“Yes,” Blind Dog agreed, “it has been much too quiet. We have not had much excitement. Things have been far too peaceful.”
“Do you wish to have a war on your hands, Blind Dog?” Deerfoot asked with a smile.
“Well, it would be a very welcome change from horse herd duty at night, and repairing bridles and broken weapons in the daytime.”
“You are getting restless, my friend.” Deerfoot spoke soberly now. “That is not good. When one gets restless, one becomes careless. That can be dangerous.”
At first, Blind Dog refused to be serious. “Oh, do not worry, Deerfoot. I may have become restless, but I will never become careless.” Then he added gravely, “To become careless even for a moment might mean death to a warrior like myself. There is many a brave in other tribes who would love to see my scalp hanging from his tepee pole. But I like the feel of my scalp right where it is. Anyway, nothing—not even a puppy—will ever catch me off guard.”
“Do not be so sure of yourself, Blind Dog. Being so sure can make any brave careless. You must always be alert. It may seem too peaceful to us here now, but even the quiet shadows of this very night could conceal our enemies. As we sit here talking noisily about not being careless, they could be stealing some of our best horses. Let us go back to our guard posts so that we can watch the herd as we should.”
Deerfoot and Blind Dog mounted their horses and had started to circle the herd to see that nothing had disturbed the horses. When they had finished checking and had dismounted, Blind Dog complained that he felt ill.
“Since we have just checked the herd and everything is all right,” Deerfoot said, “why don’t you return to the village, Blind Dog, and go to your tepee? It is almost time for the other guards to take our places. I can stand guard alone for that short time.”
Blind Dog said that he should not leave his friend, but with Deerfoot’s urging, he finally agreed and walked slowly back toward the village. Arriving at his tepee, he found that his father must still be at the council meeting. The night air had become chilly and he wrapped himself in a warm buffalo robe and curled up in the corner of the tepee. Blind Dog was just about to fall off to sleep when he heard men shouting excitedly and horses snorting and pounding their hoofs. He struggled out of the robe and stepped outside of the tepee in time to see several chieftains break from the council ring and head toward the horses.
As they reached the edge of the herd, they called out for the guard but there was no response. They called again and again, but their only answer was the stomping of horses and the frightened neighing of ponies. It was very dark and it was some time before the chieftains discovered that about six of their finest animals were missing. Where were the guards, they wondered, and how had the horses gotten loose? Then someone noticed Blind Dog and called to him.