After Running Dog had left them, Sun Bird made preparations to resume their advance toward the distant Blackfeet camp. Profiting by the warning which the scouts had brought, the cautious young war leader determined to make every provision for the safety of the war party. In addition to the two expert scouts riding along each flank, Sun Bird appointed a strong rear guard under command of Sitting Eagle. Then, as a further precaution against blundering into a trap, he asked White Otter and Little Raven to accompany him on a reconnaissance far in advance of the war party.
"My brothers, you must wait here until we are far ahead," he told the Minneconjoux, as he rode away.
Once beyond sight of their comrades, the three young scouts realized that their mission was a perilous one. They had little doubt that foes were on both sides of them, and it was possible that the Sioux war party had already been discovered. In that event there was great probability that crafty foes might circle around behind them, and separate them from their companions.
"We must watch sharp," cautioned Sun Bird.
He hoped to lead the war party within an easy day's travel of the Blackfeet camp. Then he planned to go into hiding and send scouts under cover of the darkness to locate the Blackfeet ponies and reconnoiter about the village. In the meantime Sun Bird realized the constant peril of colliding with his enemies. However, he relied upon the skill and daring of his scouts to give him timely warning of an approaching war party. As they were riding cautiously across the plain they again saw the war eagle circling high up toward the eastward. They stopped and watched it with great interest.
"See! our brother, Huya, has come down out of the clouds," said Sun Bird. "I believe he is flying around over there to show us where our enemies are hiding."
Soon afterward they saw a solitary horseman ride over a distant rise of the plain. He quickly discovered them, and immediately stopped his pony. For some moments he continued to watch them. Then he turned about and galloped from view. The Sioux also had stopped at sight of the stranger, and now that he had disappeared Sun Bird was at a loss to determine just what to do. The rider had been too far away to be identified, but his actions made it plain that he was neither Feather Dog nor Proud Hawk.
"Perhaps he is one of the scouts that Feather Dog told about," suggested Little Raven.
"Yes, that may be true," said Sun Bird. "White Otter, what do you make of it?"
"I do not know what to make of it," acknowledged White Otter. "That man saw us. If he is a scout he will go to tell his people about us. It is bad. We must watch sharp."