"Yes, we heard his call, but he did not make it," Running Dog told him. "It was the Blackfeet. I believe the Crows got away from them. Perhaps they have turned this way. That is why we stayed out there in the darkness. We did not know who was in this place."
"Did you hear us?" Sun Bird asked, anxiously.
"No, we did not hear you," said Running Dog. "Our ponies stopped and tried to call, and we knew that some one was in this place."
Running Dog told his tribesmen that he and Big Crow had seen the end of the fight, and the desperate race between the Crows and the Blackfeet. When the Crows turned toward the ravine the Sioux scouts had been greatly alarmed for the safety of the Minneconjoux war party. However, as they realized that they could not carry a warning to their friends, they had determined to follow their enemies, and learn the result of the wild chase across the plain. With the coming of darkness they had lost sight of both the Crows and the Blackfeet, but they were sure that both war parties had entered the ravine a considerable distance to the westward.
"Perhaps the Crows came this way—perhaps they crossed the gully and went straight ahead," said Running Dog. "Anyway, I believe they fooled the Blackfeet. We heard the Blackfeet scouts riding near us. I believe they were trying to find the Crows."
"If the Crows came this way they must be near us," said Sun Bird.
"We did not hear anything——"
Running Dog was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice from the darkness.
"Ho, Dacotahs!"
"It is White Otter!" cried Sun Bird.