Little Bear didn’t want Grandfather to change his mind about the scouting trip. He turned and hurried away towards the meadow. As usual, when he came within sight of the horses, Little Bear slowed to a walk. As he neared the herd, he gave that low whistle.
He knew at once something was wrong. He saw his own horse lift its head and look towards him. He repeated the whistle, still looking carefully at the herd. He was sure some of the horses were gone. He gave a gasp of dismay. Flying Arrow’s roan colt was gone. Impatiently he whistled again. His horse left the herd and trotted towards him. As he was waiting for his own horse, Little Bear saw the roan colt come out of the brush to the west and join the rest of the herd. At least it wasn’t gone.
He mounted his horse and rode into the herd. He had been right. Some of the horses were gone. Grandfather’s best buffalo horse, the black one, wasn’t there. Flying Arrow’s Blazed Face and some of the other horses were missing, too. He turned his horse and rode around the herd to the place where he had seen the colt coming out of the underbrush. There he found tracks leading from the meadow.
Little Bear was careful to keep his horse away from the trail the other horses had left. If the horses had been stolen, he wanted to leave all possible signs for the trackers to read. He followed the trail some distance, but he didn’t find the missing horses. He pulled his horse to a stop and sat motionless, trying to decide what to do. If the horses had merely wandered from the herd, the sooner he hunted for them, the easier it would be to find them. But it didn’t seem likely that a few of the horses had wandered off and the others remained. Far more likely the missing ones had been stolen. He should notify Great Bear and the other warriors at once.
He swung his horse around and rode back to the herd. It would save time if he brought the horses into camp for the warriors. He drove most of the herd ahead of him into camp. Grandfather and several other warriors heard him coming. They were waiting for him beside Great Bear’s tepee.
“Some of our horses were stolen during the night,” Little Bear reported.
“The Pawnees wouldn’t dare,” Red Cloud growled. “The horses have strayed away.”
“I hunted for them,” Little Bear explained. “Their trail showed they had gone fast. If they had strayed, they would have stopped often to graze.”
“The Pawnees had their lesson yesterday,” Red Cloud insisted. “They wouldn’t dare come back that close to our camp.”
“Others besides Pawnees like Sioux ponies,” Great Bear observed.