"They will surround us from all sides, as the hunters gather around a herd of antelopes," one of the men said. "If they were not in back of us, we could go to the camp where the women and children wait."
Quannah looked at the trail which led toward his little daughter, as he said in a voice that all could hear plainly, "We will do it. I have a plan. We must protect our women and children!"
Then the Medicine Man, who had remained silent, stood beside the Comanche Chief. With hands uplifted toward the sky the old man called upon the Great Spirit to hear his children and aid them in the fight to save the game and the grass and the homes of the Comanche people from the white men who wished to destroy them.
After that Star watched the warriors hold up their long bows and quivers filled with slender arrows, that the Medicine Man's blessing might make the arrows strong and sure, give strength to their fingers and clear vision to their eyes in the battle for their homes and those whom they loved.
Chapter VII
Among those who journeyed with Quannah were the youths of the Quahada Comanches who had reached the age of twelve. These boys knew how to use bows and arrows as well as the older men. Children of the tribe were given tiny bows and arrows for toys as soon as they were big enough to hold them, and each day they practised shooting at targets, while their parents watched them proudly.
They were also taught to ride a pony bare-back, lying close against its neck and leaning forward, so that from the opposite side nothing could be seen of the little rider except one brown leg and a hand that clung to the pony's thick mane.
Another lesson they had to learn was to creep silently through the grass, taking great care not to make it move so that other boys could not see where they were hiding. Because of this training and their small size, some of these boys had been allowed to travel with the warriors under Quannah, that they might be used as spies when the Indians drew near the camps of the white men.
So when the different couriers returned to Quannah and reported that the white men were coming from every side to surround the Comanches, and that part of these men were between Quannah's band and the camp where the Comanche women and children had been left, Quannah called his followers about him while the old Medicine Man stood beside the chief.