Having made preparations for the daring stratagem by which he hoped to save the women and children, Red Dog divided his little force into two companies. He appointed Painted Weasel as leader of the company that was to ride out on the plain, while Red Dog assumed command of the warriors in the camp. Then the Cheyennes waited for darkness.
When night finally settled upon the plain, Painted Weasel and his companions mounted their ponies and rode away toward the south. At the same time Cloud Eagle assembled the women and children. Then the Cheyennes listened for the signal that would set the camp in a tumult.
"Hi, they are coming!" cried Red Dog.
The hoofbeats of galloping ponies sounded across the plain, and a moment afterward the night rang with the wild shouts of the riders. The warriors in the camp replied with the piercing Cheyenne war cry. Then a perfect bedlam of sounds rose from the village. Men shouted, dogs barked and ponies whinnied.
"Come, come, ride away!" Red Dog told Cloud Eagle.
A moment afterward the little company galloped toward the east. The hoofbeats of the ponies were smothered by the noise from the camp. When the wild tumult finally subsided, the warriors raised their voices in the war songs, and the sounds carried far across the plain. Red Dog felt certain that the noise had reached the ears of the Kiowas.
"It is good," he cried. "We have frightened the Kiowas. They will be cautious. It will be a long time before they come close. The women and children have got away."
The Cheyennes became quiet. They stood at the edge of the village, listening anxiously. The plain was silent. A great joy filled their hearts. They believed that their women and children had escaped from the Kiowas.