"Your ears are sharp," said Sun Bird.
A moment afterward a pony whinnied shrilly. Little Raven's pony replied. They stopped in alarm. It was apparent that the Kiowas were on all sides of them. They feared that the pony had betrayed them. They were at a loss to know just what to do.
"Listen," cautioned White Otter.
They waited anxiously to hear the hoofbeats of advancing ponies. The plain was still. They wondered if the Kiowas, too, had stopped to listen. The possibility made them cautious. They feared to ride away before they located their foes. They believed that if the Kiowas heard them they might close in and make it impossible to escape. Their only chance seemed to be to withdraw quietly, and slip away in the darkness.
"It is bad," White Otter whispered. "Perhaps some of the Kiowas will try to keep us here until their friends ride to the Cheyenne camp."
"Yes, yes, I believe it is what they are trying to do," declared Sun Bird.
The thought aroused them. They realized that each moment of delay lessened the chance of arriving at the Cheyenne village in time to warn their friends. They feared that the war party was racing wildly through the night in an effort to beat them to the goal.
"We must go ahead," said White Otter.
They rode cautiously toward the east. When they had gone several arrow flights without encountering their foes they became bolder. They urged the ponies to a canter. A moment later a piercing yell rose behind them. It was answered on both sides of them. They heard the hoofbeats of galloping ponies.