'He is obviously a civil chieftain,' said Cuwignaka.
'Yes,' I said.
'Or pretending to be,' said Cuwignaka, carefully.
'I am sore,' I said.
'He did not wish to have blood spilled,' said Cuwignaka.
'That seems so,' I admitted.
'Why?' asked Cuwignaka.
'There might be many reasons,' I speculated.
'Perhaps he thought the spilling of blood might not be suspicious shortly before the opening of a council on peace,' said Cuwignaka.
'Perhaps,' I said.
'But, too,' said Cuwignaka, 'such an act might have called much attention to itself. People might inquire, for example, why it was done, what it was all about.'
I shrugged. 'Perhaps,' I said.
'Why shoudl watonka and Iwoso have been so angry?' he asked.
'I do not know,' I said.
'What was Bloketu's reaction?' he asked.
'I do not think she wished to see harm come to me,' I said.
'This incident occurred just outside the council lodge,' said Cuwignaka.
'No,' I said. 'It occurred among the lodges of the Isanna.'
'But this happened recently, did it not?' asked Cuwignaka.
'Yes,' I said, 'just a bit ago.'
'Watonka and the others were on their way to the council lodge?' asked Cuwignaka.
'No,' I said. 'They seemed to be waiting, among the lodges.'
'This is very interesting,' said Cuwignaka, cautiously. 'One would think that they would have been on their way to the council, if not within the council lodge, by then.'
'Perhaps,' I said. It was not clear to me what Cuwignaka was driving at.
'The great men of the Kaiila should all be within the council lodge,' said Cuwignaka. 'Why not Watonka?'
'Mahpiyasapa is not there either,' I said. 'He has gone off somewhere.'
'That is a different matter, I think,' said Cuwignaka.
'I think so,' I said.
'At the time for the council to begin,' mused Cuwignaka, 'Watonka seems in no hurry to be within the lodge.'
'That seems so,' I said.
'The lodge contains the great men of the Kaiila,' said Cuwignaka, 'but Watonka, and the Yellow Knives, are not there.'
'No,' I said.
'Tell me, my friend, Tatankasa,' said Cuwignaka. 'Does there seem anything unusual to you, today, about the camp? Is there anything noticably different?'
'The hurds have been brought in, close to the camp,' I said. 'I saw one of the lads that commonly watches one of the, one of the girl herds. From him I learned, too, that the pickets and guards of the Isanna have been brought in.'
'On whose orders?' inquired Cuwignaka.
'Watonka's.' I said.
'Why?' asked Cuwignaka.
'I do not know,' I said. 'I suppose because it is a time of peace. It is the time of dances, of feasts and festivals. There is no danger. Tribes do not attack one another at such times.'
'True,' said Cuwignaka, slowly. 'It has been so for a hundred winters.'
'I was alarmed when I first learned this,' I said, 'but, I gather, you agree there is nothing to worry about.'
'The camp is exposed on the west.' said Cuwignaka.
'Yes,' I said.
'Why would Watonka do this?' he asked.
'It is a time of peace,' I ventured.
'Also,' said Cuwignaka, 'persumably even a large war party would hesitate to attack a camp of this size.'
'Yes,' I said.
'Think carefully,' said Cuwignaka.
'The Yellow Knives were standing in the vicinity of a small, rised place, prominent among the Isanna lodges. On this small, raised place stood Watonka. On this small, raised place, too, was a stick, surrounded by two circles, a larger one and smaller. I take it that the measurement of time was being accomplished by this stick and the circles. The inner circle, I think, would ahve had the edge of the shadow reach it or fall within it about noon.'
'Interesting,' said Cuwignaka.
'Yes,' I said. 'Why would they not simply judge noon by the position of the sun?'
'The stick is moe accurate,' said Cuwignaka. 'Too, the shadow may be watched intently, as the sun may not be.'
'The council is to begin at noon,' I said. 'Doubtless they were interested in a more precise judgement of time than might be afforded by simple visual sightings.'
'Why?' asked Cuwignaka.
'I do not know,' I said. to be sure, this question seemed a sensible one. Red savages are not ordinarily concerned with such precise measurments of time.
'Was there anything else that might have seemed unusual which you noted?' asked Cuwignaka.
'One thing or another,' I said.
'What?' asked Cuwignaka.
'Watonka seemed interested in watching the sky,' I said.
'The sky?' asked Cuwignaka.
'Yes,' I said.
'Did he watch the entire sky?' asked Cuwignaka.
'No,' I said. 'He seemed interested in only one direction.'
'What direction?' asked Cuwignaka, alarmed.
'The southwest,' I said.
'I am afraid, Tatankasa,' said Cuwignaka. 'I am very afraid.'
'Why?' I asked.
'It is from the southeast that the Pte came,' said Cuwignaka.
'Yes?' I said.
'They were early this year,' said Cuwignaka. 'The Pte were very early. They should not have come as early as they did.'
'That is true,' I said. We had speculated on this matter before. To be sure, it had not seemed to be of much consern to Cuwignaka until now.
'You seem alarmed,' I said. Cuwignaka's anxiety made me uneasy.
'It cannot be,' said Cuwignaka, firmly.
'What?' I asked.
'Was there anything else unusual about Watanka, and the Yellow Knives?' pressed Cuwignaka.
'He and his entire party, including Iwoso and Bloketu, wore yellow scarves, or sashes, about their bodies,' I said.
'Why?' asked Cuwignaka, frightened.
'To identify them, I suppose,' I said.
'To whom?' asked Cuwignaka. 'They are well known in the camp.'
