"No, no, it sounded like ponies," declared his friends.
Then as they continued to listen they heard the cry of a prairie wolf, far to the westward. The weird serenade lasted some moments, and then all was still. The call had sounded entirely natural, but the Sioux believed it was a clever imitation by their foes. They wondered if it had any connection with the sounds which had been heard near the ravine. They realized that Blackfeet scouts might have followed the stream bed in search of their foes, and that the wolf call was a signal for them to return to the war party. The Sioux listened anxiously for the sound of hoof beats going toward the west. When they failed to hear them they were completely baffled. Had the sharp-eared warriors who claimed to have heard the ponies been deceived? It seemed unlikely. Then what had become of the mysterious riders? The entire Minneconjoux war party was listening breathlessly, and it seemed impossible for the horsemen to steal away without being heard. Then a new possibility presented itself.
"Perhaps they are Crows," the Sioux told one another.
The thought threw them into a flurry of excitement. They realized that if Crow scouts had come that far to the eastward, the entire Crow force might follow them along the ravine. As a precaution against a sudden attack, two Sioux scouts moved cautiously along the stream bed on foot to watch for the approach of enemies. They had barely gone beyond bowshot, when the Sioux heard the bark of the little gray fox directly in front of them. It filled them with joy, and they lost little time in replying.
"Ho, my brothers, we have been waiting out here a long time," said Running Dog, as he rode into the ravine with Big Crow, his fellow scout.
"Did you see White Otter?" Sun Bird immediately inquired.
"I do not know," replied Running Dog. "We saw three riders racing over the ridge ahead of the Crows. They were far away. We could not tell about them. Perhaps they were our brothers."
"What became of them?" Sun Bird asked, eagerly.
"They went that way," said Running Dog, as he pointed toward the east. "The Crows did not follow them. They came this way. Then the Blackfeet came after them."
"Did you hear Mayash, the wolf?" inquired Sitting Eagle.