“That would be a fine present indeed.” Great Bear smiled. “We shall take it to him tomorrow.”
Little Bear wrapped himself in his robe and fell into a fitful sleep. He dreamed that he was climbing up and down steep canyon walls while a splendid roan horse was leaping across the canyons. The horse seemed never to run off and leave him, but always stayed just the width of one canyon ahead of him.
CHAPTER SIX
The sun was just climbing over the hill to the east when Little Bear awoke. There was an unusual stillness about the camp. He sat up with a puzzled look. A glance at Great Bear’s robe showed part of the reason for the stillness. Great Bear was still asleep. Little Bear crawled silently out of his robe and looked around. The horses were gone!
Into Little Bear’s mind flashed a picture of Grandfather and him, trudging afoot that long, weary journey to the main Sioux camp. He went over to the spot where the horses had been standing. He felt some relief when he wasn’t able to find any moccasin tracks. If the horses had strayed off, he might be able to catch them.
The horses’ tracks led to the edge of the shelf and down the steep bank. There were great furrows plowed in the soft mud where the horses had set their feet and slid down. Little Bear went slipping and sliding down the trail the horses had made. When he got to the bottom of the canyon, he found a small stream of water was still running. He noticed the horses had stopped to drink from the muddy stream. He glanced back at the side of the canyon. The high water mark was far above his head. He and Grandfather would have been swept away by the torrent if they hadn’t climbed out of it when they did.
He had no trouble following the horses’ tracks. The animals’ hooves had left deep marks in the wet ground. Nevertheless he was pleased to find the two horses grazing on some bunches of grass that had not been covered with mud. Since he was sure the horses would not stray far, Little Bear started back to camp. He had trouble climbing up the slippery bank, but finally got back to the shelf. Great Bear was crawling out of his robe as Little Bear returned.
“Where are the horses?” Great Bear demanded anxiously.
“They are grazing in the canyon,” Little Bear explained.