Little Eagle followed the trail which the Crows had made between their two camps. In spite of the need to go swiftly, he held himself to the pace he had been taught. Although it seemed to be taking him a long time to make the journey, he was encouraged by the thought that there would be horses at the Sioux camp. He and Clawing Bear could make the return trip quickly.
As he trotted along the trail, Little Eagle kept a constant watch ahead. It was unlikely that the Crows had left scouts behind, but there was danger that other enemies might be near. There was always the possibility that a band of Pawnees would be hunting on land which belonged to the Sioux.
Going through the valley where the Crow camp had been pitched, Little Eagle looked about without slackening his pace. He saw many signs that the Crows had left hurriedly. They had left several pieces of camp gear behind. Little Eagle noticed one fine cooking pot which he would have liked to take, but he passed it.
By the time he reached the hillside where he had hidden to rest when he left the Sioux camp, Little Eagle was growing alarmed. Thus far he had seen no spirals of smoke or other signs which ought to have been coming from camp. He should have met Sioux scouts. Surely the chiefs would have sent scouts out to watch the Crows when they failed to return to the powwow. Or, if yesterday’s powwow had ended in a quarrel, there would be Sioux scouts out to make sure that the Crows didn’t try a surprise attack.
The nearer Little Eagle came to the camping place, the greater grew his fears. For the first time since he had seen the Crow warriors come back to their own camp at daybreak, he became afraid that they had managed to carry out a successful raid.
As he trotted up the hill, Little Eagle thought back to the actions of the Crows. He was sure they had spent considerable time following the trail he had made to lead them away from Angry Wolf. None of the returning Crow warriors had had new scalps at their belts. They had acted much more like defeated warriors than like ones who had carried out a successful raid. Even though he thought of all those things, Little Eagle dreaded the moment when he would look down onto the Sioux camp.
When he reached the top of the hill, Little Eagle saw that the camp was gone. Not a tepee was in sight. His fears gave way to a feeling of triumph when he saw there were no signs of fighting. The tribe had escaped.
When he studied the camping place, he found as many signs of hasty breaking of camp as there had been at the Crow camping place. Little Eagle easily found the trail which led toward the north. The tribe was headed toward the Sioux winter camping grounds.
Little Eagle raised his bow above his head and gave a shout of triumph. Here was proof that he and Angry Wolf had succeeded. In some way, what they had done had warned the Sioux that the Crows were planning treachery and they had escaped. The feeling of triumph faded quickly. How could he alone save Angry Wolf’s life?
Little Eagle walked slowly along the trail left by the fleeing tribe. Someone should have left a message for Angry Wolf and him. There should be pointers to tell them where they could join the party and other marks to show how to signal for help, but he couldn’t find any. There were many signs to show that the party had gone swiftly. Little Eagle knew there was no hope he could overtake it on foot. He tried to hide from himself his fears and disappointment as he turned to go back to Angry Wolf.