the flames blazed up yellow , crackling , throwing their faces into sharp relief , and in that moment richie had no trouble believing ben 's indian story , and he thought it must have been like this back in those old days when the idea of white men was still no more than a rumor or a tall tale to those indians who followed buffalo herds so big they could cover the earth from horizon to horizon , herds so big that their passing shook the ground like an earthquake .