We turned to face the south and scrutinized the tall, thick clumps of sagebrush standing among the shorter, scattered growth. They never moved, not so much as a quiver of their slender, pale-green tops. Pitamakan broke out with a quick-time dance-song of his people and danced a few steps to it as we neared the horses. I sauntered up to Is-spai-u, he to his fast runner, and we unfastened and coiled their ropes. Leading them, we moved on to one after another of the other four horses, ever with watchful eyes upon those clumps of sage, the nearest of which was not more than a hundred yards away. We feared every moment to see them thrown down and the enemy come charging upon us; but at last we had all the horses in lead and with fast-beating hearts and rising hopes started toward the river, never once looking back, much though we wanted to. Pitamakan seemed to know my thought, for he said cheerily: "Never mind; you don't need to look back. If they make a rush, Great Hider and Tsistsaki will shout before they can make two jumps toward us." [Illustration: AT LAST WE HAD ALL THE HORSES IN LEAD AND WITH FAST-BEATING HEARTS ... STARTED TOWARD THE RIVER] Ha! What a long, long way those few yards were to the shelter of the stockade. At last we rounded it. Breathing freer, we passed along the north side, led the horses in through the passageway, turned them loose, and put up the bars across it. Then we pretended to go into our lodge, but crouched away from the doorway and sneaked over to the two watchers kneeling at either side of the cannon and looking out across the flat. "You made it! My! That little song and dance of Pitamakan's, that sure fooled 'em! He is some actor, that boy," Abbott said. "Well, what are we to do now--fire the cannon at them? Give them a big scare?" I asked. "I don't know what to say. If only Far Thunder were here--" Abbott began. "He is coming. Look!" said Tsistsaki. Sure enough, he was on his way to dinner with three men, leaving three to guard the grove, as usual. The teams were almost to the site of the fort. I went out to meet them and told the men to take the horses into the barricade. "But the horses, they should be heat ze grass. Yes?" one of them said, and all looked at me questioningly. "Well, maybe we shall have a fight before we eat. A war party is cached out there in the sagebrush," I replied; and they shrank back as if I had struck them. At the same time I heard some slight commotion within the barricade. At Abbott's suggestion Tsistsaki was warning the women of our impending trouble and commanding them to make no outcry. "Shut your mouth!" I hissed to one of the teamsters, who with upflung arms was beginning to make great outcry. "Not a word from any of you now. Just get those horses inside; then pretend to go to your lodges, but sneak across to the south side and remain there."