"Listen!" cried White Otter. "The fight is still going on. Yes, the Ogalalas are keeping the Wolf People out of the camp. Come, we will ride over there and try to do something."
They galloped away in the direction of the Ogalala camp. However, when they again stopped to listen, the noise had ceased. They listened anxiously, hoping to hear something that would tell them that the Sioux had successfully withstood the attack. The silence troubled them. It made it evident that the fight was over. The thought suggested a number of alarming possibilities.
"Come, my brothers, we must go near to the camp," declared White Otter. "Then we will know about this thing."
As they started away they again heard a wild clamor in the direction of the Ogalala village, and they believed that the fight had been renewed. The thought filled them with hope, for they knew that the Sioux had repulsed the first attack successfully. As the confused babel of sound echoed faintly across the plain, the three scouts stopped and made an earnest appeal to the Great Mystery. Then they lashed their ponies into a furious sprint, and raced away to aid their tribesmen.
"I believe those scouts have told their people about us," cried White Otter. "Now they know about the war party that is coming to fight them. They are making another great fight to get into the camp. Perhaps they will do this thing. I am thinking about it. It is bad."
A short time afterward they rode to the top of another low ridge, and saw the glow of the Ogalala fires. As they were watching them, however, they heard the shouts and whoops of the Pawnees rising some distance south of the camp. Each moment the noise sounded farther from the village, and it soon became evident that the Pawnees were withdrawing. A mighty chorus of yells from the camp convinced White Otter and his companions that the Sioux had finally been victorious. The thought sent them into an ecstasy of joy.
"Listen, my brothers!" White Otter cried, delightedly. "The Pawnees are running away. Yes, my people have made a great fight. The Wolf People know about this great war party. They are running away before our people come. But we will follow them. Yes, Curly Horse and Laughing Bird will chase them. Now we will go ahead, and find out about this thing."
"My brother, I believe that what you say is true," replied Little Raven. "If your people have chased away all those Pawnees they have done a great thing. Pretty soon we will know about it. But when our people come here, then we must go on to fight the boastful Wolf People. Yes, I believe I will count many coups, and take some good ponies."
"Yes, the Pawnees are going away," declared High Eagle. "But it has been a great battle. I believe many of our brothers have been killed. Yes, I am proud about this thing, but I must tell you that my heart is heavy. I believe that something bad has happened to our people. I do not like to talk about it. I have been in many battles. When I feel like that in my heart it is always bad."
The older warrior's gloomy prophecy instantly sobered White Otter and Little Raven. They began to realize that the victory might have been a costly one. The thought increased White Otter's anxiety, and he determined to learn exactly what had happened without further delay. He felt certain that the Pawnees had really departed, and he raced toward the camp with little attempt at concealment.