He got to his feet. Little Bear again gave the Sioux war cry, and Great Bear joined him. They saw a Sioux warrior carefully edge out of the entrance to the canyon. Both of them waved at the warrior. He saw them and returned the signal. Then he darted back into the canyon. A few minutes later the whole Sioux hunting party charged out of the canyon. They crossed the stream and raced towards Little Bear and his grandfather.
When the hunters were safely on top of the hill, all of them turned to look towards the Pawnees. It was plain that the stampeded horses had not yet been caught. A rider had come back to get the wounded warriors. The others were still plodding away from the canyon.
“They won’t be back,” Big Buffalo stated.
“What became of their horses?” Flying Arrow asked.
“Stampeded,” Great Bear answered. “Big Buffalo is right. By the time they catch their horses, they won’t want any more fighting.”
“You have saved our lives, Great Bear,” Flying Arrow said.
“Not I,” Great Bear answered quickly. “Little Bear stampeded their horses.”
Flying Arrow turned to Little Bear.
“In the council I said you had a big mouth.” He spoke slowly and gravely. “Now I say I was wrong. You shoot well. You have a strong right arm.”
There were grunts of approval from the other warriors. Flying Arrow held up his hand for silence.