He looked all about him in the bushes and trees for Kaw, but if the old crow had arrived, he was too well hidden to be seen. Then he looked among the coyotes for old Rip, but he was not there. Had the little bear been in a position to see behind the rocks that stood above Cho-gay’s cave, he would have seen the wolf crouched behind one that stood above the little cave in which the old mountain sheep had been confined. The sheep had been kept in this hole long enough to leave a strong scent behind him, and Rip had no difficulty in locating the right spot.
“Here,” thought he, “I will remain until my partner, Sandy, gets Cho-gay into the cave to hear the secret news, and then a strong push will upset the flat rock that imprisons the sheep, and the rest will be easy and satisfying.”
The greedy old wolf licked his great chops, as he thought of the juicy taste of fresh mutton, and could hardly wait for the time when the Indian man-child would come out and invite Sandy into the cave. Surely this would be a great day for Rip and the fox. As for the coyotes, they were nothing, and they knew enough to give their great cousin a wide berth until he permitted them to come and gnaw on the sheep bones that he might leave for them.
Just as the sun peeped over the hills, Cho-gay came out of his cave and yawned as he stretched his arms over his head. Sandy, who had never taken his eyes from the cave entrance since he arrived, mistook the upraised arms for a signal for him to approach and he trotted boldly up to the flat rock.
“A good-morning to you, Brother Cho-gay. I am here to know what you would like to hear from the mouth of Red-eagle Fox, the hunter.”
Cho-gay, who was never in very good humor before breakfast, stared at his caller and then at the row of coyotes seated in the clearing below.
“So you are the rascal who they say is a maker of lies. We will have ears for your strange story when I have had food,” said Cho-gay as he returned to his cave.
This remark had the effect of a dash of cold water on the boastful little Sandy, and the row of grins that faced him from the escort below did not add to his comfort. But he turned his back on them and waited as patiently as he could for the reappearance of Cho-gay.
A few minutes later the Indian boy came out and, seating himself on the flat rock, commanded the now timid Sandy to tell his story about flying like an eagle to the top of Skull-top mountain.
Although he had rehearsed the story again and again during his journey to the cave, the little fox now told it in such a halting manner that Cho-gay, Wongo and the coyotes were very certain that it was untrue.