really intended to go to the Ogalala camp, he feared that he had given them a big advantage. They were a long distance ahead of him, and he knew that it would be necessary to ride hard to beat them to the goal. The thought shook his confidence. He began to doubt the wisdom of his maneuver. Each moment added to his uncertainty. He studied the plain for a way to follow the war party without being seen. The ridge offered the only opportunity. It extended a considerable distance toward the north, and by riding along the east side of it he believed he might again come in sight of his foes.

"Come, Sun Bird, we will ride along behind this hill, and try to follow the Kiowas," he said.

Then Little Raven called, and when they turned they saw him pointing excitedly toward the north. Looking across the plain, they discovered a riderless pony running toward the west.

"Bring up the ponies! Bring up the ponies!" White Otter called, in alarm.

They hurried down the ridge and met Little Raven. Then they sprang upon the ponies, and galloped over the ridge. Once over the top, they ran back to watch, while Little Raven took charge of the ponies. Two horsemen had already appeared in pursuit of the runaway pony. The Sioux realized that they had barely escaped discovery.

"They did not see us," declared Sun Bird.

"It is good," said White Otter.

They watched the race with great interest. The riders soon overtook the pony. Then they turned about and cantered away toward the east. The Sioux looked inquiringly at one another. Who were the strange riders? Where had they come from? Was another war party in the vicinity? The alarming questions flashed through their minds. They were puzzled.

"I believe it is the Kiowas," White Otter declared, finally. "I believe they have turned toward The-place-where-the-day-begins."

"Then they must be trying to fool us," said Sun Bird.

"I do not know what they are trying to do," White Otter replied, suspiciously.

In the meantime the distant horsemen had disappeared, and the plain seemed free of foes. The Sioux looked toward the east. They examined the tops of the knolls and ridges, and watched closely for dust, but saw nothing to convince them that the war party had gone in that direction.

"This thing is mysterious," said Sun Bird.

They realized that they were in an awkward predicament. They knew that if scouts were loitering in the vicinity of the spot where they had last seen the Kiowa war party it would be perilous to remain on the western side of the ridge. Still, if they crossed the ridge and attempted to advance along the other side they feared they would be discovered by scouts watching somewhere on that side of the plain. For some moments they were undecided as to just what to do.

"My brothers, I will tell you how I feel about this thing," Sun Bird said, suddenly. "If the Kiowas have turned toward The-place-where-the-day-begins, I do not believe they are going to the lodges of our people. If that is true, it would be foolish to follow them. I believe there are many enemies in this country. We must not stay here. Come, we will ride around and find out if the buffaloes have come into this place. Then we will go back to our people."

"Sun Bird, before we go away we must find out about this thing," White Otter told him. "Perhaps it is true that the Kiowas are not going to the lodges of my people. We are not sure about it. Perhaps they know who we are. Perhaps they turned around to fool us. Perhaps if we do not follow them they will circle around and come to the lodges of my people. My brothers, we must find out where those Kiowas are going."

"How can we do that?" inquired Little Raven. "A war party leaves scouts behind. If we try to follow the Kiowas before it gets dark those scouts will see us. If we wait until it gets dark the Kiowas will be too far away."

"Listen sharp, my brothers, and I will tell you how I propose to do this thing," said White Otter. "It would be foolish to follow along this hill. If we do that the Kiowas will see us. We will do something different. We will cross over this hill, and ride away toward The-place-where-the-day-begins. If the Kiowas are watching they will say, 'Hi, those scouts were hiding behind that hill. Now they believe we have gone away. See, they are going to tell their people about it. They are riding toward the Cheyenne camp. They must be Cheyennes.' We will keep going toward the Cheyenne lodges. Then we will circle around, and try to find the Kiowas. If we do not find them over there, we will know that they have gone to fight my people."

"It is good," agreed Sun Bird.

"We will go," said White Otter.

They crossed the ridge, and rode boldly away toward the southeast, in the direction of the Cheyenne camp. They had little doubt that sharp-eyed Kiowa scouts were watching them. They glanced back many times, but saw nothing to confirm their suspicions.

Toward the end of the day they came in sight of another little grove of cottonwoods. They circled about it many times before they finally ventured within arrow-range. The grove was unoccupied, and contained a tiny pool. They killed several sage grouse in the timber.

"It is good," said White Otter. "We will stay here until the sun goes away. Then we will circle around and try to find the Kiowas."

At the end of the day they left the grove and rode off toward the north, hoping to cross the trail of the war party. Twilight had already fallen upon the plain when they finally found the fresh tracks of many ponies. The trail led toward the east. The Sioux felt sure that it had been made by the Kiowas.

"Now we know that your people are safe," declared Sun Bird.

"Yes, I believe it is true," replied White Otter.

He was gazing thoughtfully across the plain. A new possibility had suddenly suggested itself. He felt certain that he had guessed the destination of his foes. He turned eagerly to his companions.

"Now I know about this thing," he told them, excitedly. "I believe those Kiowas are going to fight the Cheyennes. Yes, now I see how it is. They took us for Cheyennes. They tried to fool us. When we went away they circled around and came over here. Yes, yes, those Kiowas are going to fight the Cheyennes."

"I believe it is true," said Sun Bird. "Now we know about it. Well, we will not follow them. We will go back and look for buffaloes."

White Otter was silent. His friends saw that he was thinking about something. They waited for him to speak.

"The Cheyennes are our friends," he said at last. "Once we went with them to fight the Pawnees. Once we went with them to fight the Kiowas. We took away some good ponies in that fight. The Cheyennes are very brave. Red Dog, their chief, is our friend. My brothers, I am thinking about these things."

"How do you feel about it?" inquired Sun Bird.

"I will tell you," said White Otter. "We are Dacotahs. The brave Cheyennes are our friends. The boastful Kiowas are our enemies. A Dacotah helps his friends and fights his enemies. I am going to tell the Cheyennes about the Kiowas."

"It is good," declared Sun Bird.

"Hi, we will go to the village of our brothers the Cheyennes, and help them fight the Kiowas," Little Raven cried, enthusiastically.