little Eagle made
it difficult for anyone to judge how long they had been gone.
Angry Wolf had difficulty walking. The first two or three steps he was
able to go by placing his hand lightly on Little Eagle’s shoulder. He
rapidly grew weaker and had to lean heavily on Little Eagle. They went
slowly, stopping often to rest. The day was half gone by the time they
reached the stream. Angry Wolf was so exhausted that he sprawled on the
ground and immediately fell asleep.
The next few days were busy ones for Little Eagle. Twice a day he made a
scouting trip around their camp. He built a lean-to which would protect
them in case of a storm. He brought the rest of the meat into camp and
tied it in a nearby tree. Whenever he could find time, he added to the
supply of firewood.
Angry Wolf gained strength slowly. The first two days after his long
walk to camp, he spent most of the time sleeping. The third day he
managed to walk to the creek for water. That evening the poultice fell
from his wound. When Little Eagle looked at the wound, he found that it
was completely closed.
“In another day or two I’ll be able to travel,” Angry Wolf said
confidently.
“I’m sure you will,” Little Eagle agreed.
The fourth morning Little Eagle started the day by making his usual
scouting trip. He crossed the stream and went south to the first row of
hills. As he was going up the hill, he stopped and sniffed the air. The
wind was blowing from the other side of the hill toward him. It carried
a faint odor of wood smoke. He used all the skill he had to reach the
top of the hill without giving warning to whoever was on the other side
of it.
His first glance from the top of the hill showed him that there was no
one camping in the valley below. There were only two trees in the
valley. The branches on them were so high that Little Eagle would have
been able to see any camp under them. But the smell of smoke was
stronger.
“The camp must be across the hill on the other side of this valley,”
Little Eagle told himself.
Little Eagle looked doubtfully at the valley below him. If he crossed it
to climb the hill on the other side, he would have to walk in the open.
He shook his head. Since enemies were so near, he would have to be very
careful. The best plan would be to circle to the left where he could
stay in the protection of trees.
It took him a long time to circle through the trees to a place where he
could look down into the valley. When he saw the camp, he knew it
belonged to Pawnees. Most of the tepees were hidden from him by trees,
so he couldn’t count them and learn how many warriors were in the party.
The cooking fire was in the open where he could see it. Several warriors
were gathered around it. Little Eagle saw two of the men leave the
campfire and go toward the grove of trees west of camp. When he looked
in that direction, he saw horses grazing. There were at least twenty
horses in sight, and others were hidden from him by the grove.
Little Eagle watched the two warriors. He saw them start to drive the
horses toward camp. If the horses were being brought in, it must mean
that the warriors were ready to leave. Yet, when Little Eagle glanced
back toward the fire, the men were still sitting there. It seemed that
they were waiting for something or someone. A couple of men got up to go
help the two with the horses, but no one seemed to be in a hurry.
While Little Eagle was wondering if he should try to get closer to the
camp, a rider came dashing toward it from the east. The man jumped off
his horse and spoke excitedly to the others. The warriors suddenly
sprang into action. In a few moments every warrior had caught a horse
and was mounted. At a signal from the man who had ridden into camp, all
of the warriors dashed off in the direction from which the rider had
come.
Little Eagle understood their actions as well as if he had heard them
talking. The rider who had dashed into camp was a buffalo scout. He had
found a large herd of buffaloes near camp and was leading the warriors
to the hunt. If the buffaloes had been far from camp, some warrior would
have been given the job of bringing the herd of pack horses. The pack
horses would be needed to bring the meat into camp.
Little Eagle looked longingly at the herd of horses. If Angry Wolf and
he had two of them, they could safely risk the long journey across the
prairie. Little Eagle was confident he could get two horses, since no
warrior had been left to guard the herd. By the time the Pawnees had
finished killing and butchering buffaloes, he and Angry Wolf could have
half a sun’s start. But Angry Wolf wasn’t strong enough to do the hard
riding they must do to escape.
Little Eagle turned away and hurried back to camp.
“What did you learn?” Angry Wolf asked as Little Eagle came into sight.
For a moment Little Eagle looked at his friend in surprise. Did Angry
Wolf have the power to look into his mind as Clawing Bear had done?
Little Eagle smiled at his own foolishness. He had been gone longer than
usual. He had hurried back into camp. These things had told Angry Wolf
that he had discovered something.
“There is a party of Pawnee hunters,” Little Eagle answered.
“Are they coming this way?” Angry Wolf asked quietly.
Little Eagle shook his head.
“They found a herd of buffaloes near their camp,” he answered. “They’re
hunting now.”
“It is too bad that you couldn’t have taken two of their horses,” Angry
Wolf said thoughtfully. “We would have had a chance to escape.”
“I could have taken two,” Little Eagle answered. “The horses that the
warriors weren’t riding were left unguarded in camp. I didn’t take them
because I was afraid you weren’t strong enough to ride as hard as we
would need to ride in order to escape.”
“I could ride,” Angry Wolf said. “However, it would be too dangerous for
you to try to get the horses. It is likely that someone would catch you
at it.”
“I could still get them before the warriors returned from hunting,”
Little Eagle insisted.
“It might be our last chance to get horses,” Angry Wolf said
thoughtfully.
“I am going to get horses for us,” Little Eagle said, suddenly making up
his mind.
“It is too dangerous,” Angry Wolf repeated. “There is some danger you
have overlooked.”
“When the Pawnees have finished dressing the buffaloes they have killed,
they will cure the meat before leaving their camp,” Little Eagle pointed
out. “While the meat is curing, the Pawnees will have time to scout.
They are sure to find our camp. There is a danger that I have seen.”
Angry Wolf smiled.
“You are learning to be a good leader,” he said. “If you think you can
get horses for us, I am willing that you try.”
Little Eagle whirled around to leave camp. Before he had gone a dozen
steps, he turned back to Angry Wolf.
“How would you take the horses?” he asked. “You have had more lessons
from our teacher than I have had.”
“First I would make a scouting trip to be sure that the Pawnees will be
hunting long enough for us to get a safe start before they discover the
loss of their horses,” Angry Wolf answered thoughtfully. “When I had the
horses, I’d ride straight here.”
A confident smile touched the corners of Little Eagle’s mouth.
“I will get the horses,” he vowed.
“From here we’ll leave a crooked trail,” Angry Wolf said with equal
confidence.