He did not know that any new accessions had been made to the Sioux forces, and did not doubt that he could whip them as easily as he had done once before.
But the Sioux made the attack soon after midnight, and the fortunes of war were decided in their favor. The Pawnees were completely routed.
Daylight revealed to the Blackfeet upon the hill the singular fact that the Pawnees were changed to Sioux.
The only avenue was well guarded, and Gray Eagle did not fear a surprise. His only anxiety, now, was for his daughter.
He had formed his camp very nearly in the center of the plateau, which covered an area of perhaps forty acres, so that discovery from below was an impossibility, as long as they kept away from the edge.
But in this case their curiosity obtained the mastery over their prudence, and an incautious exposure of one's body convinced them that the Sioux were on the alert.
Before long the bill was surrounded by Indians, eager to find the pass to the top, which they had not much trouble in doing, as they had only to follow the trail left by the Blackfeet.
An attempt to go up was met by the most disastrous result, the whole file of Sioux warriors being swept from the path at the first blow. They withdrew to the foot of the hill near the pass, and resolved to wait.
If the thing could be accomplished in no other way, Red Pine had resolved to starve them out.
Gray Eagle had been improvident in not laying in a supply of provisions before going up, and he saw his mistake—when it was too late.