Eagerly Andy asked, “What is it?”

“I have not thought it all through. We will talk of it later. Now I must move your horse so Fights with Bears will not see him and wonder.”

“I do not want to place you in danger. This is a thing I should do by myself.”

“Fights with Bears would not kill me, and I would not kill him. We are bound together by the blood of The People. But you are not of our blood, and neither is the boy. He would kill you both. So I will help you.”

Steals the Ponies was gone awhile. His wife was in and out of the tepee several times. Andy could sense that she was curious, but she asked no questions. The two children came inside and stared silently at Andy without approaching too closely. He wanted to tell them he was their uncle, but he decided against it. They might tell other children later, and word might find its way to Fights with Bears. He would know that Steals the Ponies was somehow involved in Billy’s liberation . . . if it worked.

When his brother returned, Andy asked, “What do we do now?”

“We rest. We wait. We can do nothing until Fights with Bears and his family are asleep.”

“Do you know for certain where Billy is?”

“He is in their lodge. They keep him tied because he tries to run away. I wonder about his intelligence. Even if he were to escape and not be found, by himself he would soon starve. The boy does not reason well.”

“He has the stubborn will of the Monahans.” Andy did not know how to explain the fierce independence of the family who had suffered so much because they stood by their unpopular convictions. He said, “They have much in common with the Comanches.”

That was explanation enough for Steals the Ponies. “Sleep now. You will have little time for it later. You have far to travel.”

So much was running through Andy’s mind that he did not expect to sleep at all. However, when his brother shook his shoulder gently to awaken him, he was surprised to see that it was dark outside.

His brother said, “It will soon be time. You must eat now.”

Andy did not feel like eating. He burned with excitement over what was coming. Steals the Ponies said, “You will need strength. Eat.”

Andy forced himself to down the leftover meat from the previous evening.

Steals the Ponies said, “I have been to the lodge of Fights with Bears. Not everything is as we would want it to be. One of the children is sick.”

“Billy?”

“One of the others. But when a child is sick, its mother does not sleep well. It will be difficult for me to crawl into the lodge without arousing the family.”

If caught, Steals the Ponies would be expelled from the band at the very least. He and his family would be outcasts. Andy said, “That is not for you to do. It is for me.”