"My brothers, the scouts have gone," White Otter told the Ogalalas. "I believe they are across the water. Red Dog and his brothers have gone. I believe they are waiting for the signal. Everything is ready. We must begin the fight. I will ask you to be brave. Drive back the Pawnees and get to the ponies. Red Dog and his warriors will come to help us. Keep close around the ponies. Drive them across the water. Are you ready?"
"Hi, hi!" cried the Ogalalas.
"Come!" shouted White Otter.
At that moment they heard the thunder of hoofbeats across the stream. A piercing shout rang through the night. It was a warning from the scouts. Then the wild yells of the Pawnees sounded from the edge of the water. The Ogalalas realized what had happened.
"They are running off the ponies!" cried White Otter. "Follow me!"
The Ogalalas raised the great Dacotah war cry, and rode boldly into the stream. They heard Red Dog and the Cheyennes farther to the eastward. The Pawnees began to shoot their arrows. The Sioux sent a volley into the timber. Then they lashed their ponies forward, and charged recklessly upon their foes. The Pawnees held their ground, and offered desperate resistance. The Sioux, however, were thoroughly aroused, and they fought with a sullen ferocity that made them irresistible. The Pawnees finally gave way, and raced across the plain in pursuit of the ponies. The Ogalalas kept close behind them. They heard the Cheyennes whooping fiercely, and they believed that they had overtaken the herd.
"Hi, hi, the Cheyennes are making a big fight!" the Dacotahs cried, excitedly.
When they were within arrow range of the ponies, the Pawnees turned and fought savagely to hold them back. For a moment the Sioux were halted. Then they rallied, and swept forward in a ferocious attack that completely overcame their foes. A moment afterward they were at the rear of the herd.
In the meantime Red Dog and his tribesmen had raced ahead of the Pawnees, and were attempting to turn the ponies. Once at the front of the herd, they rode wildly among the Pawnees and drove the frightened ponies from their course. Whooping, and lashing furiously with their heavy riding quirts, they gradually forced the ponies toward the east. The Pawnees attacked them with great bravery, but the Cheyennes beat them off. Then a company of Ogalalas raced along the flank of the herd and came to the assistance of their allies.
"Turn the ponies—run them to the water!" they cried.