Although he was sure his thoughts would keep him awake, Little Eagle stretched out on the deerskin. He closed his eyes against the glare of the sun and fell asleep at once. He was awakened by the rattle of a small stone, falling in the grass near him.
Little Eagle crawled to a place beside Angry Wolf. He saw the two Pawnee scouts at once. They were riding up the trail on the other side of the creek. Little Eagle watched the scouts with a puzzled frown. The scouts didn’t seem to be watching for the place where their enemies had ridden out of the stream.
“They don’t act as though they’re looking for our trail,” Little Eagle whispered.
“I expect they know of a beaver dam farther up the stream,” Angry Wolf whispered back.
Little Eagle nodded. That was a likely explanation. If the beavers had made a dam across the stream farther up it, anyone riding upstream would have to go around it. The Pawnees must know of such a dam. They would ride there, expecting to pick up the trail again. It was lucky that he and Angry Wolf had turned off here.
The two Sioux watched the Pawnees until a bend in the valley hid them from view. Angry Wolf started to crawl away, but Little Eagle touched his arm to stop him. It wasn’t long until a party of Pawnee warriors rode into sight. Angry Wolf turned an admiring glance on Little Eagle.
“How did you know a party of warriors would follow those two Pawnee scouts?” he asked.
“You told me that was the way Pawnees followed a trail,” Little Eagle reminded him. “It is because you are so tired that you didn’t think of it,” he added. “Go back and sleep while I watch.”
Angry Wolf obeyed without protesting. Little Eagle kept his eyes on the bend in the valley where the Pawnees had disappeared. Little Eagle smiled to himself as he thought how surprised the Pawnee scouts would be when they reached the beaver dam and couldn’t find their enemies’ trail. He and Angry Wolf had certainly made a crooked trail.
The warm sun had wiped away the frost and dried the grass. For a while its heat made Little Eagle drowsy. Now some clouds rolled up and hid the sun. The wind was rising and it had a chilly edge. Little Eagle raised his eyes to study the clouds. He saw that it wouldn’t be long before rain started to fall.