“It’s enough to be a warning to us,” Angry Wolf answered. “Old-man-of-the-north sent it to warn us that we should hurry to the winter camp.”
“Maybe he sent it to tell us that he would send more to cover our tracks, if we take horses from the Crows,” Little Eagle suggested.
Angry Wolf looked at him questioningly. Little Eagle wondered if that was fear he saw in his friend’s eyes. Since he had been wounded by the Crows, Angry Wolf had acted strangely every time the Crows were mentioned.
“If I can lead him in a successful raid against the Crows, he will be as brave as he has always been,” Little Eagle thought to himself, but he said nothing more to Angry Wolf.
“I’ll try to get fresh meat while you build a fire,” Angry Wolf offered.
Little Eagle watched as Angry Wolf left camp. It was surprising how much better Angry Wolf had become in the last two days. He seemed as strong as he had ever been. It was hard to believe that less than a moon ago he had been seriously wounded.
By the time Little Eagle had a cheerful fire going, Angry Wolf returned to camp with an antelope on his shoulder.
“Hunting is good,” Angry Wolf said, with a pleased smile. “This will be food enough until we get a buffalo.”
As soon as they had finished eating, Little Eagle brought the horses into camp. The sun had risen in a clear sky and already was melting the snow. Angry Wolf had made two packages of the meat. One he had wrapped in the hide of the antelope he had shot and the other in Little Eagle’s deer hide. He handed one of the packages to Little Eagle.
Little Eagle led the way. At first the route was up and down wooded hills, but soon the hills became smaller and the trees fewer. When they stopped to rest at midday, Little Eagle could see the open prairie ahead of them.