When they finally came opposite the grove which contained the pool they again fought the desperate ponies into submission and made heroic efforts to keep them quiet. Then Sun Bird selected White Otter and Sitting Eagle to go forward on foot to reconnoiter the cottonwoods.
"Those great scouts will find out about it," he boasted, as the two famous Dacotahs slipped away as noiselessly as shadows.
It seemed a long time to the anxious Sioux before White Otter finally returned and said that the grove was free from foes. The announcement filled them with joy. Throwing caution to the winds, they rode out of the ravine and raced recklessly toward the cottonwoods. Once at the pool it was impossible to restrain the ponies, and the riders were forced to wait until the frenzied animals had satisfied their thirst. Then the Sioux plunged their feverish faces into the roily water and drank as eagerly as the ponies.
"Ah," Sun Bird sighed, contentedly, as he finally rose to his feet.
Having drunk their fill, the ponies became quiet and turned to graze upon the scant growth of grass about the pool. The Sioux, however, remained alert. Their noisy arrival at the pool had made them uneasy. They had vague, disturbing premonitions of danger, and they feared to linger in the grove.
"If our enemies come and surround this place it will be hard to get away," Sun Bird said, anxiously. "Come, we will go."
At that moment one of the ponies whinnied, and the Sioux were astounded to hear it answered from the plain. Then they heard a horse galloping toward the west. They turned to one another in alarm.
"Our enemies have caught us!" they cried.
"Wait," White Otter counseled, calmly. "I believe that rider is a scout. Perhaps he is alone. We will listen. If he is with a war party then we will hear signals. If he keeps quiet there is nothing to fear."
"It is good," agreed the Minneconjoux.