He could hardly believe it when he heard the footsteps go on past and fade out in the distance. It was strange that the dog soldier had followed his trail this far and then failed to see where he had turned aside. When Little Eagle finally raised his head, whoever had gone by was out of sight.
Little Eagle went back to his own trail. There were a few bits of dry grass which hadn’t straightened. He sensed that something wasn’t as it should be. He knelt down to get a better look. There were no signs of anyone else having followed his trail. Yet he knew he had heard someone running past. He hunted about until he found another trail several paces to the right of the one he had made. Whoever had been running in this direction had not been following him.
Again Little Eagle knelt to get a better look. He saw that the strides taken were not much longer than his own. The warrior who had passed must not be a large man, but Little Eagle could not tell whether the man had been a Sioux or a Crow. He wished Clawing Bear or a warrior were with him. They would have been able to read all of the signs.
Little Eagle hesitated. He glanced toward the land-of-the-rising-sun, then he turned and took a long look in the other direction. At last he made up his mind. He ran several paces to his left and again started toward the land-of-the-setting-sun.
This time he went at a sensible pace. He ran at a jogging trot, occasionally slowing to a walk. The sun was still high in the sky when he came to the place where the Crow camp should be. He began to go as cautiously as he had when he slipped out of his own camp.
When Little Eagle saw smoke rising into the air across the hill ahead of him, he knew he was almost upon the Crow camp. There didn’t seem to be any Crow watchers on this side of the hill. Nevertheless, he moved carefully. The Crows might have dog soldiers around the camp. Near the top of the hill, Little Eagle got to his hands and knees and crawled forward.
The top of the hill was covered with brush and trees, so it was easy for him to keep hidden. He could hear the sounds of the camp ahead. He crawled forward until he came to a place where the hill sloped steeply down into a valley. He found a clump of brush to hide behind. From there he could look down onto the Crow camp with little danger that a warrior would see him.