CHAPTER XV
WHITE OTTER'S BOLD RESOLVE
WHITE OTTER'S anxiety for his people made him indifferent to his own safety, and he rode recklessly through the night, risking ambush and sudden death at the hands of his foes. High Eagle and Little Raven seemed equally unconcerned. They were willing to take desperate chances to get within sight of the Ogalala village and learn the answer to the question that was torturing their minds. As they actually neared the vicinity, however, White Otter himself advised greater caution.
"We are coming close to our enemies," he said. "If they kill us then what we have done will be foolish. A scout must save himself to help his people. Now we will go ahead easy. We must watch, and listen like the fox."
They slackened their ponies and advanced very cautiously. For a long time they heard nothing to rouse their suspicions, and the very stillness added to their fears. They wondered whether the Pawnees, having achieved their object, had already ridden away. Their courage weakened at the thought. Then, as they stopped on the crest of a ridge, they heard a wild outburst of yells, far away toward the east. Their hearts beat frantically as they turned to one another with flashing eyes.
"Listen!" cried White Otter. "The fight is still going on. Yes, the Ogalalas are keeping the Wolf People out of the camp. Come, we will ride over there and try to do something."
They galloped away in the direction of the Ogalala camp. However, when they again stopped to listen, the noise had ceased. They listened anxiously, hoping to hear something that would tell them that the Sioux had successfully withstood the attack. The silence troubled them. It made it evident that the fight was over. The thought suggested a number of alarming possibilities.
"Come, my brothers, we must go near to the camp," declared White Otter. "Then we will know about this thing."
As they started away they again heard a wild clamor in the direction of the Ogalala village, and they believed that the fight had been renewed. The thought filled them with hope, for they knew that the Sioux had repulsed the first attack successfully. As the confused babel of sound echoed faintly across the plain, the three scouts stopped and made an earnest appeal to the Great Mystery. Then they lashed their ponies into a furious sprint, and raced away to aid their tribesmen.
"I believe those scouts have told their people about us," cried White Otter. "Now they know about the war party that is coming to fight them. They are making another great fight to get into the camp. Perhaps they will do this thing. I am thinking about it. It is bad."
A short time afterward they rode to the top of another low ridge, and saw the glow of the Ogalala fires. As they were watching them, however, they heard the shouts and whoops of the Pawnees rising some distance south of the camp. Each moment the noise sounded farther from the village, and it soon became evident that the Pawnees were withdrawing. A mighty chorus of yells from the camp convinced White Otter and his companions that the Sioux had finally been victorious. The thought sent them into an ecstasy of joy.
"Listen, my brothers!" White Otter cried, delightedly. "The Pawnees are running away. Yes, my people have made a great fight. The Wolf People know about this great war party. They are running away before our people come. But we will follow them. Yes, Curly Horse and Laughing Bird will chase them. Now we will go ahead, and find out about this thing."
"My brother, I believe that what you say is true," replied Little Raven. "If your people have chased away all those Pawnees they have done a great thing. Pretty soon we will know about it. But when our people come here, then we must go on to fight the boastful Wolf People. Yes, I believe I will count many coups, and take some good ponies."
"Yes, the Pawnees are going away," declared High Eagle. "But it has been a great battle. I believe many of our brothers have been killed. Yes, I am proud about this thing, but I must tell you that my heart is heavy. I believe that something bad has happened to our people. I do not like to talk about it. I have been in many battles. When I feel like that in my heart it is always bad."
The older warrior's gloomy prophecy instantly sobered White Otter and Little Raven. They began to realize that the victory might have been a costly one. The thought increased White Otter's anxiety, and he determined to learn exactly what had happened without further delay. He felt certain that the Pawnees had really departed, and he raced toward the camp with little attempt at concealment.
"We must be cautious when we come near the village," High Eagle warned him. "Our people will be watching. When they hear us perhaps they will take us for Pawnees. Perhaps they will send their arrows through us."
"Yes, what you say is so," agreed White Otter. "But we will stop before we go near enough to be killed. Then I will make the sound of the little gray fox. When our people hear that they will feel good again."
When they finally came close to the camp, they stopped, and White Otter imitated the bark of the prairie fox. In a few moments an answer sounded from the border of the village. Then he repeated the signal three times, and, when he received a reply, he and his companions rode boldly toward the lodges. As they showed themselves in the glow from the fires, they were immediately challenged by the suspicious guards at the edge of the camp.
"Ho, my brothers, we are Dacotahs; we have come to tell you something good," cried White Otter.
"It is White Otter!" cried the delighted Ogalalas. "He has brought Curly Horse and his people to help us."
When the three scouts rode their exhausted ponies into the village, a few moments later, they saw all the evidences of a tragedy. It was apparent that the Sioux loss had been even greater than they had anticipated. White Otter and High Eagle recognized many loyal friends among the dead and wounded, and as they gazed upon them they were filled with a wild desire for vengeance. Then White Otter turned to search the great throng of people who were crowding eagerly about them. When he failed to discover his grandfather, a great fear entered his heart. He had grave doubts of Wolf Robe's safety, and he feared to ask for him. Before he could frame the difficult inquiry, however, he was startled by a series of piercing screams from one of the lodges. The next moment Singing Wind, his grandmother, rushed toward him, frantically waving her arms, and crying out hysterically.
"My grandfather has been killed," White Otter told High Eagle.
As Singing Wind reached his side she fell to the ground, prostrated by her grief. White Otter and High Eagle raised her with great tenderness, and attempted to comfort her. The loyal old woman was beside herself, and it was some moments before she could speak. Then she threw her arms about White Otter and sobbed out her story.
"Ah, my son, I must tell you something bad," she cried. "Your grandfather, the great chief, Wolf Robe, has been taken away by the Pawnees. Yes, there is a great hole in my heart. Perhaps they have killed him. You must find out about it. If he is dead, then I will die. You have done some great things, my son. Now I will ask you to do the greatest thing of all. Yes, I will ask you to go and find out about your grandfather. If the Pawnees have killed him, then you must come back and tell me. But if he is alive in that camp, then you must take him away. You are the son of Standing Buffalo—I believe you can do this thing. That is all I can say."
As Singing Wind ended her frantic appeal she tottered backward and would have collapsed had not White Otter thrown his arm about her. The Ogalalas watched in silence as the striking young warrior and the frail old woman looked searchingly into each other's eyes. Then, when Singing Wind finally recovered her strength, White Otter made his reply.
"My mother, I have heard your words; they have cut into my heart like Pawnee arrows," he said. "But I am a Dacotah. Yes, I am the son of Standing Buffalo. It is enough. I know what to do. I will follow the Pawnees and find out about my grandfather. If he has been killed, then I will not come back. No, I will rush into the camp and fight until I die. But if he is alive I will bring him away. Spotted Dog has told me about Yellow Horse. Well, I will find out about him. Now I must tell my brothers, the Ogalalas, that a great war party is coming behind me. Yes, pretty soon you will hear a big noise, like the Thunder Birds flapping their wings. It is the sound of racing ponies. They are carrying Curly Horse, and a great war party of Minneconjoux. But I will tell you something better. They are carrying the great war chief, Laughing Bird, and a great war party of Uncapapas. Pretty soon these people will come here. Then you must tell my brother, Sun Bird, about me. Perhaps he will tell Curly Horse about it. Then our people will go to the Pawnee camp to fight. I will watch for them. Now I am going to take a fast pony. Yes, I am going away. My mother, you must keep your heart strong. If I come back I will bring my grandfather. If you do not see me again, then you will know that I have done what I told you about. I have finished."
White Otter was immediately besieged by a host of volunteers, who were eager to accompany him on his perilous mission. He refused them, however, and told them to wait for the great war party which he felt sure would follow him to the Pawnee camp. Still, there was one who would not be denied. It was Little Raven.
"My brother, it is true that I have not done many great things," said the loyal Minneconjoux lad. "But I am not afraid to die. You say if you do not find your grandfather you will go into the Pawnee camp and fight until they kill you. Well, it is a brave thing to do. But I will go with you. If we go together, we will kill more Pawnees. If the great chief, Wolf Robe, and the great medicine-man, Yellow Horse, are alive, perhaps I will help you. No, my brother, I will not stay back. I am a Dacotah. Yes, I am the son of Rain Crow. I must carry out what it is in my heart to do. I will ask you for a fast pony. Yes, I am going with you."
"Little Raven, your words make me feel big in my heart," White Otter replied, with genuine emotion. "But I must tell you that you are doing a foolish thing. You are very brave, but you must keep your life. Wolf Robe is my grandfather. He has given me many good things. There is only one thing to do if he is alive: I must try to get him away. There is only one thing to do if he is dead: I must go into the camp and kill as many Pawnees as I can. You say you will go with me. Well, I must tell you another time that it is a foolish thing to do. But I know that you are a Dacotah. Yes, you will do what it is in your heart to do. Perhaps this thing will make you a great man. Perhaps you will be killed. I have finished."
"White Otter, I must go with you," declared Little Raven.
"Ogalalas, I must tell you something," cried White Otter. "Little Raven, the son of Rain Crow, the great Minneconjoux medicine-man, is going with me to the Pawnee Camp."
Then the two fearless young warriors rode away on two of Wolf Robe's fastest ponies. The Ogalalas were too heavily burdened with grief to rouse themselves sufficiently to make a demonstration, and except for the wailing of the women and the excited cries of a few old men, the lads were permitted to depart in silence.
"White Otter is very brave. Yes, he is as cautious as the fox. He has done a great thing. But I believe he will be killed," Spotted Bear declared, gloomily, as the hoof-beats of the ponies died away in the distance.
The Ogalalas endorsed his words with their silence. There were few among them who expected to again see the courageous youths who had just ridden away.
