He had scarcely taken a dozen steps on the return trip when he thought of Clawing Bear. The other Sioux might be convinced that he and Angry Wolf had fallen to the Crows, but Clawing Bear would have hope that they would escape. The medicine man wouldn’t leave without hiding a message for them. Little Eagle turned back to the place where Clawing Bear’s tepee had stood.
He found the message at once. There were only a few piles of stones and sticks, but Little Eagle easily read the story they told.
When it had been learned that both Angry Wolf and he had slipped through the line of dog soldiers, there had been great anger in camp. When they didn’t return after nightfall, the best dog soldier scouts had been sent to find them. Some of these scouts had come upon hidden Crows. They had looked down on the first Crow camp and seen the preparations for an attack. As soon as most of the scouts reported back to camp, the chiefs had ordered the tribe to move.
“That’s why the Crows were fleeing,” Little Eagle said aloud. “Their scouts found our camp abandoned. They were afraid this party would circle to cut them off and at the same time send for help. They were afraid they would be caught in the same sort of trap they set for us.”
After he had read the message, Little Eagle looked farther. He found the sign pointing to the cache. Clawing Bear had hidden the sign well. That meant that whatever was hidden was so valuable Clawing Bear didn’t want it to fall into enemy hands.
Little Eagle had to do considerable searching before he found the hiding place. Clawing Bear had so cleverly put the dirt back into the place that it was almost impossible to find. Little Eagle dug the dirt loose with a pointed stick and scooped it out with his hands. The stick struck something solid. When Little Eagle scooped away the dirt, he found a cooking bowl turned upside down. As soon as he lifted the bowl, he saw the leather bag. He was trembling with excitement when he picked up the bag. He unwrapped one of the small packages it contained. It was a package of powdered herbs used in making the poultice.
Little Eagle didn’t need to open the other packages to know that they contained the other necessary materials. Truly Clawing Bear was a great medicine man. In some mysterious way he had learned that Little Eagle would need these things.
Little Eagle glanced up at the sky. The sun was almost straight overhead. He had been gone a long time. Now that he had the things to cure Angry Wolf, it was important that he get back as soon as possible.
Little Eagle tied the leather bag to his belt. He stooped down to pick up the cooking bowl, but changed his mind. He would take the larger one he had seen abandoned in the Crow camp.
As he hurried back toward Angry Wolf, all kinds of fears tormented Little Eagle. Without water, Angry Wolf might not still be alive. Some enemy might have passed that way and found him. Little Eagle used all of his will power to hold a reasonable pace. He reminded himself that if he became exhausted, there would be no one to care for Angry Wolf.