Sun Bird appeared serious. The continued absence of White Otter and his companions worried him. He began to fear that they really had met with some misfortune. The idea startled him.
At that moment some of the Minneconjoux declared that they heard some one approaching the ravine. Sun Bird held his breath to listen, and his heart filled with hope. Perhaps White Otter and Little Raven had come. The possibility thrilled him. He waited in trying suspense for the signal which would verify his hopes.
"Perhaps it is an enemy," suggested a warrior who was lying beside him.
Sun Bird remained silent. For the moment the Blackfeet and the Crows had been crowded from his mind by the hope of seeing White Otter and Little Raven. He had entirely forgotten the peril which threatened the Sioux war party. The warning of his tribesman aroused him to his responsibility. He was the war leader. It was his duty to think first of the welfare and safety of the men who had entrusted themselves to his leadership. He at once dismissed White Otter and Little Raven from his thoughts, and again became the stern, impassive war leader.
"I do not hear anything," he told the man beside him. "What did you hear?"
"It sounded like ponies," replied the warrior.
"Were they running?" inquired Sun Bird.
"No, it sounded as if they were standing in one place, and stamping their feet," declared the Minneconjoux.
They listened a long time, but heard nothing. The warriors who had given the warning, however, felt certain that they had not been mistaken.
"Perhaps it was Tatanka, the buffalo, or Tatokadan, the antelope," said Sitting Eagle.