NV. Y. Post Office, by STREET & SMITH, 79-89 Seventh Ave, NV. Price, Five Cents Issued Weekly. By subscription $2.50 per year. Entered as Second-class Matter at the No.272 - —_—NEW YORK, JULY 2% 906 i Pret it Ce ian saa SESE a RY i ee throat, as with his red trackers ‘‘Surrender!’’ cried Buffalo Bill, clutching the bandit chief by the he rushed the bandit camp in spite of the odds against them. DEVOTED E tssued Weekly. By subscription $2.50 per year. Entered as Second-class Matter at the N. ee: (Pose Office, & d ae. , oy STREET NV. VY. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1906, é f A WEEKLY PUBLICATION I TO BORDER HISTORY & SMITH, 79-8 Seventh Avenue, wn the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. €. 23” Beware of Wild West imitations of the Buffalo Bill Stories. They are about fictitious characters. The Buffalo Bill weekly is the only weekly containing the adventures of Buffalo Bill, (Col. W. F. Cody), who is known all over the world as the king of scouts. No. 272.. NEW YORK, July 28, 1906. Price Five Cents. THE BANDITS AT BAY. # By the author of “BUFFALO BILL.” CHAPTER | I, SAM SPENCER. “It’s a fortuney Cody; but I’ve worked hard to git \? t ‘The speaker opened one of a number of buckskin aes ranged beside him along a bench and poured into he brown palm of his hand a heap of shining gold-dust. Buffalo Bill sat in front of him on a rough stool. The scene was a miner’s cabin, in the Rocky Moun- ins, and the time night. A,rude, home-made candle of Geers fat sputtered on the near-by table, lighting the ne and gleaming on the red gold in the man’s palm. The man himself was red-faced and bearded, roughly iressed, as became his calling as a miner, yet with shrewd- ess and determination revealed in his face. ) Ten years I’ve been working here, Cody,” said the m, speaking slowly, like one long unused to conversa- “ve grubbed away like a badger and have lived mse than any hermit. Now and then I’ve gone down to er Springs to git a little grub and tobacco, but that’s I've squandered nothing ; but have saved, and saved; ere it is. This represents ten years of hard labor, a dog’s life. But I’m through now. I exhausted , & 4 that last pocket and got the last bit of color out of that last placer bar; and now I’m going back East, where a man can be a gentleman, and enjoy something of life.” Buffalo Bill was wondering if those bags of shining gold-dust were worth all that this man had paid for them. Ten years’ toil and the life of a hermit, far from civiliza- tion and everything that makes for what. men call com- fort; ten long years out of this man’s life! “I used to be a gentleman, Cody, and I'll be one again. I'll wear decent clothes and eat good food. Five years ago I said I’d do it; but I struck that placer bed, and it was too promising to leave. I sha’n’t look for anything else, for I’ve determined once for all that I’ve got enough, and will quit right now.” “You'll have trouble in getting that gold-dust down to the settlements,” the scout observed thoughtfully. “You’ve figured on that, of course?’ “Yes, have. I’ve got two horses out there. And I’ve trapped a lot of game and fur animals. I’m going to load those horses with the peltry, and under the peltry hide this dust. &n that way I can make the trick all right.” He poured the shining grains back into the bag and tied it with its buckskin string. @ PEO em ereeengmenmenaty ne varcteninmr mia petsimgad omen eget pearl n l a ea FE IE RES a ree ae « SO SIS TT a 2 THE BUFFALO Then he. opened the other bags, one after the other, pouring a portion of the contents of each out into his hand, and holding it under the light of the candle, looking at it with gloating ‘and Idving satisfaction. The sight of that gold-dust stirred the starved faculties of his soul and made his bearded face shine. “Cody, the sight of it, piling up and piling up, has been the thing that has sustained me all these years. You don’t know how it is, for you’ve never been touched much with the gold‘fever. It made me feel something as a gambler does, I s’pose, when the wittings are comin’ his way. Twenty-four hours at a:stretch I’ve worked, when the dust was plentiful on the bar, and not xr slept in all that time. The sight of the shining -el in the pan was food enough, and I couldn’t have if I’d gone to bed. But it’s been ten long years, ody, and I’m ready to quit. From this on, I’m goin’ U enjoy life.” : “fhe scout wondered within himself. if that ten years rubbing for this gold had not destroyed the man’s city for enjoyment. You think you'll not come back?” he asked. “Yever again for me, Cody! [Tm satisfied.” He tied up the last bag and pushed it back against the wall. nae His eyes had a softer look. “Some way, your comin’ here, so unexpected, makes me talkative. But mebbe that’s because ve done so little talkin’ these ten years; the sight of you loosens my tongue.” “T admit you’re the last person I expected to find here, Spencer,” the scout confessed. “This is a lonely section. I was striking into the Silver Springs trail, when I saw you wandering across_that divide. But even when IJ rode toward you I had no idea that you were my old friend, Sam Spencer.” “Cody, it’s lifted those ten years from my shoulders, just to meet you here! Do you remember that time over on Snake River, when you rescued me from:them thievin’ Blackfeet? Well, it don’t seem possible that was fifteen years ago. Yet I know it is, for it was five years before I came to this place.” “Time flies rapidly, when a man is engaged in pleasant occupation,” said the scout, looking at the bags of gold- dust. “Well, now, it does, Cody; and yit it also passes slow. “metimes that ten years seems a hundred. You were sing for something, when you came this way ?’ ~ Merely on my way to Silver Springs from Cochita. I o* the shortest cut across country. It’s a long way vad by the trail.” And for that reason—that it’s a long way round by uic trail—_so few people ever appear in these parts. They prefer to stick to the trail, because they think it’s safer, and so I never see ’em.” “Tt as safer.” Oe so; yet I hear of hold-ups on the trail now and then.” / “T must warn you that outlaws, chased out of the north- ern part of the State, have been seen lately in this sec- tion.” . “That so?” said Spencer, opening his eyes and sweep- He the room at a glance which took in those bags of gold- aust. 5 é ue “The Crows have been quiet lately, though,” Spencer © RITE STORIES. added. “I’d any day rather have a peaceable Indian for neighbor than a scoundrelly white man.” “There is a Crow village near?” - “Ten miles away; not so very near, and yet not far, you know. They’ve been as quiet as Quakers for these two years past now. Five years ago, though, there was 2 a lot of trouble with ‘em. But you know about that.” “They were attacked by white men then, without provo- cation, and that sent them on the war-path.”. 7 “Just so, Cody; but since that was over they’ve been ., quiet enough. I haven't been much afraid of the Crows; but it does make me uneasy to have you say that ban- dits from another part of the State have been seen in this section. I’ll have to pack that dust extry careful on the pack-animals, under the peltry I’m going to load ‘em with. I don’t reckon the scamps would hold up just a poor trapper with a few pelts?’ “They wouldn’t care for the pelts, if they thought that was all there was.” i eee “So I thought.” “When do you start?” “Day after to-morrow, Cody.” Buffalo Bill sat for a moment in thoughtful silence. “Tl tell you what I'll do, Spencer,” he said, “if you care to have me. I was going right on to Silver Springs. “Didn’t intend to stop overnight with me?’ Spencer interrupted. “No. I thought of going on as soon as my horse was rested. But I'll remain all night with you, and go on with you to-morrow, if you'can start that soon. Two will be better than one, if there sould be any bandits wandering around filled with curiosfty and a desire for some other man’s property.” Spencer’s face lighted. . “That’s just like you, Cody! Always ready to help.” *“T. don’t want to alarm you, of course; and the chances are a good dozen to one that you’d have no trouble what- ever. But that one chance you dén’t want to take. I’m thinking of the ten years you’ve spent in digging for that gold: You can’t afford to risk anything.” “No, I can’t,” said: Spencer slowly. “So, I’d be glad to go with you, if you can start to- morrow, instead of the next day. I’d volunteer to stay over until the time you had fixed, but [’m rather. in a hurry.” : “Always in a hurry, Cody. That’sejust as you used | to be. But what’s the use of hurrying through life? We get to the end quick enough, take it as slow as we.can.” The scout did not answer, but sat still in his chair. Spencer leaped suddenly to his feet. “Cody,” he whispered, “did I hear something outside, by that window ?”’ oer “I don’t know. I thought, myself, that I heard some- thing.” ee. oe Buffalo Bill rose slowly to his feet, looking toward the window, and dropped a hand to the revolver that swung at. his hip. a CHAPTER IL THE FACE AT THE WINDOW. A peering, crafty face had been at the window, looking into Sam Spencer’s cabin, unseen by either of the occu- pants. sae ; eras The eyes which burned eagerly in that face had. beheld oe that way, I s’pose. one thing makes me want to get out of here. the shine of the gold-dust as Spencer opened the bags and poured the dust into his palm and talked of the time taken to glean it. The man had hung close against the window-ledge, harkening with strained-ears, trying to make out the talk of the two men in the cabin. It was while he was trying to get into a better position that his foot slipped, making a slight noise; and then he had dropped softly to the ground, and stole away in the darkness, crouching low, and running at a good gait as soon as he was well beyond the house. He saw the cabin door opened, and beheld in it, against ' the background of the candlelight, Spencer and Buffalo Bill; and that they might not see him he stretched his length on the ground, and lay there, watching them as they came on out into the yard. Buffalo Bill led the way, his revolver in his hand. Spencer crowded close at his heels. Standing outside by the window they listened, but heard nothing. Buffalo Bill lighted a match under the shelter of his ‘hat, and flashed its light on the ground below the window. Spencer looked at the ground there at the same time. “TI don’t see anything,” “he remarked. Buffalo Bill checked the words on his own lips. He had seen something—the faint imprint of a pair. of heels in the soil; but, inasmuch as Spencer did not see.them, he thought it best not to speak of them just then, and perhaps give him much uneasiness. The scout blew out the light instantly. He believed those tracks had been made but’a minute before, and as he stood there he did net wish to become the target of a bullet. He also stepped away from the window, and in so do- ing drew Spencer away from it. “We'll go back into the house,” he said quietly. “T guess we didn’t hear anything, q Said spencer, | im nervous, thinking of gittin’ that ‘dust down to Silver Springs. “I’ve been nervous over it for a month, thinkin’ of ways to do it. Livin’ alone so long makes a fellow I wouldn’t want to tell you all the fool notions that have come to me in the years that I’ve been livin’ here, Cody. A man livin’ alone gits his'head full of strange things, you know.” The scout was walking back to the door, and Spencer was following him. “More’n once I’ve waked up thinkin’ that a robber. was roostin’ on my chest, -and found that I was havin’ nothin’ but nightmare,” Spencer went on. ‘And the men - that Pve seen walkin’ round in the moonlight, when there wasn’t any men’ there, have been a good many. I’ve been seein’ °em more than common lately, and that’s There were no men there, and I knowed it. A feller don’t care to go crazy, Cody, even to get a lot of gold-dust to- wether i They entered the house, and Bitials Bill closed the oor. “Do you mind, Spencer, a I go out and scout round some?” he asked. The miner gave him a eeited looks “Then you did see something 2” The scout. hesitated. ~ “Or heard somethin’ ?” “Tl be frank with you,” said Buffalo Bill, coming to the conclusion that nothing was to be gained by secrecy. THE BUPPALO: Bil STORIES. | 3 “I thought I saw boot-marks by that window. It seems preposterous; but to satisfy rhyself, I think I’ll slip out and scout round a bit.” Spencer dropped nervously into a chair. “The outlaws you was tellin’ me about?” “I’m afraid, Spencer, that some one, passing, looked in at the window. We didn’t dream of anything of the kind, and you, unfortunately, haven’t any blind on that window. I ought to have asked you to hang a coat or something over it before you brought out those bags of dust. I was negligent in that. But if some one looked in, that some one may not have seen the dust.” “TI put the stuff away this minute,” said Spencer nervously, reaching for one of the buckskin bags. He began to carry them below-stairs. When he came up for the last load, Buffalo Bill was ready to set out, having seen that his revolvers were in order and that he had plenty of cartridges in his belt. “Tl be back in a few minutes,” he promised. “T’ll slip out at the door, after you blow out the candle, for if any one is near [ don’t want to be seen leaving the house. Fasten the door after I’m gone, and then relight the candle. And just watch her while I’m away.” Spencer blew out the candle, and Buffalo Bill stepped outside, The night was dark. Slipping round to the window, he knelt close to the ground there, and by means of a match, whose light he kept well concealed, he studied the eround, and made a guess from what he saw at the direction taken by the man who, he was sure, had been at the window. Then, blowing out the light, and clutching his revolver, he started off in the darkness. But the rascal who had been looking in at the window had fled on. : Having, at a distance of more than a hundred yards, made another search for tracks by means of a lighted match, and finding boot-heels there, the scout circled back to Spencer’s little stable, and got his horse. Then he rode away quietly on a tour of investigation. CHAPTER: Til MURDER AND ROBBERY. Buffalo Bill had been gone from the cabin not more than half an hour when he heard wild Indian yells coming from that direction. His tour of investigation had revealed nothing, the trail of the man being almost impossible to follow in the darkness. He had thought he might discover outlaws in camp somewhere, but had not done so. The Indian yells caused him to gallop toward the cabin. Mingled with the yells sounded the crack of revolvers. “The cabin has been attacked by redskins, and Spencer is putting up a fight,’ was his conclusion. Riding rapidly, he came near the cabin at the con- clusion of the brief battle, and saw in the darkness painted and feathered figures riding wildly away. Fears for his friend “made him ride on to the cabin, yet he approached cautiously, lest he should fall into an ambush, ©: But apparently the attacking party was gone. The cabin and its vicinity were now ominously silent. alee senna pein in aot THE BUFFALO VA & Tying his horse to a scrubby bush well out im the darkness, Buffalo Bill advanced on foot. oF The cabin door was open, and he entered, lighting a match after he had closed the door. The thing he had feared was revealed—the body of Sam Spencer lay on the floor, _ Spencer had been killed and scalped. _ ne The manner in which the work had been done indi- cated Crow Indians. | A hasty examination showed that the lock of the door had been broken by blows from without, and bullet holes in the door told of the shots fired through it by Spencer before the door: fell and his assailants rushed _in and slew him. | There was a second pool of blood near the door, on the floor, which seemed to indicate that Spencer had , g, 6 : . ‘early morning made it impossible to make out every- killed one of the attacking party; but the slain man had been carried away by his friends, in the Indian fashion. Having made these discoveries, Buffalo Bill descended to the cellar, where Spencer had stored his gold-dust. There he again struck a match and looked round. The gold-dust was gone! : Buffalo Bill was aware that Indians know the value of gold-dust; yet the fact of the boot-heels seen by the window, together with this discovery that the gold was gone, made him wonder whether this was not the work of white men. Leaving the cabin, the scout walked out into the dark- ness and stood there for some time, listening. His emotions were of a curiously mingled character. Sorrow, deep and sincere, over the unfortunate end of the man who had spent ten weary years heaping up gold-dust, and then had not been permitted to enjoy any of the fruits of his labor; anger and indignation against the murderers, whether they were. white or red; and a mental survey of the probabilities, in an. effort to de- termine if the attacking party had been outlaws or Crow Indians, compounded his feelings. The Crows, as Spencer had said, had been for years past of a peaceable character, only smiting back now and then when they had been themselves smitten. When some time had elapsed, Buffalo Bill ventured, by striking matches, to pick out the trail of the mur- derers, Close to the door he found moccasin tracks, and farther out a Crow Indian head-feather. The tracks of the horses on which the murderers had ridden away were those of Indian ponies, unshod; and the yells the scout ieard at the time of the attack had seemed unmis- ‘ly Indian, though he knew that white men could “ate those yells in a manner that was very deceptive. 2 pony tracks srtuck into the rough hill country | had been the scene of Sam Spencer’s mining “tions, . It was natural that, whether the attackers were white or red, they would seek these hills, to destroy their trail and prevent successful pursuit. Inasmuch as it would be quite impossible to do any trailing of value until the light of morning came, Buf- me Bill, having discovered these facts,.rode back to the cabin. it had been undisturbed in his absence. The body of the miner still lay in its pool of blood on the floor. — - Scooping out a shallow grave not far away, the scout buried Sam Spencer, dropping a tear of sincere grief on the grave. ri : Se nadie Rard etehcin: ein: eis et tiene nen mamreos oneness eer manasa nce ans iacacie a el BILL STORIES. Instead of waiting the coming of daylight, as he had at first intended, Buffalo Bill. now mounted his horse and rode away toward the Indian village, distant about ten miles from the cabin. 2 Approaching it in the gray dawn, he heard rifle and revolver-shots, Indian yells, and the cheering of white men. oe He knew at once what that meant. Indians and white men were engaged there in a hot battle. He galloped forward; and as he came in sight of the village, round a spur of the hills, he beheld a body of white “rustlers,’ or horse and cattle-thieves, retreating slowly before the infuriated Crows, making a stubborn fight. : “The battle was rolling in his direction, and it was a sight worth witnessing, even though the poor light of thing clearly. The wild, fierce yells of thé excited Crows, and the answering cheers and revolver-shots of the white men, made a pandemonium of sound. Some of the Crows were on foot. Others had mounted | their ponies and were trying to ride round the white men and cut them off. | ‘Buffalo Bill’s sympathies were with the Crows. The rustlers had, he judged, tried to run off the Indian ponies under cover of the darkness just before dawn, and being discovered in their attempt this fight had followed. The rustlers put up a stiff fight. Several yelling war- riors dropped from their ponies, and Buffalo Bill saw two of the white men fall, either killed or wounded. That he might not become entangled in the fight him- self, he turned aside into the hills; and there, dismount- ing and tying his horse, he crept back to the top of a ridge, and viewed the battle from that point of vantage. The rustlers, though sore beset, were making their way into the hills. The attempt of the Crows to sur- round them had failed. But the mounted Indians rode to and fro as fiercely as ever, discharging their arrows and shooting with the few rifles: they had. Now and then a pony went down, or an Indian or - white man threw up his hands and toppled from his seat. But, having gained the hills, the rustlers drove the Crows back, in a final desperate stand; and then rode quickly away. Ko So far as the scout could judge, they carried with them their dead and wounded. They might desire to take away their wounded; but that they should also carry off their dead was to him especially significant, for it told that they did not want the identity of any of their dead known. The Crows pursued the rustlers, as they thus rode away. Se CHAPTER. IV. BUFFALO BILL'S BOLD MOVE, a —@ : As Buffalo Bill was about to descend from the ridge he beheld a party of the Crows returning. — Se In their midst he recognized Red Feather, a chief he had known long ago, but whom for several years he hadand was pleased with what he saw. The only thing he feared was that Glancing Knife, in his eagerness and his zeal of hate against the white wolves who had stolen away the Lodge Lily, would be hard to control and reckless of consequences. Yet the chief had chosen these three brothers as the ones to go, and the scout was willing to accept his state- ment that they were the best of the Crow trackers. The Indians left behind yelled fiercely and vindictively as the three painted warriors set forth with the scout. The ponies were set at once at a gallop, and soon the din and the yelling were left behind. Yet night was close at hand before Buffalo Bill and his red trackers drew near to the Bald Hills, beyond the fork of the stream of the odorous name where the trail had been last seen. So accurate was the scout in his guessing of the direc- tion taken by the rustlers that the trail was struck again at the base of the barren range that bore the name of the Bald Hills. These hills were stony and sterile, with a very scanty ‘growth of trees and bushes; hence the trail could not be expected to show there except at intervals, and by devious windings through the hills the outlaws had no doubt en- -deavored to break it. The advance of the scout and his Indian companions upon these hills had been made in a manner so stealthy that the Crows were in a tremor of self-congratulation. They had found a deep gorge running toward the hills, THE BUPFALO: BL STORIES. stained eagle feathers were set in their hair, in |’ and up this gorge they had gone until the hills them- selves gave them shelter from observation. Hardly had they emerged from the gorge when the keen eyes of the scout detected a thin ‘spiral of smoke, which curled lazily upward a half-mile or more away. He pointed it out silently to the Crow trailers. “A white man’s fire,” peat speaking to them i in | their " hative tongue. : They agreed with him. “No Indian would be so much a fool as to build a fire that way, that the smoke might show!” Glancing Knife declared. eVetry true, _ Buffalo Bill admitted. what it means.’ “We must see They dismounted, and led their horses back into the gorge. ee in a niche in the gorge wall, the horses were left tied, with muzzles over their noses to keep them from neighing and betraying their presence. About them grew a screen of bushes which would conceal them from any one approaching by that way. Having thus concealed the horses, the scout ant the Crows slipped forth from the gorge and began to ee softly across the hills toward the telltale smoke. Gaining the crown of a ridge they looked down into a camp of ‘white men. No more than a look was needed to show that these white men were outlaws, for each of them was masked, even though thev were crouching about their own’ camp- fire and must have supposed themselves safe from the eyes of foes. Glancing Knife and his red brothers grunted gut- turally, when they beheld this singular sight. It seemed probable to Buffalo Bill that this was a small party sent back by the rustlers to watch the trail by which they had retreated and give warning of the ad- vance of the Indians or any other enemies. They had seen no enemies, and had gone carelessly into camp, intending to have something warm to eat. Buffalo Bill drew out his field-glasses, which the Crows had restored when they returned to him his weapons, and ~ adjusting them he looked closely at the bandits, who felt so secure here. When he had satisfied himself that all the outlaws of this party were there at the camp-fire before him, he passed the glasses to Glancing Knife, telling bim to look through them at the white men. Glancing Knife could hardly suppress a vel of sur- prise when he complied, and he dropped the glasses as if they had burned his fingers, and then stared down at them and at the white outlaws, as if he thought some malevolent magic must be connected with a thing which could pull that camp of wits men Ap to within a few yards.of. him. -- His exclamation ‘of sine and his ee ‘caused Running Elk and Walking Cloud to look: through them. Each laid the glasses down in turn with a quickness that was laughable. “Bad medicine!” said Glancing Knife. Buffalo Bill was smiling HG . “Why?” he: asked. “Ugh! Very bad medicine, If it ae he the white men much nearer, they would be fighting us, and ee must have heard us.’ It was impossible for Buffalo Bill to’ make these red trailers comprehend that the glasses did not really draw ff the white men nearer, but that they only made them seem nearer. Glancing Knife and He brothers were sure that the white mew were drawn so near when the glasses were turned upon them that ae could hear even the low talk about them. - Ugh! Very bad eck le they exclaimed. _ They moved away from the glasses, and were not even reassured when Buffalo Bill put the glasses away. For a short time the scout lay there, studying the situation. “He saw that by making a détoun' it was quite possible to crawl close up to the camp without discovery. The outlaws had been careless in selecting the site, as careless as they were in letting that thin smoke spiral drift upward; but it showed how safe they felt them- selves to be there in the seclusion of the Bald Hills. “We can capture the chief!” said the scout. “We can creep round there and make a bold dash on the camp when they are not looking.” The daring of this thought jupealee to the Crow trackers. They tightened the knives in their belts and ~ clutched with closer grip their weapons. “The Long Hair is brave as a Crow!” said Glancing Knife, with marked approval. | “Come!” said the scout. Then he crept away, followed by the Indians, and began’a long detour. ‘When it was completed they were close upon. the camp, yet still well hidden from view. The scout and the Indians now made sure of the ae location of each of the outlaws. : It was the intention to capture the chief and any others possible, kill those who made 4 resistance, and by the dramatic suddenness of the assault on the camp overcome the pp ron ty of numbers possessed by the _ bandits. Truly, it was a bold scheme. But it was just the kind of scheme for the cunning brain and_strong arm of Buffalo Bill, and from what He had already observed of the Indians with him he felt sure they would give him the 2 required i in carrying it through, — Having seen that the man who stored to be the leader of the outlaws was in the forefront, the signal was given _ to the Crow trackers, and all dashed out upon the aston- ished group. “Surrender!” cried Buffalo. Bill, ce. the bandit chief by the: throat, as, with his red trackers, he rushed the bandit camp in spite of the odds against them. _ The masked followers of the bandit chief had run to his aid, but when two of them fell, one struck down by an arrow and the second slain by a knife thrown with unerring skill by Glancing Knife, the others turned wildly in flight, darting off among the rocks. The chief went down under Buffalo Bill’s rush, and though he fought savagely to free himself he could not THE BUPFALO BUILT: STORIES, shake off that bulldog grip, and succumbed oS a short fight. The Indians leaped in pursuit of the fens auttais: but, strange to say, they did not yell in the Indian fash- ion, Buffalo Bill having’ given strict orders 6n that point. - Before the first returned, empty-handed, the scout had subdued and tied the bandit leader, and had torn from his face thé mask he wore. “Bill Severn!” he cried, when he beheld that face. The bandit, coming back with-a coughing-fit from the land of unconsciousness, heard the exclamation. He stared up into the face of the great scout. “Severn, I always knew you were a rascal, but I didn’t think this of you. It’s easy to understand why you and fellows of your kidney should think it advisable to keep | your faces covered over even in such a wild and unten- anted place as this.” Severn sat up, though his hands and feet were bound. He coughed again, violently. When the paroxysm had passed he began to beg for his life. “Cody, you’ve aa a mistake!” he cried. . “In not killing you?” asked the scout. “No, in doing what you’ve done. You're away off about me.” “In what way, please?” “In what you're thinkin’ about me. ner anything of the kind.” “Oh, you are not?’ “Nothin’ of the kind. Let me explain.” He motioned vehemently with his bound hands, “Let me explain a: minute. You-see, you must have thought it because of that mask; but ’there’s where you was mistaken. Instead of bein’ an outlaw, I come into these hyer hills lookin’ fer outlaws.” I'm no outlaw, “And masked yourself?” “Just so. ye see; fer, ye see, they're dangerous characters, and if I met any of ’em in town later they'd wipe me out fer it. But we thought we’d maybe capture some of ‘em, and fey the reward that’s bein’ offered.” “Then you will be perfectly willing to furnish me with the names of the men who were with you?” Severn hesitated, seeing he was likely to fall into a trap, or at least give his comrades away to this dreaded border scout. “Well, you don’t know any of ’em, Cody,” he urged. - Buffalo Bill turned about and promptly stripped the masks from the two outlaws slain by the Indians. Severn’s face became even more red—an anxious and guilty red. “Here lie the bodies of Jim Conner and Ben Anstey 6 old pals of yours in the town of Silver Springs. I knew these two, anyway. What have you to say to that, a ern f”’ For I didn’t want any of ’em to spot me, TO THE BURFALO “But you didn’t know none o’ the others, Cody; ‘pon honor, you didn’t!” .“T’ve no doubt your honor would carry you a long ways, Severn!” remarked the scout, with scorn. _ “But what ‘if Conner-and Anstey was with me? They was my friends, and j’ined the party 1 made up to come out hyer and try to bag some of the outlaws that’s been doin’ sich dirt. That was all right, Cody; wasn’t it?” - “Vou and these two men, and I’m sure all the others with you, belong to the blackleg fraternity of Silver Springs. I thought at first you were bandits from the northern part of the State. It’s been known for some time that you and your pals had a way of disappearing mysteriously from the place for weeks and more at a time. It was reported by you that you and they had mining claims somewhere off in the mountains which you had to work, and/that sometimes you took hunting- trips to remote points. You hunted men and women and plunder, Severn.” “Cody, you're mistaken about that! wailed Severn, while sweat came out in big drops on his red face, and he trembled with fear. “See here, Severn,” said Buffalo Bill sternly. ‘‘Further lying will do you no good. I know you now, and these two dead meny and I think I could call off the names of some of those who got away. And now let me-tell you what else I know, and why I’m here.” | 1°? “Cody, you’re away off!” Severn urged, an agony of terror shaking his cowardly frame. “You and your pals came to Sam Spencer’s cabin last night, having learned in some way that he had stored there a lot of gold-dust, and you murdered him Aor his money. You did this disguised as Crow Indians, that the blame of the thing might. be laid on the Crows.” The Crow trackers muttered guttural threats and han- dled their knives in a way to increase the fear of the trembling coward. “Having done he you went to the Crow village, where you tried to stampede and run off the Crow ponies; but, the Crows being aroused, you had a lively fight and lost some of your men. “Then you struck for these hills, where you expected to lie low until the thing blew over. You thought the Crows and the whites would be placed at loggerheads, and there would be an Indian uprising, which would | give you more opportunities to attack white men while you were disguised as Crow Indians, and attack ‘Crow Indians while pretending to be pony- -rustlers. Don’t you think that was ee cowardly, Severn?” “But, Cody “Your outlaw band is over here in the Bald Hills in hiding, and you and this small party came out here. to see if the Crows had ade a pursuit.” “Cody——” BILL STORIES. Sot it eT “When you felt it safe to do so you and your pals meant to creep back to Silver Springs, report that you had finished the amount of work required by the govern- ment on your mineral claims, and then enjoy in security ‘the gold for which you murdered Spencer and the other blood-bought booty you had gained. But, Severn, the jig is up for you.’ Severn continued to protest his innocence ‘of these things and to beg the scout to release him; but Buffalo Bill was unbelieving and obdurate. CHAPTER Wit. THE CAPTURE OF A QUEER PAIR, Glancing Knife and his brother, Walking Cloud, con- tinued the pursuit of the fleeing outlaws, only, Running Elk having turned: back. But thé pursued gained a cafion, crossed by a bridge of rope, and as soon as they were over they hacked the bridge away with their knives, leaving the Crows without means of passing the cafion. oe The sides were as steep as a house, and when they saw they could go no farther at that point, the Crows set out along the cafion, with dogged Indian persistence, seeking another way. _ They had not yelled, nor made more than a few sounds _with their moccasined feet, as they pushed that sharp pursuit ; yet t6 remain still, as they had done, was almost as hard a thing for,them as it would be for dogs to chase a rabbit without barking, After a time, finding they could not cross the cafion, they swung out from it, taking what seemed now a short cut back to the point where the rush had been made on the outlaw camp. : 5 Glancing Knife and Walking Cloud were in a grimly exultant mood, and their admiration for the great white scout whom they called Long Hair had been wonder- fully increased. They had heard much of him, for Buf- falo Bill’s reputation extended to all the Indian tribes, yet they had never before met him at close quarters and joined with him in a common cause. They talked of Long Hair’s prowess, as they cut thus across the ravines and bridges of the Bald Hills. ‘Yet there was, nevertheless, one thought still upper- most in the mind of the young chief | named Glancing © Knife, The girl known as the Lodge Lily, who hed ae promised to him in marriage, was a prisoner of the white outlaws he was following in company with Buffalo Bill, It made his fiery Indian heart hot to ‘hae of ae and the indignities he felt she was suffering, In his eyes, as in the eyes of her father, Red- Feather, the Lodge Lily was the fairest flower in the Crow village. He recalled the many.times she had walked with him f FTE eh la lala sit Nate at dete abana seed emis sds rarer etearets fener renner tre ems iret term Sean taba noh ne ans gy cL icgy ype en Sis par lasek pel age La cb bacterin once ee Ra ed : iy ; Pee x (ia Ss en le as _ Long Hair in advance of the other warriors; in the moonlight by the stream that ran past the village. In his Indian fashion, he had wooed her there, begging her to share his lodge with him. He had there boasted _to her of the wonderful deeds he would perform, of the beavers he would slay, of the bearskins he would bring her from the mountains, of the ponies he would steal for her from the Blackfeet, and even of the Black~ feet ‘scalps which he oe some day to dry in the smoke of his lodge-fires. And she had listened, and had promised to become the light of his lodge. She had been out by the stream, having risen early, _ before light, to get water for the lodge, and the rustlers had come on her there as they sought to drive away the ponies, She had screamed when they seized her, and that scream had reached him. . It seemed still ringing in his ears. Therefore, he had been more than glad when Red Feather sent him out with his brothers to accompany and he could not‘travel fast enough to appease the fierce desires of his heart. ‘That he felt compelled now to turn back from the canon was a sore trial. As the brothers journeyed thus, hastening their steps, the low whinny of a horse reached them. from a wooded hollow off on the right, beyond a screening hill. Instantly they dropped to the earth, where they crouched, listening. When the sound was not repeated they crawled with stealthy steps up the slant of the hill, gained the top, and looked over. They saw only the bushy growth in which they felt sure the horse was hidden. Slipping down from the crest of the hill they now circled round, finally entering the bushy screen; and then sliding themselves forward on their bellies. They did not yet see the horses, though they had put themselves in. between the horses and their owners. One of them climbed a thick-branched, low tree, to get a better view. As he did so, while the other crouched at the foot of the tree, with its trunk screening his body, he heard a loud and angry squeal of a horse behind him and a stamp- ing*of hoofs. A man came into view from the other direction, walking toward the point from which the squeal had come. He stopped, in answer to something, and was joined by another man. The two now come on together, straight toward the horses, which would bring them right past the tree where the Crows were hidden. Glancing Knife, who was on the ground behind the tree, trembled with the excitement of the moment. sens hy ists aap THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES. =- a TY He was sure these two men belonged to the same out- law. band that Long Hair had bid them attack not long before, and he desired intensely to effect their capture, and take them before Long Hair. Such a feat would be worth another feather in the war-bonnet of any Indian. The man who had appeared first in sight was a little man, stoop-shouldered and almost insignificant in appearance, with a bearded, seamed, and wrinkled face. He was dressed as a borderman, with a skin cap set on his long hair, which fell down on the shoulders of a greasy hunting-jacket. : . His gnarled fingers clutched a long rifle of ancient pattern, and there was strange youthfulness and bright- ness of his eyes as he glanced through the bushes, ‘The concealed horse squealed ae with a stamping of its feet. i The little man stopped to listen. “Whoa, consarn ye!” he muttered, puckering his face. “Smell Injuns clost at hand, do ye? Waal, ef that’s S0, don’t make sech a tarnal racket about it, er theyll hear ye. Whoa, there, Nebuchadnezzar, consarn ye!” He came on again, alert and peering, convinced that the Indians scented by the horse were somewhere out beyond. Pl He was almost angry with the horse, too, for its loud squealing was likely, as he thought, to inform the Indians of its presence. ". He had been made still more angry a little while be- fore by a whinny from the other horse tied in that spot with Nebuchadnezzar. “Nebby, you old fool!? he grunted. “What with you and that other idjit of a beast you'll have all ther red devils 0’ the State on top of us ’fore we know it. Shet up yer tampin 7 | He did not know what the horse knew, that the red- skins were between him and the horses, and did not dream of such a thing. So, though he clung to the rifle, holding it in readi- ness, he looked on beyond the tree where the Crows were concealed; and he talked in low tones to his companion, while scolding at the horse that was trying to warn him of peril. The horse pawed and stamped still more ee and squealed in a manner “to bring down thaledictions on its head. “Consarn ye fer an old fool, Nebby, fer makin’ sech a caterwaulin’, with a crawlin’ round out thar, mebbe. Pll trade ye off nex’ week fer a no-sense jackass ; T will, by ginger!” He and his companion faa reached the tree. Like a bolt of lightning the Crow in the tree dropped on the old man’s shoulders, knocking him headlong to the ground, while the Crow behind the tree sprang out and caught the second white man round the neck. The old borderman roared like a fighting mountain- \ sare GE OAT itt RI HR PII Nac r 1 i Se MOE Sa es ciak chia Pee Airtel: saber one PC ea Seer eee i eT the ainaedh nant ry A ht F . fener ———— Indians and outlaws with him, matters worse for him, and might make them better.” starved with him, and fed with him in lands of plenty; had crossed burning wastes with him, and roamed with him where the waters flowed sweet and the grasses grew green in the cool heights of cloudy mountains. For Ahe old borderman was none other than Nick Nomad, the trapper. “Buffler, by ther great horned and hoppin’ toads o’ Texas!” Nomad bawled, trying to wave his bound hands. “Td shake wi’ ye, Buffler, but fer these yer wristbands 0’ gold! I don’t onderstand this, yit mebbe you do; but Nebby give a warnin’ of Injuns that I didn’t onderstand, and when we walked out ter see what he meant by it these hyar reds hopped onter us and done us up quick as a tom-cat kin scratch his ear.” The Crows had stopped. Though they did not understand much of what Nick A Nomad was howling, they saw that Buffalo Bill’s attitude. toward this little man was friendly. The scout turned toward them. _ “Release him, Glancing Knife. I know him well.” “And t’other one, too!” said Nomad. “Yes, Glancing Knife and Walking Cloud, release both of them. One of them is an old friend of mine, and he vouches for the other.” The faces of the Crows grew sullen. This was not the praise they had thought of receiving. Glancing Knife began a protest: ay are of the white wolves who attacked the Crow village.” “Waugh ! Hear ’im, will ye? Thet’s what he slung ~ at me before.” “It’s a mistake, Glancing Knife,” must ask you to release them, known to me.” “And I vouches fer this hyar man,’ said Nomad. “Mebbe you know him, Buffler. He’s dale Tom, what I oné time knowed y’ars ago, in Kansas. }I was fightin’ Pawnees then, and Toby Tom belonged wi’ a wagon- train that the Pawnees attacked ‘and tried ter gobble. We met this arternoon by acksident, and went inter camp ter- gether in a bit o’ bresh over thar, whar the Crows come on us, findin’ us through ther nickerin’ o’ Toby Tom’s pony. But he’s all right, Buffler.’’ “T’ve been. doin’ some prospectin’ round,” explained Toby Tom. “Found a good bit of the yaller day *fore yisterday in a gorge over thar~ I’ve got some on it in my pocket now, which I could show ye, el my hands was loose.” The captain of the outlaws, captured by Buffalo Bill, lay bound, close by, with his eyes fixed now on the two prisoners brought in by the Crows. He seemed to be wishing that the Crows and the scout would get into a dispute and a fight. It could not make said the scout. “I This old man is well THe BUFFALO ' Dar yisterday, and e’t till I feel fatter’n a seal. ing that-argument was worse than useless. BILL STORIES. 13 He also eyed the man called Toby Tom, and a faint flush crept into his sunburned cheeks. “These are not of the white wolves, plained to the Crows, unbind them.” He spoke kindly, and yet firmly. Glancing Knife’s eyes dropped, but he began to untie the old trapper. Walking Cloud unbound the other man. Having done this, the three Crows drew off at one side, silent for a time; and then began to talk in low _ gutturals, “Buffler, who ye got hyar? ?” was among Nomad’s first questions, referring to the outlaw: captain. The scout explained, and then hastily told of the facts which were the cause of his presence in the Bald Hills. “As usual, I been trappin’ a leetle, Buffler. Killed a Toby Tom, he’s been doin’ prospectin’. Ef he finds any dust wu'th while, he'll git put out of the way fer it, likely, same’s yer friend Sam Spencer. And gold-huntin’s too much trouble, anyhow; too much trouble, fer me.” ‘The outlaw leader still stared at the two men, but neither of them paid him much attention. +9 the scout ex- “If they were, I would not say Toby Tom told of his wanderings and various inci- dents of his recent past. The three Crows still conferred together. At length Glancing Knife came forward. “The Long Hair delays in the trail,’”’ he said, while his black eyes glittered. “The Crows would go on.” “Would they go on, with night at hand?” said the scout, Glancing Knife swung his hand round in a half-circle. — “This place is open. The white wolves who were not killed will return here with more of their kind, and when we sleep they will.slay us.” “I didn’t intend to camp here, Glancing Knife; I only waited here for you to come back,” “And when Glancing Knife and his brother came back,” said the Indian, “(Long Hair told us | to let the cap- — tured white wolves go!” His eyes flashed angrily, “The Crows would go on,” he repeated. “Very well, Glancing Knife,” the scout answered, see- “But over there I shall camp for the night, and then go on from there at earliest daylight.” He pointed to the base of a hill some distance away. “The cafion lies that way, and the rope bridge is gone,” said Glancing Knife. “We can cross the cafion farther down,” scout. But the Crows were obdurate. fended, urged the They had been of- 14 THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES. The scout waved his hand to them kindly as they de- _ parted. ‘Redskins is queer,” said Nomad, as he watched them go. “A cuss on all Injuns, anyhow, says I! The only good ones is dead ones. A crow is more cowardly and sneakin’ than a Blackfoot, ef not so bloody-minded. They'd ’a’ stole that hoss 0’ mine, ‘likely, ‘fore daylight ef they’d stayed hyar with ye. Good riddance ter bad rubbish. I’d holler, jes’ ter see ’em go ef I didn’t know it would make ’em madder’n they air.” CHARTER IX: TOBY TOM AND NEBUCHADNEZZAR. After Glancing Knife and his brothers had departed, Buffalo Bill left the camp, if it may be so called, and set out to scout round a bit. He was hardly gone when Toby Tom drew over to the captured outlaw captain and began to talk with him. Though he did not yet suspect Toby Tom, Nick Nomad cast his eyes in that direction, more through habit than anything else; for Nomad was as watchful as any weasel, and his twinkling little eyes were always roving about. _ Suddenly he started to his feet and ra toward Toby Tom and the prisoner. As he did so, he saw the knife which Toby * Tom had drawn flash dully in the dusk. It had cut through the cords that held the outlaw’s hands together, and with a second thrust it severed the cords that bound his ankles. “Hyar!” yelled Nomad. ‘“Thet don’t look jes’ honest, do it, Toby Tom?” Both men leaped to their feet, Toby Tom throwing a curse at the old man. Nick Nomad jumped back to get his long rifle, but found that it had been misplaced. Before he could grasp it, both Toby Tom and the re- leased prisoner were running out of the camp. “Hyar, thar! Stop!” the old man yelled. He caught up his rifle, swung it round, and tried to bring it to bear on the outlaw; but «he latter ducked behind a rock as the weapon roared, and the bullet struck the edge of the rock and glanced off with a whirring shriek, Nomad was in a wild rage. He had believed in Toby Tom, had stood sponsor for him, and to be deceived in this way was maddening, Swinging his now empty rifle he jumped in pursuit; but he did not get near the running men, whom he heard crashing along over the rough slope, heading across the ridge and down into the gully on the other side. Nomad ran a hundred yards; and then, discovering that he was wasting his breath and tiring himself use- lessly, he stopped; but filled the air with maledictions against Toby Tom and the outlaw captain. “By ginger, ef I ever trust another man ag’in that I hain’t seen fer ‘leventeen y’ars may I be et up by rattlesnakes fer it!” he howled. “Toby Tom belongs ter that cussed outlaw gang, and that’s proof of it; and I tuck him ter my heart and~believed Me lies, and thar’ s he’s runnin’ away wi’ Buffler’s pris’ner.’ He turned about, when he could hear nothing more of the fugitives. As he did so, old Nebuchadnezzar, the bony horse, squealed viciously, and began to kick and stamp about in the most outlandish manner. “More treach’ry!” thought Nomad. And he sprinted back across the ridge at wild speed, still swinging the long rifle. As he did so he yelled encouragingly to his nOTSe. “Go it, Nebby, you everlastin’ kickin’-machine; beat ther tar outen ’em, whoever they air! I’m comin’, Nebby, fast as I kin fly. Good boy! outen ther devils!’ A rifle flamed, and he felt the wind of the ball on his cheek. But he.did not halt.’ Before he reached the scene of the confusion he heard a clatter and thrashing of hoofs and breaking branches; and when he arrived at the point where the Lam ther lights and livers “horses had been tied, both of them were gone. “Waugh!” ye squalled, his anger at white heat; and he ran on in the direction taken by the horses. As he did so another shot came singing toward him, but without touching him. He could not see the horse- man, or horsemen, nor the horses, for darkness was coming on rapidly, and the place where Buffalo Bill had halted with his prisoners was bush-grown. As he thus ran on, he heard the voice of Buffalo Bill : off on the right, and stopped to answer it. “Ther wust luck ever, Buffler!” he bellowed back. _ He ceased his mad and useless pursuit, realizing that the horses were rapidly distancing him; and yelled again to let the scout know just where he was. Then he moved toward Buffalo Bill, meeting him shortly. The old trapper was in a state of towering rage and exasperation. “Buffler, I’m all of seventeen diff’runt kinds of fools!” hé howled. “Toby Tom is a liar an’ an owdacious vil- lain; and the pris’ner’s gone, and so’s the hosses. Kick me, Buffler, good an’ hard; fer I war left ter look out fer things hyar, and I didn’t do it. Ther next man thet comes ter me and says he’s my friend, tiuet I hain’t seen sense old Noer let ther dove outen ther ark, I simply sticks my knife inter him.” Buffalo Bill had known from the confusion and the rifle-shoots that something had gone wrong, 7 ee was even worse than he had anticipated. i Sa rey = a Oy tanaasie As rst feet DT Me ae Foi RS Ne ST ee SRM Bet MIN Men ii AT AM CORE eh Pte NS ae tg a PST, en pace ral einer Santer ae iA etc é _ born ’thout brains, and ain’t acquired any. * hyar I’m still thinkin’ tHet he’s honest. turned and took the horses,” ee 1 ae re e however with commendable ‘calmness. | “Tf the prisoner and the horses are gone, it won't bring them back to fume about it, and we may get a bullet if we stand talking here.” He began to move cautiously away from the place. “Tell me about at, Nick. : “Buffler,.ther only thing ter tell is that I’m an idjit, I trusted Toby Tom. When I knowed him, fifteen y’ars ago, he war, I thought, honest;’and when I meets up wi’ him But he cut the strings on ther outlaw, and slid out with him before I could stop ‘em; and while I war chasin’ ’em some thievin’ cusses run off wi’ ther hosses, I heerd Nebby sqealin’ and kickin’ like all possessed, pa ovhen I got ter whar they’d been both hosses war goné.” They were moving back to the point from which the horses had been taken. “Nebby’s that wise a beast, Buffler, thet he allus gives -™me warnin’ when either him er me is in danger; but it didn’t do no sort o’ good this time; fer I war too slow, Buffler. But what I’m r’arin’ about is Toby Tom! I never onc’t suspected him, ye see. And when you sorter take a feller to yer heart thet way, and then he turns round and bites ye like a pet rattlesnake, the wownd it makes is ruther pizen. I shoots that imp o’ Satan soon’s I lays eyes on him.” “Hello! See here!” cried the scout. They had reached the point from which the horses had been taken, and there on the ground lay a broken feather, painted in the Indian fashion. “Injuns!’ said old Nomad, stiffening I#ce a pointer dog scenting game. “It’s Crow, too, Buffler. I ain’t - goin’ ter say what it seems ter indicate.” “But you may be mistaken in thinking the Crows re- the scout protested. “Crows i is notorious hoss-thieves, Buffler ! !” Nomad in- sisted. “Very true, ‘they are; but I don’t want to. think con cing Knife and his brothers did this.” The old trapper suddenly clutched the scout ot the arm, and held up his hand for silence. “Hear thet, Buffler?” The angry squeals of a fighting horse had come ‘from a distance on the quiet breeze. “Waugh!” Nomad roared, a sinner!’ He began to run in the direction of the noise, and Buffalo Bill ran with him, _ If they could but have seen beyond the ridge and through the gathering darkness and the screening rocks and bushes they would have beheld at that moment a comical sight. “Yhet’s ole Neth as. ’m wae BUPFRALO “No. need to get excited abort it, Nomad,” Ne said) Waban ging yg Rpssasxae haere gree pa Saas es Ry chia lsh coe 7 ® BILL STORIES. : bee The white men who had taken the horses had ridden away on the back of Nebuchadnezzar; but, having gone. that far, the wise old brute had concluded he wouldn't go any farther, and forthwith had begun to buck and_ squeal in a wild effort to dislodge his rider. . The outlaw who had made this daring capture was a good horseman; otherwise he would never. have got Nebuchadnezzar started on at all, and he clung now to the back of the bucking beast like a burr to a mass of wool. Mee The rein of the other horse was jerked out of his hand, and that animal galloped away, head high in air. Nebuchadnezzar continued his frantic efforts to dis- lodge his rider. He threw himself to and fro, he danced on fore feet and on hind feet, he pitched forward and back, and sideways; and, when ail these failed, he de-' liberately threw himself over on his back, coming down with a crash like a falling tree, But as the horse thus fell, the rider skilfully and with wonderful celerity slipped out of the saddle and landed with feet on the ground. .He tried now to try to get the horse to rise, but Nebuchadnezzar began to roll about, kicking wildly and squealing in a great rage. “Waugh! Go it, Nebby, you fightin’ son of a cayuse!’’ The words bellowed over the bouldered slope and reached the man, telling him that the owner of the horse was near. He gave Nebby a final heavy kick and jerked on the oe Nebby returned the kick by lashing out vigorously with all four feet. One of them struck’ the outlaw on the leg, bringing from him a cry of pain and anger, Nebby reached for him with snapping teeth, and caught his coat. He whipped out his revolver to shoot the ugly beast, but hearing the crunching sounds of footsteps quite near - now, he turned the revolver in that direction, and. let it go. Then he leaped away, seeking his own safety. The revolver-shot went wild. When Nomad and Buffalo Bill arrived gn a scene, Nebuchadnezzar had scrambled to his feet, with the sad- dle skewed awry on his back and his bridle half torn from his ‘head, and was freeing himself of dust by vigor- ous shakings of his shaggy hide. “Whoa, Nebby!” cried the trapper, rushing up to him. “Whar is ther skunk thet tried ter steal ye?” But the crashing in the bushes showed the direction the would-be horse-thief had taken, . Then something else showed, as proof of his identity, for between Nebuchadnezzar’s greenish teeth was a rag, which he was shaking angrily, and that rag was discoy- ered to. be a section torn from the coat of a white man. * | 16 | \) THE BURRALO BILL STORIKS “A white man!” said the scout, when he saw: what the piece of cloth had been. He held: it up, while Nick Nomad petted the horse and told him in endearing terms what a wonderful beast he was. “That broken feather left where the horses were taken from was.just another deceptive trick by which these outlaws hoped to make us think their own dirty work was the deed of Crow Indians.” “Ther hoss-thief njun, ef it war one, might er been warin’ a white man’s coat, Buffler!” protested Nomad, who had little love for Indians of any tribe. “Crows is born hoss-thieves, ye know. They can’t no more help stealin’ a hoss: when they sees one ey a bird wi’ wings kin keep from flyin’ through ther air.’ “T’m satisfied that it was the work of an outlaw who slipped up on the camp, probably hoping to release the prisoner, and then concluded to steal the horses,” the scout insisted. Old Nomad groaned as he recollected that prisoner. “Buffler, whenever I gits sight of Toby Tom I draws on him wi’ this old b’ar gun!” he cried. “I could fer- give a feller stealin’ Nebby sooner’n a man who’d’done what he has.” Then he began to talk of his beloved hoss. “But did yer ever see ther equal o’ Nebby-hyar, Buf- fler? A hoss what’s three-quarters human and t’other part of finest. hoss-sense that war ever put under ther skull of any critter! Thet’s Nebby. He kin smell In- ‘juns and’hoss-thieves a mile off. T’ve knowed him ter do it, Buffler. This hyar ole hoss hain’t much ter look at, bein’ in thet way a good deal like his master, but ther sense and fightin’ grit of him makes him more vallyble ter me than gold and diamonds. Buffler, he’s shore a wonder !” : He righted the bridle and saddle, and explored the contents of the saddle-pouches. “Ther cuss didn’t have time ter steal anything, Buf- fler,’ he remarked, with satisfaction. He drew out a large package of pasty stuff. When he opened it, the contents gave out a bright, phospores- cent shine. “Phosphorus pizen fer wolves,’ he explained, as he stored it away again. “‘They been thet pesky round my beaver and mink-traps lately, Buffler, that I liad ter do suthin’; and so, bein’ down in Silver Springs a week er so ago, I got that, which it was recommended ter me by ther storekeeper. Tried it onc’t, and it shore do knock ther wolves. Shines like a candle in ther night, is ther only objection I got ter it. cussed thief had tuck it, mebbe.” Having righted his horse and quieted the animal, the two old mountain comrades now moved away,’ heading in the direction of the hill, where, Buffalo Bill had teld the Crows, the camp was to be pitched that night. War afeared thet ) CHAPTER X, GLANCING (KNIFE GETS INTO TROUBLE, When the. disgruntled Crows left Buffalo Bill, they returned to the canon where the rope bridge had been, and following it on down they came finally to a break in the cafion wall which offered a difficult means of crossing. _ It was midnight before the crossing was acéomplished. They did not. go into camp until they had returned along the cafion to what they believed to be the point where the bridge had hung. ,, Here, in a secluded place, they es until caval, and tried to get some sleep. Glancing Knife slept very little, in ee of his Fidion training. : Two things kept him, awake, in hae . ae fact that he felt himself to be in a dangerous location. One of these was thoughts of the Lodge. Lily, his promised bride; the other was the knowledge that if he failed to rescue her now, or brought disaster on him- self and his brothers, he would subject himself to prob- i able condemnation from Red Feather, who had ae him under the leadership of Long Hair. Mingled with this was a sort of exultant hope that he might prove himself able to cope with the outlaws without the aid of Long Hair, and thus show his su- periority. . , At the first flush of day the Crows were. up, ate a little of the jerked deer meat they had brought along, and began a search for the outlaw trail they believed to lie on that side of the cafion. They were superior trackers, few among the Crow warriors being their equal. His tracking ability was the principal thing that had elevated Glancing Knife to a position as subchief of the tribe, added to his prowess in the battle with the Blackfeet, mentioned to.Buffalo Bill by Red Feather. : They found the severed end of the rope bridge before daylight grew strong. More than a dozen tracks were there, showing that the outlaw party was larger than they had believed. Nevertheless, they began to follow it, advancing ih rare Indian stealth. They felt sure they were well ahead of Buffalo Bill. They lost the trail on the’ rocky slopes a number of times, but always found it, though: more than once only after infinite patience and trouble. : Shortly before noon. they came. to a little ae ringed valley, a mere pocket in the hills. Into this the trail entered; and from che. top. oe a craggy peak they obtained a view bee set them into a flutter of excitement. The outlaws were down there, yes sentries at the valley entrances. ne ace it AES |. seit HE «f ine Al 7 m_ woe fo - ~~ ap mei I eae tt Hc Calin a ey THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES: | ay But the thing that most excited Glancing Knife was -a sight of the Lodge Lily, seated on a rock at one side of the camp, in a dejected attitude. He could not tell whether she was tied or not, but he gripped his scalping-knife and shook it fiercely when he saw one of the outlaws approach and speak to ther. “Tf we had but the Long Hair’s drawing glasses,” said Running Elk, “we might pull pee so near that we could hear what he says!” “Or even so that we might shoot an arrow into him,” added Walking Cloud. “Stay here!” whispered Glancing Knife. those bushes close by them. I go there.” They understood him. He meant to try to rescue the Lodge Lily. He wanted the glory of it alone, if. it could be had, because of the fact that she was his prom- ised wife. It would be a tale for the lodge-fires through many years if he accomplished her rescue single-handed. They were to help him only in case he failed and got into trouble. He slipped down from the crag ‘You see , leaving them watching there, and disappeared from their view. An hour later they saw him crawling upon the senti- nel who guarded a narrow pass which opened into the valley close by the bushes he had mentioned. They stood up, almost recklessly exposing themselves, and could hardly repress yells of excitement when they discovered, a little later, that Glancing Knife had writhed by the sentry without discovery, though the thing had been done in broad daylight. They did not see the Lodge Lily now, and soon lost sight of Glancing Knife, but the fact that he had al- teady done such wonders set their tongues into a gusty storm of gutturals. Glancing Knife was justifying his tribal reputation as an adept in such work as he had.undertaken. The sentinel he passed so near was wide-awake, and was looking along the pass, te his repeating rifle across his knees. As he thus looked he, by and iF became conscious that a bush lay in the trail, that he did not recall having seen there before. He arose and walked along the pass to where it was, and discovered as he picked it up that it had tee cut off close to the ground. — This would have been so strongly indicative to an experienced Indian-fighter that he would have given the alarm at once. But the man was not an Indian- fighter. Less than a week before he had been a saloon bum in the town of Silver Springs. He looked at the cut bush, and then along the trail. “Some of the fellers cut that last night,” he thought, as he turned about, carrying it in his hand. “To git switches fer the horses, I reckon,” He carried it a few yards-and threw it down. | Glancing Knife, having advanced across a dangerous © place under cover of that bush, and having, to still further protect himself, left it standing against the wall, from whence it was dislodged by a gust of wind, had taken advantage of this diversion and passed the sentry, and now was sneaking on toward the camp, his heart exultant. He clapsed his hatchet in his right hand, and was resolved to dash it into the brain of any man he found | talking with the Lodge Lily, and then make a wild flight with her to get out of the camp. But when he approached near to the spot where he had seen her, he saw that she was gone from there. He crawled still nearer, and lay, listening. There were no log cabins or tents in this camp, it being merely a temporary place of refuge, yet marvel- ously fitted by nature for resistance. As he lay thus, Glancing Knife was thrown into a tremulous excitement by again seeing the Lodge Lily, who was now walking toward him; but scuffling along, in a manner to show that cords were round her ankles, and as her hands were behind ne back he believed that her wrists were tied. For an Indian girl she was rae even from the white man’s standpoint. Glancing Knife considered her marvelously beautiful, and his heart burned at sight of her. He wanted to leap up and sing out to her to run to him, yet caution restrained him. He wondered if she were trying to escape out of the camp in that way, for she was alone. That this was true he saw soon, when a white man came running toward her. This white man spoke to her sharply, and other white men appeared, to atd him. The girl tried to run faster, but the white man over- took her. The scuffle that followed occurred within three yards of Glancing Knife’s hiding-place. Had he not been a hot-headed youth, made reckless by his admiration of the girl and his wild indignation at what he beheld, he would still have remained hidden, for the other white men were near; but he could not control himself at this juncture. His hatchet flew through the air, aimed at the head of the man; and then he leaped out with a wild Crow yell that rang through the camp in a way to startle it and bring all the outlaws to their feet with weapons in their hands. The man thus assaulted by Glancing Knife drew his revolver when he heard that hatchet fly by his ear, and ducked as he saw the Indian coming with quick leaps and swinging that wicked-looking scalping-knife. Though he fired, Glancing Knife would have reached him with the knife, for the bullet missed, but that the girl interfered cane oe in her desire to reach her lover. ee ae ea een aera Ae cS . 7 aon ger ar " m7 * 18 THE BUFFALO \ Her tied limbs tripped her in front of him, thus caus- ing him to stumble and half fall to the ground. Before he could recover, the man was on him, pointing the revolver at his head. Glancing Knife a second time avoided the shot, and, springing up, tried to strike the man with the krtife; and they came to the ground together, the outlaw clutch~ ing the Indian’s knife-arm. It was all up with Glancing Knife after that, so far as his hope of escaping with the girl was concerned. For, as he fought with the outlaw, the others rushed. upon him, seized him, dragged him off the man, and pinioned him to the ground. The girl tried to go to his assistance. hatchet, she also tried to brain one of those who were holding him; but though she fought for a time with the fury of a young wildcat, she was disarmed, and lay on the ground, panting and exhausted, as did Glancing Knife himself. Though the girl raved with feminine rage and grief, Glancing Knife, finding that the battle had gone against — him, submitted with Indian’ stoicism. All the outlaws, except the sentinels out by the passes, now surrounded him, and they were threatening enough in their attitude. Some were for killing him at once; and this might have been done but that the outlaw captain, Severn, observed by his eagle plumes that he was a chief. Stepping before him, Severn asked him if he were not a chief. : Glancing Knife’s answer held of all of the proverbial savage’s boastfulness. He declared that he was one of the greatest of the Crow chieftains, that he had slain three Blackfeet single-handed in fair combat, and that if they would but release him and put a knife in his hands he would sink it to the heart of the man who questioned him. He defied them to kill him, and taunted them as well as he could in a language which few of them understood, They comprehended enough to believe that he was a great man among the Crows, and that it might be the part of wisdom not to hasten his death without considera-. tion of the possibilities that lay in keeping him alive for a time. CHAPTER XI. BUFFALO BILL’S CLEVERNESS. Night was approaching again when Buffalo Bill and old Nick Nomad, having struck the trail of the outlaws beyond the cafion, came upon the two Crows near the — eragey hill that overlooked the hiding- -place of the out- laws. : The brothers of Glancing Knife had not anes able to do anything to aid him; for his capture so aroused. Securing the BILL STORIES. the outlaws that they had doubled their sentinels and stood ready for an attack. . The two Crows might have tried to keep ott of the way of the scout and his companion, if the scout had not discovered them. Advancing, he spoke to them. -Theytcame forth, then, and, when questioned, admitted | the capture of Glancing Knife by the outlaws, and pointed out the spot where the outlaws lay. Buffalo Bill had recaptured his horse, but both his own animal and Nebuchadnezzar had been left some distance behind. On learning what had occurred, and the Crows’ belief that Glancing Knife was still alive, and that the Lodge Lily was undoubtedly held by the bandits, Buffalo Bill ascended the hill, and scanned the « rock- ringed valley with his powerful glasses. Having so familiarized himself with it that he was ‘sure he could move about in it even in the darkness, he beckoned to Nomad; and the old trapper came up and made a like close inspection of the place. ‘Tye been hoping that Red Feather and his warriors would be here soon,” said the scout, “but they are not.” | yet in sight. We've marked the trail so that they ought. to come on rapidly.” ; “You're thinkin’ o’ tryin’ suthin’ ter-night, Buffler?” “T think I ought to eH an attempt like that mae cs Glancing Knife failed. in.’ : “He war gritty ter ade it, Buffler; Crow!” “The danger will not be so great if the attempt is made after dark. And I’ve a plan that will help me, I think, in case I get cornered, or pressed.” a fer a He communicated his plan to the trapper. When they descended from the hill, the scout asked Walking Cloud to let him have his blankety It had once been bright and gaudy, and its cloudy spots, alternating with the sky-blue of the background, was what had probably given this young Indian his present name; but the blanket was now,a dirty, dun color. “Vil wear it over my oe as I try to crawl it the Base * the scout explained, “and it will foes to pee tECL tie = The fact that Long Hair was willing to ae much to aid Glancing Knife brought a revulsion of feeling and opinion concerning him in the hearts of these Crows. Walking Cloud shed his blanket with great alacrity, and asked the scout’s plans. : “Nomad here will tell you what you’ re. to do. when the time comes. If I’m cornered, or hard-put for it, Vl fire my revolver. .Nomad. can recognize it by its report, ~ and will know whether the shot is from my revolver, or, another. Then, do whatever he has ordered.” He took Nomad aside and talked for some. time. . After that the horses were brought up, and again | concealed. ee Die BURP ALO [hen a bite of supper had been. eaten, darkness was n spreading over the mountains, and the scout was omad took the other Indian blanket, added to it his n, placed both on his horse in a manner to cover it nose to tail, and began then certain preparations th he hoped would aid Buffalo Bill, if such aid be- € necessary, the preparations having been suggested he scout himself. As for the scout, he was moving rapidly in the direc- of the rock-ringed valley he had so closely studied th his glasses. Snowing just where the ee were posted, he was dy to circumvent them. The one he had chosen to try to go by was in the ss nearest. This pass consisted of a narrow, rocky Hine, lying between ledgy walls of rock, the rock walls ng so high and rough that only a mountain-goat uld scale them. Yet along the sides, not high up, te irregular rocky shelves, to which an agile animal ght climb. These the scout had observed. With the greatest caution he approached the point here this sentinel stood. Over a portion of the way, when near the man, the cout had to pass across open ground, and then only he darkness and the color of the Indian blanket which nelted into it saved him from observation. As he drew close to the sentinel, he bore in his hands everal small stones which he had picked up in the trail. s rifle was strapped to his back, and his revolvers and knife were in his belt.» Thus his hands were free to grasp and use the stones. He softly tossed one of the stones up against the ledgy wall on the right. There lay the largest of the shelves mentioned; and, apparently, because it was the largest, it would be taken by any small animal trying to go through the pass. The rattling fall of the stone ee the attention of the sentinel. He started up, grasping his rifle, peered into the darkness, and listened. : Another stone whirled invisibly through the air, and struck the ledgy wall farther on. It was as if the ani- mal, having run farther along the shelf, had there dis- lodged a secorid stone. The sentinel could not be sure, of course, that thig was done by an animal, a fact on which the scout was counting for the success of his efforts. So far as the sentinel could tell, those stones might have been dis- lodged by a man who had gained the shelf and was trying to slip through. este cenit eI, Lees BILL STORIES. The fact that the Crow Indian had gained the camp, passing a sentry, made this sentry the more suspicious. Hence, when the second stone rattled down, he walked close up to the wall, and there he challenged: “Halt, whoever ye air, up there!” he said, in a grum- bling’ voice. The scout heard the hdc deine click of his rifle. But already Buffalo Bill was moving along with the celerity, almost, of a gliding lizard. He passed the spot where the sentry had been posted, and, having gone as far as he thought it safe to try to get just then, he lay close against the ground by the left wall, the Indian blanket well. concealing him. The sentry commanded a “Halt!” again, in that low tone, once more clicking the lock of his rifle. ; Buffalo Bill lifted himself softly and hurled another stone. PS It rattled in the darkness toward thé outer end of the pass, Seeming to indicate that the animal had been fright- ened into running back in that direction. The sentry wheeled toward the sound. Evidently, he» felt relieved. c “A’durn weasel, er skunk!” the scout heard him say. “But it skeered me good.” He walked slowly along, going thus away from Buf- falo Bill. | Finally, the sentinel stopped again; but before he had done so, the scout had made another move. Being far enough along now, Buffalo Bill ventured to crawl straight on along the wall, hugging the ground and moving as silently as if he were no more than a shadow. It took the scout a good half-hour to accomplish the passage, but he was by the sentinel now, and before him was the outlaw camp. ‘When he felt it safe to do so, he rose to a stooping posture, for that crawling motion was irksome and slow. Then he beheld the twinkle of a fire, round which several men were sitting. The fire was built behind a rock, to keep its light from being seen off in the hills. Buffalo Bill crept nearer, and discovered that here was Severn and most of his men, their faces being fa- miliar to him. All of them he had seen in Silver Springs. But neither the girl nor Glancing Knife was visible. CHAPTER XII. BUFFALO BILL’S DARING. Having crawled half-way round the outlaw camp-fire, Buffalo Bill beheld, at length, the objects of his search. The Lodge Lily and Glancing Knife were behind the outlaws, a position in which they were supposed to be more secure. Back of them rose high rock walls, unscalable; before them was the fire and the outlaws. And as both were tied hand and foot, the chances of their getting away were not good. sergeca as See Toni p at THE BUFFALO For some time the scout lay looking toward them, being so near that his whisper could have reached them, and he was wondering how best to notify them of his presence without startling them, or letting the outlaws hear. Then once more he resorted to the trick of throwing a stone, except that this time it was a mere pebble, which dropped into the grass at the feet of the young Crow chief. Its fall was not heard by the men at ie. camp-fire, who were talking; but Glancing Knife lifted himself on his elbow and looked about. This was such a thing as he might expect, if one of his brothers had penetrated the camp and sowght to communicate with him. He made a twittering sound like the sleepy call of a night bird, to answer his brother, if the latter were out there; and that low call reaching the girl notified her that something had drawn his attention. ~ Having thus given them warning of his presence, Buffalo Bill crept forward, Ne along the ground and close to it. When Glancing Knife saw him dimly, observed, the outline of the blanket, and was sure that his brothers had penetrated the camp. He wanted to yell with ex- ultation, but cautiously postponed that yell to another time. ; He held out his bound hands. When Buffalo Bill-stretched out his knife to cut the cords, and the Crow became aware that this was not his brother, but the renowned Long Hair, the change in his sensations was so great, that, combined with his aston- ishment, he found trouble in remaining circumspectfully silent. The keen edge of the knife cut through the rawhide, and then a similar service was performed for the cords that held the Crow’s. ankles. Believing that Glancing Knife went be stiff and per- haps alee as a result of the close confinement of the bonds, Buffalo Bill did not trust him to cut the cords that bound the girl, but wriggled over to where she was lying, and did it himself. “The Long Hair will save you,” he whispered, “if you will be cautious now. When he runs to get out of the camp, you must run, too, as you never ran before, and follow him toward the pass that leads toward the tall mountain.” She was trembling violently, but she nodded to show. that she comprehended. He had spoken in Crow that she might have no trouble in understanding. But an unforeseen thing happened at this juncture. Severn, the outlaw leader, arose from the camp-fire, and came toward them, either because he had been made suspicious by something, or wanted to talk with the girl, whose beauty had ck his fancy, He was accompanied by Toby Tom, the rascal who had ar 8 ee ak) : ei PSN CON, eo BILL STORIES, deceived old Nick Nomad and released Severn when the scout had him captured. Buffalo Bill flattened himself on the ground under the Indian blanket. Yet he hardly hoped to escape Hee now. In fact, he was pretty sure that a fight, and a stiff one, was right ahead of him. He whispered to Glancing Knife to hold his hands together and pretend that he was still bound; but could do no more, for the outlaws were too close at Hane .- Severn did not stop at Glancing Knife, but walked on to where the girl lay. “Got over yer sulkin’?’”’ he demanded eruffly. When ‘she did not answer, he stooped to pluck her by the black braid of her long hajr. She screamed with pain and fright, as he thus brutally lifted her to her feet. It was not the first of the outrages he had committed against her. This was too much for Glancing Knife’s hot heart. With a yell of rage he sprang up, greatly to the as- tonishment of “both the rascals, and hurled himself in .- blind fury on the man who was thus mistreating the - ~ Lodge Lily. Discovery could be no longer delayed, - The Indian blanket fell from the tall form of the scout, and the whiplike and peculiar report of his big revolver broke on the astonished ears of the outlaws. Severn fell with the bullet in his shoulder, throwing up his hands as he did so. Toby Tom, paralyzed by what had happened, stood . quaking, and was knocked flat by a swinging blow. indi, the fist of Glancing Knife, The next moment Buffalo Bill and the two Anions were springing toward the pass through which the scout. had made his way into the camp. v But in this they were compelled to run close by the” camp-fire. The outlaws, though thrown into confusion by that sharp revolver-bark and the toppling over of their cap tain and Toby Tom, did not stampede, They drew back from the camp-fire in a body, that its light might not make them targets for invisible foes, and when they beheld the esc&ping prisoners, led by a tall form of whose identity they were ‘not sure, they be- gan to shoot. It was quick and wild shooting, Dut Glancing Knife, who was running at the side of Buffalo Bill, went down. The scout stooped. above him for a moment. Dis- - covering that the Crow was not dead, he picked him up in his arms. “This way!” he shouted to the gitl; and he ran on, bearing Glancing Knife in his arms. Not until he was beyond the fire did he know, that the girl, frightened and bewildered, had turned back when the bullets whistled about her head. cenit The outlaws were now between her and Buffalo Bill, d she was running in the opposite direction. Though 1 free, there was now no present hope for her, for passable walls rose on that side of the camp, “To Secure his own safety, the scout was compelled )to run straight on as fast as he could. _Glancing Knife was not dead, for he writhed in the cout’s arms. Still shooting, and with wild bellows of bewildered age, the outlaws began a hurried pursuit; and because f the shape of the rock-ringed valley, and the fact that entinels were posted in all the passes, it seemed te them hat the escape of these two fugitives could not take CHAPTER XIII. A STEED OF > EIR EE. Old Nick Nomad chuckled as he went about the work which the scout had instructed him to perform. _ Running Elk and Walking Cloud looked on in amaze- ment when they saw the little old trapper begin to trans- form his shaggy horse into a steed of fire. Working under the blankets which screened its bony sides, the trapper applied to the hide of the horse the pasty preparation of phosphorus which he had in his saddle-pouch. | “Nebuchadnezzar,” he said humorously, “when ye git this on ye don’t go ter imaginin’ that yer a kind of a hoss angel}swith gold growin’ on yer hair, fer ye ain’t; and don’t git skeered at yerself, nuther, thinkin’ mebbe thet you're about ter burn up; fer ther truck won’t hurt ye, less it pizens ye. I don’t reckon it'll pizen ye so long as ye don’t eat it. Ther wolves has ter take it inter their stummicks ter keel “em over. I’d advise ye, though, not ter go ter nippin’ yer ole hide, fer ye might swaller some of it onbeknownst to ye, and it’d be powerful apt ~ ter make ye sick, ef it didn’t do no wuss.” Nebby stood with bowed and heavy head, apparently - taking no interest in what was going on ot’ being said. If he saw now and then a gleam of the ies horas if. the trapper,was applying, it did not frighten him. That there might be no chance of its shine being f seen’ by the outlaws, the trapper had taken the horses. into a screen of small trees while the phosphorus was - being put on. ; ~Walkin®* Cloud and his brother regarded the work superstitiously. 4 According to their fadian ideas ae thing was “bad medicine,” 7 They stood off to view it, and refused to come near; and when Nomad, in passing round the horse, approached them, they scampered back with comical haste, bring- ing more laughter from his hairy lips. THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES. : oy “T reckon this’d be wuth a good deal to one o’ yer medicine-men,’ he observed sagely. “Ef he went up ter a sick Injun w’arin’ this on him IJ cal’late thet ther _Injun would either kick ther bucket, er git well, soon’s he seen him, I think P’ll buy some more of it an’ go inter the medicine-man bizness, Buffler’s shore a cute ‘un. I’d-never thought o’ this myself,” Having painted Nebuchadnezzar with the phosphorus, Nomad took the horse and set out with it for the pass through which the scout had told him he would make his way into the valley of the outlaws. The two Indians, under the same instructions, he sent round the yalley, to one side, telling them _where to station themselves in the darkness. Hesaddressed them in the Crow language, as he gave these instructions, that they might be sure to under- stand and make no mistakes. The Indians departed, hurrying away. When the trapper drew near to the pass with the horses, he went to one side there, and waited. The screening blankets were still on Nebuchadnezzar. On the nose of the other horse was a rope tied in a manner to keep it from whinnying. Here the old trapper waited in silence and patience, while the slow minutes crept by. Then came at last the sharp report of the scout’s re- volver, and the confusion of sounds. immediately fol- lowing it. Instantly he stripped the blanlers from Nebuchadnez- zar, and, leaving the other horse tied in that spot, he sprang to the back of his now fiery steed, and dashed into the pass where the sentinel was posted. As he approached the sentry’s station, he yelled in a nerve-startling way. The sentinel had never heard anything quite like that yell, And when he beheld that horse of fire dash into the pass, and come rushing toward him, with those de- moniac screeches ringing from some invisible rider, he fired one shot at it and ran for his life. Buffalo Bill, pursued hotly, heard the scared sentinel coming up the pass, and he stepped to one side. The sentinel went by like a running horse, heading straight for the camp. Then the scout dashed on, still carrying the uncon- scious Indian. As he did so, Nomad loomed out of the darkness, as terrible an object in that gloomy place as the scout had ever beheld, The scout yelled at him, but Nomad’s blood was now . up, and he rode on up the pass, yelling as if he were an unloosed maniac. S The pursuing outlaws halted in confusion. ‘Then off on the right rose a discordant din of Indian yells, as the Crows started up, obeying the orders given them by the trapper. s hese mh Mit ih me na i eh Mein nag ayes Sera ac - rh ie ac * = 7 aparece ae 22 : | THE BUFFALO When an Indian desires to do so he can make his yells as deceptive as those of a wolf; and now the Crow trackers, running to and fro, and screeching their war- cries, seemed not merely two in number, but two dozen. Bewildered by the dash of the fiery horse, and be- lieving from the yells of the Indians that the Crows had found and surprised the camp, the outlaws broke back into the valley. Some of the bolder, however, began to shoot at Neb- uchadnezzar; discovering which, the old trapper turned tail and rode out of the pass. The safety of Nebuchad- nezzar was with him a first consideration. Great as the success of the scout’s clever plan had been, one thing made it seem to him almost a failure. The girl was still a prisoner, and the plan had® been undertaken primarily for her release. Through fright she had thwarted the effort herself. If she had obeyed literally, there was no reason for thinking she would not now be out of the valley and safe from the outlaws. Having got out of the valley, Buffalo Bill halted near the point where Nomad had left the second horse, and he heard this horse stamping restlessly, as he placed Glancing Knife on the ground and began a hasty exami- nation of his injuries. He heard Nomad returning, and feeling secure for a little while, he ventured to strike a match. Then he discovered that a bullet from a revolver had creased Glancing Knife along the side of the head, cut- ting the skin and making blood flow. | Nomad came up while the ‘scout was dressing the wound and trying to restore the young Indian to con- sciousness. f “Tm almost afraid to give him a taste of whisky from my flask,” he said to Nomad, as the latter slid from the back of his fiery steed. “When an Indian gets a taste of the stuff he is ready to commit murder just to get a little more of it.” While he still hesitated, Glancing Knife showed, signs of returning consciousness, and Buffalo Bill restored the untouched flask to his pocket, where he kept it always for emergencies. Having been in an inner pocket, and small and flat, it had escaped the incomplete searching of the Crows when he had been for a time held in their village. Before Running Elk and Walking Cloud rejoined the scout and the trapper, Glancing Knife was in fair condi- tion, though weak and headachy from the effect of the bullet crease. His recent attitude toward Buffalo Bill had been changed. He did not speak of it, yet the scout was ~ aware of it. Instead of distrust was now the fullest con- fidence. The three Indians drew to one side, where they had a long talk in low. tones. oO Bi STORIES. At the same time the trapper and the scout were con- ferring. “Tf Red Feather was here now with his braves we could charge the outlaws and rout them,” was the scout’s statement. “But they ain’t hyar, Buffler!”’ le “No, and we'll have to wait until morning.” “A good deal of a row over that in thet valley, Buf-. fer! _ “The outlaws are excited.” “And skeered, Buffler.”’ “Tt don’t doubt it. Nebuchadnezzar was enough to frighten anything.” “TFTe most skeers me now, ef I look at him. Te, he! I got ter kiver ‘im up wi’ them blankets, I guess, fer I mout want ter spring this fire trick ag’in. Thar ain't no knowin’.” He threw the blankets over the horse, thus covering and hiding the glow of the phosphorus. “Buffler, I kerries this truck hereafter continual. Ther sight of a hoss like that would skeer an Injun inter — fits. I’m thinkin’ I could improve on ther thing, too; I could put ther stuff on me, an’ fasten a pair o° fiery spread-eagle wings ter my shoulders. I reckon Pd look like a shinin’ angel, er a churubim, ef I went scootin through ther night lookin’ like thet with a fiery hoss under me!” ‘He “te-heed!” and cackled with almost childish enthu- siasm over the fancy he had conjured up. “Buffler, let a fiery thing like thet butt inter a camp o’ hostyle Injuns and they’d scatter like a barn-lot 0’ chickens when a hawk sails inter ’em. I got ter git some more o’ this truck an’ try it some time, I have. It'd be ’most wu’th startin’ an Injun war jes’ ter git a chance ter try thet! Te, he! Ter see ther war-bonnets streamin’, and hear ther red devils yawpin’, as they broke fer ther hills, would be ekal ter a fust-class circus, Buf- fler. I’m goin’ ter try thet fust chance opens up; see ef I dont’t!) Wouldn’t yer like ter see me playin’ shinin’ angel wi’ bright wings ridin’ on a hoss o’ fire? Waugh!’ The theme was so fruitful of suggestion and so mirth- provoking to the old trapper that he kept it going for the better part of the night, when he was not sleeping or standing guard. CHAPTER XIV, PANICKY BANDITS. The excitement created in the ranks of the bandits by the daring act of Buffalo Bill, the appearance of the spectral steed of fire, and the wild yells of the Crows, would be difficult to describe accurately. The sentinel who had been in the pass asserted ve- hemently that the horse was no real flesh-and-blood animal. He was sure of that, he declared, for he had OED OZ AE LO SION TE ES AREA AIRE Bi: eh 2 i if : Snes anesthe tibet icon eat taster Ae entre tone Nae aC Al Chan F shot epic at it, and the bullet had gone acu it as § through smoke, without a particle of effect, All were not so credulous, or superstitious, | declared it was but a trick; i 2 appearance had been rubbed on a horse, and that was i : all there was of it; but the scared sentinel declared tHat he knew better, for he had been able to look through | the body of the horse, and beheld the bushes on the | other side. fh Wilkins, you're that scared I don’t reckon you knowed ) much what yer seen!” one asserted. “The light shined ) on ther bushes, I guess,” | “But when I slam a bullet straight through a critter, # and it don’t have no effect——” “Aw! yer missed him; that’s what! You was made that panicky you couldn have hit a flock of barns.” But Wilkins continued his assertions, partly because he was badly frightened and partly to excuse his igno- minious flight. - But whatever they heen of the steed of fire, the | reality of that. entrance of some one into the camp and the release of the young Crow could not be doubted; nor could the wild Crow yells be denied. The wound in the shoulder had been fatal to Severn, and that left them leaderless. : - Another leader was chosen without aeey, for they were degenerating into a mob. Watson, the new man, a beetle-browed et with not half the brains of Severn, called: his men round him, “Well, now,” he said; “wot’s to do?” .: “T says git out o’ this!’ “What I wanter know is,” said another, . feller who broke in hyar Buffalo Bill?” Nobody could be sure of that; the scout had not been clearly seen. All they knew was, that he was a tall, strong-looking man, and a man of courage, as was shown by what he had done. “T reckon the Crows air out there some’eres,’ Watson, waving his hand. “An’ like enough they’re creepin’ on us now!” “That’s what we’re ter consider,’ remarked Watson, waiting for suggestions. “Now, wot’s ter do?” They settled it by a vote; and the decision: was ‘for an immediate abandonment of their position and a retreat farther into the Bald Hills. They feared if they waited for daylight the Crows would attack in force, and that likely the Crows would be aided by a band of white men under the leadership of the daring man who had rescued Glancing Knife. Some “was that ' said ie f There was one thing they began at once to wrangle about, and that was the “swag,” as they called it, which consisted of the bags of gold-dust, the furs, and the horses which.had belonged to Sam Spencer, and some Crow ponies which they had succeeded in running off, tHE BUFFALO that something fiery in_ vghiaes iit i ia BIEL STORIES, Watson, as the new leader, declared that the share which had been Severn’s belonged now to him, and some of the men opposed this, declaring that it went into the general stock, and should be redivided. Watson drew a revolver. “If I’m boss hyer,” he howled, “I’m boss, and what I say goes!” | He glared round him in the half darkness. “I boss this gang, er I-kills some of you! in a.tight place, and-——” “But ther divvyin’ of es swag hain’t got nothin’ to do with that.” Watson’s revolver dropped down on the objector. “Pierce, you remove yerself frum this crowd, and git inter that pass there ter watch awhile, er I slings a slug of lead through ye.” Watson was to prove high-handed, and he had not been leader ten minutes before there were strong symp- toms of rebellion against his iron rule. But the general feeling that danger surrounded them, and that none of them might live to see the morning, quelled the threatened uprising. Having determined on a removal, the thing was now carried out, after the passes had been searched to see that they held no foes; and long before morning came they were far away in the hills, in what they believed to be a much stronger place for defense. The Lodge Lily had found this a bad night for her. At Watson’s orders she was tied securely and placed on the back of a Crow pony, with her feet tied under it; and then, with a halter on this pony, the halter being attached to Watson’s saddle, she was forced to ride at his side. Her thoughts were of Glancing Knife and of Long Hair, and she wondered where they were. She did not believe that either had been killed. She knew the body of neither had been exposed in the camp; and, according to her Indian way of thinking, that would have been done if they had been slain in their attempt to escape. Yet she had seen Glancing Knife fall, and had seen him borne on by Long Hair, and that filled her with so much uneasiness that she thought more about it than of her own personal misery. We're These men who surrounded her she feared. : Yet, now that she saw no way of escape, and no im- mediate prospect, she showed the stoicism of the Indian nature, and neither wept nor made complaint of any kind. Her position on the back of the pony, ‘with her feet tied together beneath the animal, was tang and pain- ful, but no murmur came from her, _ She could not understand the words of these wild, strange white men, which was just as well for her peace of mind, for the things they said would not have pleased her. 24 u THE BUFFALO Watson, having taken a decided fancy to her, became, in a measure, her protector. He thought if he were forced to hide out in the hills, or abandon the country for some wilderness in Mexico, he would take her with him, and force her to become his wife. . He thought, also, that at present. it would be well to treat Hen Tieht § for, otherwise, if they fell into the hands of the Crows, it might go hard with them. The Crows were savages, and savages have a scalping-knife way of doing things with -those who seriously offend them. Hence, the position of the Indian girl might have been much worse than it was. When camp was again made, the girl began once more to hope. She knew that if Glancing Knife was not dead, he would never give up his pursuit. Even if he were dead, his brothers, Walking Cloud ‘and Running Elk, would take up his cause and continue it to the end. And Glancing Knife had told her that Red Feather was on the trail, with all the warriors of the Crow village, and that they would sooner or later smite these white wolves and destroy them completely. She had faith in the Crow trackers, and she had also faith in the wonderful Long Hair. She saw now that, but for her. own act, he would have rescued her. If he came again, she meant to obey his instructions more completely. And so the hours wore away for the Crow captive. CHAPTER XV, THE TRACKERS. In making their retreat the bandits had shown con- summate skill. They had sought the flintiest ridges for their journey, and in many places there was not so much as a turned ‘pebble to show where they had passed. Fear of an ambush, together with the fact that they _ had effected their retreat quietly, kept Buffalo Bill and his companions from following before daybreak. At dawn the Crow trackers were out on the hills, scouting, and Buffalo Bill was searching the landscape. with his field-glasses. Glancing Knife seemed not to be suffering much from his injury. His head was bandaged, but he appeared as alert as ever, and able to endure work and even hard- ship. : As the sun rose, he came climbing up to the perch where the scout was. His face showed eagerness. ___. ‘From the top of the tall crag the Crows under. Red Feather have been sighted!’ he announced. “Good!” said Buffalo Bill. - BILL STORIES. He ote the. glasses to their case. “T eave one of your brothers behind to follow our trail with them, a trail:we will make so plain they will have no trouble. You and the other brother, and myself, and the old trapper will pick up the trail of the white wolves. They are not in the little valley, and I think have been gone from it some time. I am now ready.” Running Elk was left behind. ‘Breakfast had already been eaten, though no fire had . been made. “Waugh! Buffler, I ain’t goin’ ter like anything but a black night, frum this on,” said Nomad. ‘This hyar hoss becomes. jes’ ole Nepeys soon’s dayiaht comes, Ther fire’s all gone frum him.” Nebby was the only horse taken, he ee the only one that could be trusted. Even he might have been left behind but for the trapper’s desire. Nomad always insisted that Nebuchadnezzar was worth any fighting man, when it came to a scrap with Indians, and cer- tainly more than once the ragged old beast had proved the truth of the assertion. ; The work of the two Crows, Walking Cloud and Glancing Knife, was of a kind to merit all praise, when the task of picking up and following the trail of the outlaws was undertaken. They proved that they deserved the name of red trailers.. Yet there was no better trailer than Buffalo Bill, whether white or red. And Nomad’s long experience in the Indian wars of the border had also made him an expert in such work, Hence, though the outlaws had taken such pains, their trail was followed, and with more ease than one might have believed. On the bare ridges, where not a turned pebble or. a hoof-mark existed, nor a bent spear of grass, if the gen- eral direction and lay of the land showed that the outlaws must have gone straight on, the trailers went on. But if there was a doubt of it, then they swung round in ever-widening circles until something was found which again revealed the trail. A little later than midafternoon they sisted the ban- dits in a natural, rock-walled fortress, only one side of which was open, the front half, facing out toward the pursuing Crows. At the back. of this rock fortress were steep crags, where Watson had posted his keenest sentinels. All. this Buffalo Bill made out from-a considerable distance by means of his field-glasses,