“Now I see how it happened,” said Spotted Deer. “If you were not very strong you would have been dead. Yes, if you were not a good war-leader you would not have come back here. We will not talk any more about it.”
“Well, what did you find?” inquired Running Fox.
“I found a big war-party,” declared Spotted Deer.
“Tell about it,” Running Fox said, eagerly.
“Well, after I went away from here I went right to those mountains where you tried to find me,” said Spotted Deer. “I could not see any water so I kept going ahead. Soon after the second sun I heard some signals. Then I heard some more. That made me very cautious. Well, pretty soon I found an old trail. It turned back this way. Then I hid myself between some rocks, and began to watch. After a long time I heard some one coming. Then two warriors went by very fast. I could not see what they looked like. Well, I kept watching, and pretty soon I heard many voices. Then I saw that those people were not following the trail. They passed behind me. I followed them. When the next sun came I saw that they were moving toward The-Place-Where-The-Cold-Comes-From. Then I climbed a high hill, and saw a big piece of water. It was about two suns’ travel ahead of those people. Then I said, ‘Hi, they are Mohawks, and their village is near that water.’ Well, I found out what I wished to know. Then I came here.”
When Spotted Deer finished speaking Running Fox remained silent. He seemed to be thinking about what Spotted Deer had told him. The latter watched him closely. He wondered if he had displeased him by remaining away so long.
“Well, Running Fox, how do you feel about it?” asked Spotted Deer.
“You say that you have found out what you wished to know,” replied Running Fox. “I am not sure about that. I, too, saw that piece of water. I came back to tell about it. I did not see any signs of the Mohawk village. Perhaps it is near some other piece of water. You say that you could not tell who those warriors are. Then how do you know that they are Mohawks? We must not be too sure about that. There is only one way to find out. We must catch up with them. Spotted Deer, I am not saying anything against what you have done. This is our first war-trail. You found those people. It was a good thing to do.”
“Running Fox, you have spoken good words,” declared Spotted Deer. “Now I see that I did not find out enough about those people. Well, I will do whatever you tell me to do.”
“We will go and find them,” replied Running Fox.