They all had been marching two more days, and had covered about forty more miles. This made seven days’ travel, counting the two days of meat camp, and eighty-five miles, since the Big Blue Mountain had first been sighted. Now it and the lesser mountains were much plainer. But here were the Indians, sure enough. The lieutenant had rather been expecting them. Yesterday the fresh tracks of the two men, again, had given warning. So the column were marching close together. The Indians, on foot, were running toward the column, from some trees on the river bank, at the right. “Close up, men,” the lieutenant ordered. “Close up, close up! Look to your priming!” ordered Sergeant Meek. And the lieutenant and the doctor, with Baroney and Stub ready to interpret for them, led for the Indians. “Pawnee, hein (hey)?” said Baroney. “No Republic Pawnee; Grand Pawnee. War party; no horses,” Stub explained. There was a difference between the Republic Pawnees and the Grand Pawnees. “Others yonder, lieutenant!” exclaimed the doctor. They looked. Another squad of the Indians were running down from a hill on the left. They carried flags on lances――the Grand Pawnee war colors. “Make a surround!” guessed Baroney. The lieutenant reined his horse, and drew his curved sword. “Company, halt! Watch sharp, men!” He glanced right and left, waiting to see if this was an attack. No――for, as the doctor suddenly said: “Those first fellows act friendly, lieutenant. They have no arms; they’re holding out empty hands.” “Forward!” ordered the lieutenant. In a minute more they met the Indians from the timber. These Pawnees did indeed act friendly――and all too friendly! They crowded in among the soldiers, shaking hands, putting their arms around the soldiers’ necks, even trying to hug the lieutenant and the doctor and Baroney and the others who rode horseback. The lieutenant got off, good-naturedly; instantly a Pawnee leaped into the saddle and rode the horse away. The doctor and Baroney lost their horses, also; Stub (who knew what the Pawnees were up to) was almost dragged down, but he stuck fast. All was in confusion of laughter and jostling and pretended play. “No, no!” the lieutenant objected, growing angry; and half drew a pistol. The men were getting together, wresting their guns from the Pawnees’ hands and holding them high, to keep them free. More Pawnees, from the timber, had joined, with guns and bows and lances; and the Pawnees from the hillside had come in. They included two chiefs. The two chiefs issued orders, and the play stopped. The horses were returned. Then all went on to the trees by the river, for a talk. Here matters again looked bad. The warriors frolicked, in spite of the chiefs. They were Grand Pawnees――sixty: a war party out to plunder the Padoucahs. But they had not found any Padoucahs; so this seemed a good chance to plunder somebody else, instead of returning home empty-handed.