“That is true,” Great Bear agreed hopefully. “Perhaps his medicine is not as strong as I thought.”
For a time they sat in silence. The wind rose, and the drifting snow seemed to close them off from the rest of the world. If the storm continued this way much longer, drifts would be piled so high the horses would not be able to wade through them. A short time before, Little Bear had been eager to keep Great Bear searching for the Crow. The storm showed him they should start for the Sioux winter camp as soon as possible.
“Will the storm be over so we can start for camp tomorrow, Grandfather?” he asked.
Great Bear raised his eyes from the fire.
“Not tomorrow,” he replied. “Perhaps the day after. But we are not starting back without the horses that Crow stole from our herd.”
“The Crow’s trail will be covered,” Little Bear protested.
“We may not need to find the trail,” Grandfather said thoughtfully. “Tell me about that dream you had at the place of water-that-falls.”
Little Bear related what seemed to have happened in his dream. Great Bear listened closely as his grandson told about the part where he and the warrior had ridden the roan horse and especially to the part where they had walked to the Crow’s camp during a snowstorm.
“It must have been a message.” Great Bear nodded at the end. “It is the very place the Crow would pick to camp until this storm is over.”
“Do you have a plan, Grandfather?” he asked excitedly.
“If it is still snowing in the morning, we may be able to surprise the Crow and get the horses,” Great Bear said. “If it stops snowing before morning, we will get the horses tomorrow night.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to get them tonight?” Little Bear urged. “We know the Crow will be in camp now. In this storm he won’t expect a raid.”
“There are several reasons why we couldn’t get them tonight,” Great Bear pointed out. “It would be difficult to find our way. Besides, we might not be able to get the horses to move out of the valley in the dark and the storm.”
“How shall we be able to get them in daylight?” Little Bear wondered.
“I believe the place where the Crow is camped is a small canyon like Buffalo Trap Canyon,” Great Bear explained. “It has only one entrance and the Crow won’t be camped there. He will find a protected place behind some trees. The horses will be at the north end of the canyon where high cliffs will protect them. If we are careful, we may be able to get all of the Crow’s horses without his seeing us.”