"They cannot see our faces, but they will say: 'See, those riders go very fast. They are running toward the camp of our enemies, the Sioux. They are scouts. If they were Kiowas they would go the other way. If they were Black-feet they would ride over this way to go around their enemies, the Sioux. The Crows do not come down so far. No, they are Sioux.' Yes, that is how the Pawnees will know about us," declared Hollow Bear with conviction.
"You are as wise as the fox," said Little Wolf.
As they looked back they saw several horsemen galloping wildly across the plain toward the east. For a moment the unexpected maneuver baffled them, and then they suddenly realized the object of it.
"Now I know about it," declared Little Wolf. "Those riders are scouts. They are going over there to look for their brothers. They will tell them about us. It is good. Perhaps the war leaders will come together to talk about it. Then our people will have time to do something."
"I believe you have told the thing as it is," agreed Hollow Bear.
The western sky was ablaze with the glories of the sunset as they finally came in sight of the Ogalala camp. It was still some distance away, however, and the eager scouts lashed their ponies without mercy as they raced across the plain to warn their people. They believed that the Pawnees were following swiftly on their trail, with the hope of attacking the Sioux before they had an opportunity to prepare themselves.
The great Ogalala camp was the scene of peaceful tranquillity. The herds of unprotected ponies grazing on the plain, the smoke rising lazily above the lodges, the absence of sentinels from the ridges, all these things proclaimed the fancied security of the unsuspecting Ogalalas. The excited scouts groaned as they realized it. As they neared the lodges they began to shout at the top of their voices, and in a few moments the people rushed to the edge of the camp. Hollow Bear and Little Wolf pointed excitedly toward the south, and then toward the herds of ponies, at the same time sounding the piercing war cry of the Dacotahs.
"The Pawnees are coming! Drive in the ponies. Get ready to fight!" they cried when they came within shouting distance.
The warning instantly caused a commotion in the village. The warriors rushed for their weapons, the women dragged the frightened children to the lodges, and a company of boys ran out on the plain to drive in the horses. The war ponies, as usual, were picketed in the camp. Then, when the riders dashed into the village and told their story, a number of scouts leaped upon their ponies and raced away to watch for the Pawnees.
A few moments afterward Wolf Robe, the Ogalala war chief, called his warriors together in council. He realized at once that the situation was serious, and he was troubled and fearful of the outcome. The presence of the women and children filled his heart with gloomy misgivings, for he saw no way of getting them away. Ordinarily they would have been sent to the hills under a strong escort of warriors, but in the present emergency he knew that such an attempt would be almost sure to end disastrously. The nearest foothills were far away to the west, in the country of the Minneconjoux, and the experienced old chief realized that the first maneuver of his foes would be to surround the Ogalala camp. But even if the women and children were taken from the village before the way was barred, Wolf Robe knew that it would be folly to send them across the open plain under as feeble an escort as he could spare for their protection. Hollow Bear and Little Wolf both assured him that there were at least four Pawnees for every Ogalala, and Wolf Robe believed that in the face of such overwhelming odds the village itself would be the best safeguard for his people. Protected somewhat by the lodges, he believed that they might hold off their foes until help could arrive. Therefore, he determined to keep the women and children in the camp, at least until he learned the actual strength and disposition of the Pawnee forces.