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.”

“I am pleased to see that you have much courage. I would be more pleased if I saw that you were also blessed with much judgment.”

Andy asked, “Do you know where the boy will be sleeping?”

“I have seen him tied to a lodge pole.” Steals the Ponies picked up a stick and drew a circle in the sand to represent the interior of a tepee. He pointed out the front flap, then moved the point of the stick around the perimeter and stabbed it into the ground. “This is where I have seen him. I suspect the other children are placed around him at night to make it diffi-cult for him to escape.”

“Once I have freed him, what then?”

“I will have two horses for you. The sorrel on which you came and another for the boy.”

“What about his pony?”

“It will not travel fast enough. I have other use for the pony and the tracks it makes.”