"Cheyennes, I see that you are ready," said White Otter. "It is good. You have made me the leader. I will tell you how I feel about this thing. I believe my people will come here to help us. Some of you must stay here to watch for them. Then you must bring them to the Kiowa camp. The rest of us will go ahead to fight the Kiowas. Their village is two sun's travel away. They have reached their lodges. We must follow them to their camp. When we get there I will tell you what to do. I have finished."
As Running Crow translated the words, White Otter saw disappointment on the faces of the Cheyennes. They began to talk softly to one another. He knew at once that they were discussing who should be left behind to watch. Each hoped to avoid the task. All wished to fight the Kiowas. Then Ghost Bear suddenly offered a solution of the difficulty.
"Listen, my brothers," he cried, eagerly. "All of you are young men. A young man must fight. I am old. I cannot ride the war ponies. I will stay here and watch for the Ogalalas. If they come I will tell them where to find you."
"If you stay here alone, perhaps something bad will happen to you," Running Crow told him.
"No, no, nothing will happen to me," Ghost Bear assured him. "I will put away those brave warriors who are lying here. Then I will wait for the Ogalalas. There is meat here. The Kiowas did not find it. I will have plenty to eat. I am a Medicine Person, nothing can harm me. If enemies come here, I will run away and hide in the bushes. Come, my brothers, ride away and leave me. There is little time."
"Ghost Bear, you are very brave," declared White Otter, when Running Crow told him of the old Medicine Man's proposal.
A few moments later the Cheyenne war party left the camp. They rode across the plain, singing their war songs, and old Ghost Bear cackled gleefully as he heard them. He watched until they were beyond range of his dim old eyes. Then he moved slowly into the village. He stopped and gazed sadly upon the forms of his friends.
"Listen, you Silent People," he cried. "The Kiowas have sent you on The Long Trail. You were very brave. Our people will talk about you a long time. Now our brothers have gone to kill many Kiowas. White Otter, the great war chief of the Ogalalas, is the leader. Soon you will hear a great noise. You will know it is the Kiowas. They will cry like women when our brothers begin to kill them. Then you must laugh at them."