Deerfoot stopped abruptly. He slapped Blind Dog’s shoulder and began to laugh. Not two paces from them was a small mongrel dog which had wandered down among the horses seeking a cool place in which to lie and rest for a while. When Blind Dog saw what had amused Deerfoot so much, he laughed too, because they had been so alarmed by a dog.
“If it were not so quiet tonight,” Deerfoot remarked, “we would not have been so worried by anything so unimportant as a puppy.”
“Yes,” Blind Dog agreed, “it has been much too quiet. We have not had much excitement. Things have been far too peaceful.”
“Do you wish to have a war on your hands, Blind Dog?” Deerfoot asked with a smile.
“Well, it would be a very welcome change from horse herd duty at night, and repairing bridles and broken weapons in the daytime.”
“You are getting restless, my friend.” Deerfoot spoke soberly now. “That is not good. When one gets restless, one becomes careless. That can be dangerous.”
At first, Blind Dog refused to be serious. “Oh, do not worry, Deerfoot. I may have become restless, but I will never become careless.” Then he added gravely, “To become careless even for a moment might mean death to a warrior like myself. There is many a brave in other tribes who would love to see my scalp hanging from his tepee pole. But I like the feel of my scalp right where it is. Anyway, nothing—not even a puppy—will ever catch me off guard.”
“Do not be so sure of yourself, Blind Dog. Being so sure can make any brave careless. You must always be alert. It may seem too peaceful to us here now, but even the quiet shadows of this very night could conceal our enemies. As we sit here talking noisily about not being careless, they could be stealing some of our best horses. Let us go back to our guard posts so that we can watch the herd as we should.”
Deerfoot and Blind Dog mounted their horses and had started to circle the herd to see that nothing had disturbed the horses. When they had finished checking and had dismounted, Blind Dog complained that he felt ill.
“Since we have just checked the herd and everything is all right,” Deerfoot said, “why don’t you return to the village, Blind Dog, and go to your tepee? It is almost time for the other guards to take our places. I can stand guard alone for that short time.”