"The Kiowas have left scouts behind to watch," White Otter whispered. "Pretty soon those other scouts will come. We must get away."
Then several of the Kiowa ponies called, and the Sioux rode away at a furious pace. The Kiowas instantly raised the alarm, and raced after them. White Otter heard an arrow pass over his head.
"Keep low on your ponies!" he cried. "The Kiowas are shooting their arrows."
The Sioux ponies soon carried their riders beyond danger, and then White Otter veered sharply in his course and threw the Kiowas from the trail. Although there seemed to have been a number of riders, the Sioux believed that they were scouts, and that the war party was still riding toward the Cheyenne camp.
"They will not catch us again," laughed White Otter, as he turned still farther to the southward.
CHAPTER VI
A PERILOUS MISSION
Daylight was close at hand when the Sioux suddenly heard the dogs barking furiously in the Cheyenne village. The sounds filled them with alarm. Had they arrived too late to warn the Cheyennes? Had the Kiowas beaten them to the goal? Had the fight begun? The possibilities tried their courage. Lashing their exhausted ponies into a final, heart-breaking sprint they raced recklessly toward the camp.