They rode madly toward the startled ponies, shouting and waving their arms to get the animals in motion. Once started, the ponies needed little urging. They had not entirely recovered from their wild panic of the previous night and the fierce shouts behind them sent them racing across the plain at their best speed.
"Keep after the ponies, I will fight the Crows," Sun Bird cried, impulsively.
"No, no, you must keep going ahead!" Lean Wolf shouted, fiercely. "If the Crows come close we will fight them back. Pretty soon we will reach our brothers. Then these warriors will turn back."
He had barely ceased speaking before Little Raven and Feather Dog and Many Feathers and Running Dog swept over the ridge some distance to the northward of the ponies. Yelling savagely, they raced to the assistance of their tribesmen and at sight of them the Crows stopped in confusion. The odds had suddenly turned against them and they lost courage. They turned and raced away before the Sioux got within bowshot of them. The Sioux made no attempt to overtake them. Their one thought was to get away with the ponies before a stronger force of their foes came upon them.
"We have driven away our enemies, now we must run off the ponies," cried Sun Bird.
"Yes, we must keep going," said Lean Wolf.
They drove the ponies over the ridges and ran them toward Falling Eagle and the warriors who were waiting with the other horses. Then Little Raven and Many Feathers hid below the top of the ridge to watch for the Crows.
The Sioux knew that the Crow village was somewhere in the vicinity and they had little doubt that a strong force of those foes would soon set out in pursuit of them. However, they hoped to gain a sufficient lead to make it impossible for the Crows to overtake them before nightfall. Then they believed the Crows would abandon the chase.
When they reached Falling Eagle and his companions the Sioux turned directly toward the south and drove the ponies across the plain at top speed. They hoped to reach the deep ravine in which they had hidden from the Crows and the Blackfeet.
"Perhaps the Crows took us for Blackfeet," suggested Running Dog. "Perhaps they will go the other way to find us."