As twilight finally gathered upon the plain, Curly Horse sent for White Otter and the warriors who were to accompany him in his perilous undertaking. They found the stern Minneconjoux war chief and Laughing Bird waiting to receive them.
"My brothers, I have called you here to tell you what is in my heart," said Curly Horse, as the Ogalalas stood before him. "Pretty soon you are going ahead to do a hard thing. You will be in great danger. White Otter, you are the leader. You are a young man. It is true that you have done some great things. But I have seen many more winters. Yes, I have been in many more battles. You must listen to my words."
"When the great chief, Curly Horse, speaks, my ears are open," replied the young Ogalala.
"It is good," resumed Curly Horse. "Now I will tell you what to do. If you live to get to the edge of that camp, you must wait there until you hear the great Dacotah war cry. When you hear that, you must rush into the camp. After that you must do whatever comes into your heart. If you get your people away, then you must keep shouting, so that we will not kill you. Yes, we will be right up to the camp. Then we will go in and take some ponies. I believe it will be a great fight. Now I have told you all I know about it."
"Curly Horse, I will keep your words in my heart," White Otter assured the Minneconjoux chief. "I see that the great chief, Laughing Bird, is standing beside you. Well, I will ask him if he has any words."
"My young brother, I am not the leader of this great war party," replied Laughing Bird. "Curly Horse has told you what to do. It is enough. But I will tell you that if you do this thing, it will be something to talk about. You are standing here with those brave men who are going with you. I see that two of them are very young. It makes me feel sad. Perhaps I will never see any of you again. I see that four of you are Ogalalas, and two of you are Minneconjoux. I am an Uncapapa, but you all are my brothers. Yes, we are Dacotahs. The Dacotahs have hearts like the bear. It is good. Go. I have finished."
Soon afterward White Otter and his gallant little company rode away to risk their lives in the desperate attempt to save the Ogalala captives. Night had fallen upon the plain, and they had little fear of being discovered before they actually neared the Pawnee camp. Still, they determined to take every precaution, for they fully realized the heavy responsibility that rested upon them. White Otter and Sun Bird each led an extra war pony, for the use of Wolf Robe and Yellow Horse. They had gone some distance when they were suddenly stopped by the sharp bark of the little gray fox.