“We’ll have no fire tonight,” Grandfather told him.
While they were eating, Grandfather explained to Little Bear that the Crow warrior must have seen the Sioux escape from the Pawnee trap. The Crow would know the Sioux would feel safe after the Pawnees had fled. He would guess they wouldn’t have a guard watching their horses. It would give him a good chance to make a raid.
“He would go towards the land of the setting sun, wouldn’t he?” Little Bear asked.
Grandfather nodded.
“He would circle around and get onto the Pawnees’ trail. He would follow it until he was sure we had given up trailing him. Then he would turn directly towards the land of the setting sun,” Great Bear judged.
As soon as he had finished eating, Little Bear rolled himself up in his buffalo robe and quickly fell asleep. He was awakened during the night by the sounds of the horses moving about. He sat up quickly. Then he remembered the horses were not used to hobbles. They were making so much noise because they were moving awkwardly. He rolled himself in his robe again and fell asleep.
Morning light was showing only faintly in the east when Grandfather awakened him. Little Bear rolled his robe into a bundle and tied it on his horse. He accepted the food Grandfather gave him and munched it as they rode towards the Pawnees’ trail. When they reached the trail, Grandfather rode to the left of it and motioned for Little Bear to ride to the right.
Little Bear would have liked to let his horse go racing along the trail. He was sure the Crow was speeding away with the stolen horses while they were following slowly, searching for his trail. But he knew they couldn’t find the Crow’s trail unless they went slowly. The farther they rode, the surer Little Bear became that his idea had been wrong. The Crow wouldn’t have circled that far before getting on the Pawnees’ trail. He looked across at Great Bear. How much farther would Grandfather ride before he gave up and turned back to search for the Crow’s trail at the stream?
Then Grandfather called to him softly. “Here’s where he rode into the Pawnees’ trail.”