Rock seemed to realize that it was up to him to keep his rider from trouble. The horse worked even harder than he had before. It wasn’t long until the pack animals realized that they couldn’t escape as long as Rock was watching them. They quieted and began to graze.
Sly Fox rode over beside Bent Arrow.
“I’m going to ride over there and shoot a buffalo,” Sly Fox told Bent Arrow, speaking low so the other boys couldn’t hear him.
“Don’t do it,” Bent Arrow warned. “Chief Barking Wolf will have you punished. You know how warriors are punished when they disobey orders on a hunting trip. You will be whipped in front of the whole camp.”
“The punishment will be forgotten if I kill a buffalo,” Sly Fox retorted.
“That won’t—,” Bent Arrow began, but at that moment Wild Wind gave the signal for the boys to bring the pack horses.
Bent Arrow and Sly Fox were in front of the herd. They turned their horses and led the way. The horses followed readily. At the top of the low hill, the boys paused to watch the hunt.
From their place, the boys could see far out over the wide valley. Truly the scouts had found a great herd of buffaloes. The attack of the hunters had started the herd running, but even yet a fourth of the valley was covered with buffaloes lumbering in flight ahead of the hunters. Many lay where the hunters’ arrows had slain them.
Bent Arrow noticed that the hunters were riding into the herd, selecting the younger animals. As the boys watched, one old buffalo broke from the herd, turned back, and started running up the hill.
“Here’s my chance to get a buffalo,” Sly Fox shouted excitedly.