"It is the Black Faces!" cried several of the war party.
"No, I believe they are different people," declared Sun Bird. "Does a war party ride easy on the trail of an enemy? See, the ground is hard. You all have sharp eyes, but do you see any tracks? No, the ground tells you nothing. The wolf can follow a trail with his nose, but a warrior must use his eyes. Are the Black Faces like the wolf? No, I do not believe they can follow us. But perhaps we will meet other enemies in this place. Yes, we must know about this thing."
Short Bear and a companion were sent back to watch the unknown horsemen, and White Otter and Little Raven galloped away to find and warn the Sioux scouts. Then Sun Bird advised his followers to remain in the timber until they learned something about the plans of the strangers. He said that the latter might pass at a safe distance, and that it would be folly to venture upon the open plain until they knew that there was no other alternative.
"Yes, we must wait here until Short Bear comes back," said Sitting Eagle.
A short time afterward the scout returned. He declared that the horsemen had altered their course and were riding farther toward the north. Short Bear said that he did not believe the travelers would even come within sight of the Sioux hiding place. Therefore, as the day would soon be over, he advised his friends to remain where they were until darkness made it safe to resume their journey across the plain.
"Do you know about those people?" inquired Sun Bird.
Short Bear said that although he and Lean Wolf, his companion, had crawled as near as they dared on the open plain they were unable to approach sufficiently close to identify the riders. However, they felt quite sure that they were not Utes. Lean Wolf, who had remained behind to watch, believed that the horsemen were Pawnees, but Short Bear did not agree with him.
"No, my heart tells me something different. I believe those people are Kiowas," he told Sun Bird.
"Well, we must know about it, my brother," replied Sun Bird. "I will ask you to follow those people until they camp. Then you must come back and tell us about it."
Short Bear was scarcely out of sight when another scout rode in from the north. He, too, had discovered the horsemen. He had also seen Lean Wolf following cautiously on their trail, and after making sure that the scout was one of his own people he had set out to warn his companions. This warrior had seen nothing of White Otter and Little Raven. While he was talking, however, those very riders returned. They said that they had found and warned the two remaining scouts.