White Otter did not have long to wait. In a few moments a solitary horseman swept over a rise of the plain and galloped toward him. The Sioux felt sure that it was the warrior who had been watching him. As the stranger appeared to be alone, and eager to fight, White Otter prepared for battle. Before venturing within arrow range, however, the rider suddenly wheeled his pony, and raced around White Otter at great speed. The Sioux immediately stopped and prepared to defend himself. Then he suddenly discovered that the horseman was a friend.
"Ho, Dacotah! Ho, my brother!" shouted the rider.
"Yes, yes, now I see who you are," cried White Otter, as he lowered his bow.
A moment later they dismounted beside each other. White Otter recognized the rider as a Minneconjoux warrior named Lean Wolf, an old friend with whom he had shared several perilous adventures.
"I have brought you some words from your brother, Sun Bird," said Lean Wolf.
"It is good," White Otter replied, eagerly, as his eyes lighted with pleasure.
"It is bad," Lean Wolf said, soberly.
"Has something bad happened to my brother Sun Bird?" the young Ogalala inquired anxiously.
"No, I have not come to tell you that," Lean Wolf assured him. "I have come to tell you that our enemies, the Blackfeet, came to our camp. They crawled around the village in the dark like dogs. We did not hear them. They ran off many ponies. Sun Bird is going to bring back those ponies. He is the leader of a war party. He is going to fight the boastful Blackfeet. He wants his brother White Otter to go with him."
Lean Wolf finished speaking, and looked inquiringly at the young Ogalala war chief. For some moments the latter remained silent. He knew that a warrior must not speak hastily, or pledge himself too eagerly. Although his heart beat wildly at the thought of joining his friend in a war expedition against the Blackfeet, he carefully concealed his emotion lest he might lose respect in the eyes of the stern Minneconjoux scout. Then, after the proper interval, White Otter replied: