"He will lead them on our trail and be among the foremost to shoot us down, every one of us."
"I don't believe it!" called Edith from her wraps, which her mother had put around her again; "I like Wolf Ear and want to see him."
Brinton did not think it worth while to discuss the matter with his sister, for a far more important matter pressed upon them.
"It won't do to follow the trail," remarked the father, "since they will be on the look-out for us. We will bear to the south, so as to strike the Cheyenne further up stream."
"We may not be able to ford it."
"We can follow it down till we find a place. It may be frozen over nearer its source. The agency is so far off that we shall have to go into camp before we can get half-way there."
"How do you feel, father?" abruptly asked his son, glancing keenly at him. "Are you strong enough to stand this hard ride?"
"I am much stronger than you would suppose; you know a crisis like this will rouse any man, even if he is a good deal more unwell than I am."
"I am glad to hear you talk that way, but you will be tried hard before we reach Pine Ridge."
"Give yourself no uneasiness about me; the only thing we are to think about is how we shall get to the agency without meeting with the hostiles, who seem to be roaming everywhere."