"'No, I have not seen them,' Old-Man-of-the-Winds answered. 'As you know, I belong on the west side of this Backbone-of-the-World. It is from there that I start the winds that blow over your country. I have been no farther out than here. No, I have not seen the horses.' "'Now I am depressed,' the Kootenai exclaimed. 'I did not expect to learn much about this from the birds, the animals, trees, and rocks, even the bumblebee could tell me nothing; but I felt that you would surely know where the two horses are!' "'Well, I have a friend who can tell you what you want to know,' said Old-Man-of-the-Winds. 'He is Red-Top Plume. He lives in the clouds; he can see the whole country; undoubtedly he can tell you where those horses are.' "'He is a stranger to me. How shall I find him--this Red-Top Plume?' the Kootenai asked; and all the people held their breath, waiting to hear the answer. Here was sacred talk; talk of a man with a god, and about gods: they could hardly believe that it was real, that which they were hearing. "Answered Old-Man-of-the-Winds: 'Watch the clouds. When you see one of them turning from white to red, as the sun goes down to his lodge on his island in the great sea, you will know that Red-Top Plume is there above you. That red cloud is his plume. Yes, when you see that, sing your song again four times; blow your whistle again four times, and he will answer you.' "And with that the wind suddenly started to blow from the east, and Old-Man-of-the-Winds went with it back to his western home, and they heard him no more. "From his dark little lodge in the big lodge, the Kootenai called out to Mountain Chief: 'Go, stand outside your lodge, watch for a cloud turning red, and when you see it, come inside and tell me that it is there above us.' "Mountain Chief went outside. He looked up and saw but a few small, white, slowly drifting clouds in the sky. There were four of them straight above him. These drifted toward one another, and he cried out: 'A sign! A sacred sign! Four small clouds are getting together to make one large cloud!' "And at that all the people in the lodge cried out: 'The sacred number! Oh, sun! Oh, Above People all! Pity us! Pity us all! Allow us to survive all dangers! Give us long life and happiness!' "And then, as the sun was setting, Mountain Chief cried out: 'The four are now one large cloud, and its edge is beginning to turn red! Ai! The red, the sacred color, spreads over it!' "His voice trembled. Himself, he trembled; for he knew that he was looking--not at an ordinary cloud, but at Red-Top Plume himself, the great cloud god!