Angry Wolf waited and let Little Eagle lead the way. Little Eagle rode along the base of the hill until he came to a place where a narrow finger of a valley extended back into the hills. Here both riders dismounted. They turned the horses loose to graze. Little Eagle unfolded the deerskin and put the fur side down. Both he and Angry Wolf crawled under it and fell asleep at once.
Little Eagle awoke at daybreak. When he crawled out from under the deerskin, he saw that the grass was covered with a heavy layer of frost. He watched anxiously as Angry Wolf got to his feet. He noticed that in spite of yesterday’s hard travel, Angry Wolf seemed much stronger. He walked easily and held himself erect.
“You are almost well,” Little Eagle told him.
“I am strong enough to start our trip to the winter camp,” Angry Wolf agreed. “It is time we were starting,” he added, kicking at the heavy frost on the grass. “Old-man-of-the-north will soon send snow.”
“Snow will hide our trail from our enemies,” Little Eagle said.
“It will make traveling harder for us, too,” Angry Wolf replied.
The two boys went to explore the finger of the valley. They found it was a narrow, grassy glen with a few trees in the middle. It was ringed with steep hills. The only entrance was the one through which they had come.
“I wonder if it will be safe to start a fire and cook meat?” Angry Wolf asked.
Little Eagle noticed how differently Angry Wolf treated him from the way he had when they were planning to get horses from the Crows. Then, because he was older, Angry Wolf had wanted to make all the plans without asking Little Eagle’s advice. Now, he seemed to think that Little Eagle was the wiser and should decide what was to be done.
“It is dangerous, but we need food,” Little Eagle answered.