Buffalo Bill and His Adventures in the West

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' imjpjir ' itf 4-11?

HARVARD

COLLEGE
LIBRARY

.BUFFALO BILL,

AND HIS

Adventures in the West

BY

NED BUNTLINE.

NEW YORK;

J, S. OGILVIE AND COMPANY,

31 Ross Street.

HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY

AUG ii i^i/

M^MOKlAL CCt.L£CT\ON

^

Copyright, x886,
By J. S. Ogilvib and Company.

UBftARY

\

a U

w

BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER I.

An oasis of green wood on Kansas prairie — a
bright stream shining like liquid silver in the moon-
light — a log house built under the limbs of great
trees — within this humble home a happy group.
This is my first picture.

Look well on the leading figure in that group.
You will see him but this once, yet on his sad fate
hinges all the wild and fearful realities which are to
follow, drawn, to a very great extent, not from
imagination, but from life itself.

A noble-looking, white-haired man sits by a rough
table, reading the Bible aloud. On stools by his
feet sit two beautiful little girls — his twin daugh-
ters — not more than ten years of age, while a noble
boy, twelve or thirteen, stands by the back of the
chair where sits the handsome, yet matronly-looking
mother.

It is the hour for family prayer before retiring for
the night, and Mr. Cody, the Christian as well as

\. -

4 BUFFALO BILL.

patriot, always remembers it in the heart of his dear
home.

He closes the holy book, and is about to kneel
and ask Heaven to bless and protect him and his
dear ones.

Hark! The sound of horses galloping with mad
speed towards his house falls upon his ear.

" Is it possible there is another Indian alarm?" he
says, inquiringly.

Alas ! worse than red savages are riding in hot
haste toward that door.

. " Hallo — the house !" is shouted loudly, as a large
cavalcade of horsemen halt before the door.

" What is wanted, and who are ye ?** asked the
good man, as he threw wide open the door and stood
upon its threshold.

" You are wanted, you black-hearted nigger-wor-
shipper, and / — Colonel M'Kandlas — have come to
fetch you ! And there's the warrant !"

As the ruffian leader of the band shouted these
words, the pistol already in his hands was raised,
levelled, fired, and the father, husband and Christian
fell dead before his horror-stricken family.

" If them gals was a little older — but never mind,
boys, this will be a lesson for the sneaks that come
upon the Border — let's be off, for there's plenty more
work to do before daylight !** continued the wretch,
turning the head of his horse to ride away.

" Stop !"

It was but a single word — spoken, too, by a boy
whose blue eyes shone wildly in a face as white as

V

s

\

BUFFALO BILL. 5

new-fallen snow, and full as cold — spoken as he stood
erect over the body of his dead father, weaponless
and alone.

Yet that ruffian — aye, and all of his mad, reckless
crew — stopped as if a mighty spell was laid upon
them.

" K7«, Jake M*Kandlas, have murdered my father 1
You, base cowards, who saw him do this dark deed,
spoke no word to restrain him. I am only little Bill,
his son, but as God in heaven hears me now, I will
kill every father's son of you before the beard grows
on my face !**

" Hear the little rooster crow. He*ll fight when
his spurs grow, if we don't cut his comb now," cried
the leader, with a mocking laugh, and he raised his
pistol once more.

" Monster, you have robbed me of a husband ; you
shall not kill my boy," shrieked the mother, as she
sprang forward and drew her son up to her bosom.

" Colonel, there's a big gang of men comin' over
the prairie. We'd better git," cried a scout, riding
in at this moment.

** Aye ! For I don't want to kill a woman if I
can help it. Column to the right, boys, and -follow
me.

In a minute, at full speed, the party dashed away
after their leader, and the wretched family were left
alone with the dead.

Frozen with terror and awe, the beautiful twins,
Lillie and Lottie, crept out to the doorway, where
their mother and brother knelt over the stiffening

■ , >■

6 BUFFALO BILLi

form of him who had been so good and kind — their
dear father.

Oh, what a picture ! Grief was still. Nor sob,
nor tear, not even a moan arose. They were dumb
with agony — paralyzed with a sense of utter be-
reavement.

They scarcely raised their heads as a noble-look-
ing officer, in the United States uniform, rode up,
followed by a body of cavalry.

"Who has done this foul murder?" he cried, as,
springing from his horse, he advanced to the mourn-
ful group.

"Jake M*Kandlas, and may God, in His just ven-
geance spare him for my hand !*' said that pale boy,
in a tone so low, so deep, and with a look so wildly
stern, that the officer looked at him in wonder.

" Heavens, how savage !** muttered the officer, as
he marked the look of ferocity which accompanied
the words.

" Tell me, madam, if you please, how this occurred,
and which way the murderer or murderers went.
My name is Sumner, and I serve a government
which will avenge, if it cannot always prevent out-
rage," continued the officer, addressing the poor
widow.

Tears and sobs now* came to her relief, and amid
them the sad tale was told.

The officer detailed a small party to assist her in
the last sad offices for the dead ; but himself, head-
ing the rest, dashed away over the prairie, in the
hope to catch and punish the murderers. Vain hope 1

BUFFALO BILL. *J

Mounted on the best stock in the land — the most
of it stolen — M'Kandlas and his party were already
miles away, speeding to coverts known to but few,
and those few of their own kind.

All this occurred in those dark days when the
struggles on the border were the theme of conversa-
tion and dispute all over our land, and it was but
one of a thousand, or even more, such cases— r^^/,
terrible, and unnatural as it may seem.

" Mother, don't cry any more," said little Bill,
when, with his two young sisters, he stood beside
the new-made grave. " Tears will not bring him to
life. You have these to look out for at home. You
need all your strength now.**
I " You are not going away, William ?**

• * " Not far, mother — not far. But there were thirty

of them beside old M*Kandlas, and it may take me
some time to kill them alir

So quietly, almost gently, did the boy speak, that
one would hardly think his young mind capable of
studying out, his small hand of doing such deeds as
he contemplated.

Ah ! little do the thoughtless know how character
is formed, how destiny shapes our course, how cir-
cumstances forces us, as it were, upon a tide from
which we may not turn.

In years a boy, in mind, in a preparation for a
wild, desperate, eventful life, already a mun.

Such was the hero of our story then, and now our
prefatory chapter ended, we must leap over a lapse
of years and spring into the full interest of our story.

8 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER 11.

It is now 1861. The old log house has disap-
peared, but in the same noble grove a pretty white
cottage is seen. Around it trellised bowers of vines
and climbing roses, a lovely flower garden, and in
the foreground not far away, are fine grain fields,
broad acres, well stocked with sheep, cattle, and
horses. Barns and haystacks all tell a story of good
farming and profitable results.

On the embowered porch of this cottage sits the
widow, still in her mourning garb, worn for him
whose death we pictured in the first chapter, and
near her stand two lovely girls — the twin sisters,
Lillie and Lottie, now in the early bloom of beauti-
ful womanhood.

They look alike, are dressed alike, and are exceed-
ingly beautiful.

I will not waste time in description — ^just imagine
hazel eyes, dark brown hair, slightly brunette com-
plexion, figure of perfect symmetry, and you have
them before you.

Lillie held a letter in her hand which the mounted
mail carrier had left as he swept by, adding in hur-
ried words :

" The war is begun — the rebels are fortifying
posts all over the South and threaten Washington
from Manassas.''

BUFFALO BILL. 9

Lillie's loving eyes sparkled as she read the letter,
and she cried out :

" Oh, mamma, mamma ! brother is coming home !
He says he will be here before the sun sets on the
twenty-fifth ! The letter is from Fort Kearney,
and has been long in coming/*

" Is not to-day the twenty-fifth?" asked Lottie.

" To be sure it is, and he will be here. Our Wil-
liam is wild, but he never tells a falsehood. He is
too proud for that ! Heaven bless him !'* said the
mother, in a low, earnest tone.

** He is not coming alone,** said Lillie. ** One
whom he calls * Wild Bill* — I wonder if he has be-
come tame himself — he speaks of as a very dear
friend, one who has three times saved his life. The
other one he calls Dave Tutt, says he is handsome
and brave, but I know he doesn't like him, for he
doesn't speak of him as being good at heart and
true as steel, as he does of the other.'*

" It lacks scarce a half hour of sunset,'* said the
mother. **Tell our good Kitty Muldoon to put on
the ^tea-kettle and hasten preparations for supper.
Tell her how many will be here, and to let nothing
be lacking. Thanks to my good son and that Prov-
idence which has smiled on his efforts, our home is
ready to welcome him to comfort when he comes!**

Lottie called out in her clear, ringing voice :

" Kitty Muldoon !**

" Here, miss, here fresh as a daisy and three times
as natural,** cried a plump, cherry-cheeked young
girl, with just enough of the brogue on her tongue

16 hVtFAtX) BILL.

to tell most likely that sweet Erin's Isle was her
birthplace. Dressed as well as the sisters, she
looked more like a companion than a servant.

"And what is it, me darling Miss Lottie, that
Kitty can be after doing to plase you ?"

" Mamma wants you to hurry and get the supper,
good Kitty, for my brother and two of his friends
are coming here to-night."

" The young master and two of his friends ?"

" Yes, Kitty — so make haste !"

" Are they young men. Miss Lottie 7*

"Yes, to be sure they are."

"And are they half as handsome as the young
master and as tinder of heart as he is."

" Oh ! botheration, I expect so. What is it to
you, Kitty."

" Sure, miss, to me 'tis nothing. But to you and
swate Miss Lillie, it may be something, since it's a
beau apiece for yez, if they're but worth the looking
at and spaking wid."

" Oh you good-for-nothing — "

Kitty did not wait to hear the rest of the not angry
expletive, but ran laughing away to carry out the
wishes of her mistress.

At the same instant Lillie, who had been glancing
through an avenue which led westward in the grove,
cried out :

•" They are coming ! They are coming !"

And three minutes later, their horses frothy and
hot, three riders at full speed dashed up to the gate
fronting the cottage.

BUFFALO BILL. II

"Oh brother! brother!** cried the two sisters,
joyously, and all heedless of the stranger eyes now
looking on them, they rushed out to embrace and
kiss him.

Buffalo Bill, for this was he, had learned to hide
all his feelings, but with a gentle tenderness he shook
himself out of their embraces, and, presenting his
two friends by name, hurried on to meet the dear
mother, who, with glistening eyes, waited to greet
her idol and her pride.

** My good mother !** was all he said, as he pressed
his manly lips to her white forehead.

" My dear son !'* was all she. said, but pages would
not describe the reverence in her tone, or the un-
dying love in her look.

Bill now presented his friends in more form to his
mother than he had deemed it necessary in the case
of his sisters.

^*This, mother,** said he, presenting a young man
who, in form and appearance, resembled himself very
closely, though he was an inch taller, and hardly so
muscular, " this is my mate — this is Bill Hitchcock,
the best friend I ever had, or ever will have, out-
side of our own family. Three times has he saved
me from being wiped out. Once by the Ogallalas,
once when I was taken with the cramps in the ice-
cold Platte, last winter, and once when old Jake
M'Kandlas and his gang had a sure set on me. He
and I will sink or swim in the same river, and that*s
a safe bet. Bill, that*s my mother, and a better
never trod the footstool !**

12 - BUFFALO BILL.

Wild Bill, with a natural grace, bent his proud
head, and took the hand of the lady, saying, in a
tremulous tone :

" I'm glad to see you, ma'am, for I've a good old
mother that I haven't seen this many a day, and this
rayther brings her up afore me !"

" And this other," continued Bill, " is Dave Tutt.
He is good on a hunt, death on the reds, and as smart
as bordermen are made now-a-days. Now, boys,
you're all acquainted, make yourselves at home.
The darkey out there has got the horses, and he'll
see them all right. I know that mother will soon
.have a good old supper for us."

** Yes, Kitty is getting it rea^y as fast as she can,
and I'll go and help her," said Lillie, who did not
like the wild, passionate gaze which Dave Tutt
seemed to fix upon her.

I don't like to use time or space for description,
but as the three men now before us are real^ not
fictitious characters, I think it due to them and the
reader to paint pen-portraits of the trio.

Three more perfect men, in point of personal
beauty, never trod the earth.

Wild Bill, six feet and one inch in height, straight
as an ash, broad in shoulder, round and full in chest,
slender in the waist, swelling out in muscular pro-
portions at hips and thighs, with tapering limbs,
"^small hands and feet, his form was a study. His
face, open and clean, had regular features, the nose
slightly aquiline. His large bright eyes, now soft
and tender in expression, were a bluish gray in color.

^ . »

/

BUFFALO BILL. 1 3

shaded by lashes which often dropped over his
bronzed cheek as he looked down, somewhat con-
fused in female society, to which he was unused.
His long brown hair fell in wavy masses over his
shoulders, but it was fine, soft and glossy as silk.

The same picture will do for Buffalo Bill, only this
difference noted. The eyes of the latter were nearly
a blue in color, his height one inch less, and his hair
a little more wavy and a shade lighter.

Dave Tutt, nearly of the same height, was equally
well formed, but here the resemblance ceased.

His eyes were black as jet and deeply set, though
his features were perfect, and, when he chose, his
expression soft and winning. His hair, curling slight-
ly, was black and glossy. But with all his beauty,
there was a sensual expression about his mouth so
utterly different from that in the other two, and a
fierce, passionate longing in his eyes, which made
the two girls, instinctive in their purity, shrink from
him.

Lillie, toward whom his glances seemed from the
first to be directed, especially felt, and scarcely could
conceal, an aversion.

Now this most unpleasant picturing duty is over,
and I can heave ahead on my story.

Pretty Kitty Muldoon was busy setting the table
in the dining-room when Buffalo Bill, unobserved,
came slyly in and, bending his tall form over her
shoulder, suddenly touched his lips to hers.

Bounding aside, quick as a fawn with a bullet in its
heart, she wheeled and brought the palm of her fat,

/

«

14 BUFFALO BILL.

chubby hand into contact with his cheek with a force
that made him see stars, and brought unbidden tears
into his laughing eyes.

" Bad 'cess to ycz, Master Bill, and it's at yer ould
thricks ye are !" cried Kitty, laughing at the woful
look he put on. **Sure haven't ye sisters as swate
as honey, purtier than the wild roses, to be kissin'
wid, instead of slobbcrin* over a bit of a wild Irish
girl like meself !"

"Why, Kitty, I hadn't seen you for so long, I
couldn't help it. Thunder and whip-stalks, but you
hit hard ! My cheek tingles yet !"

"Faith, then, it'll make your memory better, sir,
but maybe I did hit a little harder than I had razon
for, sir, for you're a good son and brother, and I
know you'd cut your right hand off before you'd
harm a poor girl like me, or see. harm come to her."

" That is so, Kitty, that is so, and now here's some-
thing to wear I brought from the traders. It's a
new dress, and if it isn't just like those I brought for
mother and sisters, it is just as good and cost as
much."

" Thank ye, Master Bill — thank ye for your kind
thought of the poor girl that has no one to think
after her but you and yours. Sure the angels sent
me here when I came, and I hope they'll keep me
here till I die, for it's Uke heaven to work for them
that's so good to me. But call your friends, Master
Bill, for the supper is all ready, and it's nice enough
for a king and a king's people, sure !''

BUFFALO BILL. 1$

CHAPTER III.

There was no piano in that Kansas cottage, but
two sweeter voices, alto and soprano, never thrilled
a human ear than filled the sitting-room with melody
as LilHe and Lottie sang song after song to please
their brother and his guests after night set in.

The good mother with her knitting, and Kitty al-
ready engaged in sewing on her new dress, Ustened
while they worked. The young men smoked, for in
the Far West the pipe seems apropos everywhere,
and from time to time expressed themselves warmly
in praise of the treat they were receiving.

The night was lovely. A gentle breeze rustled
thrqugh the leafy trees, the moon shone out
brightly, though passing clouds at times obscured it
for a minute or two, the air was soft and balmy. In
through the open window came the delicious per-
fume of rose and honeysuckle, taking away at least
a part of the tobacco-taint in the atmosphere.

That sweetest of all songs, more dear to the
writer than any song ever sung, " Thy bright smile
haunts me still," had just been sung by the twins,
when Mrs. Cody, whose face was toward the
window, screamed out in sudden terror, and rose to
her feet with a face so deathly pale that it seemed as
if she was death-stricken.

" What is it, mother ?" cried Bill, springing to her
side.

l6 BUFFALO BILL.

"The window — he was there!" she gasped, and
then swooned away.

" He t Girls, look out for mother ! I'll see what
he was at the window !" cried Bill, and he sprang to
the open casement.

As he did so a bullet whistled passed his ear, and
struck the opposite wall, while a hundred wild yells
proclaimed that Indians had surrounded the house.

Wild Bill, cool and collected, instantly blew out
both the lights, exclaiming :

" Darkness here and moonlight out thar ! We'll
be all right in a shake. Jump for your tools, boys ;
mine's handy ! Gals, lay down out o* range ; we'll
soon let the reds know old hands are here."

The three young men, reinforced by three negroes
and one white man, the farm hands, were ready for
work in less than a minute, and as the Indians did
not seem disposed to make a rush for the inside of
the house, crept quickly to points where from the
doors and windows they could pick the fiends out
from their coverts among the trees around.

Meantime the twins, aided by Kitty Muldoon with
a pitcher of water, had succeeded in restoring the
mother to consciousness, and to the hurried inquiry
of her son as to whom she had seen at the window,
replied that she had recognized the face of Jake
M'Kandlas, the murderer of her husband, glaring in
with a look so full of hate and vindictive cruelty
that she was completely horror-stricken.

" There's too many reds out there, or I'd rush out
and settle his hash !" said her son. " If he'll only

BUFFALO BILL. 1 7

stay till we thin *em down a few, FIl accommodate
him with a private entertainment. Look out for
yourselves, girls — the boys are giving *em Jessie, and
it's about time my hand was in.**

A rapid fire had been going on from the moment
Wild Bill got to the door, the Indians shooting at
random, for all in the house was dark except the
flash of the guns, but every now and then a yell of
agony told that the attacking party were not going
unpunished.

They could only be seen as they sprang from tree
to tree for cover, but their terrible yells ringing
through the air told that in numbers they were at
least ten to. one of the attacking party.

" Whar*s the stock ? Won*t they try to run that
off ?** asked Wild Bill, as his mate, standing by his
side, sent a red to eternity with a shot from his
favorite long rifle.

" I expect they will. I would almost as soon lose
my hair as to lose Powder Face, for the insect has
carried me through more bad scrapes than I've
time to count,** said Buffalo Bill, referring to his
favorite horse.

" And I will lose my hair afore Til lose Black
Nell, for she never deserted me. She'll kick the
head off any red that tries to mount her. But can't
we get to the horses? If I was on Nell, I know Fd
be good for a dozen out there where I'm getting one
a skulkin* in here. If the mare is where she could
hear me, I could have here in half a minute."

" Yes, and they'd plant a dozen arrows in her

■■

l8 ' BUFFALO BILL.

hide, or pepper her with lead as she came through
'em. Wait till I give Dave and the boys in here
their orders, and then you an' me will get to the
horses and come in on 'em like as if we were fresh
hands in the fight."

" That's the talk, Bill— that's the talk. Only let
me and Black Nell and you and Powder Face give
'em a charge in the rear and they're gone in."

'* Pepper into 'em, then, till I tell the boys here
where we're goin', so they'll be keerful how to shoot
when we're a comin."

Buffalo Bill now hurriedly told Dave Tutt and the
men, who were firing at everything they saw among
the trees, what he and Wild Bill intended to do.
The girls and his mother were to know nothing of it
till it was all over, for the two Bills felt as sure of
driving off the foe by their plan as if they were
already in full chase of them.

Dave Tutt did not express any wish to go along,
which rather surprised Buffalo Bill, for it was a duty
that brave men would surely court. But there was a
reason for this, as there is indeed for everything, as
the reader will learn by and by.

According to instructions, Dave and the other
white man, with the negroes, now increased the
rapidity of their fire, moving from window to
window, but firing high and avoiding one direction
— that which the two brave bordermen had taken.

The two friends, carrying their arms and bending
low in the shadow of the garden bushes, crept away
from the house until they reached a grain-field

BUFFALO BILL. I9

beyond the trees, into which they moved swiftly.
They had but a little distance now to go to reach
the stock pasture, and they got to the last in the
very nick of time.

A half-dozen dusky figures were already there, and
the horses, disturbed by the firing, were very uneasy
as these advanced.

Two shrill calls, understood well by the animals
for which they were intended, brought two noble
animals, " Black Nell" and *' Powder Face," to the
edge of the grain-field. The next instant, needing
neither saddle nor bridle, the two men were mount-
ed, and, without a word, both dashed forward upon
the Indians who were after the stock.

So suddenly and unexpectedly were they over-
whelmed — not a shot being fired, only the tomahawk
used— that there was no alarm in the grove. Then
the two men sped on, not noiselessly now, but
whooping and yelling in wild concert, and urging
their steeds faster by their cries, till they were upon
the rear of the astonished redskins, pouring out shot
after shot with deadly effect on the enemy.

Wheeling and circling here and there, never miss-
ing a shot — it seemed as if there were twenty, rather
than two — Wild Bill and our hero dashed on, carry-
ing death at every leap.

The Indians, who were Cheyennes, supposing this
to be a reinforcement to those who had defended the
house so well, soon gave way and fled in every di-
rection, but not before full half their number had
fallen.

20 BUFFALO BILL.

" Curse them, why do they shoot so careless from
the house — this is the second graze I have had from
there !" cried Wild Bill, as he wiped the blood from
a wound grazing his cheek.

" There's a hole in my hat from the same quarter,"
said Buffalo Bill. " Td like to know what they
mean. It can't be but they know where we are.
Never mind — I must hunt up old M'Kandlas now,
for if mother saw him he must be here. Let's chase
them, Bill, as long as we can.'*

The two men dashed away, and again a bullet,
evidently from the house, passed so close to Buffalo
Bill's head that he felt the wind.

The Indians scattered far and wide, but the two
men succeeded in knocking over a half-a-dozen more,
when the thought struck them that it was better not
to go far from the house lest some lurking behind
would continue the attack, and they rode back.

The search for a white man among the bodies of
the slain was unsuccessful, so Bill decided in his
mind that if M'Kandlas had been in the party he
had escaped this time.

As they approached the house they took pains to
make their individuality known by signals which
could not be misunderstood, therefore they were
spared the perils which it seemed friends rather than
their foes had cast upon them during the charge.

In a short time, their horses left close in the shadow
of the house, the two brave friends were in it once
more.

"You can light up, I reckon." cried Buffalo Bill,

BUFFALO BILL. 21

when he entered. " The reds, or what's left of 'em,
arc off to their tribes on the run. But I'd like to
know who in thunder it was that was shootin' so
careless from here while we was wipin* *em out in
the grove. Me and my mate both got grazed, and
It wasn't from none of them close by. It was long
shootin', and as close as if 'twas done on purpose."

" I don't see how it was. I shot for Indian, and
nothin' shorter than Indian," said Dave.

" Well, it's no matter ; we're here now, and our
hair is on. I reckon there's a pretty good lot o'
reds lying around loose for crow-bait, as we'll see
when day comes again."

" Thank Heaven, you are safe !" said Mrs. Cody,
as she heard the voice of her son. " I hope you and
your brave friend are unharmed?"

" All right, mother, but a scratch or two that cold
water will heal ; but are you sure you saw the face
of Jake M'Kandlas at the window?"

" Yes, my son — I never can forget his face. I
surely saw it."

" Then he has got off this time. I knew most of
his gang had gone under, but I didn't think he had
taken up with the Cheyennes. They say that every
tribe in the West but the Pawnees are going with
the South. . If they are, we border folks will have
our hands fuH. But we're good for 'em, aren't we,
Bill?"

"I reckon we are, if we know ourselves," said
Wild Bill. " Was the gals much frightened, ma'am ?"

" No. They were so busy at first in getting me

22 BUFFALO BILL.

out of my faint that they forgot to be scared, and
after that they had to think who was here to take
care of 'em, and they'd blush to be his sisters if a
few Indians could scare them,'* said Mrs. Cody.

" That's the kind of grit for me. Oh, but they're
game !" cried Buffalo Bill, as his eyes glanced proudly
at the sweet girls. " And here's Kitty Muldoon, as
fearless as they, I'll bet a horse. Isn't it so, Kitty?*'

" Faith, sir, it's not meself that'll tell a lie. I was
scared out of a night slape, I'm sure, and that's some-
thin', when one is sure to drame swate drames, as I do.
But what do you think, sir, one of them red haythens
has shot forty holes in my new dress, that I'd folded
up and put on the window-sill when I run for water
for the mistress in her faint."

" Never mind, Kitty ; there's more where it came
from, and so long as the dress wasn't on your own
body it's small harm that is done. And now all
hands of you be off to bed, but us men that are
used to watching. It isn't likely any of the reds
will come back to-night, but we'll keep our eyes
peeled and be ready for 'em if they do. When
morning comes we'll see about their trail."

" I thought you was in such a hurry to get to St.
Louis to join Fremont and his men," said Dave
Tutt, his tone quiet, but the slightest gleam of sar-
casm in his eye.

"Not while there's any danger hangin' about
them I love, if I know myself," said Bill. ** If you're
so hard put for whisky that you can't wait, why you
can start as soon as you like. I told you that my

' BUFFALO BILL. 23

dear old mother never would have the pisen in the
house, nor cards either, so them that want to drink
or play must keep a fast while they're here, or go
where they can get sarved more to their likin*/*

" I neither wish to drink or play,*' said Dave,
blushing, for the keen eyes of both the girls had
been fixed upon him while their brother spoke.
" And I reckon when there's danger about, I'll be as
loth to leave the helpless as any one that wears
shootin* irons in his belt."

** Well, that's right. I didn't mean to hurt your
feelings, Dave, but I'm more touchy here than I be
out on the prairie or on the hills."

24 BUFFALO BILL,

/

CHAPTER IV.

The moon had gone down before day dawned,
but the repulsed Cheyennes never bated in their
headlong speed until a couple of hours after sunrise,
when they had reached a thick cottonwood grove on
the south bank of the Republican River.

Here, at the call of their chief, they dismounted
and gathered around him. By his side, with a scowl
of anger, and some show of distrust, too, in his face,
stood Jake M*Kandlas, the white ruffian who had
planned this foray.

Looking sternly at him, after counting the war-
riors left, the old chief said :

** There will be a great cry among the squaws in
the lodges of the Cheyennes. Many warriors have
gone down — their scalps are in the belts of our ene-
mies, and we have not a scalp to show that has been
taken in return for ours. What has the Hawk of
the Hills to say to this ?"

"That which the Great Spirit wills to be, will be!"
said M*Kandlas in reply. " Two nights ago I went
to the cottage on the plains, looked in, and saw
only women there. There was stock, meat, plenty of
goods. I told Big Maple, the chief of the Cheyennes,
that he could get these and not lose a man. But
while I was gone the fighting men came — -we know
not how many — I »aw but three. If we had fought

BUFFALO BILL. 2$

as white men fight and charged right in on them, we
would now have their scalps in our belts. Big Maple
would not listen to my words. He fought his way
and lost half his warriors. It is not my fault. I
have spoken."

The old chief knew that so far as the advice was
concerned M'Kandlas had spoken the truth. He
had overruled the wish of the latter to charge, when
it was found men were there who would fight to de-
fend the women. For he said : ** We can kill them
in our way best, and then the women and the plun-
der will be easy to take.'*

" The Hawk of the Hills has spoken with a single
tongue. His words are true. But the faces of the
tribes will be black when we go back without scalps.
What has my brother to say to that ? '* asked the
chief.

** That if we go back without scalps we are fools !**
said M'Kandlas quietly. *' If the gun of Big Maple
misses fire, does he throw it away, or pick the flint
and try it again ? There are more days and nights
than one, and plenty of palefaces are scattered
about the plains. The Hawk of the Hills knows
other settlements which we can reach in two or
three days' journey. We can go there for plunder
and scalps, and then come back here, and when the
fighting men are not here, or are asleep, we can
sprinkle the bones of our dead with the blood of
vengeance where they fell."

** The Hawk of the Hills speaks like a man.
The heart of Big Maple was weak. It is strong

26 BUFFALO BILL.

again. The warriors will cook meat and eat while
their horses rest and feed. Then we will take the
war-path, and the Hawk of the Hills shall lead the
way. Big Maple is his brother, and will follow
where he leads.**

Light blazing fires, emitting scarcely any smoke,
were now made from dry twigs, and the warriors
made a hearty meal, the first for twenty-four hours.
It was not finished when an alarm was given by a
scout. White men mounted and armed were com-
ing in from the south.

" They are not those we fought last night !** said
M*Kandlas. " They have not had time to get to
this side of the river. I will ride out alone and see
who they are. Let my red brothers remain where
they are, ready to fight or to fiee if they see that I
ani among their enemies."

** The Hawk of the^ Hills is a great brave. His
words are good and his deeds go with them,** said
the Cheyenne chief.

M'Kandlas now mounted his horse, put a bit of
white cloth on the ramrod of his rifle, and rode out
from the shelter of the grove toward the group of
advancing horsemen, some ten or k dozen in num-
ber.

They halted as soon as he was observed, and
seemed to look to their arms.

He rode boldly on until within two or three hun-
dred yards, when a shout of recognition rose on
both sides, and men rode rapidly to meet him.

They were his own men from the Black Hills,

BUFFALO BILL. 2^

whom he had left there to carry on his business of
pillaging emigrant trains, while he came down on an
expedition on his own private account.

" Why are you here ?** he asked, as they rode up.
" What did you leave Cave Canyon for?**

" Because we got sarched out, and scorched out,
and whipped out !** said one, who seemed to head
the party. " That gal you took from the Mormon
train, and made so much of 'cause she was likelier
than most gals in face and figure, got away and went
down to Laramie in the night. The next thing we
knew the troops was right in amongst us, and we
got away — that is, half of us, for the rest went under
in the fight. We got off afoot, and had to go clear
down to the Border for horses, and we were on the
look for you, when here you turn up."

" Well, we'll make the blue-coats pay for this. A
war has begun. I heard 'em talkin* about it when
I was on a scout last night, and we'll have every In-
dian on the plains and in the hills with us in it.
We'll sweep the borders, and have no end of plunder
I'm glad you are here, for now I'll do the work I
failed in last night. That infernal fiend, Buffalo
Bill, with Wild Bill and Dave Tutt, wiped out over
twenty Cheyennes that I piloted down to the Cody
place last night."

" Dave Tutt? Why he is one of us — one of our
sort at any rate !" said Frank Stark, the one who
had spoken first.

" Yes — he used to be, but he's with them now.
I couldn't get no chance to see him alone, or I would

28 BUFFALa BILL.

have known what it meant. I had my own idea
that he was after one of the gals, for they're purtier
than any pictur that was ever painted, and I know
he's death after that kind of game. But ride on,
boys, and get something to eat, and then we'll plan
for a nice bit of work to-night. There's between
twenty and thirty Cheyennes left, and they'll fight
like blazes for revenge."

M'Kandlas now turned and rode back with his
men to the grove, so busy in talking with them that
he did not notice a single person on a hill beyond
the river, who had evidently seen all his movements,
and who rode off swiftly when the ruffian leader en-
tered the grove.

^* These are warriors from my band in the Black
Hills, come to fight by the side of their chief!" said
M'Kandlas to the Cheyenne chief, as he and his men
rode up among the camp-fires.

" They are welcome as the rain when the earth is
dry. Big Maple is glad to see them here. There is
meat, let them eat. There is water, let them drink."

" Here's something better than water, boss. Take
a pull out of that and it'll make your eyes snap. It
is prime old whisky — I got it from the last train we
took," cried Stark.

" Whisky is not better than water," said the old
chief, as he pushed back the proffered bottle. " The
Great Spirit made water for good. The Bad Spirit
made whisky for evil. In every bottle there is one
song and a hundred fights. It is the enemy of the
red man, and he is a fool if he shakes hands with it."

BUFFALO BILL. 29

" Well, there'll be the more left for me and the
colonel," said Frank Stark, as he proffered the bot-
tle to M'Kandlas, who did not refuse it.

" Now cook and eat, boys, and let your horses
rest and feed till we are right. We'll then wipe out
Buffalo Bill and his party, and make a raid down
the river as far as we can, and then strike for the
Platte for a rest."

30 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER V.

After breakfast the morning following the at-
tack, while the negroes were burying the dead In-
dians, Buffalo Bill and his companions held a con-
sultation in regard to what they had best do.

It did not, in their judgment, seem likely that the
Indians, especially if under the influence of a bad
white man, would rest submissive under defeat, and
this being the case, they would return reinforced,
bent on destruction of both life and property.

There were no settlers very near them, though
scattered farms and houses could be met all around
in a day's ride — no fortified place to which sudden
retreat could be made. Only in the villages where
numbers insured safety could they find refuge if the
red men made a determined raid over the borders.

" They may have got enough last night to sicken
them of coming again,** said Buffalo Bill. " I be-
lieve the best way is to find out what kind of a hu-
mor they're in, and whether they're mad enough to
try for our hair again or not. I believe 1*11 get on
my insect, Ppwder Face, and follow their trail and
see what they're about. You boys stay here on the
watch, and mother and the girls can pack what they
need for moving with, if I find that it will be best to
move. And you may be sure the old place won't
be given up without good reason."

BUFFALO BILL. 3 1

" Why can't I go along ?*' asked Wild Bill.

*• For this, Bill ; I'd rayther you'd stay here to
look out for the gals. One is as good on a scout as
twenty, 'specially when he has got such an insect as
my Powder Face under him, for that pony can out-
smell, out-see and out-hear any livin' thing, be it
man, dog, or catamount, that ever yelped. Look at
him standing there, one eye open and t'other on^
shut — but see how his ears pint. He knows Vm.
talking about him. Come here, Powder Face, and
let the folks look at you."

The horse, a rather large-sized pony of full Indian

breed, in color a regular light buckskin, with long

^ black mane and tail, walked up to the porch and

rested his nose on the shoulder of his young

master.

Clean-limbed, deep in the chest, heavy in the arms
and quarters, full of muscle, he was a splendid speci-
men of that breed.

" Isn't he a rare insect? He can run ten hours
and never flag, swim any current this side of the big
hills, and h^ knows as much as I do about hide and
seek. Powder Face, go bring your saddle and bridle
— we're going on a scout." •

Just as if he really understood human speech,
rather than the slap which Bill laid gently on his back
as he spoke, the pony turned and trotted away, but
soon came back with the saddle and bridle in his
mouth.

" Isn't, that gumption ?" said Bill, as he patted the
animal's head and .proceeded to saddle and bridle

32 BUFFALO BILL.

him. " I only put these on because it's easier to
him and to me, and in the fashion. But when I hunt
buffalo I toss them out of the way, and him and me
go in light, just to kill, and we do kill, don't we,
Powder Face ?**

The pony nodded with a look of intelligence,
which made the sisters smile and Kitty Muldoon
roar with laughter.

Mrs. Cody came out at this moment with a spy-
glass slung in a leather case, which her husband for-
merly owned.

" Take this with you, my son,** she said, " and you
can reconnoitre parties at a distance before they can
, see you with the naked eye."

" That's a fact, mother, and I'll take it along with
thanks to you for thinking of it. Kitty, put me a
bite to eat in my saddle-bags while I belt on my
arms. And mother, I'm thinking you may as well
have all ready for moving down to where the settle-
ments are thicker. If the Indians and Missouri men
go in on the Southern side in this war there will be
no safety here for you and the girls till it is all over.
I'd have to stay here all the time if you did, and I
want to be where /;/^';2 are needed,nf the war does go
on. So be ready, if what I see while I'm gone makes
me think we'd better shift our quarters."

Bill said no more, but sprung on his pony and was
off at a gallop in a moment.

'* Better son never blessed a mother, wild as he is,"
said Mrs. Cody, with love in every tone, as her glance
followed his form. " Rough he may be to others,

BUFFALO BILL. 33

but to US he is kind and gentle as the breeze of a
summer eve.'*

" Yes, ma'am, Buffalo Bill is just as good as was
ever made, no matter whar you find him. IVe been
his mate now goin* on three year, and IVe tried him
in all kinds of weather,*' said Wild Bill. " There
isn't a bit of white in his liver, nor no black in his
heart. What he says and does is as open as day,
and when he goes in for a fight he don't ask to see
the hand he has got to play against, but he makes
'em show afore he's through. Bill is ahead of wild
cats, twenty to one, and I'm jist the man to bet my
pile on proving it."

And Wild Bill looked around as if he would really
like to have some one try to disprove it. His eyes
fell on Dave Tutt, who sat on a corner of the porch,
grave and gloomy, studying with his eyes the graces
and beauties of form and face as exhibited by Lillie,
for upon her he seemed to have bent all his re-
gards.

" What makes j^ou so dull here, Dave ?" he asked,
in a bantering tone. ** In the hills or out on the
prairie, you're as full of fun as a squirrel in nutting
time. What's up — if you wanted to go along with
Bill, why didn't you say so ?"

•* I did not want to go with him. I'm sure it's no
harm for me to be quiet in a little haven like this,
such as our sort isn't used to. I'm always still when
I hear the birds singing, and we hear better than
bird-music here."

** That's so, Dave — but there's sort of game out

34 BUFFALO BILL.

there — ^antelope,, sure's yer born ! Let's have a
couple, what d*ye say?"

" Vm ripefor that, for we will not have to go out
of sight of the house !" cried Dav6.

Wild Bill gave a chirrup — it sounded like the call
of a bird to its mate, and his beautiful black mare
galloped up and stood with gazelle-like eyes, looking
her pleasure at being needed.

** That's my Nell. Oh, isn't she a treasure !** he
cried, as he seized his gun, and sprung on her back
without saddle or bridle.

Dave had a noble horse, but he was not trained
like the "insect" of Buffalo Bill, or like "Black
Nell,** to come at his call.

But he was soon mounted, and the two rode off "
side by side at full speed toward the herd of antelope
that had just shown their slender forms a mile or two
away.

" What a handsome man that Mr. Tutt is ?'* said
Lottie, as the two men rode off.

"Handsome in face and form, but oh so ugly in
his heart and soul, something tells me !'* said Lillie.
" He looks at me and my spirit shrinks from him,
as if I could see a fiend instead of a man before
me. I cannot say why, but I fear him and I hate ^
him !*'

" It is wrong for us to hate any one, especially
wrong to hate those that do no harm to us !** said
the mother, gravely.

" Please, ma*am, if Fm not too bould, will ye an-
swer me one question ?** asked Kitty Muldoon.

BUFFALO BILL. 35

" Certainly, my good girl ; I never refused to an-
swer you any question, I am sure !"

" But, ma'am, maybe I'm not mindin' my own
business by askin* the like, but I mane no harm,
sure. Don't ye think if Misthress Eve, in the garden
of Aden, had hated the purty snake that tould her
to ate the apple of badness, she'd been a hape better
off, for she'd have tould the decavin' sarpint to
thravel his way and she'd take hers !"

" That would have been better surely, my good
Kitty."

"Well, ma'am, I'm jist like Miss Lillie in belavin*
that there's a hape o' badness in that man, forbye
all his good looks. Sure when his eyes are set on
me, I shiver all over. And last night when the
young master said that bullets from the house went
all too nigh him and his frienc^ I saw a shadow come
on that man's face, and there was no good in it !"

" Then must we watch him closely after this, my
dear girls. For one traitor or enemy in the house
is more dangerous than fifty outside. But see —
they have dismounted and left their horses. They
will creep up within shot of the antelope."

" No, mother, Wild Bill is too good a hunter for
that !" said Lillie. " Now both the men sink out of
sight in the, grass. But see ! there is a red handker-
chief gently waving* in the air. Bill has taken it
from his neck and tied it to his ramrod. Notice how
the antelope watch it. They begin to come closer
and closer. Caution is strong, but curiosity is
stronger. They will come until in easy range, and

/

36, BUFFALO BILL.

then two of them will surely fall. Brother has often
told me about this way of hunting. See ! — nearer
and nearer the poor things keep coming, and will
come till the fatal bullet ends life and curiosity at
once.'*

In silence the family now watched the little herd
of animals as they came on toward the -decoy, paus-
ing at times, and seeming to yield to fear and turn
aside, but again coming on, until at last the flag
went out of sight. .

Then two puffs of smoke were seen, and long be-
fore the reports of the rifles reached the ears of the
watchers, two antelopes were seen to leap high in
the air and fall to the earth in the death-struggle,
while the rest sped away swiftly over the prairie.

The two hunters now mounted their horses, which
had dropped from sight as well as themselves, and
riding up to their game prepared it for bringing in.

This, as they were in no haste, took them several
minutes, and when they were on the way back to
the house, a third rider was in sight beyond them.

N

BUFFALO BILL. 37

CHAPTER VI.

The two hunters came on leisurely, each with the
slain antelope before him on his horse, but the third
horseman — first visible in the distance when they
started for the cottage — came so fast that before
they reached the house the females had recognized
the son and brother.

" Hurry and have the men put the teams to our
wagons, and help me pack clothing and provisions !*'
cried Mrs. Cody to her daughters and to Kitty.
" My son is riding at full speed, and he would not
do so without he had good cause."

All was bustle, therefore, about the house when
Wild Bill and Dave Tutt returned with their game.
But the preparations were made without excitement,
and carefully, so that when Buffalo Bill came in and
sprang from his horse, if he had said the word, the
family could have moved in a very fevv minutes.

" I'm glad to see you getting ready to start,
mother !" said he, as he met her at the door. " Me
and the insect have traveled fast for a couple of
hours, not that we had good news to bring, but for
fear bad news might get here afore we was ready to
start. Your spy-glass did me some service this day,
you can bet your bottom dollar on that. I saw Jake
M'Kandlas more than three miles off, as plain as if
he was right afore me. He has got a reinforcement

38 BUFFALO BILL.

of eleven hang-dog wretches, white men like himself,
and Tve no doubt intends to try us again to-night.
If we stay here we can hold the house, maybe, but
he'll get all our stock, and then we can't move. I
reckon the sooner we are away the safer our hair
will be. For myself or the boys IVe no fear ; but
for you, mother, and the gals, there's more to con-
sider. You'd better all be dead than in his power,"

" Oh, yes — indeed, yes !" murmured the mother.
" We are nearly ready, my son. Bedding and clothes,
and the money, and what provisions we can carry,
are ready in the wagons. I was afraid to put the
powder in till you came ; it is in the cellar."

" How much, mother?"

" Four twenty-five pound kegs, my son, that have
never been opened."

" Good ! Two of those kegs we will take with us.
The other two will do for a present for Jake M'Kand-
las and his friends."

" A present, my son ! Are you crazy?"

" Not quite, mother. But I have an idea that they'
will be so mad when they get here and find we've
left our castle, that they'll set fire to it and dance
around it while it burns. At least that is one of
their ways. Now, if they do, and this powder is hid
where the fire will find it before they do, it will make
some of 'em dance the hornpipe on the downward
road."

" Well, my son, do as you think best. The men
are driving in the stock, the teams are ready, and so

are we."

BUFFALO BILL. 39

** Have you packed all you can carry that you need,
mother. They may leave things alone, but it isn't
likely.*'

" Yes, my son, all but the powder."

" rU see to that, mother."

It took but a short time to make final preparia-
tions, and in a half-hour after Bill's arrival, the cot-
tage home was deserted, and the cavalcade of horse-
men, wagons, and stock was moving eastward over
the prairie.

The first wagon, with the white laborer driving it,
contained Mrs. Cody and the three girls, and Dave
Tutt, without being specially told to take the post,
rode near it. A negro was driving each of the other
wagons, and the horses and cattle were driven up by
Buffalo Bill and his mate, who closed the rear, hav-
ing given directions for the course.

It was late in the day when they got away, and
they could not make very rapid progress through the
tall grass ; therefore, when night came on, they were
just passing a low range of sandy hills not more than
ten or twelve miles from the farm.

They were slow in getting over these, but after
a couple of tedio^is hours they reached the sum-
mit.

Buffalo Bill, just as they were starting down the
opposite decline, looked back, and instantly saw a
bright light, which indicated too plainly the fate of
their recent home.

** One more debt for Jake M'Kandlas to pay be-
fore I am done with him !" he muttered in a low

40 BUFFALO BILL.

tone, for he did not wish his mother to know the
work of destruction was going on.

But her eyes had noted the direction of his glance,
and she looked back, just as a vivid flash lighted up
the whole country in the rear.

" The powder has exploded !" she exclaimed.

" Yes,** said Bill, after listening till a heavy report
came booming through the air. ** I reckon if they
were anywhere near the house, they got more pow-
der than they wanted all at once. But we must
move on lively. We haven't got any too much
start, and we*re a good way from help yet. Drive
up rapid, boy — drive up rapid. The reds can follow
a trail as broad as ours by such a moon almost as
well as by day.**

"We shall not have a moon to see by long. Look
yonder — there's the wildest kind of a storm brew-
ing !" said Wild Bill, pointing to a range of black
clouds swiftly rising in the northwest.

"Yes — yes, and Fm glad it is. coming,** said Buf-
falo Bill. ** It will be nasty for us outdoors, but
the women will be all right under the wagon covers,
and the rain will wash our trail so the reds can*t
follow. Old Jake is as good as a hound, but he
can't smell a trail in the track of a Kansas thunder
shower, or see it either. Let the wind and the rain

come, and the sooner the better. We*ll keep going
while we can, and then park the wagons and corral
the loose stock inside.

"That*s the idea, mate — that*s the idea for a
match game !** cried Wild Bill, putting a water-proof

\

BUFFALO BILL. 4I

blanket over his shoulders more to shield the arms
than his person.

The wind now came sharp and spitefully in blasts,
over the hills and plains, and as the clouds rushed
up from the far-away horizon, they rapidly over-
spread the sky, until at last the moon and stars were
so nearly obscured that the travelers could see but
little around them.

Hastily the wagons were parked — that is, drawn
into a square so as to leave a space in the quad-
rangle. Then the cattle were put inside, the har-
nessed horses hitched around outside and secured
as well as they could be in the now utter darkness.

The three border men agreed to remain mounted
and to ride slowly around outside the wagons in
turn, so as to keep a continual guard against any
hostile approach, although any one not used to the
deviltry of Indians would not apprehend an attack
from them in such weather.

The females in the covered wagon conversed
cheerfully with their protectors, for the storm, in-
stead of being a terror, was looked upon as a Provi-
dential thing, calculated to favor them.

Louder and more fiercely blew the wind — none
but those who have been on the prairie or on the
ocean know how it can blow.

The darkness was so intense that only by the
sense of hearing could the young men know where
the train was, as in their turn each made his regular
circuit.

At last the rain came pouring down in torrents,

42

BUFFALO BILL,

and every now and then a vivid flash of lightning
lit up for a brief second the entire group of wagons,
men, horses, ancTcattle.

Then would follow deafening peals of thunder,
almost shaking the earth, causing occasional cries of
alarm from the twins and poor Kitty, for there are
few women who can quietly stand the excitement of
such storms as one meets on the prairies of our Far
West.

Crashing thunder, hissing lightning, and pouring
rain seemed to have deadened the wind for a time,
but it was only a lull, for once in a while its shrijl
diapason rung wildly in the watchers' ears.

Rut suddenly a fearful scream rose from one of
the girls in the wagon — one wild cry for help, that
fairly rent the air as well as the hearts and ears of
those who heard it.

Buffalo Bill was on the circuit, Wild Bill was on
his return, and both by the same lightning flash got
a bare glimpse of a girl struggling in the arms of a
man on horseback, and then all was darkness.

Both dashed toward the spot where they had
seen the man — another flash lit up their own forms
and faces, but nothing else could they see.

"Lillie! Oh, Heaven, where is our Lillie?"
screamed Mrs. Cody.

"Lillie — swate Miss Lillie is gone!'* cried poor
Kitty Muldoon, at the top of her voice.

"Dave Tutt — where is he?** shrieked Lottie.
" He was here and asked how we were, not a minute
ago, and Lillie answered him.*'

BUFFALO BILL. 43

"Dave Tutt!" shouted Buffalo Bill. "Dave
Tutt, where are you ?"

No answer came.

" The curse has carried Miss Lillie off !" cried
Wild Bill. " It was him we saw with her in his
arms.*'

" Oh, my child — my child!" moaned the unhappy
mother. "You had indeed reason to hate and fear
that man !"

"Do not try to move the wagons while we are
gone/* said Buffalo Bill, in a hoarse tone, to his
mother. " Wild Bill and me must go after Lillie.
We will keep between you and harm if we can. I
never should have trusted that man. I knew he was
a gambler, and out here tluyre always close kin to a
robber. Lillie, Lillie darling, we'll save you yet.
Come, Bill — keep in hearing of me — come r

And the speaker dashed off over the hills.

. t ^

44 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER VII.

Out into the utter darkness — on in the pelting
storm, only knowing his course by feeling that he
was going up hill, the maddened brother led the
way, and Wild Bill, giving his mare head, followed,
knpwing she would by her keen hearing follow the
other.

On until the crest of the hill was gained, and then
faintly, for it was far off, could be seen the light of
the yet burning cottage.

^*Come on," shouted Bill, "his horse is as fast if
not faster than ours, and he will go to them, I know.
Come on, mate, and ride as you never rode before.*'

Wild Bill made no reply, but each lightning flash
showed one to the other, close and near, and on
they went at a speed which no horses but those
used to the prairie could have kept up in the gloom.

Soon the rain ceased, the thunder was heard no
more, the lightning did not flash. The wind again
swept wild and unrestrained over the plains.

The light of, the fire became plainer as they
neared the old farm, though it was actually going
down. This told them how swiftly they cleared the
way. On — on until they were so near that they
could see men grouped close to timbers and rails
that had been heaped on the fire for fuel.

BUFFALO BILL. 4$

" Let us creep up and see who and what is there,**
said Wild Bill, as he rode up alongside of his mate.

" No — no !** thundered the other, completely mad-
dened by his feelings. ** The murderer of my father
is there ! My poor sister, too. Ride on as I do, and
let your revolver do your talking!*'

Wild Bill saw that argument would be lost and
used no more. Setting his teeth, his revolver in
hand, and his eyes fixed on the group not now a
hundred yards off, he urged Black Nell up to the
side of Powder Face, and both horsemen at the
same instant dashed into the circle of light.

Jake M'Kandlas sprang to his feet as a hoarse
voice shouted his name, and fell the next instant
with a bullet through his body, while dashing on
and over them, firing as they came, the two riders
swept, shooting down Indians and white men side
by side as they passed on. In an instant, wheeling,
with fearful yells, back they came, but found few
either of the white or red men waiting for the on-
slaught, for all but three or four had already fled
away into the protecting darkness.

These fired only two or three random shots before
the,surer aim of the bordermen sent them to death,
and then there were none to resist.

" Oh, Heaven, where is Lillie — where is LilHe ?**
shouted Bill. " She is not here — back to the prairie,
mate — back to the prairie — the moon is coming out,
and we*ll find her yet. Follow me — she is not here
— waste no time on the dead, but follow me !**

Away again, swift as the driving clouds, the

He urged Black Nell up to the Side of Powder-Face.
(Page 45.)

BUFFALO BILL. " 47

brother and his wild prairie horse sped, and Wild
Bill kept faithfully on the track.

Away over the plains, now in shadow, then in
light, as the moon looked down through breaking
clouds — away once more toward the wagons where
the other dear ones had been left.
* " Have you found Lillie?'* was the cry of the
mother, as her son rode up to her side.

" Not yet, but I have slain the murderer of my
father!" he cried, sternly. "His dead body lies
roasting by the embers of our ruined home. Go on
due east when day dawns — Bill and me will be
scouting the prairie for the trail of Dave Tutt. We
will not rest till our Lillie is found and his body
left to sicken wolves!"

And again he and Wild Bill rode off.

\

#

48 BUFFALO 3ILL.

CHAPTER VIIL

But a few moments after the two bordermen rode
away from the ruins of the cottage, where their
reckless charge had produced a panic as well as a
fearful carnage, another horseman rode within the
circle of light.

It was Dave Tutt, and on his saddle before him,
limp and lifeless in appearance, he held poor Lillie.

Leaping from his horse he lifted her down, and
drawing near the fire, looked in her face anxiously,
as if he really feared she was dead.

A tremor in her pale lips, a long faint sigh, told
him that this was not the case.

"The swoon was so like death!" he muttered.
" She would soon come too if I had any restoratives.
Hallo — where are you all ! Some dead and the rest
all run away from only two men. If I hadn't had
the gal to bother with, Fd have fought 'em alone.
They went by within twenty feet of me in the dark.
Hallo — here! Jake M'Kandlas, or Frank Stark,
where are you !"

" Who calls Jake M'Kandlas. Here's what's left
of him, and that's pretty much run out, I reckon !"
said the ruffian himself, as he tried to rise from among
three or four bodies that lay stretched on the ground,
but failing, sunk back with a groan.

'' It is me, Dave Tutt, colonel — are you hurt bad?"

BUFFALO BILL. 49

"Yes — I've got a heavy dose, Dave, but draw me
away from the fire. I don't want to roast till my
time comes, and then I'll have no choice in the
matter."

Dave laid his helpless burden down with her head
on a saddle, and hurried to place the wounded man
in a more comfortable position.

As this was done the eye of M'Kandlas fell on
Lillie.

" Who have you got there, Dave !'* he asked hast-
ily. " Isn't it one of the twins?"

** Yes, it is Lillie, and her destiny is to be a rob-
ber's bride. She turned the cold shoulder on me,
or I'd have been less rough in my courting — but the
storm came up and I lifted her, and here she is.''

"Then it was her them two, Wild Bill and her
brother, were after when they charged on us here ?"

" Of course it was, and as they found she wasn't
here, they didn't wait to be particular and lift hair,
but put out to scour the prairie after me. They
passed me twice within half pistol shot, and if she
hadn't been still in her faint, I would have had to
have stilled her. But where's all your men ? There's
not over half dozen, red and white, stretched here."

" No, there's more, but they've scattered. Blow
this whistle, Dave, I'm too weak."

Tutt took a large whistle from the neck of the
wounded man and blew a long, shrill call. It was
answered a second later by another whistle.

"That is Frank Stark," said the robber chief.
" He will be here soon, and he carries what I need

50 BUFFALO BILL.

now, for Tm as weak as a sick chicken. There's a
bad hole in my carcass. I've stuffed a bit of my
hunting shirt in to stop the bleeding, but Tm afraid
from the feeling it bleeds inside.'*

" We'll soon see — here come the boys."

" Hi, here's Dave Tutt and a gal too, by the Big
Elk. Snakes and reptiles, what a beauty !" cried Frank
Stark, as he strode in from the darkness, followed
by a half dozen more white men and a few In-
dians.

" Never you mind the gal — tote out your whisky
flask and 'tend to the colonel, for he is pretty nigh
gone under. She is my property, and I reckon I
can take care of her without help," said Dave Tutt,
moving to the side of poor Lillie, who began to show
signs of reviving consciousness.

"I reckon it won't spile her to be looked at," said
Frank snappishly, as he went to the assistance of
M'Kandlas. "Are you hurt bad, colonel?"

" Give me a pull at that flask of yours, and I'll
soon know !" said the chief. *' I've bled a good deal,
but if the shot has dodged my lung, I reckon I'll
crow again. The ball went clean through, and it's a
close call if it is no worse !"

A draught of liquor stimulated the wounded man
so that he rose to a sitting position and was able to
have his wound examined. It was a bad one, but
without internal hemorrhage not necessarily fatal.
A bandage on and another stimulating draught and
he felt much better than a dying man.

" Frank," said 'he to Stark, " count noses and see

BUFFALO BILL. 5 1

how many of us is left ! Them two Bills are the
boys on quick work !'*

Stark looked around, questioned the living, and
soon found that four white men and five Indians,
among the latter Big Maple the chief, had been killed,
and two more beside the colonel wounded.

" Bad, by thunder, bad, and only them two to do
it all !*' muttered the colonel. " But we*ll pay him
for it. One of the gals is here, and that's worse than
death to him. And TU have the other yet. TU
wring the core of his'heart out in that way. How is
it over there, Dave, is your prairie rose coming to?"

«Yes — her eyes are open — but she does not
speak!" said Dave, who gazed almost in alarm on
the wild, stony look of horror with which poor Lillie
gazed on him and the scene before her.

" Give her a drop of bourbon — that will start her
tongue !" said Frank Stark, tossing over his liquor
flask.

"Try a little— it will take the damp chill off!"
said Dave, as he uncorked the flask and offered it to
the girl, who now sat upright.

"Wretch! Take me back to my mother!" she
said, in a low, angry tone, as she pushed the flask
away. . '

" Not yet — not before our honeymoon is over, my
pretty wife that is to be !" said Dave, trying to smile
into the face of her look of scorn and hate.

" Your wife? Fiend ! I will die a thousand deaths
first. I hated you from the* first moment I saw you i
And now, coward, dog, I loathe and despise you !"

52 BUFFALO BILL.

** Go on — go on, my beauty. Spit your spite while
you're before folks, and you'll be more tender when
we ^are alone. That's the way with women, I've
heard.- But you'd better take a drink from this flask
to keep your courage up."

"You'll need it, Dave Tutt, more than I. My
brother will soon find me, and then your life will
pay for this cruel, unmanly act !"

" Your brother has been here, gal — there's some
of his marks left layin' around, and if these red In-
dians find out you are kin to him that killed their
chief, it may be more than I can do to keep them
from roasting you !"

" I don't care. I had rather die at their hands
than to live in yours. You say my brother has been
here ?"

" Yes, he and Wild Bill rode in here in the search
for you, and laid out nine of the party. They
couldn't find you, so they took the back track. I
had you snug in my arms, and they passed close by
without knowing it. So, my beauty, you are all
safe for a home in the Black Hills with one that will
treat you well if you behave yourself. If you
don't—"

''Will you only kill me?"

** Kill you, gal? Kill you with such a face and
form ? I reckon not. No — you.'d be worth too much
in an Indian trade to make the killing profitable. I
could get fifty head of horses for such a gal as you
any day among the Sioux. It's getting to be a
fashion for a big chief to have a white wife to set

BUFFALO BILL. " 53

up over his red ones. Fll find offers enough if you
don*t keep quiet and take your fate easy.*'

Poor Liilie shuddered and looked around upon
the rough faces of the other men, to see if there was
even one that looked humanely upon her. Alas,
there was not, and her heart sunk as she thought
that perhaps she had gazed on her mother, sister,
and brother for the last time.

Until now she had not recognized the place to
which she had been brotight, but the fire-light glaring
strongly against a great elm tree near by, made her
think she had seen it before. Glancing around she
saw tree after tree with whose gnarled limbs she was
familiar, and she now knew that the cottage was in
ashes.

The storm was over, and a consultation was held
as to the next movements of the party. Frank
Stark wanted to follow up the wagons. But Jake
M'Kandlas could not, and Dave Tutt would not go.
M*Kandlas could only be moved slowly and with
care, so it would take a part of the force to attend
to him.

Therefore a pursuit which would be attended with
the certainty of a hard fight was given up, and as
soon as day dawned the route for the Black Hills
was taken up.

Liilie was placed in a light wagon which had been
saved from the flames, and the wounded colonel and
his two injured men were also laid on a heap of straw
in the same vehicle.

With their usual disregard for the decencies of

$4 BUFFALO BILL.

humanity, the robbers and Indians left their dead to
the tender mercies of the wolf and buzzard, without
a thought of burial, careful, however, to bring away
their arms and ammunition, for these were valuable.
Dead men were worthless.

Before sunrise they were miles away, Dave Tutt
now taking the leadership of the party and hurrying
them on, for he dreaded pursuit from the two men
whom he knew but too well, once on his track, would
not leave it while he lived.

BUFFALO BILL. $5

CHAPTER IX.

To and fro, making wide circles over the prairie
and hills, rode the two bordermen, until the day
dawned, and yet they found no sign of the lost
one.

When the red sun threw its light upon the earth,
they found it so washed with the heavy rains of the
night that had ten thousand buffaloes marched over
it the night before, not a track could now be seen.

Rapidly on, one circling here and the other there,
meeting only to communicate, they rode all the
morning, but found not a single track.

" What can we do ? She is somewhere, and jn the
power of that fiend, Dave Tutt !" said Buffalo Bill.
" He did not make back to the M'Kandlas party, for
he would have been there ahead of us. Where can
he have gone ?'*

" He has most likely made for the Black Hills.
I've heard him brag how he knew every canyon and
rock in *em, and tell how friendly him and the Ogal-
lala Sioux were who live in that section,** said Wild
Bill.

" Then we will follow him there. If a hundred
tribes, instead of one, were at his back, Td have her
from him and my knife in his heart ! It maddens
me to think she is in his power. If he wrongs her
by an insulting word, much less a rude touch, FU

56 BUFFALO BILL.

kill him by inches! Bill, let's bear for the Black
Hills."

" Hold on a bit,'* said the other. " I'm just as hot
for her rescue as you can be, Bill. But there's reason
in the worst of cases, as well as the best. We are
but two, and though we could ride over and through
twenty, red and white, in the dark, we two couldn't
get to the Black Hills and back, no way, let alone
bringing her off. We must have help. And there's
your other sister, your good mother, and Kitty Mul-
doon. Would you leave them till they're safe?"

" No — it isn't right. But my poor Lillie ! It drives
me wild to think how she may suffer. But what do
you propose, Bill?"

" That we hurry the train into the nearest settle-
ment where we can leave the family safe. Then
gather as many men as we can and start for the
Black Hills. If we move fast he'll not have over a
couple or three days' start, and we'll be sure, to find
his trail. His horse has a good mark — shoes forward
and none behind. That I noticed when he first
jined us, and I kept still about it, for I never did
trust him fully. And now I feel just life-sure that
Tm the man picked out to put him under. And ,
when I feel that way about a man, he's dead sure to
come to me when I want him. I felt so about Dick
Hawley, and you remember that he rode up and
picked a quarrel with me when I no more expected
it than I did to go up in a balloon. He came after
his gruel, and he got it. Now what do you say,
Bill — shall we make for the wagons?".

BUFFALO BILL. 5/

** Yes ; your plan is the best/* said Buffalo Bill.
" Though were I on his trail, nothing on earth should
take me ofif from it till my hands were on his throat,
ril try to wait, Bill— I'll try to wait.'*
< The two friends now rode eastward rapidly, and
before the sun reached its meridian were once more
with the wagons.

" Have you given up the search for your sister?"
asked Mrs. Cody, when she saw her son and his
mate ride up.

" No, mother, no, nor will we until she is found.
But we can strike no trail — the rain has washed it
away. We know this, however, that Dave Tutt has
friends among the fighting Sioux in the Black Hills,
and he's most likely making for them. We must
have more force than us two to go thei;e with any
chance to get her away — so our plan is to get you
all in safety to the nearest post, then collect a party
and start for the hills. Dead or alive, we'll find her."

** Better dead than alive if she is his victim, or in
the hands of the heartless Indians," said the mother
bitterly. " But why wait for us — we go too slow.
Ride on and raise men — ride on, and do not mind
us."

** Mother — your life, that of Lottie and poor Kitty
too, must be thought of. We do not know who is
moving about the border. Missouri is close by,
and a thousand — ^yes, ten thousand such men as
Jack M'Kandlas will swarm into Kansas on the least
pretense to fight out old quarrels. We must see
you safe first, and then we will take the back track."

58

BUFFALO BILL.

" Then get up the riding horses and put on sad-
dles for me and the girls. The wagons go too slow.
We can reach the settlements by night if we ride."

" That is true, mother, if you can stand it.*'

" I will stand it, my son — I will stand it. Hasten
and saddle the best horses. The wagons can follow
at the best rate they may.'*

In a short time the mother, Lottie, and Kitty
Muldoon were mounted on good horses, and soon
the wagons were left far behind. For, like nearly
all of the hardy, noble women of the West, they
were not only used to the saddle, but to swift, and
fearless riding, and had no need of that tender care
which some of our more delicate equestriennes on
the Boulevard or Central Park drive require.

Before the setting sun had sunk behind the west-
ern horizon a settlement was reached, and soon^ on
fresh horses, to let their own rest, Buffalo Bill and
his mate were riding from house to house gathering
men for the expedition to rescue Lillie.

BUFFALO BILL.

59

CHAPTER X.

It was a sickening ride for poor Liilie, with no
music but the groans of the wounded men, as the
wagon, driven so fast, jolted over the uneven prairie.
And yet hope was in her heart, for often did she
strain her eyes looking back to see if help was not
coming.

This was noticed by Dave Tutt, who kept urging
his party to its utmost speed, and a sarcastic smile
would now and then light his face.

" They're but two that would follow,*' said he,
"and when they've had time for a second thought
they'll not leave the other women till they get to a
safe place. That is what took 'em back so quick
last night. Now, it'll take 'em at least two days to
drive to the settlements, and a full day if they get
men and start right back, before they can by any
chance get on our trail. Then we will have from
three to four days* start, and by the time they're
where we are now I'll be close to the Black Hills,
where Tve red warriors enough, who are /«;/. friends,
to wipe out a hundred such men as they. Yes, a
thousand braves will jump on their horses at the call
of the Eagle-Eye of the Hills. So, gal, dismiss all
hope, and make up your mind to be mine willingly.
It will be your fault if Fm rough."

A bitter answer was at Lillie*s lips, but at that

6o BUFFALO BILL.

instant she caught a glance from the eye of Frank
Stark, who rode along on the other side of Dave
Tutt — a glance expressing his admiration so plainly
that a new idea. entered her mind.

-Could she not use this man against the other?
Through him might she not effect her escape? She
would try it. It would be hard to assume what she
could not feel, but life and that which was even yet
more dear— her honor — was at stake. She would try.

A look — ah! how much a look can say ! — told the
lesser ruffian of the two that the captive liked him
better than she did her captor, if no more. His
eyes met hers again and again, and a glow of strange
, pleasure flushed his face, for he certainly saw in her
look an encouragement of hopes which were but too
pleasing.

" By all the reptiles that ever crawled, Dave Tutt
goes under if she says I can take his place,** he mut-
tered to himself. " And if I can read eyes, that is
what she means.*'

Lillie saw that her plan was beginning to work,
and the air of deep despondency which she had been
\yearing passed away.

Tutt did not penetrate the cause ; but he noticed
that she was more cheerful, and it rather pleased
him, for he had feared she would in her desperation
try to take her own life.

Their route now tended more to the north ; for,
leaving the Valley of the Republican, the leader
wished to strike the South Platte, and follow it up
to the region .where his friends were thickest.

BUFFALO BILL. 6 1

When night came on a halt was made on the open
prairie by a pond made by the rainfall in a buffalo-
wallow. But only a couple of hours were allowed
for the men and animals to get food and rest, when
they again moved on by moonlight.

Lillie saw and rejoiced at the thought that Dave
Tutt anticipated pursuit, and she believed it would
be more eager than he dreamed, and that they
would surely be overtaken by her friends before he
could reach his allies.

Frank Stark, encouraged by her glances, had made
several attempts to get a word with her, but Dave
Tutt, while they were stopping, remained near her
all the time, and when they moved on rode continu-
ally where his eye was upon her.

Once, when his attention seemed drawn away, she
made a sign as if she was writing, and Frank an-
swered it by an understanding nod, but neither sign
nor nod had missed the keen eye that was on
them.

" Look here, Frank Stark/' said Tutt, in a savage
tone, ** if youVe lived long enough, try, just try to
cross my path. You know me, and Tm in no hu-
mor just now for tVifling. Come within twenty feet
of this wagon again till I give you permission, and
1*11 put six ragged holes in your carcass with my re-
volver. Now to the rear, and stay there."

Stark, physically, was no coward, but there was
something in Dave's eye just then which told him
that silence and obedience would be politic, if noth-
ing more.

62 BUFFALO BILL.

So, with but a single angry glance, he fell back,
and poor LilHe thought that he was too much of a
coward to help her, and felt ashamed of herself for,
even by a look, having tried to encourage him.

Hers was a very expressive face, for Tutt read her
feelings in the glance of contempt which followed
Stark as he fell back, and a bitter smile illuminated
his own countenance in place of the cloud of anger
which had darkened it.

" If you want to coquette, find a man and not a
sneak to try the game with," he said, in a low tone.
"You'll find me worth a hundred such cowards if you
are but half kind. As to your ever getting away
from me alive, don't think of it. I wouldn't like to
hurt you, but Td kill and scalp you before another
should glory in possessing you, or them get you
back from whom I've taken you."

Lillie made no answer. She was weak and weary.
Hope was indeed faint in her sad heart. Yielding
to fatigue, she leaned back against the curtained
side of the wagon and slept.

How long she slumbered she did not know, but
she was wakened by the sound of rushing water,
and looking out, saw that it was light and they were
fording a river, broad but shallow, and full of willow-
covered islands.

" Oh, had it been night," she thought, " what a
place for concealment, if I could only have slipped
out of the wagon unseen !"

Dave Tutt was ahead testing the depth of the
water before the wagon followed, and on looking

BUFFALO BILL. 63

out she saw Frank Stark riding close by the hinder
wheel.

A glance from his eyes told her that he was yet
her friend and meant to do something for her, what
it might be she could not comprehend.

As Tutt neared the opposite bank of the river, it
became deeper, and it was evident that the team
would have all it could do to get the wagon through
over the quicksand bottom, for the water would
reach to the wagon-bed, if not higher.

" Put your whip to your horses and make them
drag through here lively!'* shouted Dave to the
driver, and the latter obeying, urged the team on.

But a heavy lurch of the wagon while it was in
the deepest part told that something had given way,
and the next second nearly half the hinder end was
submerged, and the team came to a complete stand-
still. One of the wheels had come off, most proba-
bly from a lost linch-pin. Lillie in an instant thought
how the linch-pin was lost, and reper\ted of her pre-
cipitate condemnation of Frank Stark.

Delay was everything, and this must cause delay.

Dave Tutt rode back, cursing awfully. The four
horses ahead of the wagon plunged fearfully. The
treacherous quicksand washing from under their feet
terrified them. The wagon itself began visibly to
settle deeper and deeper into the water.

In vain the driver, assisted by Tutt, who lashed
the horses until it seemed as if they must break
from the harness, tried to move the wagon on.

Deeper and deeper, until the wounded men

64 ^ BUFFALO BILL.

shrieked out for help to save them from drown-
ing.

Then, and not till then, did Dave Tutt give up a
hope of getting the wagon out.

Now he took Lillie on his own powerful horse,
and called upon Frank Stark and others to get the
helpless men to the land in the same way.

The harness was then cut, the team got to the
shore, and the wagon abandoned.

To M*Kandlas, the rough removal was terrible.
His wound bled externally afresh, and blood coming
from his mouth made matters appear even yet worse
for him.

A halt was now imperative. The colonel could
not be moved at all in his present condition, and
when moved it must be on a litter, or another wagon
must be procured ; for this, within a half-hour,
went entirely out of sight.

Stark proposed that the whole party should
camp, throw up a cotton-wood stockade, and be
ready to fight it out if their pursuers came up.

" I, for one, will never desert my old leader while
life is in him," he said. " The colonel has been true
as steel to us, and weVe worse than cowards if we
desert him."

This was loudly applauded by the men, and Dave
Tutt, who, in his own utter selfishness, would have
gladly gone on with all the able men, leaving the
helpless behind, did not dare propose the meas-
ure.

But he did not like to remain there, even for a

BUFFALO BILL. 65

short time, for he dreaded the pursuit of two such
men as Buffalo Bill and his mate. He knew that
death, worse than mere death, beside the loss of his
prize, would be his fate.

** Yes," said he, deeming it best to chime in with
the man whom he had hated in all the bitterness of
his heart from the instant he saw him exchanging
glances with Lillie — " Yes, I think we'd better make
a stand here until we can move our wounded. I go
in for it. So, Frank Stark, you take all the men
that can be spared from horse, guard and fit up as
good a stockade as you can with the tools we have.
There's some drift-wood around, and sod can be cut
with a hatchet .as well as a spade. And as them
who may come can't overtake us for a day or two
yet, why Til ride on and get the gal out of the way,
so that they can't get her no way, and then if they
find out she isn't here, why, maybe, they'll take
another track and let us alone. I can do this and
be back before there's any fighting."

** I don't like Dave's plan a bit," cried Frank
Stark.

** Who was it asked you to like it ? I didn't ex-
pect you would !" said Dave, grinding his white
teeth ferociously together.

** We can't afford to lose a single rifle when such
men as Wild Bill and his mate are after us. And
we don't know what minute they may heave in
sight. As for the gal, she can be hid right here —
put on one of them islands where she can't git away,
and where bullets won't hit her in the fight, and

M

66 BUFFALO BILL.

when we've whipped the enemy, Dave can go and
fetch her and tote her off to the hills."

If Dave Tutt could have killed Frank Stark with
a look while this was being said, Frank would never
have finished his speech. But he got through, and
was rewarded by a really grateful look from poor
Lillie, who trembled lest she should indeed be car-
ried on alone by her ruffianly abductor.

This glance, detected by Dave, almost set him
wild with angry jealousy. But his was one of those,
not human, but almost infernal natures, which can
conceal its hottest passion — ^just as the tiger is still-
est ere it leaps. His white face. wore a ghastly
smile, as he said : -

" Since Frank Stark seems to have so much to
say, I will yield up the leadership of the party en-
tirely to him. I only took it because the colonel
here asked me to, but I now resign. So, Mr. Stark,
you are now captain! I hope you'll prove your
ability to take care of this party and get them off to
the hills in safety."

"I will, with your help," said Frank, coolly.

" You'll not have much of my help, my brave fel-
low. I'm going on my own hook, and the gal is
going with me."

" What ! Desert your conirades in the hour of
peril ? You dare not, and you shall not. You say
I am captain. Then, by the Big Elk of all elks, I'll
show you that I am. Offer to leave us now, and
half a dozen bullets shall pierce your carcass. Am
I not right, men ?"

BUFFALO BILL. (>y

" Aye, aye — hurrah for Frank Stark ; he carries a
full hand with every ace in the pack !** shouted one,
and his words were applauded and echoed on every
side.

" Scoundrel, I'll cut your heart out for this !"
cried Dave, no longer able to restrain himself.

"Wait till I get this party to the Black Hills and
1*11 give you the best chance you ever had," said
Frank, who, encouraged every instant by the ap-
proving eyes of Lillie, began to feel every inch a
hero.

Talk of magic — talk of power. The approval of
a woman whom he loves will do more to make a
man manly, or even a coward brave, than anything
else that can be named between heaven and earth.

" It may be a long time, but, curse you, FU wait.
And now build your camp and its defenses. I sup-
pose your captainship has no objection to my
taking the young lady, in whom you seem to take
so much interest, over to one of the islands, and
after I build a brush house to keep her from the
night dews and the day breezes, standing guard to
see that she does not run away ? I can shoot as
well from an island, if our enemies try to cross, as
from here."

** The young lady will be quite as safe inside of
the stockade as on an island under your gentle
care," said Frank, urged by an appealing glance
from her eyes to prevent the plan which Dave now
laid to have her alone in his power. The compan-

68 BUFFALO BILL.

ionship of ruffians was more safe than solitude with
him.

" Well, have everything your own way now. But
• remember, Frank Stark, when we get to the hills, it
is you or me and with knivesT

"All right, Mr. Tutt — Fm your man then, but
how we've got work to do.**

BUFFALO BILL. 69

CHAPTER XL

All night long, without a thought of sleep or
even a sign of fatigue, Buffalo Bill and his mate
rode around, gathering men and making prepara-
tions for the expedition in search of his lost sister.

By sunrise they were all assembled, had break-
fasted and were ready for a start.

Not uniformed, scarce one dressed or armed alike ;
some mounted on noble thoroughbreds, others on
hardy, wild-eyed mustangs ; some young and
slender; others tall, weather-bronzed, all bone and.
muscle — they looked like true fighting men, but no
more like the holiday soldier of the city than a
painted Grecian-bender on Broadway looks like a
whole-souled, rosy, bright-eyed, full-formed country
lass whose very glance makes you dream that
angels drift along life's dark tide some time.

There was a slight pause after these men, some
thirty in number, were ranged in the line ready to
take column of march.

It was when Bill's mother and sister stepped for-
ward to say good-by.

" Heaven bless and aid you and your friends, my
dear boy !*' said the good. Christian mother. " We
women can only pray for your safety and success.
A mother's prayers and hopes go with you !"

70 BUFFALO BILL.

" And a sister's too, dear brother !*' said Lottie,
tears in her eyes as she spoke.

" And Kitty Muldoon says the good-luck be wid
yez all, and bad luck to the wicked 'uns, that's got
Miss Lillie wid *em. Bring wan home wid ye jist,
so I may scratch the eyes out of his ugly head !'* •

A shout of laughter followed this outburst from
Kitty, and before it fairly subsided, Buffalo Bill,
who had a good deal of the soldier in him, sung
out:

" By fours — column right and forward at a trot !"

There was no sound of bugle — no gay pennant
fluttered in the air, but there was material for
deadly work in that small, compact body of men.

The red men of the plains dread such men more,
even in .small bodies, than they do an army of
thousands, moving with pomp and show — parks of
artillery used only for noise, wagon trains and flut-
tering banners.

They know by many a sudden onslaught, many a
brief, wild fight, how bordermen fight, and their
dread of them — is wholesome.

Away at a sweeping trot, changing to a walk
only when they ascended some steep pitch, and
frequently a gallop as they went down, steering as
true by the sun as if he had a compass, Buffalo Bill
now headed for the farm where his mother's home
had been.

It was almost night when they reached the spot,
but there was plenty of light and time left before

BUFFALO BILL. 71

darkness to examine the unburied bodies of whites
und Indians.

That of Jake M'Kandlas could not be found.

" He either is not dead or else they have carried
his body along to bury it/* said Buffalo Bill.

" They've got a wagon — here's the tracks," cried
Wild Bill, whose eye had been more on signs than
on thef bodies.

" There was one in the old barn that wasn't
burned," said Bill, riding to the spot where the
wagon had been loaded.

"And here's more, mate — she, your sister, is with
them. Look at that track," cried Wild Bill, as he
sprang from Black Nell and examined a small foot-
print in the soil.

"Yes, yes, it was her foot did that," cried the
brother. " Look for the track of Dave Tutt's horse
further on. Bill."

" I've found it right here," cried Wild Bill.
" We're on the right track now, and it is only a
matter of time to get to *em. We've got to reach
'em careful, or they may kill poor Miss Lillie for
spite. Jak^ M'Kandlas, if he is alive, is mean
enough for that, and I don't believe Dave Tutt is a
bit better."

"Yes," said Buffalo Bill, " we must be fast and
careful too. Loosen girths, boys, and feed your
horses. There's corn and oats in the old barn, and
hay in the stacks. We'll all get a bite and rest for
two hours, and then go ahead by moonlight. The

^^ BUFFALO BILL.

wagon trail will be easy to follow in the grass or
over the sand."

The men now put their horses out to feed and
then went to getting supper, while the two Bills for
the first time in sixty hours dropped on the ground
to get a little sleep before starting again.

BUFFALO BILL. 73

CHAPTER XII.

With no tools but their camp-axes and toma-
hawks, the men under Frank Stark built for them-
selves a really formidable stockade from drift-wood
and the trunks of small cotton-wood trees which
grew along the banks of the Platte.

It was built on a kind of point which jutted out
into the river with bold, precipitous banks, so that
it was only assailable practically from the rear, for if
horsemen should ford the river in front, or approach
it on either flank, they could not get up the bank or
over the walls of the stockade.

These were lined inside with rods cut from the
prairie, where the coarse blue grass grew thick and
matted near the water. Holes left for use by the
marksmen were plentiful.

To enter it a rude ladder had been made, so that
without an appliance not to be expected or easily
made on the plains, it could scarcely be scaled.

Inside, for the comfort of the wounded, and with
a special apartment for poor Lillie, a house sheltered
with a thatch of grass, and walled with willow
twigs, had been made.

Near the stockade, and completely under rifle
cover, was a corral of stakes, into which the stock
could be driven at night, or on the approach of
danger.

^mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

74 fiUFi'ALO BILL.

These arrangements showed that Frank Stark was
capable, to say the least, of taking the command
which Dave Tutt, more from spite than any other
cause, had resigned into his hands.

Dave had assisted in the work, but took particu-
lar pains never to go out of sight of Lillie, and to
keep such a watch on her that she could not hold
an interview unobserved by him with Frank Stark.

But the latter had seen from glances of Lillie
what he believed to be an encouragement, not to
improper advances, but to a friendly understanding;
for amid those lawless men she was in look and act
pure as a lily fresh blown on the wave.

He determined to have an unobserved interview
with her, and to effect it called off a regular stock
and picket guard for the night, assigning to each
man a special post. That farthest from the stock-
ade — and it was a six-hour watch — was given to
Dave Tutt.

The latter was about to moodily refuse the duty,
but on second thought, realizing that it would be
best for the present to yield to authority he had
been instrumental in creating, he expressed his readi-
ness to do the duty.

Hunters who had taken a ride of scarce a mile
from the camp brought in several fat antelopes ; and
had there been no anticipation of attack there would
have been nothing but hilarity among the men.

The night set in not quite as clear as on the pre-
ceding one, for floating clouds frequently swept
athwart the sky, and shut out the moonlight. The

BUFFALO BILL. 75

sentinels were all posted, the reliefs had turned in
to sleep till their time came on, and all was still in-
side the stockade.

Now Frank Stark determined if possible to find
out how Lillie regarded him, and if, as he hoped,
his conduct in regard to Dave Tutt had pleased her,
to avow something more than a mere interest in
her.

Approaching the separate apartment which he
had built for her, and seeing her seated near the
door on an improvised bench he had himself made
for her use, he asked, in a low tone, if she would not
like to look out on the river.

" Thank you, sir, you have been kind to me ; I
will be glad to do so,** was her reply.

And she followed him to a part of the stockade
where, frorti a bench of turf, they could look out on
the river and its bush-covered islands.

Frank was silent for two or three minutes after
they reached this spot, allowing her to look out on
the water and the prairie beyond without disturbing
her reverie. Even in his rude nature, lawless and
full of evil, there was a reverence for the purity
which made him silent, until she chose to speak.
At last her voice fell on his ear.

" I ought to be very grateful to you, Mr. Stark,*'
she said, " for interfering with that wretch to keep
him from carrying me off to the hills. And I am.
From my heart I thank you.**

" Lord bless your sweet face, Miss Lillie, I haven't
done half what I'd like to do for you !** he said, ea-

76 BUFFALO BILL.

gerly. " I have never in all my life seen any one
half so good or half so pretty as you, and it makes
me feel wild and wicked to think any harm should
come to you, and Til die before I see you wronged.*'

" Oh — -thank you, thank you, Mr. Stark. You do
not know how your words comfort me. If you only
could get me back to my poor, broken-hearted moth-
er, I believe you would ! Wouldn't you ?"

And her dark hazel eyes turned on him with a
look which thrilled every nerve in his frame.

"Wouldn't \} Miss Lillie — I — I don't know
what to say. I hate to leave them that trust in me,
but since I have met you, I don't want to lead a
wicked life any more. Them that I serve with now
are determined to fight against the old flag that I
was born under, and to entice the red fiends of the
plains to do the same, and to carry fire and carnage
along the border. I don't want to do it. If I can
manage to get you off and back to your friends, will
you try to have them receive me, not as a robber
and a bad man, but as a soldier who will fight for
his country ?"

" I will — I will, and my brother — but forgive me,
sir, if I ask one question. Were you one of the
men who were with Colonel M'Kandlas when my
poor father was murdered ?"

** No ; I have only been with the band for two
years."

" Then I can promise for my brother. He has
sworn never to touch hands with one of those men
but to kill him."

BUFFALO BILL. ^^

* I don't blame him, for Tve heard old Jake
boast how the cowardly deed was done. Miss Lil-
lie, I will help you, because I love you better than
life. I don't ask you to love me, but when you see
how I am ready to risk all, and, if need be, to die
for you, I know you willf.not despise me."

"No; I shall honor and respect you, Mr. Stark,
and hold you as a dear and noble friend. In such a
time, and in such a situation as I now am in, you
can expect no more than this."

** No, Miss LiUie, and it is more than I deserve.
But, now that we understand each other, you had
better go back to your quarters and rest all you can.
I will lay my plans to get you away from here either
to-night or to-morrow night, and, when they are
laid, I will carry them through. Rest while you
can, for when I call on you all your strength and
courage will be needed."

" I will be ready, and I will pray for the good
Father above to help you in all your good inten-
tions, and to frustrate those whose thoughts are
evil. Good-night, Mr. Stark."

" Good-night, Miss Lillie."

" She is an angel, if ever one walks the eartW
murmured Stark, as he watched her gliding away
toward her quarters. ** I never meant to leave the
boys, but for her I'd die twenty deaths. She may
love me for it yet. A woman who knows a true
heart beats only for her, must think of it some time,
and not unkindly, either."

78 BUFFALO BILL-

CHAPTER XIII.

With only a couple of hours rest, the party under
Buffalo Bill started on from the ruins of the cottage
home, the trail made by the wagon being quite easy
to follow.

While it led toward the valley of the Republican
the two leading bodermen were rather surprised, for
the sinuous windings of that stream led far away
from the direct route to the Black Hills, in which it
was known the M'Kandlas gang had their secret
haunts and hiding places.

But when it made a sudden turn toward the north-
west, leading toward the valley of the Platte, then
Wild Bill exclaimed :

" I know now the very spot the varmints are head-
ing for. If they wasn't so rascally tricky and might
change their course after taking it, I could take a
nigh cut and head 'em off.**

" They've got Cheyennes with *em, and there's no
' knowin* what bend they might take,** said his mate.
** We had better follow the trail. They can*t reach
the hills ahead of us — not with a wagon to drag ;
and till they do, we're enough for twice their num-
ber."

** That's so ; but we mustn't wear out our horses,"
said Wild Bill. *' A man without a good horse isn't

BUFFALO BILL. 79

half a man in a fight on the plains, and that we all
know."

** That is so ; but I hate to think how my darling
sister must feel as she goes further and further away
from those she loves. But she knows I'll be on the
trail, ril not fret any more, but hold my spite till
I can draw a bead on Dave Tutt."

When the party reached the first halting-place on
the plains, where the robbers had made a temporary
rest, they looked in vain for the foot-lracks of Lillie.
She had not been allowed to descend from the wagon
here.

They had now come so far and so fast that a halt
for the entire night was necessary, or their stock
would be used up too much for active service.

No fires were made — they had cooked provisions
sufficient ; therefore the buffalo-chips that lay thick
around the little pond were undisturbed.

The dawn of another day found men and horses
fresh and ready for a vigorous start. The trail
freshened as they went on, and the bordermen felt
sure that unless the wagon was abandoned, they
would overtake those whom they pursued inside of
thirty or forty hours.

They moved at a steady, sweeping gait until after-
noon, and then Buffalo Bill brought them down to
a slower pace. He saw trees which grew along the
Platte rising on the horizon, and he deemed it best,
lest he might be ambuscaded, to approach that river
in the night.

For over the plains the eye can detect objects at

80 BUFFALO BILL.

an immense distance, while concealed among the
tall grass, bushes and trees that skirt the river banks,
hundreds might lurk unseen, their vicinity unknown
until it was felt.

Halting in sight of the river-growth, the party had
another long rest. When night with its shadows
came on, they moved again. The moonlight enabled
them to see the trail and yet it was not sufficiently
vivid for the party to be discovered at any great
distance.

It is doubtful if any discovery of the rovers would
have been made by our bordermen, had not one of
those incidents occurred which no camp with ani.
mals in it can be guarded from. The neigh of a
horse or the braying of a mule can be heard as far
as a trumpet, and the latter sound reaching the ears
of the bordermen as they approached the river on
their third night out, put them at once on their
guard.

There had been no fires lighted by the M'Kandlas
party at night, but they could not keep their animals
still.

When this sound was heard, the party at once
came to a halt and dismounted, while Buffalo Bill
rode on to reconnoiter. They left orders for their
party not to move till they returned, without they
heard firing, and if they did, then to hurry in and
take a share in what might be going on.

The two bordermen rode swiftly on toward the
river, during a brief time of comparative darkness
while a cloud bank obscured the moon, then as the

BUFFALO BILL. 8 1

clouds moved by they dropped with their well-
trained horses to the earth, for with the coming light
they saw that they were very near the river.

It was well for them to do so, for when the moon
came out clearly, they distinctly saw the stockade
looming up on the other side of the river.

What it meant they could not understand. Why
a party like that of which they were in pursuit should
halt and fortify a defensive position, was something
they could not comprehend.

Buffalo Bill was the first to speak.

** That's a fort — and by the way it rises from the
bank, a pretty strong one I'm thinking," said he.

** Yes,, but have they had time to build it, or are
they in it ?" said Wild Bill. *' If it is their work,
and they are there, they mean fight, and to do it
with all the advantages. We could charge 'em on
the plains, but charging a fort won't pay without we
know we can get into it on a jump."

" That's so. Bill, And we must know all about
that place before we go any further — that is with
the party. You stay here tillT cross and see what's
there."

" No — you stay, and I will go. It's a risk and
your life's worth more than mine," said Wild Bill.

" That's no such thing. Bill — your life is as dear to
me as my own, and where's the risk it's my right to
go, for I've got more at stake in this game than you.
My poor Lillie is over there in the power of Dave
Tutt. I couldn't stay here if you went."

" Then let us both go."

80 BUFFALO BILL.

an immense distance, while concealed among the
tall grass, bushes and trees that skirt the river banks,
hundreds might lurk unseen, their vicinity unknown
until it was felt.

Halting in sight of the river-growth, the party had
another long rest. When night with its shadows
came on, they moved again. The moonlight enabled
them to see the trail and yet it was not sufficiently
vivid for the party to be discovered at any great
distance.

It is doubtful if any discovery of the rovers would
have been made by our bordermen, had not one of
those incidents occurred which no camp with ani.
mals in it can be guarded from. The neigh of a
horse or the braying of a mule can be heard as far
as a trumpet, and the latter sound reaching the ears
of the bordermen as they approached the river on
their third night out, put them at once on their
guard.

There had been no fires lighted by the M'Kandlas
party at night, but they could not keep their animals
still.

When this sound was heard, the party at once
came to a halt and dismounted, while Buffalo Bill
rode on to reconnoiter. They left orders for their
party not to move till they returned, without they
heard firing, and if they did, then to hurry in and
take a share in what might be going on.

The two bordermen rode swiftly on toward the
river, during a brief time of comparative darkness
while a cloud bank obscured the moon, then as the

BUFFALO BILL. 8 1

clouds moved by they dropped with their well-
trained horses to the earth, for with the coming light
they saw that they were very near the river.

It was well for them to do so, for when the moon
came out clearly, they distinctly saw the stockade
looming up on the other side of the river.

What it meant they could not understand. Why
a party like that of which they were in pursuit should
halt iand fortify a defensive position, was something
they could not comprehend.

Buffalo Bill was the first to speak.

" That's a fort — and by the way it rises from the
bank, a pretty strong one I'm thinking," said he.

" Yes,, but have they had time to build it, or are
they in it?" said Wild Bill. "If it is their work,
and they are there, they mean fight, and to do it
with all the advantages. We could charge 'em on
the plains, but charging a fort won't pay without we
know we can get into it on a jump."

"That's so. Bill. And we must know all about
that place before we go any further — that is with
the party. You stay here tillT cross and see what's
there."

" No — you stay, and I will go. It's a risk and
your life's worth more than mine," said Wild Bill.

" That's no such thing. Bill — ^your Hfe is as dear to
me as my own, and where's the risk it's my right to
go, for I've got more at stake in this game than you.
My poor Lillie is over there in the power of Dave
Tutt. I couldn't stay here if you went."

" Then let us both go."

83 BUFFALO BILL.

" No, Bill ; and TU tell ye why. If by any accident
they should get us both, our party without one or
other of us to .lead, would never do anything in a
fight with such scoundrels fenced in. So now stay
till I come back, or you know by hearing a shoot-
ing that they've got me. Do it, Bill, if you love
mer

" It is about as hard as drawin* sound teeth, mate,
but if you say so, I suppose I must. But be careful
and get back. We haven't got a great deal more of
night ahead of us, so you'll have to be lively,"

" ril be all that. Keep Powder Face and Black
Nell out of sight, for I'll foot it over."

Buffalo Bill now in a crouching position passed on
toward the river, while his mate with the two horses
lying down waited for what might, turn up.

Wild Bill watched his friend as long as he could
see him, until he was lost in a thick clump of bushes
on the edge of the river.

Shortly after he saw quite a log of drift-wood
moving slowly down the current, but as it neared
the other shore very fast while it went down, he
comprehended the plan of Buffalo Bill to get across
unobserved, if they were on the watch in the
stockade.

When the log stranded near a steep bush-crowned
bank on the other side of the river, he knew that
his friend was safety on the other side, and that
now the most dangerous part of his work was to be
done.

Anxiously he watched the stockade — hardly

BUFFALO BILL. 83

breathing aloud lest he should lose a sound, he
looked and listened for some token of Buffalo Bill.

A full hour passed in this way. He began to
glance often toward the east, for he knew that the
dawn could not be far off.

" What can Bill be about ?" he muttered. " He
has had time to scout all around there and get back.
I don*t like this layin' here like a fool and doing
nothing, a bit. But he'd make a noise if they'd got
him. I can't make it out. Ah ! there's the log in
the stream again. He is coming at last."

84 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XIV.

In the settlement where Mrs. Cody, Lottie, and
Kitty Muldoon were left for protection, there was
much anxiety after the departure of so many of the
men with Buffalo Bill. For it was too near two
borders, the Missouri and Indian, to be considered
safe, if all the fearful rumors regarding rebellion
and war were true which had been reaching them
through various sources for weeks.

In truth there was not ten men capable of bearing
arms left in the place, though there were full a hun-
dred women and children.

The widow and her daughter were quartered at
the small and only tavern in the place, kept by a
crippled octogenarian, whose constant boast was
that he had "fit" the British in i8i2, and could do
it " agin," if they'd only come where he was. As
his only weapon of defense was a crutch, there was
not much danger of his injuring anybody in his ex-
hibition of the manual of arms, which were frequent
when the war humor was on him.

The tavern only contained four rooms and a gar-
ret, so that what occurred in one part was pretty
sure to be soon known in another.

The first floor rooms were the bar and general
smoking-room, the dining-room, and kitchen all in
one — the landlord's family room, and the best bed-

BUFFALO BILL. 8$

room — the last of which, with two beds, was occu-
pied by Mrs. Cody, her daughter, and the irrepres-
sible Kitty Muldoon.

The presiding genius of the bar-room was Major
Williams, the landlord — the presiding genius of the
kitchen and boss of the whole house was Molly
Williams, his young wife — that is, young compared
with him, for she was only five and thirty, while he
was eighty years old, if a day.

Late on the afternoon of the same day on which
Buffalo Bill left with his party, two smart-looking
strangers, well mounted, but with no arms visible,
arrived at the tavern. They carried saddle-bags on
their horses, as western travellers generally do, wore
rather superior clothes, and carried themselves as
men do who think themselves above the " common
herd" of humanity.

Directing that their horses should be well fed and
well groomed, they ordered supper, and stated that
they should remain all night.

Major Williams hobbled about on his crutch quite
delighted at this acquisition of custom, especially as
the strangers patronized the tincture of aqua-fortis
which was labelled " old rye," in his decanters, and
to a very quiet system of careless questioning gave
a perfect statement of everything regarding the
population of the place, absence of the men, even to
the presence of the mother and sister of the famous
scout and Indian hunter, Buffalo Bill.

The two men, both young and stalwart in form,
keen-eyed, and with rather a military look, ex-

86 BUFFALO BILL.

changed meaning glances from time to time as the
garrulous old man chatted on, but his eyes were
dim, smoke-clouded too from his ever active pipe,
and he did not notice it.

Supper was served for them with the whole fam-
ily, and the widow, with her beautiful daughter and
Kitty Muldoon, occupied one part of the table.

The eyes of the elder of the two strangers, a dark-
complexioned man of probably twenty-eight or
thirty, flashed with a wild, passionate glance as it
fell upon the perfect form and lovely face of Lottie,
while his companion seemed more impressed with
the less soulful look but plump proportions and
rosy face of bright-eyed Kitty Muldoon.

The widow, ever reticent to strangers, took scarcely
any notice of these persons, though the elder, very
gonversationally inclined, sought to introduce seve-
ral^ topics of interest to attract her notice.

From his talk it appeared that he and his com-
panion had been up the Missouri river purchasing a
large tract of land with the intention of settling.

When the major asked questions about the coming
war they appeared to be very poorly informed, but
Mrs. Cody, with that quickness of perception pecu-
liar to her sex, made up her mind that they knew
more than they cared to disclose. Also, that when
they chose sides, if they had not already done so, the
Southern, and not the Northern, was where they
would be found.

As soon as the supper was over, the widow and
her child retired to the bedroom, followed by Kitty

BUFFALO BILL. 87

•

Muldoon, while the strangers returned to the bar-
room, into which, with the coming of night, the
most of the male population of the place found its
way.

To make themselves popular with these people,
the strangers were quite liberal in treating, and it
was not long before nearly all were more or less
under the influence of the vile beverage which was
vended at the bar.

The strangers pretended to drink quite as freely
as those whom they treated so often, but they
poured out scarcely anything for themselves, and so
diluted what they did take with water that they felt
none of the effects which they were producing on
others.

Poor Mrs. Cody trembled while she listened to the
foolish speeches and maudlin songs which proclaimed
that the few men left to protect the settlement were
becoming each moment less and still less capable of
doing service. She almost felt relieved when the
night wore on and comparative silence told that
those who were not helpless from drink had stag-
gered away to their homes.

The old major hung out as long as he could, but
at last sank down helpless in his chair behind the
bar, and then the two strangers were alone.

An eye was on them, however, for Mrs. Molly
Williams though perfectly willing to see the money
come into the drawer did not believe in its going
out again, so when she saw her old husband sink
down into helplessness, as she did through a crack

88 BUFFALO BILL.

in the kitchen door, she took post where she could
observe the actions of her guests.

She saw that, with their heads close together,
they were talking low and quite earnestly, and she
tried hard to catch some idea of what they said.
But this was not possible, though she once heard the
elder say " the girls** as he glanced toward the inte-
rior of the house.

She felt confident that they were planning some
mischief, for now that they believed themselves un-
molested, they exhibited a brace of revolvers and
two huge knives, which hitherto had been hidden
under their clothing.

She was not a woman of timidity — few border
women are — and she was thinking how she should
act to secure the money in the drawer, inform them
that it was bed-time, and drag her drunken old hus-
band to his nest, when the tramp of horses* hoofs
reached her ears.

"The boys are coming — we're all right now!" said
the elder of th'e strangers, springing to his feet at
this sound. "The plunder and the girls first, and
a big blaze afterward !"

BUFFALO BILL. 89

CHAPTER XV.

It was almost daylight when Buffalo Bill got back
to where Wild Bill and the two horses had been
left.

"Quick, Bill," said the former — '* quick, mate, and
get out of sight. We've got work to do over there,
but we can't do it by daylight. They're too well
fixed. Mount and let's get back to the boys and
out of sight and then I'll tell you all I've seen."

The two men mounted and sped away swiftly,
and in a few minutes had rejoined their party.
These were also put in motion, and when day
dawned they halted behind a low range of pebbly
hills, about seven or eight miles from the river.

Here the first act of Buffalo Bill was to post a
dismounted man where he could just look over the
crest of the hills and see the river and bushy growth
along its margin, without exposing his own person
to observation from that direction.

The horses, picketed with a guard to look out for
them, were put among the low ravines where the
Buffalo grass was finest, and a half dozen men taking
turn's with a spade which had been brought along
set out in the lowest place to dig a well so that they
might have water. No fire was allowed, and silence
was enjoined — at least so far as loud talk or hallo-
ing was concerned.

90 BUFFALO BILL.

All this was seen to by Buffalo Bill before he
would relate anything to his mate or to any of the
party of what he had seen over the river. In truth,
there was enough of the Indian in his nature to
enable him to conceal even in his looks as well as
in his silence all information until he thought fit to
impart it.

This time came when the party was properly set-
tled and concealed.

Then calling Bill and the others to his side, he
said:

" I was right in among the cussed varmints over
there. They're fixed up in a strong stockade, with
a good corral for their stock, and playing an open
game wouldn't pay for us. They're fixed to stay
till they can move their wounded men, for they lost
their wagon some way in crossing the river. Old
Jake M'Kandlas is alive, with a hole through his
body from my revolver, and there are two or three
more as bad off as he is that can't be moved !"

"Your sister — you havn't said a word about her,"
said Wild Bill anxiously.

" No — but I'm coming to that. She has made a
friend there some way, and Dave Tutt has got his
master. Frank Stark bosses the crowd and I heard
him tell Dave Tutt that he should not disturb her.
She has her own room in a house they've built in-
side of the stockade, aud I heard Frank Stark tell
Dave that neither he or any other man should in-
trude on her. Dave was fighting mad, but it seems
that Frank,has got the men with him, and Dave has

BUFFALO BILL. 9I

to bottle his mad for a while. I tried to get a word
with her but it was too risky, so I gave it up for
then, satisfied no harm would come to her before
they move from there. And if you'll all stand by
me to-night, we'll get inside of their works before
they know it, and then good-by to every one of the
cusses but Frank Stark. 1*11 save him for the good
turn he has done for Lillie. So take things easy
to-day, boys, and rest — we can't do anything till
night comes on.**

" What do you suppose makes Frank Stark take
the part of Lillie ?*' asked Wild Bill. " Thought he
was as bad as the worst of the gang?"

" I can*t tell. He spoke as respectfully of her as
you would, and talked as if he meant what he said.
It seemed to me that he had been quarreling with
Dave about her before, for Dave reminded him that
it wasn't the first time he'd promised to cut his
heart out on her account, and he would keep his
promise,/if it was the last act of his life.**

"Well, Fm glad she isn*t no worse off; but this is
going to be a long day, waiting for night to come to
go in and wipe *em out. Is there many reds among
'em ?'*

"No — not over eight or ten, if so many. I
couldn't get to count noses, for it was ticklish work
creeping over the walls and in among *em when a
good part of 'em were awake. The quarrel between
Dave and Frank helped me some, because they made
so much noise. I took a good look at the corral
where they put their stock at night, because that

92 BUFFALO BILL.

must be stampeded at the same time we pitch in to
save LiUie and wipe them out so not a cuss out of
the crowd can get away. I don't mean to kill old
Jake if I can help it. I want to take him back to
the spot where he murdered my father, and roast
him there over a slow fire. Death — a mere man's
death — is too good for him. He wants, and shall
have, a taste here of what he'll get when he is
dead !"

" Mate, you're as bad as the reds, by thunder you
are !" said Wild Bill.

" Yes, when I think of him and his gang, I am.
Why should I not be? Can the memory of my
good father, butchered in cold blood before his poor
wife and helpless children, ever pass away? No,
Bill, never — never! I will never feel that he rests
easy in his grave while one of them is alive to boast
of the black deed he has done. I have with my own
hand killed two-thirds of them, and until all are
gone — and by my hand, too, I will not feel content.
I heard the wretch groaning from pain this morn-
ing. It was music to my soul. Oh, how I wanted
to whisper in his ear, ^ Fiend^ the pursuer is at
hand! Your time is drawing near; the spirit of
the murdered hovers near to exult over your tor-
tured end !' Bill, I could glory in every pain that
racked his frame. I could see his eyeballs start
in agony from his head — the beaded sweat, blood-
colored, ooze from his clammy skin — each nerve
and tendon quivering like the strings of a harp
struck by a maniac hand. Oh, how I could gloat

BUFFALO BILL. 93

over his howling misery ! And it is coming, it is
coming — his time. When it does, mercy need not
plead to me — not a throe, not a pulsation would
I spare for the wealth of all the world !**

94 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XVL

Molly Williams stood still and trembled when
she heard those ominous words from the lips of
the eldest of the two strangers, and saw the fiendish
look which accompanied the expression.

She trembled yet the more as she knew by the
thunder of the hoofs that a large body of horsemen
had galloped to the front of the house.

" Open the door, Hubert, and tell the boys that
I, Alf Coye, am here !" cried the elder stranger.
-* There's nothing to fear. Every man in the place
is drunk or asleep."

The younger man threw open the door wide, and
when the men outside saw him and his companion,
their cheers rang out clear and hearty on the night
air.

" Hurrah for Captain Alf !" yelled one.

" Hurrah for the Southern Confederacy !" cried
another.

" Down with the Yankee interlopers !" shouted a
third.

" Dismount, men, and come in. Eat, drink and
be merry. The best in the land is not good enough
for you, but it is free as you are free."

"There's neither free drink nor free provisions
here, Fd have you to know, sir," cried MoUie Wil-
liams, now thinking it time to assert her rights.

BUFFALO BILL. 95

"You've made my poor old husband drunk and
helpless, but he isn't me, and Til soon show you
that !"

" Whew ! Our pretty hostess is getting warm in
the cool of the evening," cried the captain.

" Warm enough to scald you if you don't keep
your ruffians out of my house," screamed Mrs.
Molly, as she sprang behind the bar, and, first secur-
ing the money from the drawer, gave her old hus-
band a sound box on the ear which partially awoke
him.

** Surround the house — let no one leave or enter
besides our own men, without my permission," cried
the captain.

This order was given because, fully dressed and
ready for departure, Mrs. Cody, her daughter Lottie,
and Kittie Muldoon made their appearance in the
back room.

" What does this mean ?" asked the widow, pale,
but not terrified.

She addressed the question to Mrs. Williams, but
was answered by the man who called himself Cap-
tain Alf Coye.

" It means, madam, that a part and parcel of the
Southern Confederacy has made a raid over, the
Kansas border, and as one Buffalo Bill is arrayed on
the Union side, we shall deem it a good policy to
hold his mother and sister in our hands as hostages
for his future good behavior. I am glad to see
you are dressed, ready for travelling, for my men
will only remain here long enough to collect what

^96 BUFFALO BILL.

plunder they want and to make a bonfire of the
rest. We will then head for Missouri, and you will
accompany us."

" Never, monster, never !"

**0h yes you will, madam, and I would advise
you to spare such opprobrious terms, lest I be tempt-
ed to deserve the name by some act which your
own rudeness may provoke."

" Fiend, I defy you and your vile followers !"

^\ Madam, the beauty of your daughter may tenipt
me to deserve the name. Beware ! I am not a man
to pause or trifle if I make up my mind to any course,
good or bad !"

The poor lady sunk with a shudder into a chair,
while Lottie, weeping, knelt by her side. That
threat, so quickly understood, was more terrible
than the thought of death.

But there was one yet left to face the bold, bad
man, who had no such thing as fear in her composi-
tion, and but little care for the anger she might
excite.

It was pretty, brave-hearted, good Kitty Muldoon.

" You are a dirty big blackguard, you are, to thry

to scare a poor lone widdy woman, when the son is

away who'd bate the very sowl out of ye, big as ye

are, wid one hand tied behind him and a glove on

"the other !"

Kitty stood with her arms akimbo, looking him
square in the face as she said this. Her eyes flashed
like sparks of fire and her cheeks were all aglow
with passion.

- . ^ _ * " . - *

• ».

98 BUFFALO BILL.

" By the gods of war, girl, you're almost as pretty
as your young mistress. If my lieutenant, Hubert
Stanley, hadn't taken a fancy to you and spoken
first, I believe I'd have had you for my sweetheart."

" Divil the one, you or your liftenant, will make a
swateheart of me !*' cried Kitty, madder than before.
" I'll be a sour and bitter pill for the best of ye to
swallow. Lay but the weight of a dirty finger on
me, or on them I serve and love, and 1*11 scratch
the eyes from yer heads."

" We'll see by-and-by," said Coye, coolly. " My
men will soon get through with their work, for they
understand it. Hubert, find a good carriage or
wagon to put these women in. I shall carry them
over the border, and if Buffalo Bill comes after them
I'll have a rope for his neck !"

" Sure an' 'twill fit yer own better," said the in-
dignant and unterrified Kitty. " I could make a bet-
ter man out o' mud than you are, wid all yer fine
clothes on yer crooked back. You're not fit to kiss
the ground that young master Bill treads over. It
is him that will pay you for this — not in silver or in
gould, but in cold lead and blue steel. Worra the
day that the likes of yes came up from below, to
bother good Christians like them that's before you."

" Girl, you have said about as much as I want to
hear. If you care for the comfort of your mistress
and her daughter, get their clothes and blankets \
together. For they are about to start on a long
and hard journey, with little chance for getting com-
forts after they leave here. No more impudence

\

BUFFALO BILL. 99

now, or ril turn you over to those who know no
mercy and never dream of pity.*'

"Yes — hush, my good Kitty," said the poor
widow. "You only excite his anger without better-
ing our situation. Heaven will not desert us, child,
and though it is very, very dark now, light will
come by-and-by. We are in the power of these
men now, but I trust will not be so for a great
while. They will not dare to wrong us, for a fear-
ful retribution will follow as surely as light follows
darkness when day succeeds night."

" ril do yer bidding, ma*am, but these haythens
had better sing small if they don't want to know
what a bit of an Irish girl can do wid her nails and
her teeth."

100 buffaijo bill.

CHAPTER XVIL

Buffalo Bill and the men whom he led noticed
with pleasure as night drew near, while they almost
counted the minutes which must elapse before they
could with prudence attack the robber stockade,
that the clouds began to overspread the sky, indica-
tive of an approaching storm.

This, while it would tend to lessen the vigilance of
the enemy, would conceal their movements and be
likely to save them men and trouble.

As soon as night came on, every man was mount-
ed, his arms having been carefully inspected and
loaded while there was light. The wind, coming
from the west, fresh and fitfully, was favorable in
two points of consideration.

First, if there were dogs with the Indians or white
wretches, they could not scent the approach of the
pursuers. Next, the wind, sweeping in mad blasts
over the prairie, made sufficient noise to drown all
other sounds.

The leader of the bordermen had carefully laid
out his plan of attack, and explained it to his fol-
lowers, detailing the men for the two points of ac-
tion, so there should be no error when the work be-
gan.

Wild Bill, with five picked men, was to shoot

BUFFALO BILL. lOI

down the stock-guard and to stampede the animals
from the corral.

Buffalo Bill, with the rest, only two men being
left with the horses on the east side of the Platte,
was to enter the stockade, and, at a signal given by
himself, the attack was to commence.

Every precaution was taken, even to the wearing
of a white mark around the left arm, made from
white shirts torn in strips, that the party might dis-
tinguish their own people in the fray.

Moving up to the river with silent caution, it took
the party full two hours after they started to reach
the fording-place. And when they did so, the moon
was completely hidden by the black clouds which
flew like lost spirits overhead.

The rumble of distant thunder, and a kind of
heavy dampness in the air, indicated the approach
of rain.

" Boys,** said Bill, in a low tone, to the men close
grouped around him, " when we take to the water
to cross I shall lead the way. You might follow in
single file, careful to keep so close to your file leader
that you can touch him. Take care of your arms
and ammunition, and keep perfect silence."

A low murmur of assent told him that the orders
were heard and understood, and then he moved on.

The ford was only deep in mid-channel, and to
footmen the quicksand was not so bad as it was to
heavy animals. The current was rather rapid, espe-
cially in the channel, but in about half an hour every
man of the party was on the west side of the Platte,

\\

IPB«

I02 BUFFALO BILL.

about two or three hundred yards above the stock-
ade.

The louder sounds of thunder, as well as now and
then flashes of distant lightning, told them they had
but little time to wait for the outburst of the storm,
so the order for the stampeding party to mov^ to
their post was at once given.

Away in the darkness went Wild Bill and his men,
taking a course from the river-bank.

Two or three minutes after, Buffalo Bill, with his
men, carefully followed the river down to reach the
walls of the stockade.

It was an exciting moment, for it was yet so early
that the enemy could be heard talking in their camp.
Now and then a coarse laugh, following some jest,
would reach the ears of the bordermen, thus assur-
ing them that their close proximity was a thing un-
dreamed of.

On, until at last the stockade was reached, kept
Buffalo Bill and his party. And now the young
leader, before getting over the wall at the only as-
sailable spot which he had discovered the night be-
fore, gave the signal agreed upon, which was to in-
form Wild Bill of hrs readiness to begin.

This signal was the peculiar cry of a small owl
which is found all over the Western prairies, and is
heard only at night.

Bill was an adept in imitation, and the cry came
so natural from his lips that the oldest bordermen
of the party would have believed it came from the
bird itself had they not known differently.

BUFFALO BILL. IO3

At the same moment that Bill gave the signal
there was an alarm at the corral — a loud challenge —
first a single shot, and then several more, followed
by the sound, not of a general stampede, but of one,
or at most two, horses making at full speed toward
the river.

Buffalo Bill was puzzled at this, for Wild Bill had
a return signal to make, which had not yet been
heard, and he was not to fire a gun until the attack
inside of the stockade commenced.

But he had no time for thought now. The gar-
rison of the stockade was alarmed, and the hoarse
voice of Dave Tutt was heard shouting:

" Where is Frank Stark T

104 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XVIII.

" Where is Frank Stark ? Where is the girl pris-
oner ?" shouted Dave Tutt, with an angry voice
from inside the stockade. " Now who is the traitor
— who deserts you now? Your famous captain is
gone, and that is what the row at the corral is about.
I hope they've got him there. I'm going to see !"

And Dave sprang upon the wall of the stockade.

As he did so a vivid flash of lightning, followed
by an instantaneous crash of thunder, lighted up the
whole place, and he saw at a glance that a body of
al'med men were on the point of entering the stock-
ade, while just entering the river at the ford was a
man mounted on his own horse, close followed by a
female on another animal.

A dozen shots were fired at him at the same in-
stant, and he fell back wounded into the interior of
the stockade, as he shouted :

" They're here, men — they're here. Fight as you
never fought before, or we're all wiped out."

There was no further hope for concealment, no
use now in a second of delay, and. though Buffalo
Bill felt sure that his sister had escaped from that
gang, he was not now the less inclined to punish
them. •

" Over the works, boys, and let your revolvers and
knives tell the tale !" he shouted, and sprang up the

V

BUFFALO BILL. 10$

ladder which was kept for general use by the garri-
son.

Up and over, as speedily as thought, close fol-
lowed by his men, into the darkness, soon to be
made light by the firing of a tent, went Buffalo Bill,
and hand .to hand, with revolver and knife, amid the
yells and whoops of white men and Indians, the
fearful work went on.

It could not • last long, for with the blaze of the
tent the brave bordermen could see where to shoot
and strike, and now the victorious shouts of Wild
Bill and his men, with the thunder of the stampede,
reached the ears of the terror-stricken defenders of
the stockade.

"Mercy — we surrender!** shouted a huge villain,
already down with a bullet in his brawny breast.

" Tcike the mercy your gang gave my father !*'
shouted Buffalo Bill, and his knife clove through the
villain's skull.

A minute more and Wild Bill was over the wall,
another minute and, except a few wounded wretches
on the earth, not one of the Indians or robbers was
left.

These would have been at once dispatched, had
not Wild Bill sung out with a chivalrous generosity
peculiar to men of his class :

" Boys, it's a shame to butcher them that can't
raise a hand to defend themselves. Let's hold up —
let's hold up ! We've our own wounded to look
to !'•

" It is poor policy,- but excepting old Jake

I

I06 BUFFALO BILL.

M'Kandlas, the rest may live for all me," cried Buf-
falo Bill. '' As for him, he shall live until I can hang
him over the grave of my murdered father, or roast
him to ashes on the ground stained by his blood.
But my sister — she is safe from here, but is Frank

Stark to be trusted T

I.

** Yes, just as you could have trusted me, if I had
got her off,** said Dave Tutt, with a feeble voice ;
for, terribly hurt, he lay yet living among the wound-
ed. " He is off for the Black Hills with her."

" That*s a lie, for I saw him and her crossing the
river by the light of the same flash which revealed
you to us, and us to you, you mean sneak," cried
Buffalo Bill. " If I wasn't sure you'd suffer more by
being let alone, I'd cut your throat where you are,
you infernal spy and deceiving cuss ! Look out for
him, men, and for old Jake M'Kandlas — I am going
across the river to find my Lillie."

" You need not cross the river to find her, for she
is here," cried Frank Stark, coming over the wall,
followed by the fair girl. " We met the guard on
the other side of the river, and nearly lost my num-
ber, too, for one of 'm shot my horse. But we found
out you were here and knew you'd be all right, too,
so here we are."

Lillie was already in the arms of her noble brother,
while Frank Stark stood looking at the pale, angry
face of Dave Tutt, who gnashed his teeth in impo-
tent rage.

" Oh, curse you, you traitorous dog. If I could

BUFFALO BILL. lO/

only live to cross knives with you, I would ask no
more," cried the wounded robber.

" Gentlemen, do doctor that poor thief up. I
want him to live till I can show him how good I am
at carving/* said Frank Stark in a tone of bitter sar-
casm. "But I suppose Tm a prisoner myself, find
have no right to talk."

" You are not a prisoner ! Your kindness to my
sister entitles you to my friendship," cried Buffalo
Bill. "And if, as she says, you wish to join the
Union men in the work just commenced, you shall
have the best of chances. I was on my way to join
the Union army at St. Louis when Dave Tutt, like
. i black-hearted scoundrel that he is, tore my sister
away from her mother's side."

" I will go wherever you lead, and fight to death
.for the dear old flag I was born under," cried Frank.

" Good on your head ! There's my hand, and my
heart is as free as it for one of the right sort," cried
Wild Bill.

" Heap up a bonfire — there's no danger now — and
let us have light," cried the happy brother. " When
day comes we'll be on the back-track, for my poor
mother will sleep little until she hears from Lillie.
Hallo ! where have you come from ? You look as
white as a ghost, man ! Speak out — what is the
matter in Corinne?"

" Matter, Bill ?" gasped the new-comer, as he sank
exhausted to the earth. " There's matter enough to
drive us all mad. There's not a house left standing

V '

I

I06 BUFFALO BIIX.

in town — all are in ashes. Worse yet, every man
but myself, I think, is killed, with some of the
women, too— and the youngest and fairest carried
off. I crept away, ran miles on foot, then caught a
loose horse, got on your trail, and am here. I've
neiflier eaten nor drank since the massacre."

The man was well known to them all. He had
been one of those left to take care of the settlement.

" Who did this ?" asked Buffalo Bill, hoarsely.

" One Alf Coye, at the head of a hundred bush-
whackers from Missouri."

" My mother and Lottie," gasped Bill.

** I saw them in a wagon under guard as I crept
away," said the man. " For mercy's sake, g^ve me
some food and drink — I am almost dead."

" Attend to him, some of you," said Buffalo Bill.
" And now, men, we have work to do. Frank Stark,
for the good heart you have shown, I am going to
trust you as Td trust no other man on such short
acquaintance. I shall take all but five of my men
and the best horses, and make after the party that
have carried off my mother and sister, and we know
not how many more. With those five and this man
here, guard my sister Lillie and get her to St. Louis
just as quickly as you can. I will meet you there if
I live. Not a word, my dear sister. You never
could stand the mad riding that me and Wild Bill
must do now. I feel that I can trust you with this
man, for he risked his life to get you out of the
clutches of Dave Tutt. Heaven bless you, darling
— trust him and be my own brave sister until we

BUFFALO BILL. IO9

meet. Come, men, all but the five who have no
families in Corinne. Come ; we must over the river
and to horse like kinked lightning on a tear.**

One brief embrace between brother and sister and
our hero was off on his new course to endeavor to
rescue his mother and Lottie.

no BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XIX.

By the time Buffalo Bill and his men had made
their hasty preparations for starting in chase of Alf
Coye and his gang, the storm fairly broke over them.
The rain came down in torrents, while the'roUing
thunder and flashing lightning added wild grandeur
to its wierd effect in the midnight darkness.

This forced a delay until the dawn of day, for in
the wind, rain and utter gloom the keenest scout
and most accomplished guide could not have kept a
true course over the plains.

The time flew swiftly by, for the brother and sister
had a brief opportunity for conversation, and the
messenger from the settlement, revived by food and
drink, was able to give a partial account of the fear-
ful outrage which had left most, of his hearers home-
less, and even worse off, if their fears were verified
as to the loss of loved ones.

When the dawn came, though the storm had not
abated, a course could be laid, and the young leader
at once called his men to horse.

The animals had all been brought over, and now
the men mounting, the cavalcade was put in motion,
the two bordermen leading the way at a gait which
only the literally tireless steeds of the prairie can
keep up, swept over the stream and far away toward
the southeast.

BUFFALO BILL.

Ill

LilHe, not heeding the pouring rain or chilling
wind, stood by the side of Frank Stark on the para-
pet of the stockade, and watched her dear brother,
as he rode away with his companions, sad that he
must leave her, but feeling that it was his duty to
fly to the rescue of her mother and sister, and hers
to be brave and hopeful, trusting in Him who is
strength to the weak, for her own safe delivery
from impending perils.

She watched her handsome, noble brother, until
his form was out of sight, beyond the grassy hills,
and then with a sigh she turned and asked her com-
panion how soon they could start upon their jour-
ney.

" Were it only ourselves to go on we could start
at once,*' said Frank Stark. " But your brother
wished me to carry Jake M'Kandlas and Dave Tutt
in as prisoners, that they may swing from the gal-
lows tree in the presence of a multitude, as they
should, for to die as men who are soldiers or brave
frontiersmen die, will be no punishment to them.
To carry out his desire and to keep them alive until
the proper hour of doom arises, they must be moved
with care, I shall have litters made, and when they
are ready move on."

" You surely will not fatigue orave men by carry-
ing the worthless bodies of such men?" said Lillie,
in surprise.

"Oh, no — we will collect the animals that were
stampeded, for they have not gone far, and will
swing each litter between two mules. Ijt will be

. \

112 BUFFALO BILL,

rough travel for the wounded wretches, but as they
never knew mercy for any one else, I think they
have no right to expect it from others. Go be-
neath the shelter, for we will be ready in a little
while to travel. I do not wish to stay here a mo-
ment longer than can be helped, for the Sioux and
the Cheyenne hunt along this stream, and the force
left by your brother is too small to resist a large
party of them with any hope of success. I will have
a talk with Jake M'Kandlas and Dave Tutt while
the rest are getting the litters ready."

Lillie at once went into her little room and be-
gan to make preparations for her journey, while
Stark went into the place where M'Kandlas and
Dave Tutt were lying.

Both men eyed him with a bitterness of expres-
sion far more speaking than words. They were
powerless to do more than look their hate, but if
looks could kill, his life had not been worth a
thought.

"Traitor!" hissed M'Kandlas at last.

"Treason to the devil is duty to God," said Stark,
quietly. "There is no use for either of you men
to put on airs — you are down, and you'll never get
up in this world untjl you are lifted up by a rope."

"Dog! down or up, we're higher than you are!"
cried Dave Tutt.

" That is a matter of opinion," said Stark, smil-
ing. " But I've no words to waste. I came in to
see how you looked, and if you required any fixing
up before we started."

%

r BUFFALO BILL. II3

" Started ? What do you mean?" asked M'Kandlas.

"That we start in a little while for the settlements.
I am having mule-lifters fixed for you and Dave.
It will be rather rough, but I reckon you can stand
it. It's only a short delay, for you'll swing when
Buffalo Bill gets back from punishing Al Coye."

" He'll never get back from that bit of business,"
said Dave Tutt, scornfully. ** Alf Coye is not the
man to get away from, and Buffalo Bill will learn
that if he crosses his path. Ah ! your new sweet-
heart is in trouble, Mr. Frank Stark — and so are
you! Here is Raven Feather — the Ogallala, and
my friend."

Even as these last words passed the lips of Dave
Tutt, caused as they were by a wild scream from
Lillie, the opening in the brush house that served
as a door was darkened by the presence of several
Indians, hideous in their war pant.

Foremost of these was a tall warrior of most fe-
rocious look, with a cap composed of black raven
feathers on his head. The silver crescents, three in
number, on his breast, proclaimed his rank as a great
chief, even had not his haughty, commanding look
done so.

" What is the matter with my brother, the Eagle-
Eye of the Black Hills?" asked the Ogallala chief, as
he looked on the reclining form of Tutt.

"My body has eaten too much lead. A false
friend brought the enemies of the red man and of
the Eagle-Eye upon him, and he is weak from many
wounds," replied Tutt.

114 BUFFALO BILl^ «

" It shall be well with Eagle-Eye. Raven Feather
will bind up his wounds and punish his enemies,*'
said the chief.

"There is one — the worst of all. Let him be
bound !" said Dave, pointing to Frank Stark, who
had stood till now almost paralized with surprise at
this sudden appearance of an enemy which had
stolen in unseen by his sentinels, or at least without
an alarm reaching his ears.

But now, life and liberty both endangered, his na-
tive courage came back, and quicker than thought
his revolver was drawn from his belt.
' Twice had he discharged it, a death among his
dusky foes following each report, when with a bound
Raven Feather sprang to his rear, and hurled him
to the ground before he could turn his weapon on
him.

In a second his arms and feet were secured with
hide lariats, and then in agony he was forced to lis-
ten to the taunts of Jake M'Kandlas and Dave
Tutt.

But even this was not his deepest trial.

Poor Lillie was brought in, her white arms
clutched on either side by a grim and hideous war-
rior, while with reeking scalps uplifted, others pressed
forward to tell Raven Feather that the other pale-
faces had been slain.

"Ugh! A pale-face squaw. Heap handsome,
like the wild rose of the valley. Raven Feather will
make her his wife ! She shall bead his mocasins and
cook his meat. His other squaws are old and ugly

» \-

BUFFALO BILL. II5

in his eyes since he looks upon the face of the pris-
oner !*' said the chief, as his eye rested eagerly on
Lillie !

" Will Raven Feather listen to the words of his
brother, the Eagle-Eye of the Black Hills ?" asked
Tutt, anxiously.

He did not wish to lose the prize for whose pos-
session he had risked much and suffered also.

" The ears of Raven Feather are always open
when his brother speaks. Let the Eagle-Eye talk."

"The pale-face squaw belongs to me. I brought
her from among the pale-faces. In trying to get
her back they wounded me — made me their pris-
oner. My red brother will not be unjust. He will
not take from Eagle-Eye his property which has
cost him these wounds !"

Dave Tutt knew who he had to deal with in talk-
ing thus to Raven Feather. Justice in an Indian is
less a name than a fact. Would we Christian people
could say as much.

And to render impartial and strict justice in a chief,
is held as the highest virtue. To render justice the
chief of a red tribe will order the death of his near-
est friend, his own son, father, or brother. Claim
from him a favor, he will deny it, without his incli-
nation is for it. Claim from him justice in the name
of right, and he will yield it.

His wild, fierce eyes looked lovingly on the beau-
tiful, trembling girl, but he said.:
• ** Rav^n Feather will not rob his brother. The
Pale Rose is very beautiful. The eyes of the chief

Il6 BUFFALO BILL.

feed upon her loveliness, but he will shut them up.
He will not look at her again. She shall be kept
safely for my brother until he is strong and able to
take care of her himself, and my brother, Eagle-Eye,
and the old chief of the pale-faced warriors of the
hills shall be lifted up and carried back to the vil-
lage of the Ogallalas, where the swift river that is
red* with the golden earth runs its race toward the
great waters in which the sun sleeps. But this pale-
face who has slain two of my warriors must now
die."

And drawing his hatchet from his belt he turned
toward Frank Stark, his face gleaming with fiendish
ferocity.

" Let Raven Feather hold his hand till he hears
the word of Eagle-Eye,'* said Dave Tutt, who now
sat upright on the ground, so much had the change
in affairs strengthened him. ** There is no pain
when by a single blow the spirit of a warrior is set
free. The pale-faced prisoner is not a warrior, that
he should die a warrior's death. He is a dog who
tried to steal the squaw of Eagle-Eye from his arms.
Keep him bound, so that Eagle-Eye may punish
him when be gets strong, and after Eagle-Eye has
had his fill of vengeance, then let the warriors of the
Ogallala dance around the fire which shall drink up
his blood and reduce his bones to ashes."

The chief returned his tomahawk to his belt.

" The words of Eagle-Eye are wise. The Raven

* The Colorado River.

\

BUFFALO BILL. ^ II7

Feather will wait ; his warriors will keep the pris-
oner until it is time to sing his death-song/'

All this time poor Lillie stood silent, her eyes dry
from excess of terror, her cheeks white and cold
with fear. Frank Stark, fearless for himself, careless
of his own fate, thinking of her whom he had so
quickly learned to love with a love which made him
hate his past wickedness and his vile associates,
stood also still as a marble statue, trying to hope
against hope — for there was no light now for either
of them.

Buffalo Bill and his companions were already far
away, each minute increasing the distance between
them — and it surely would be long before he could
hear of their fate — indeed it might be never.

Poor Lillie, silent with her lips, even speechless in
the stony gaze of eyes that oft had spoken in their
swift glances, was so hopeless that she had even for-
got to pray.

Dave Tutt, with malignant joy in his face and
look, said :

** Let the red warriors put the pale-face squaw
here on the ground beside Eagle-Eye — he will watch
her himself. And let the dog of a white man be
taken out where the rain will wash the dirt from his
coward face and show how white fear makes him."

" It is not fear of you — no, nor of them, which
will ever blanch my face, Dave Tutt," said Frank,
proudly. " I hate and defy you and them. You fear
me and that poor helpless girl, and must keep us
bound. because you fear us!*'

Il8 BUFFALO BILL.

" I do not ask to be unbound/* said Lillie ; " but
take me where I cannot have his serpent-eyes burn-
ing into my very soul, for I loathe and hate the very
sight of the dastard wretch who fed at my mother's
board, drank from my brother's cup, and then forgot
even what an Arab .would remember, the due that
the receiver of hospitality owes to the giver. Chief
of the brigands, I would rather die than live among
you, or belong even in thought to the enemies of
my people. But the man whom you call Eagle-Eye,
like the other wounded wretch beside him, is a thief
and a murderer. Their hands are red with the blood
of my father and his people. I would rather be
your slave than his. Take me from his sight!"

Lillie uttered those words with a wild vehemence
of tone, a look of fierce hate, an expression of utter
abhorrence of Tutt, which fairly maddened the
latter.

** Girl,*' he cried, " I will soon be strong, and for
every word you have now uttered you shall suffer.
Raven Feather will not interfere between you and
me. You are mine — mine as I will, and no fiend
from the shades below will rejoice as I in my power,
and no one could use it more mercilessly than will
I. I loved you once — now I hate you ; but I own
you, body and soul, and you shall — as the fawn in
the hands of the panther — be toyed with, that in
the end you may perish miserably. Let the pale-
faced dog of a man be cast out in the rain, and there
watched over; but place the squaw here by my
side !"

BUFFALO BILL. II9

The Indians, after a glance from their chief indi-
cating obedience, took Frank Stark away, while
poor Lillie, with hands and feet both bound, was
placed in a sitting posture on the ground near Tutt
and M'Kandlas.

The pelting rain, the bleak wind, told how the
storm yet raged without, but it was not heeded —
nor aught else now — by poor Lillie. Tears had
come to her eyes at last, and prayer to her lips.

I20 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XX.

For four days after having struck it, across the
Missouri border, Buffalo Bill, with a force increased
by volunteers to about fifty men, had followed the
trail of Alf Coye, and he was again in Kansas, the
route of pursued and pursuers tending toward the
Rocky Mountains, or that part of them known as
the Black Hills.

His force was small in numbers, but it was com-
posed of men whose hearts were filled with hate of
the fiends who had burned their houses, insulted and
outraged — and in some cases slain — their friends
and relatives. The strength of such a force need
never be judged by its numbers.

Men fighting for vengeance or justice, and armed
with right, are a hundred times stronger than those
who, steeped in villainy, have nothing but villainy
behind them.

It was not a company with gay uniforms, bur-
nished arms and bright guidons, riding over those
grassy plains. No — with plain, dust-covered clothes,
arms ready for service but not for show, stern faces
and forms that scorned to show fatigue — those men
rode on, determined to die or to sweep from the
face of the earth the wretches they were after, and
to rescue the helpless ones whom they were drag-
ging oS to a fate worse than death.

BUFFALO BILL. 121

Erect in his saddle, his eyes as bright, clear and
strong as those in the head of his wild prairie steed,
Powder Face, Buffalo Bill led the way, while here
and there, with many a wild jest on his lip, and fun
enough in his composition for all hands, rode Wild
Bill, sometimes in front and then in the rear, with
his Black Nell fully as playful as himself, though
for days neither he nor she had had more than four
hours' rest out of twenty-four.

The horses of most of the -men were those clean-
limbed, wiry mustangs, which will tire a rider far
sooner than they tire themselves, but, with few ex-
ceptions, the most had been going for the eight days
which had elapsed since the party left the stockade
on the South Platte, with only about four hours in
a day and night for feed and rest, and they began
to show it.

Of all the cavalcade there were two horses which
seemed, like their riders, to be literally proof against
fatigue. Black Nell and Powder Face were the
two.

It was late in the afternoon and the trail was
freshening, though at least two days, and perhaps
three of them, had elapsed since Coye had gone
along. But trees, the sure sign of water, were in
sight not far ahead, and Bill frequently lifted his
glass and scanned the country ahead, for he did not
know when his enemy would halt to give his party
rest.

He knew well that Coye must be confident of pur-

122 BUFFALO BILL.

suit, for he had done too much damage not to merit
it and the most deadly punishment.

All that the bordermen feared was that he would
not halt until he got fairly into the mountain range,
where defense would not only be more easy, but he
would be among the Indians, who, as allies, would
fearfully sffengthen him against attack.

The distant mountains, snow-crowned, in which
the Platte and Republican find their source, were in
sight, and well-known peaks whose base was washed
by the swift Colorado were within reach of the
eye.

" I'd give all the gold I ever had or ever expect
to have for a fresh mount of horses," said Buffalo
Bill, as his mate rode up by his side. " You and I
are the only two well-mounted men, if we had a race
for life before us. Our men are game yet, but I can
see their horses beginning to flag. We'll have to
rest all night when we get to water. If we don't,
we'll not be able to charge out of a walk when we
overtake that black-muzzled wretch, Alf Coye."

" What is that glass of yours good for, Bill ?" asked
his mate, with a quiet smile on his face.

"Good for a great deal, Bill. I can see the trunks
of trees ahead through it, while with the naked eye
we can just detect that timber is there," replied Bill.
" My father used to own it, and I wish I had known
its value sooner."

" Thunder ! I can see more with my naked eyes
than you can through it."

" Well, think so, if that will do you any good."

BUFFALO BILL. 1 23

"I can prove it. You are wishing for fresh horses,
and yet can*t see 'em though they are close under
your nose, for all you are peeking around with your
old tell-lie-scope."

"Where's your horses?** exclaimed the leader,
looking around eagerly.

" Over there to the southward — don't you see 'em
in that hollow plain, this side of the rise?'*

" I see buffalo,** said Bill. " There's no sign of
horseflesh among them black humps."

" Well, shoot your eyes at *em through the glass,"
said Wild Bill, laughing. " Maybe you'll change
your tune. I've been looking at 'em this ten
minutes."

Buffalo Bill carelessly raised his glass, more to
satisfy his friend than in a belief there was anything
more than game to look at.

But once there he held it, while a flush came over
his face, and an exclamation of surprise broke from
his lips.

"They are horses," he said, "and w^ are not yet
in the range for wild horses. I don't understand
it."

" I do," said Wild Bill. " The Cheyennes or Ogal-
lala Sioux have been down to the Texas range or
somewhere over the border for a drove, and there
they are. Those are not wild horses ; they're too
quiet and too much together."

"You're right. Bill, and we must have *em, or at/
least a fresh horse for every man, and we've got to
be tricky to do it. The Indians have seen us, for

124 BUFFALO BILL.

they are keeping back in that hollow, so they can't
be very strong.*'

" You are right there, mate. But it isn't likely
they've run their stock very hard this far from the set-
tlement, and if we tried to go on and take what we
wanted, they'd git and go where we couldn't over-
take 'em."

" Yes, our way is to creep along slow, so as not
to get far from them before dark, and then get back
and surprise *em. By keen work we can get their
stock, or what we want of it, and with fresh horses,
so we can lead our others, we'll double our speed."

"That's so. Slacken down your pace, and I'll
caution the rest."

This was done, and when night came on the horses
of the party were much rested, for they had crept
on at a snail's gait for the past two hours.

As the moon did not rise till late, Bill had an ex-
cellent chance for getting back unobserved with his
party, and they were materially assisted as well as
encouraged in their movements by the light of camp
fires.

For the Indians, supposing the passing party had
not observed them, but had gone on where they
could get water and good feed, had camped quietly
for the night in the bowlders among the low hills.

By a cautious approach, dismounting his men and
only leaving a small guard with his tired horses. Bill
was enabled, after a couple of hours or more of man-
euvering, to completely surround the horses and the
Indians taking ^are of them.

BUFFALO BILL. 12$

There were only about a dozen of these, it being
a mere thieving expedition, and not a war party.

Slowly and still as the panther creeps before it
springs, they kept on, until at last, without even a
yell, they bounded upon the astonished red men,
slaying all, without the loss of a man themselves, or
giving scarce any alarm. The surprise was complete.
It did not even have the effect of stampeding the
horses, and now without difficulty a fresh horse was
secured for every man of the party.

The brands on most of them told that they had
been stolen, and old saddle galls marked with white
hair enabled them to pick those which had already
been broken for riding.

With their fresh horses and a led horse for each
man, when the day dawned again, the party dashed
forward at full speed.

It was such a sight as city men never see, scarcely
realize — the close column of stern, sun-browned men
speeding over the plains and ridges, halting for
nothing, but sweeping forward, with the hot breath
of vengeance steaming from their lips.

V •-• « . .. • - %. :

126

BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXI.

^ . p.

A WILD, a grand, a beautiful scene. Mountains,
great ragged peaks, covered with stunted foliage,
like battered and war-torn giants breathing angry
defiance to Heaven, lift their heads up among the
clouds — heads whitened with snows which never dis-
appear beneath the genial touch of summer's hand.

Winding down through deep gulches, bounding
in reddish foam over huge bowlders, whirling and
circling in shadowed eddies, rushes a mighty river —
the Colorado the great red river of the West.

And close beside it, approached from the east by
. one of those long, winding canyons, or natural road-
ways, which seem to have been made only as ap-
proaches to the little Edens few and far between to
which they reach, was a plain of perhaps a mile in
length by half that breadth, as level as a floor, cov-
ered with short blue-grass interspersed with miriads
of brilliant flowers.

A fringe of trees, mostly willow and cottonwood,
grew along the river bank, and up the mountain
sides the nut-pine and cedar predominated.

Scattered over this lovely plain was a large herd
of horses with a few cattle, while close along the
river stretched the lodges of a large Indian village.

Around these were many squaws and children,
and a few warriors. The numerous disproportion

.<i-

BUFFALO BILL. II

of the latter could be accounted for in but one wa
A great war party was absent on some foray. On
a guard for stock and hunters to keep the village
meat, had been left behind.

The village was completely shut in by the mou
tains, which seemed to be almost if not utterly ir
passable, though mountain-men who know how i
creep along the dark ravine or scale the rugged stee
know not what impossibility is in the way of trave

The one narrow passageway in and out could b
defended by a few against the approach of thousands

And for this reasoii had Raven F'eather, the great
war chief of the Ogallala Sioux,chosen it for the chief
village of his tribe. For thither their ever-enemies,
the brave and warlike Pawnees, would never dare
to come. The Apaches of the South, or the Snakes
and Shoshones of the North, nor the Utesand Piutes
of the West, would never risk their warriors in an
attack on such a defensive spot as this.

His own lodge, conspicuous for its size, was in the
front center of the line, with a tall pole in the front
of it to designate the circle where the great councils
should be held when the braves met to celebrate a
victory or decide upon taking the war-path.

In front of this lodge was seated Ma-no-tee, the
Turtle Dove, his favorite wife, to whom all the rest
were subservient, and around her at a distance were
five other squaws, each of whom called the Rave
Feather husband.

But to Ma-no-tce alone did the passing war
speak or show respect, and she. full as haugb

28 BUFFALO BILL.

le proudest of them, received their respect as if it
• as her due, and not a mere compliment.

Shadows began to lengthen in the valley, for the
un was swiftly moving toward its western cradle,
/hen two Indian warriors were seen coming at full
peed up the canyon toward the village.

Ma-no-tee, keen-eyed and vigilant, was the first to
eeand recognize that they came from the sentinel-
>ost at the further end of the long canyon.

With a wild cry she summoned every warrior in
hearing to her side.

Rushing to the chief lodge with their arms in hand
they waited to know the cause of alarm.

" If the enemies of our tribe are near there are not
many of the warriors of Ogallala to meet them ; but
they must not be weak because they are few.
Ma-no-tee is a woman, but a man's heart beats in
her breast. She has a rifle and a hatchet, a knife
and war club, and she knows how to use them. We
will die, if we must, but we will not turn our backs.'*
The warriors gave a wild yell of approval and
turned to hear what the messengers had to say who
were coming so fast across the pUiin.

Halting their horses, white with foam, at the very
feet of Ma-no-tee, one of the Indians spoke :

'* There is a friend to Raven Feather? Is he
known to the Little Elk?"

" He is — he is a friend of Eagle- Eye, the great
ive of the Black Hills,** replied the warrior. Little
"His name is Captain Alf.**
Then bid him welcome, and let him pass the jaw

y^-v"-'i-.- .» • , _*^ f;- ■■■■.■ ■ V -- .; . . .;. , -

m:

iiP;'. BUFFALO BILL, I29

:■"■'■■ ■

of the canyon, where the braves of Raven Feather
keep their watch. Tell the pale-faced chief that
Raven Feather is out on the war-path, but he trusts
Ma-no-tee, because she has a warrior's heart in her
bosom, and knows no fear. She will build fires to
cook meat for his people ; let them come. If they
". are the friends of Raven Feather they may come

and go as they will. If they are his enemies there
is room for them in the deep waters of the great
river. Ma-no-tee, the Turtle Dove, has spoken. Bear
her words to the chief of the pale-faces, and tell him
to come."

The warrior messengers mounted their horses
again, and swept back through the canyon as fast as
they had come.

The warriors who had gathered at the call of Ma-
no-tee, now by her orders built great camp-fires and
slew several fat cattle, which in some of his forays
had been taken from emigrant trains passing the
plains, kept for a time when they had not leisure or
incHnation to hunt the buffalo.

The sun was fast sinking behind the hills, but the
great blazing fires sent out the red light far and near,
making the grand old hills and rocks look wierd
and picturesque in their bold outlines and dense
shadows.

\

^'it'ri^lfiMtf Tniin t /l

\.

XXII.

Ma-no r tall form to the best

advantag )f Raven Feather might

see in his his own dignity, donned

a dress m<iuc auuosL cncireiy of feathers of the pink
flamingo. Upon her head she wore a coronet of
gold, rich with rough rubies and opals, brilliant even
though uncut.

Over it a single black feather drooped, to show to
whom she owed allegiance. She was, for an Indian
woman, very handsome. Her features were classi-
cal, her form fine, her eyes large and expressive.

In age she was about thirty, but having never
been exposed to that drudgery which breaks down
Indian women while they are yet young, she did
not seem near so old.

Her warriors and attendants were also ordered to
put on their best apparel, and make the welcome as
imposing as possible when the main strength of the
village was absent.

The sun was down, and the shadows of night were
black in the ravines, and the gray robe of passing
twilight rested on the peaks, when Alf Coye, hand-
some in his half Indian garb, rode into the valley at
the head of his weary column.

It was a long cavalcade, for beside his men, one
hundred in number, he had nearly as many poor,

■:.^i

130 . BILL. rft

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J-

BUFFALO BILL. I3I

unhappy women, mostly young and beautiful, who
had been dragged from desolate homes by the
wretches whom he commanded.

It was a sad sight to see those pale, drooping cap-
tives mourning over their own dreaded fate, weary
with long, forced marches, hopeless of rescue, ter-
rified as they look at the mountain gorges through
which they were led, uncertain of the doom before
them. Oh ! it was sad, very sad !

Handsomely mounted, splendidly armed. Captain
Alf Coye made a splendid appearance as he dashed
forward at the head of his command to make his
obeisance to the favorite wife of the great Raven
Feather. For he had heard often of her power
over that chief and with the tribe, and knew that it
was policy to impress her at first sight in his favor.

He addressed her in her own language, which he
spoke fluently, but for fear my readers may not be
able to read Sioux, I will be their medium to angli-
cise the conversation.

** The chief of the pale-faces from the river that is
muddy, thanks Ma-no-tee, the beautiful wife of the
great Raven Feather for her welcome. He is glad
that she has lighted fires, for he has heard of the
great Queen of the Ogallalas, and wished to look
upon her face and form !"

** The brave chief of pale-faces speaks pleasant
words, and the ear of Ma-no-tee drinks them, even
as the notes of a singing bird or the sound of happy
waters. Let the great chief choose a camping
ground for his people. For himself and his wives,

'^^^^''^'^^^'■^''lis^k^c:-.^. 'S.^^^rs .- ^vvs^^^jkx^..^

""■■^■^

132 BUFFALO BILL,

Ma-no-tee has had a new lodge set up near her
own."

And she pointed to a large circular tent made of
the gaudily-painted tanned hides of buffalo, with
pennons of tufted hair, bright-colored, waving from
the lodge poles.

" Ma-no-tee has a big heart. The pale-face chief
hopes to hold a little corner in it, for he loves to see
a woman who is not a slave, but is brave and free
and proud and beautiful. Will the wife of Raven
Feather wear a gift from the hand of her husband's
friend, which will tell her what all others may see,
that she is very, very, beautiful?"

Alf Coye, as he said this, took from his own neck
a golden chain to which was suspended a small, cir-
cular mirror, framed in gold, and threw the massive
chain over the neck of the Indian woman.

Her bright eyes flashed as she raised the mirror
and looked in it. And she threw on him a glance
which told him that from thence on she would be
his friend, if not indeed more affectionate than mere
friendship would evince.

The party of Coye had now all come up, and wait-
ed his orders in regard to camping.

These were speedily given. They were to pitch
their tents, or the few tents they had, directly in
front of his own lodge and but a hund'red yards
away. The camp-fires already built were to serve
for their cooking, and meat in abundance already
hung around them on poles set by the warriors of
Ma-no-tee.

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BUFFALO BILL. 1 33

** Where are the wives of the great captain, whom
I shall call Silver-Voice from this time forward ?**
asked Ma- no-tee, addressing Coye.

** Silver- Voice, as you kindly call him, has never
taken a wife," replied Coye.

The eyes of Ma-no-tee gleamed pleasantly as she
heard those words. But a cloud came over their
brightness as she added :

" But he has some fair prisoners, and among them
there is one whom he means to make his bride. He
has had no time to woo her since she has been in
his power, and it is not likely he will stand on much
ceremony now. Here is his choice."

And she pointed to poor Lottie, who, clinging to
her mother, stood where both had dismounted from
their horses.

Kitty Muldoon, looking as if she would like to do
some scratching and biting, stood just behind
her.

" There is your home for the present. Take your
child in there and remain until I make a change, if
you would not suffer more than you have already,'*
said Coye, addressing Lottie's mother, and pointing
to the new lodge.

Without a reply- the latter moved toward the
lodge. Kitty Muldoon also followed.

"Stop, girl! You belong to my lieutenant, Hu-
bert Stanley, atid he must find quarters for you,"
tcried Coye roughly, to Kitty.

" May the divil take wings and Ry away wid you
and your Jifteaant, you bi^ bla'guard. It's not

!»»

K»(.:;«^i..a.;..ii«^l,..^,.; -^:,^^^^i^^

134 BUFFALO BILL.

meself that will be parted from me mistress, an* now
you hear it/*

And Kitty bravely strode on after those whom
she loved so faithfully.

** Halt ! when I bid you, or it will be the worse
for you !'* said Coye angrily, and he clutched her
by the shoulder and jerked her fairly around facing
him.

" Is that ye gave, ye big coward ? I tould ye once
before not to lay the weight of yer dirty fist on me.
Take that, you mane spalpeen !**

And Kitty with a strength that seemed wonder-
ful, struck him two fearful blows directly between
the eyes. The first staggered him, the second sent
him reeling and senseless to the ground.

The eyes of Ma-no-tee flashed with anger, as well
as surprise.

" The white squaw shall lose her life, for she
struck the face of Silver- Voice."

And she called to a warrior near by to step for-
ward and carry out her will.

But as the Indian but too willingly sprung
toward the poor girl, Hubert Stanley interfered,
and hurling the warrior back, cried out :

"The girl is mine^ and no one shall harm her.
Captain Coye had no business to lay hands on her,
and if he wants a mutiny in camp, just let him try
to interfere with the rights of others."

Stanley was angry, for he had really become
attached to the girl, though he had been but little
in her company since they had been on the march.

*•■■-£. -s- ■.. .*." '■■■■ j*'i3B«"«V'_.iaab'i»i-i.ftr^V**.«m.«Wii^-._ '^^^ i

BUFFALO BILL. I35

and had learned to look upon her as his own, or to
be so whenever the party came to a resting place.

" Sure, sir, if ye value the life ye'd save the worth
of a bawbee, let me go wid the mistress !*' pleaded
poor Kitty, looking at Stanley with streaming
eyes.

" Go with her for the present. I have no fitting
place fixed up to take you to at any rate, just now/*
said the lieutenant.

And as the three females passed out of sight into
the lodge, the lieutenant turned and lifted his cap-
tain to his feet.

The eyes of the latter, fearfully swelling, were al-
ready " in mourning,** for no pugilist hitting straight
from the shoulder could have done the work better
than Kitty in her fierce indignation had done it.

" Silver- Voice has been struck in the camp of
Ma-no-tee. The squaw who struck him should have
died. But the friend of Silver- Voice put back the
warrior when Ma-no-tee told him to take vengeance
for the blow.*'

Alf Coye heard the words of Ma-no-tee, but he
could not see her, for his vision was closed.

"It was not necessary that she should die. Death
is for men," said he. ** There is a harder fate than
death for her to meet. He whom you call Silver-
Voice never forgives, nor does he ever forget. Let
not Ma-no-tee feel bad because I have met this
insult in her camp, for it did not come from her
people. Hubert, take me into the lodge, get some
raw meat and put over my eyes, and I will soon

^'''^ftsi^si^^ -^i,,.^,:,,,^ y

i^\'

1^0 BUFFALO BILL.

have my sight back again. That girl of yours needs
taming, and if you don't tame her I will.*'

"I'd advise you to keep your hands off from her
in the trial," said Hubert quietly, as he led Coye
into the lodge and showed him a pile of buffalo
robes on which to recline ; ** for she handles her-
self about as well as the best man I ever saw. Two
blows laid you on the grass, and if I had been within
ten feet instead of three rods off, they were given
so quick I could never have stopped her."

" Well, she shall pay for it yet. Now go and see
to the camp. There is no need of posting sentinels
here. The outpost at the mouth of the great can-
yon through which we came is enough. Let the
men eat and drink and rest. I shall not move out
of here for a month. I am going to rest and to en-
joy a honeymoon, and you can do the same."

** Suppose our trail is followed ? We have done
enough work in the settlements to rouse the whole
section along the borders."

** Let them follow. We are here in the very heart
of the Rocky Mountains. The passes through
which we came are known to few of the best scouts
on the plains, and with twenty men we can hold
these passes against a thousand. Our Indian allies
are on the alert, and no foe can approach without
our being made aware of it long before they are
near. Let nothing trouble your mind, Hubert.
Here we are safe, and here I mean to revel as I have
never done before. It is a grand old place, this nest
among the eternal hills and deep gorges. What

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BUFFALO BILL. 1 37

music in the rush of mad waters as they sweep
through the wild glens and over the great cliffs.
With that and the gentler tones of fair women,
whom we will soon tame down to quiet obedience,
we can enjoy ourselves as the free lords of forests
and plains and of hills and valleys should. Where
is your flask, Hubert ? I am hot and thirsty."

" Water, cool from the rushing river, is far better
for you now, captain, than a draught from my flask.'*

"Fury, man; do you think I need water now?
No — give me something stronger than that to feel
instead of cooling the fire that runs through every
vein as I think of the future. Water will do when
I can't get anything else."

The lieutenant handed him his flask and left the
lodge.

llv

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138

BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXIII.

The red sun sank behind the cold, white peaks of
the mountains which overhang the Colorado, and
with it almost sank the hopes of Buffalo Bill — the
hope, I mean, of rescuing his dear mother and his
sister Lottie.

Little did he dream that Lillie was again in the
hands of his enemies, much less than even then one
twin was almost as near to him as the other.

Though, by the exceeding freshness of the trail,
he knew he was very close to the party of Alf Coye,
he saw that they must have gained the mountain
range, for the set of sun found him within three or
four leagues of their base.

There, with rocks, sheltering ravines, a thousand
ramparts everywhere, the wretches could make easy
defense. Only stratagem could dislodge them ; only
cunning could release their unhappy captives.

Most likely, too, they were among Indian allies,
for well did the young borderman know that in these
hills were their secure retreats, their villages and
camps, to which they retreated when they left the
hunt or the war-path.

"Men,** said he, as he ordered a halt, "we must
rest a bit somewhere before we go in where blood
has got to run like water, and it may as well be here.
WeVe water in our canteens for ourselves, and the

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E.
(■

BUFFALO BILL. 1 39

dewy grass will help our animals. And, while you
rest, I will ride on and see how things look ahead.
One thing is sure, they can't go beyond the Colo-
rado, and our journey westward is nigh to an end."

" Mate, it's me that is goin* in there on a scout !"
said Wild Bill. " You needn't fix for a jaw now, for
I will go. And we shouldn't both leave the party
at once, for we two are the only ones of *em all who
know the country hereabouts. I know every inch
of the ground ahead of us. Raven Feather, the big
Ogallala chief, has his haunt in there. I know
pretty nigh where it is, and /'// be cool. You can't,
if you see them that is dearer than life to you, in
their trouble. Come now, I must go."

" Can't we both go?" said Buffalo Bill. " I know
there's peril, and we've swam the same stream too
long to be parted when danger's about."

** No. As I said before, it isn't right for us both
to be away from the party," said Bill. " Me and
Black Nell can do the work. So, good-night, mate.
I'll be back long afore it's time for you to stir."

The gallant fellow did not wait for any more ar-
gument, but calling his horse to his side with a shrill
whistle, sprang on her back and darted away.

He had been gone but a little while when Buffalo
Bill, who had wandered thoughtfully away from the
place of bivouac a short distance, heard faintly, but
distinctly, the sound of a bugle. His heart bounded
wildly in his breast, for he recognized the' well-
known notes of the ** Tattoo," or the turning-in call
of the United States cavalry. And he knew that

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140 BUFFALO BILL. '

no small party would use bugle-calls and the forms
of regular marches and camps.

" There's help nigh !** he cried, in wild, exuberant
joy, as he bounded back to his party. ** We'll wipe
out the enemy and their red friends now. I heard
a call that none but the United States troops use,
and there's a camp not far away. I must go and
see who is in it, and if they'll help us. If they will,
we'll root the devils out of yon mountain range, if
there are a thousand of 'em. Stay here in quiet,
and if Wild Bill comes back before I do, tell him
where I've gone, and to hold on till I get back.
Here, Powder Face! Herey you insect-lightnin*,
you're, wanted."

The Insect, at the call of his name, trotted up to
his master, who, without waiting for saddle or bridle,
sprang on his back, and dashed away at full speed
to the north, for from that direction the bugle
sounds had come.

The men, with both leaders gone, huddled to-
gether and talked anxiously about the situation.
They knew that a crisis was at hand, and that a strug-
gle for life and the rescue of loved ones must take
place before many hours went by.

Their tired animals fed from the rich dewy grass
which grew around and restedi> for long, forced
marches, even with frequent changes on the extra
animals, had told on their powers.

The men ate sparingly of their cooked meat, for
even that was getting short. They had not had
time to hunt.

^' ' " ^ ^^fe^^^i^ 'it}^^ y;^5i^vv^fe»6att4^ " ' ■

I?.

BUFFALO BILL. I4I

CHAPTER XXIV.

Unerring in all natural instincts, as keen in hear-
ing as in sight, Buffalo Bill knew to a mile almost in
the gentle breeze of that evening how far away the
bugler was who blew the notes that reached his ear ;
also, the precise direction. In this he rode swiftly
for nearly half an hour, and then, checking his horse,
he listened. He thought that he might catch some
sound from the camp ; and he did so. The clear
notes of ** Benny Haven, O !*' a song as dear to our
army officers as the Marsellaise to a Frenchman
reached his ears, and he knew that some West Point-
er was giving the air, while a ringing chorus follow-
ing told that a lively set of officers were making the
welkin ring.

Bill rode on more cautiously now, for he did not
know where their sentinels and pickets might be
posted, and he knew from experience that soldiers
throw lead as if it cost nothing when they fancy
Indians are about.

Rising over a small ridge he came in sight of the
encampment, and from the number of tents and
baggage wagons, knew that there was a full bat-
talion, if not more, in the party.

And now Bill thought he would show them what
could be done by a white man, and what Indians, i
around, would be very apt to do.

iSii:^ij^^ii4ii;j(.v\:-^-ic- A.VV ^■•' * .-:^, v^

142

BUFFALO BILL.

Dismounting, he led Powder Face into a little
hollow.

" Stay there, little lightnin\ stay there, my insect,
till I come back," said he, and Powder Face nodded
his head knowingly, proof, of course, that he would
obey orders.

Bill now turned toward the camp-fires of the de-
tachment again, and stooping low in the tall grass,
holding his long rifle at a trail, he moved swiftly^
silently on.

Soon he came in sight of a picket guard of two
men, with horses picketed close by them. By a
short detour he passed them, and then another guard,
.^ and in a few minutes was inside of all the sentinels.

Approaching a fire in front of a large marquee,
but crouching low in the grass and keeping in the
'shade of some wagons, he came so near that he re-
cognized several of the officers, and knew them to
belong to the gallant Fifth cavalry. The principal
singer was Captain Brown (now a major), and with
him Bill had enjoyed many a lively ride and hunt
over the plains.

The captain was a noble, fine-looking soldier, and
by the respect paid him, was evrdehtly in command
of the battalion.

Bill crept on till he could hear every word said by
ten or a dozen young officers seated around him.

"Cap, suppose the noise we've made should bring
down some of the Sioux or Cheyennes on us, for
we're in their range ?'* old Sim Geary says.

** Well, if they came down on us, we'd come down

'^^iz^'^f ■ ■yd.i.'.Q

r

- »

BUFFALO BILL. I43

on them witK a dose of blue pills from our carbines,
and that would be all. A good Indian fight here
would give us an appetite for the enemy we shall
meet when we get over the Missouri border. I'm
sick of garrison life outside of all creation, where a
stray squaw is a luxuiy to look at, and a white angel
only a thing to dream of."

** Do you ever dream of angels, cap?*' asked Dr.
Nettles, a young surgeon, who had been engaged in
looking over and wiping dry a set of instruments.

"Yes, often," said the captain. "There was a
golden-hair divinity at the Academy who so wove
herself into my life that I find myself dreaming of
her very often. I promised her when Lcame out
West to take and save a scalp for her, and if I don't
take the scalp of a red man, I mean to save my own
for her."

"Cap'n, do them Southerners do any scalpin'?"

It was old Sim Geary, the guide and scout, who
asked the question, as he half raised his buckskin-
clad form from before the fire.

The captain had no time to answer, for at that in-
stant^ right in their ears, so close that it seemed to be
among them, rang a wild, frightful war-whoop. Not
one alone, but a dozen terrible yells, which brought
every man and officer in the camp ^o his feet but
one.

That one was old Geary, the guide and scout,
who never moved, but lay with a grim smile relax-
ing the generally stern features of his sun-browned
face.

^'

^is*,

"^ '^m^-u'^Xrry- ^:::^.^^:^)^^i^^ V^ ..

144 BUFFALO BILL.

" To arras ! Indians ! To arm-s,. every man !^
shouted the young captain, drawirtg the saber that
lay at his feet. *' Geary, what the devil are yoii
laughing at ?*'

** Nothin' much, cap^ only such an Injun as gave
that yell never made me narvous. It is good imita-
tion, though, and it would make anybody but an
old mountaineer hop as you did just now/*

" An imitation ? I might have known it,, for a«
Indian's blow would have come as soon as his
yell,** said Brown.

" That is a fact, cap*n, but if your boys in blue
don't keep a better look-out, reds wi// come in on
you and wipe you. out while you* re dreaming of that
golderk-haired angel at West Point !** cried Buffalo^
Bill, stepping boldly forth into the circle of light.

** Buffalo Bill, by the chances of war !** cried the
captain^ " Fm glad to see you/'

** Not half so glad as I am to see you,, cap, with
all these boys about you, if so be you'll help me in
a little matter of work that I*ve got close at band.'*

** J^^^_what is it. Bill?"

"The whole story is too long to tell, cap, but the
short of it is this. We are within, two or three hours'*
ride of a hundred Missouri bushwhackers, who have
got many helpless women prisoivers, among them my
own dear mother and one of my sisters. Alone, I
should have tried to rescue them, if I went under
while trying. But if you'll help me, I know I can
succeed* Yes, sir„ united — for I have fifty as good
men, regular rangersy as^ ever drew trigger — we can

\

?■

i^-

BUFFALO BILL. 14^

rid the earth of every rascal of the lot. Will you
help me, sir?"

" Of course I will, Bill. You know I never turn
from friendship's call, or allow an enemy to cast a
shadow on my path without resenting it."

" That's so, cap. And now, since I've seen you,
rU ride back to my men, about five or six miles
south of here, and let them know where you are.
By that time maybe Wild Bill will be back from his
scout, and we'll know what to do."

** Is Wild Bill with you ? Then you and him are
worth fifty men," cried the captain.

** We are but two, but we know how to throw
lead," was Bill's quiet reply, as he gave a sharp, low
whistle.

In an instant Powder Face came galloping into
camp, and at a second call halted in front of his
master.

"Cap," said Bill, as he shouldered his long rifle
and leaped on the animal's back, ** in all the king-
dom of horses, above or below or all around, you
can't find a match for this insect. He is lightnin'
after buffalo, two gales of wind biled down into one
on a race, and he don't like niggers, red nor black.
He knows more'n most men, and does better than
them, for he keeps it all to himself. But — there's
Wild Bill's yell — caution your pickets not to fire ; he's
coming with news, or he wouldn't yell that way."

Orders were instantly sent out, and only in time,
for the next moment Wild Bill dashed into camp
with Black Nell snowy with foam-flakes.

.46 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXV.

Black Nell, with her wild rider, dashed up so
close to the grouped officers that most of them
sprang back, thinking she would go right over
them ; but, at a word, without even the touch of
a bridle-rein, she stopped, rearing so that, with her
fore feet in the air, she was settled back on her
haunches. Her rider slipped to the ground,, and
looking about him saw many faces that he recog-
nized among the officers, and one that he seemed
better pleased with than all the others, except the
brother of his heart — Buffalo Bill.

That one was Geary, the scout and guide.

" Sim/' he cried, before uttering a word to any
one else, " have you ever been in the village of old
Raven Feather?"

** Yes, twice — both times as a prisoner, when they
had only saved my life and hair for a roastin' scrape.
I never want to go there again. I got away, they
never knew how, but they thought the devil helped
me, I suppose, for they've got a name for me. They
call me* the Man with Wings.' We're not twenty
miles from the village now."

" Not twenty} No — fifteen will measure the dis-
tance if you don't stretch it. But that is neither
here nor there. We've got to get to that village,
md that as sudden asr springin' a trap. And if Cap'n

!■■'-•-

- ^:yy^'^^^-^U^'^^^m^;g^'^ ^.-^ -^ • ^--" '*:^'^ ^^- ■'

BUFFALO BILL. I47

Brown backs out helpin' his old friends in this scrape,
ril turn Injun and take soft hair every chance I get
as long as I live."

** What have you seen, Bill — what have you seenf*
asked Buffalo Bill ; and his pale face, tremulous lip,
with the earnest, almost imploring look of his full
blue eye, told how anxiously lie waited for the an-
swer.

" IVe not seen your mother, nor Lottie, and
Kitty Muldoon," said Bill. " But they are in there,
for Alf Coye has gone through the big canyon to
the village. But I did see poor Lillie, riding be-
hind old Raven Feather himself, and Jake M*Kand-
las and Dave Tutt are in the party. So is poor
Frank Stark, painted with black streaks — and you
know what that means."*

** Yes, they will burn him if we don't hinder it.
And that I'd do, if I had to go alone to put a bullet
through his heart from my rifle and die myself.
Captain Brown, will you let my mother and sisters
suffer worse than death at the hands of those fiends
incarnate ?"

And Buffalo Bill's face was white as snow when
he spoke, not with fear, for that has never entered
his system.

** No, Bill," cried the brave ofificer, ** no. I will
risk everything for their rescue. You scouts must
plan now, and plan quick, too, for we have no time
to lose. If they do not know we are near we may

* A prisoner destined to die at the stake.

v..

'•>n^;il'V«-^<^i;l^V' ; ^.,

148 BUFFALO BILL.

surprise them. A surprise is equal to a defeat,
were they treble our number — for Indians never
stand in such a case, if they can get away."

"They mustn't get away; they must be wiped
out. I owe 'em a big bill, and it has got to be can-
celed, as you folks with larnin' say,'* cried Sim Geary,
now on his feet in earnest.

" How are we to do it ?" asked Wild Bill. ** The
mouth of the canyon, with a big guard already there,
is so narrow that not more than three can ride in
abreast. The cliffs either side are a thousand feet
high."

" Yes, nearer two thousand," said Sim, " and that
will be all the better for us."

" As how ?" asked Wild Bill.

** Because, when we've got them packed in that
canyon,' as we will have 'em by-and-by, ten or fifteen
men up there, rolling down rocks as the Mormon
saints used to with Johnson's army, when you and
I scouted to Echo canyon, will do more damage
than all these men can with their carbines !"

" But how will you get 'em there ?" asked Buffalo
Bill.

** As easy as eatin* rattlesnake when you've noth-
in' better to chaw on. Captain Brown must make
an open attack in front, keeping his men back far
enough not to lose while he makes a heap of noise
about it. A picked party of men must get to the
top of the hill overhangin' the canyon before day-
light, and not be seen when daylight comes till it
is time to roll rocks. Out on the plains they'll not

'jcr-:. I':-' ^Mt-j^-iii^BS-i^w^-**^ u*fif -*•

BUFFALO BILL, 1 49

come to attack the troops, for you'll corral your
liorse-stock with the waggons, and have the last
ready for a breastwork, and thej^'ll be careful not
to come too nigh. While all this is goin' on, and
it don't need any of us in front, we three old border-
men, with the party that Buffalo Bill bosses, will get
behind 'em, come down on their rear after we've
got their captives safe ; and, if we don't finish 'em
then, I'm willin' to eat dirt !"

** But how are we to get to their rear?" asked
Buffalo Bill.

** No one but the * Man with Wings' knows, and
he will lead -the way," said Sim, quietly. " And
now. Captain Brown, if you'll understand the; thing
and move your command to the front of the canyon
— you'll know it by two great red cliffs jutting right
up two thousand feet in the air from the plains —
we scouts will do the rest."

"When shall I show myself in front and open
fire?" asked Brown.

"Just as soon as you have light to see to do it.
We don't want to givQ the devils \\\ there any time
to do any deviltry after day comes on ; and if you
attract their attention, we will soon give 'em all they
want to do. Pick your men for the hights, and let
Sergeant Hill lead 'em, for I've seen him in the
hills before, He is an old hand ; he was with Sum-
ner's Rifles at Ash Hollow when we wiped out three
hundred Cheyennes in thirty minutes ! Life on
that day wasn't worth a drink o' whiskey to a Red !"

" We will move at once," said Captain Brown.

•^^'■ttliMfitfjfeif^^^^ :..

ISO BUFFALO BILL.

" And without sound of bugle. Remember, gentle-
men, and be quick in mounting 3(pur commands."

*^ Make as much noise after daylight in front as
. you like/' said Geary, starting for his own horse.
"Come, Bill, you and your men have got to ride
fast to reach the point where we will leave our
horses. I know that no plan but mine can save the
captives, for they'd kill them at any rate, whether
we conquered or not, if we didn't get them in our
hands before they've time to do it."

The two border leaders required no urging to
make haste, but the moment he was mounted, sped
away with him at the top speed of thejr horses.

And in less than half an hour, with all the Kansas
men in close column, the spare horses now left be-
hind, they swept away to another gorge in the hills
north of the Great Canyon, which led to the village
of Raven Feathen

'Vv-

^ ■'''■■:^'^:^::.^M.:W0^^^^<^^

A>-

ft.*

BUFFALO BILL. 15I

CHAPTER XXVI.

A PAINTER of the Salvator Rosa school, fond of
black shadows contrasting with glaring lights, could
have found a " study" inside the lodge which had
been erected by Ma-no-tee, for the use of Alf Coye,
or " Silver Voice," as she called him.

When the night's dense darkness came on, a huge
lamp, stuck on a post in the center of the lodge,
filled with fish-oil, which, sent out a sickening odor,
was lighted. It flickered and flashed, but revealed
the three hapless women crouched in one corner,
pale, wretched beyond the power of words to paint,
and Alf Coye stretched out in the other with a great
bandage over the eyes which brave Kitty Muldoon
had so effectually closed.

In low whispers, Mrs. Cody and her daughter and
Kitty talked, but low as they spoke, some of their
words reached the keen ears of the fiend in human
shape in the other corner.

They were talking of self-destruction, for hope had
left their poor hearts, and death is not, to a brave
woman, the worst fate in life or the hardest to
endure.

A harsh laugh grated on their ears. It came
from the lips of Alf Coye.

" If you're so anxious to die, death shall come
soon enough," he erred ; " but not in your own

■■*»n..'>a¥;,^ifc

^^ '•Ju i'-

i^^B^ji^'-' •^^M'^^i'-*

152 BUFFALO BILL,

way. My red friends like tragic amusements, but
they want to share in them and to afford the music.
I will see that you wait for death until the proper
time comes."

"You'll see, will you, ye dirty bla*guard,'* cried
Kitty. " Faith, it'll be eyes you'll have to borry to
do it with, if I get at you again. I'll have *em out
instead of shuttin* 'em up, if you don't kape your
ugly mouth shut. It's my belafe that you were
niver born at all, at all, but was dug out from among
Satan's castaways below."

" I'll pay you for this, you she-devil," cried Coye,
grinding his teeth together in his anger. **You
shall dance on hot coals to the music of a hundred
warriors."

" Sure an' that'll not be like the chance that's
waitin* for you, you ugly haythen. It's ould Satan
will give you the cead mil failtlie down below, wid
all for a ball-room and yer own groans for music.
An' maybe he's comin' for ye now— ;it sounds like
it."

Several wild, shrill yells heard from outside caused
the last remark of Kitty.

And while they were yet ringing through the
night air. Ma-no-tee, queenly in her wild finery and
lofty stature, came into the lodge.

" Let the heart of Silver Voice be glad," she said.
** His friend, the great Raven Feather, is close at
hand. He comes with many scalps and with pris-
oners. When the sun looks down to-morrow it will
see a good sight. The braves of our tribe are all

I

'vC^Higlil^" "'^jtetollBr'tltMfll 1 1""' '' ' '•'•'• '

t•^•,••

-*■

%

BUFFALO BILL. 1 53

here. Their squaws will be glad. The great fires
will be lighted, and the dance of victory and the
scalp-dance will be danced. And if any of our
braves have been sent to the happy hunting grounds
by the hands of the pale-faces, we will send pale-
faces there on the wings of fire to wait on them and
serve them as their slaves. Are the words of Ma-
no-tee pleasant to the ears of Silver Voice?"

** Her words are as the music of a sweet singing
bird in his ears," said Coye. '* When Raven Feather
comes, ask him to enter the lodge of his guest, who
is sorry he cannot see him with his eyes to-night.
But he will talk with him." *

; " It is well. Ma-no-tee will meet Kaven Feather
and carry to him the words of Silver Voice."

The Indian woman cast one scornful, haughty
glance on the poor prisoners, and, turning, strode
away.

In her heart there was not one womanly instinct
of tenderness and sympathy — in truth, much as the
writer has been among the ** noble aboriginals/*
he has not been able to find anything of that nature
except in dooks regarding them. He hopes the
Quaker commission may bring about a millennium
among the Red men, but his faith on that point is
very weak indeed.

But a few moments passed, and the shouting and
yelling grew louder all the time, when Raven
Feather entered the lodge.

He did not come alone. Clutched by the arm he
led poorLillie as if he feared that escaping from his

M)?5-^r*- v>

r>.*;^V^

• •

154 BUFFALO BILL.

grasp she might rush to destruction in the water of
the river so near at hand — the waters that spoke so
loudly in their angry rush through the confining
channel of the rock-bound gorge.

One wild, glad cry, and tearing herself from his

*

grasp she was in the arms of her mother.

" Mother, daughter, sister."

These were the holy words sobbed out in what
may be called the glad agony of their suffering
hearts, for with death and miser>' before and around
them, they were at least together once more to
meet it.

Even that cold, murderous Indian, who could
smile while he wrenched the quivering heart from
the breast of a yet living enemy — even that cow-
ardly, murderous white man who could burn peace-
ful homes and drag into captivity worse than
death innocent and helpless women — even they
were for a moment silent— dumb. Heaven alone
knows from what impulse, for Heaven gives im-
pulses which mortal nature cannot fathom.

Weeping and sobbing, murmuring low words
meant for comfort where comfort could not come,
the four women now clung together, while Raven
Feather, who did not at first understand it, now be-
gan to comprehend that he had brought a daughter
to a mother and a sister to a sister in captivity, — that
he had three of the nearest relatives of the dreaded
Buffalo Bill in his power.

** My friend. Captain Alf, heap sick ! Pale-face
squaw hurt his eyes. Is it so ? For Ma-no-tee,

■i-

% ■

BUFFALO BILL. 1 55

who calls him Silver Voice, has spoken to Raven
Feather,"

** It is. I am blind. But by to-morrow it will
have passed away. A still night with my medicine,
and I shall be well," replied Coye to the chief.

"Then Raven Feather will leave him to his rest.
To-morro\v will be a big day in the village of Raven
Feather. When the sun looks up over the hill-tops,
he will call his braves together, and our pale-faced
friends shall see the scalp-dance, and hear the songs
of victory. We have a prisoner whom Eagle-Eye
wishes to torture. The pale- faces shall see the red
fire drink his blood while he weeps like a woman !
It will be a great day in the village of Raven
Feather, and the heart of my brother will be glad."

" Yes ; for I too have a work of vengeance to
carry out," said Coye, bitterly. ** Let me rest, that
I may regain my sight and be strong once more.
And let these women talk together this night, for
it is their last night of peace and quiet on earth."

" Raven Feather has heard, and the wish of his
brother shall be done. Good-night."

) ■■ t, I

• ••■•■ -f.

156 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXVIL

The sun rises alike for the rich and the poor, and
with its great glaring eye; views the wicked as well
as the good, the hideous as well as the beautiful
things of earth.

And rising over the white cliffs which to the east
overhung the village of Raven Feather, it looked
down on a wild, strange scene.

From the gray of dawn " life** had been moving
about the valley, and in the camp of the white as
well as the red men.

Hasty was the meal that was taken, for there was
something more gratifying to savage minds in pre-
paration ; something to come off which aroused their
wild passions to a frenzy of anticipation.

The Indians gloated in imagination over the
pleasure of dancing around the stake of torture and
seeing victims writhe in the death-agony unmerci-
fully prolonged. The white men, full of hate and
malice, were worse a thousand times than the red
fiends, for they had known good through civiliza-
tion, and were evil from their own wicked inclina-
tions and not through ignorance.

When the sun rose the preparations fpr torturing
the chief victim were almost completed. In front
of the lodge of Alf Coye a large post had been set,

*',5s%->..;**V.^" '"^

'':.-■•■,'■''■••■•■,>■ • • ■ . ■•■•■.. •

■ !'■■.■•.-. ' • . ■

'.■• ■ ■ . ' • ' • »^.

BUFFALO BILL. I57

and near it dry fuel lay in a huge heap ready to
ignite when all was arranged.

The warriors of Raven Feather in their war-paint,
gaudiest robes, wildest guise, gathered near. The
white men, filthy and repulsive to a greater degree
than the red men, lounged around, for they were not
under that discipline which insures neatness of at-
tire and cleanliness of person as in the army.

The beating of the great war drum of the camp
by the prophet of the tribe was the signal for as-
sembly, and when it sounded there was a hurrying
from all quarters toward the great circle.

Foremost canie Raven Feather, carrying a lance,
ornamented with the many scalps taken by himself
in battle. Then, assisted by a stout warrior on either
side, Jake M'Kandlas, grim, gaunt and grizzly, and
Dave Tutt, pale and thin, but fierce and hateful in
every glance.

The frequent application of raw meat to the eyes
Alf Coye during the night had so lessened the in-
flammation that he could see out of them, though
hideous dark rings encircled them yet. He, too,
strode forth, ready to enjoy the horrible work in
'contemplation.

At a shrill yell from the lips of Raven Feather,
another of our characters was brought to view.

It was Frank Stark, with his hands securely bound,
but his feet free, so that he walked erect between
the two warriors selected to guard him. •

His face was flushed, and a look of angry defiance
marked it. He felt that he was to die — he had no

• i" :•'■'■ '.'■ S-' ■■.:■.;■■ ■ ■; • .--^ .■ • -•■■. ".:-'^/'.V>^.":^? -J -'^ ;■*■•'

\ ■

158 BUFFALO BILL.

earthly hope of deliverance now, no chance for es-
cape, but he did not mean that they should triumph
over any weakness in him. He would endure tur-
ture without a groan, die without a single weak, use-
less plea for mercy.

His eye flashed as he was led past the white
leaders, but he did not speak. He walked without
guidance directly to the stake which by its paint and
preparations around it he well knew was meant for

him.

Quickly he was bound to it, and then a few loose
fagots were cast about his feet. They did not mean
to hurry his death.

The great drum again sounded, first in slow beats
and then faster, as led by Raven Feather the red
warriors began to make the circuit of the circle.

Faster and faster beat the drum — yell after yell
l\0W pealed out from the lips of the red fiends, who
bousting of their deeds, rushed wildly around the
^^ptive, brandishing their spears and knives and
j^^j^liing the weapons before his eyes as if at each
iH^*» they meant to bury them in his body.

«« See the pale-face tremble," cried Raven Feather.
%s\\c has the shape of a man, but the heart of a
yeyiUAW. We will roast his body and feed our dogs
^itl^ his heart. See how he trembles."

** Raven Feather is a liar T thundered Frank, de-
l^<l^>ined, if possible, to excite him so that by an
^AfY blow he would save him from torture. " The
^N^live scorns and spits at him. It is Raven Feather
^^ is a coward. He takes prisoners when 'they

i»/\

■■ •■^ t..\:L-

; V^ : " BUFFALO BILL. 159

1 ^.

/

sleep and have no strength to resist him. His cap-
tive defies him and his slaves, both red and white,
and will not tremble.*'

" He shall. He shall cry like a baby that is
whipped. Light the fires and warm the feet of the
pale-face !*' shouted the chief, his eyes glaring red
with anger.

A warrior brought a blazing brand and threw it
Among the dry fagots at the feet of poor Frank.

Again the drum beat fast and loud, and the dance
of doom went on. The fagots caught and the blaze
began to curl up about the straight limbs of the
victim.

^ " Ha ! The fire laughs at the feet of the pale-face.
Now see him tremble,** shouted Raven Feather in
wicked glee.

A defiant smile was, on the face of Frank Stark,
when a piercing scream broke on every ear, and the
next injtant, Lillie, - her face white as snow, her
hair all loose over her shoulders and flying out on
the winrd, rushed through the yelling circle, closely
.followed by her mother, Lottie, and Kitty Muldoon.

With her own hands, Lillie tore away the burn-
ing fagots from about the prisoner's form, while the
Indians, silent for the instant, stood aghast at her
frenzied look.

What Raven Feather or the rest would have done
to her or those by her side for this interruption, may
not be known, for suddenly, with no warning, a
sound came rolling up the canyon which in a second
changed everything.

. •* • ■■ -v. - .

;. *r. • .• w _^<.)

l60 BUFFALO BILL.

Not like the roll of pealing thunder, but sharp,
quick and crashing, leaping in loud echoes from cliff to
cUff, and peak to peak of the everlasting hills, came
the report of a cannon. It was the field-piece be-
longing to the cavalry train.

For a few seconds every warrior was dumb, still
as a bronze statue, in surprise. Not even the hand
with the uplifted hatchet fell — not a man moved.

Alf Coye was first to break the spell of silence.
And before he spoke the rattle of small arms and the
yells of fighting men far down the gorge were heard.

" To the mouth of the canyon," he shouted. " To
the mouth of the canyon, every man, red and white.
There are regulars in that attack, or there wouldn't
be cannon. If they get through the goi^e we're
whipped. Follow, men — follow !"

And with his saber drawn he rushed to his horse
picketed close by, mounted without waiting to sad-
dle, and rode away.

In less than a minute every white man and every
Wtirrior, except alone Dave Tutt and Jake M'Kand-
lus, was speeding off toward the sound of battle.

And now, quick as thought, LiUie turned to un-
^ijint Frank Stark, that he might be free for flight
^ defence, for weak as they were, and fortunately
Mf^^ted, she knew not what the two white rene-
Mfjtt« might do to him.

HMt there was another fiend there to hinder her
iitnd in its work of mercy.
1 Ma-no-tee, who, rushing forward, hurled
f from his side, as she cried :

BUFFALO BILL. l6l

" The captive of Raven Feather shall stay there
till the chief comes back to finish his work. Let
the white- squaw go back with her mother and sister
to her lodge, or it will be worse for her ! Ma-no-tee
has spoken. Her warriors are gone, but the rifle,
the knife and the war-club are playthings in her
hand. Let the white squaw obey, or Ma-no-tee will
dip her hands in her heart's blood !**

** Not yet — she has got to live for my vengeance,
good Ma-no-tee,*' cried Dave Tutt. " Call your
squaws and drive these women back to their lodge,
and my friend and I will guard the pale-face at the
fire-post till Raven Feather comes back."

"The words of my white brother are good. Ma-
no-tee will bend to them as the tall reed bends, to
the soft night-wind."

And the wife of Raven Feather called her women
to her, while Lillie, Lottie, Kitty Muldoon and the
poor widow gathered close to each other, not know-
ing what to do.

" Make no efforts for me — for your own safety go
back to the lodge, kindest of friends," cried Frank
Stark. " Our friends are fighting for our deliver-
ance — go and pray to Heaven to help them."

" Pray to the—"

Dave Tutt had no chance to finish the derisive
words he commenced, for, coming no one could tell
whence, but as if they had dropped from the sky or
sprung up from the earth, fifty riflemen, with Buffa-
lo Bill, his mate, and Sim Geary at their head, rushed
upon them.

162 BUFFALO BILL.

Every squaw dropped in terror to the earth. Ma-
no-tee alone excepted, for superstition added to
their fear. They thought they were not mortal, for
** the Man with Wings" was recognized by alL

While Buffalo Bill was embracing his. loved ones.
Wild Bill was cutting the thongs which bound Frank
Stark to the post of torture, and Sim Geary, first
knocking them down to make the work easier, was
tying Jake M'Kandlas and Dave Tutt.

Meanwhile the firing outside grew sharper and
heavier and the yells of the fierce combatants louder
and more loud.

We've no time to spend here !" cried Sim Geary.
There's a heap of warriors out there, beside Alf
Coye's gang. Brown will have too much to do, if
I don't close in on the enemy's rear. Not a rock
will roll till we've opened fire. And we'll have time
enough to attend to matters here when we've wiped
them out that's in front."

"That is so — we must help our friends there.
Mother, sisters, you are safe now. I will leave a
half-dozen men, however. But I must go and help
to exterminate the wretches. Boys, six of you re-
lease every prisoner here, and stay to keep the she-
fiends of squaws quiet. The rest follow me !*'

Buffalo Bill waited not to hear an objection, but,
followed by his men, and Frank Stark also, who had
armed himself from a lodge close at hand, bounded
away toward the gorge.

Ma-no-tee eyed the women and the prisoners
whom Alf Coye had taken, as the guard hurried to

BUFFALO BILL. 163

release them, for a few moments in silence, and then,
tufning to her own lodge, disappeared, followed in
a body by the squaws of her tribe.

Dave Tutt and M'Kandlas, bound hand and foot,
lay helpless on the ground, and listened to the
sounds of battle in the distance. Their faces, which
had been flushed with the joy of success in their
black wickedness, were now pale and troubled, and
they trembled as they listened to the cannon, the
rattle of heavy musketry and, soon after, the sharper
fire of the riflemen.

Then came sounds which they could not under-
stand. It was not like the report of cannonry,
thpugh all as loud. It was not thunder nor the
sweep of the tempest ; nor yet the rush of charging
horsemen or the heavy tramp of advancing columns.

It was a rumbling, rushing, crashing sound, and
a shaking of the ground, as if an earthquake was
upheaving.

What could it be ?

Louder and louder, drowning the yells of the
warriors and the rattle of fire-arms.

"What can it be?" asked Jake M'Kandlas, turn-
ing his head with startled look toward Dave Tutt.

" It sounds as if the very mountains were falling.
I feel the earth shake," said Dave.

" Yes, yes, that is it. There has been an attack
in front to draw the Indians and Alf Coye there,
and while now their rear is cut off by Buffalo Bill
and his men, some of their men are above, heaving
down rocks. That is it. Our chance to swing is

I ^

164 BUFFALO BILL,

sure now, for Alf Coye can't get himself out of the
scrape, let alone helping us."

" It looks dark. I wish they'd cut every woman's
throat before they went," cried Dave. " If I had
only killed Frank Stark, instead of waiting to see
him roasted, it would have been some satisfaction."

" It is no time to think of what we haven't done !'
said the other. "Can't we do something to get
away from here ? If I was untied I'd roll into the
river, and run my risk of getting out below before
I'd wait for such mercy as I'd get from Buffalo Bill
now !"

"No use — ^but look! Ma-no-tee and her women
are up to: some dodge !"

BUFFALO BILL. 16$

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Moving with all possible celerity, it took Captain
Brown until daylight to get to a position in front of
the canyon, for his wagons, laden with stores and
ammunition, and his heavy field-piece, could not be
moved at a gallop, nor was it safe to leave them
behind.

The Indian guard, whom Wild Bill had described
as laying behind a natural rampart of rocks in the
mouth of the Great Canyon, did not seem to be on
the alert, for he moved slowly and cautiously on
until quite near without seeing any of them.

But at last, a little after sunrise, when quite as
near as he desired to go with his men, while uncer-
tain as to the force before him, he had the satisfac-
tion of knowing that he was observed by the enemy,
for a band of fifteen or twenty warriors, mounted on
fine horses, galloped out on the plain, and circling
around for a few hundred yards, reconnoitered his
party.

" It is time to make a noise now to attract the
main body from the interior camp,** said he to the
officer in charge of the field-piece. " Send a shell
in among those fellows, and then we will give them
some pepper from the carbines to settle their
opinion concerning us.'*

The piece was quickly unlimbered to the front,

' ^ ^

/

/

1 66 BUFFALO BILL.

ranged, and while its thunder went rattling in among
the hills, the shell went with a shriek just oyer the
heads of the startled redmen.

The next instant, a couple of platoons of cavalry-
men sent in a volley from their carbines, which
dropped two of the Indians from their horses and
seemed to have touched more.

Quickly dragging their fallen men after them to
save their scalps from falling into the hands of the
foe,* the Indians fell back into the gorge.

Now, placing his piece so as to throw an occa-
sional shell in there, but ready with grape should a
charge be made on his position, with the wagons
placed en corral, so that the teams and loose stock
were all inside. Captain Brown threw forward his
skirmishers, and commenced the attack in earnest.
Riding to and fro, Indian fashion, and firing when-
ever they saw a red to fire at, his men moved for-
ward, while the Indians, shouting and yelling like
fiends let loose from down below, kept up from their
side a quick but not a dangerous fire.

In a short time, however, the latter were evi-
dently increased in numbers, and the brave officer
in command of the regulars took a fresh position,
just at the crest of a low hill, which completely
covered the mouth of the gorge, and planting his
piece so as to throw shell fairly into the faces of those
who might attempt a charge from there, he poured
in his fire more rapidly than at first, while his car-
bine range was excellent.

That white men were also in his front was soon

BUFFALO BILL. 167

apparent, for the sound of heavier guns and hoarser
shouts fell on his ear.

In a little while the fire on his front lessened,
though the yells in the gorge were louder than ever.
The sharp crack of rifles could be heard as his own
fire was suspended now and then.
. " Buffalo Bill is at them !" he shouted. ** Now is
our time to close up and hold the mouth of the
canyon. Limber up your piece to the front, and
forward ! Charge with me, men — charge !**

And away on his .gallant bay the brave eaptain
rode, followed by officers and men in good order,
but at full speed.

Only a few scattering shots annoyed them as they
swept into the narrow mouth of the gorge, for both
Indians and white men, startled by the attack in the
rear, which told that their village was in the hands
of the enemy, had turned to meet that onset.

Now, with his large gun commanding the defile,
the gallant captain felt that the enemy was doomed
to annihilation, for he knew that the bordermen
would never let one return alive, and he was sure
none could pass him.

The Indians and their white allies, after charging
back on Buffalo Bill and his party with immense
loss, and an utter failure to drive back men as well
protected by rocks as themselves, better armed and
quitie as desperate, now once more faced the regu-
lars, evidently hoping to get out on the plains, where
their numbers would give them an advantage. Fol-
lowed by Buffalo Bill and his party, quickly as they

V .

l68 BUFFALO BILL.

(ell back, when they had to halt in the face of the
grape and canister that met them, they were hud-
dled all up in a disorderly heap.

And now came the most terrible work of all.
Suddenly huge rocks came bounding down, with a
noise louder than thunder, from the clififs above,
which no man could climb. Down, with clouds of
dust, came ton after ton of rock, crushing and
mangling men and horses in a dreadful mass.

Nothing now reigned but confusion, despair —
death. They threw down weapons which were of
no avail. They rode over each other, trampled and
even hewed each other down with their knives and
hatchets in their mad endeavors to get out of the
way of the terrible avalanche which rained down the
mountain steeps.

Backward and forward, to and fro, reeling and
staggering worse than drunken men in their dread
of this horrible death, mad in fears worse than mad-
ness, they tried to break through the regulars in front

or the bordermen in the rear.

" I surrender ! In the name of mercy stop this

butchery !" shouted Alf Coye to Buffalo Bill.

The rebel bushwhacker was bare-headed — his
right arm hung broken and useless by his side — his
face was a mass of dirt and blood, he was almost
alone, only a few wounded wretches around him
were left alive.

" Mercy is a name not fit for your lips, you wo-
man-killing fiend !** shouted Bill.

" There is the mercy he showed my gray-haired

) Face Ravrk Feathek and Buffalo Bill hit.
(Page 17a)

iyO BtJFFALO filLL.

father in Kansas !** cried a boy not over eighteen, as
he raised his rifle and sent a ball through the heart
of the murderous man.

A dozen more shots and not one of Alf Coye*s
party were left in sight alive.

But now came a rush which even Buffalo- Bill,
brave and confident ever, thought might break his
lines. Leaving their horses, dropping their guns,
coming with knives and hatchets only, Raven
Feather and near twenty of his braves dashed to-
ward the bordermen. Not a yell broke from their
set lips. That alone told how desperate they were.
With eyes flashing red, every muscle swollen with
fierce energy, like tigers they came.. . And as tigers
leaping against bars they cannot break, they were
met.

Face to face, knee to knee, and hand to hand.
Raven Feather and Buffalo Bill met. Twice the
borderman parried the deadly thrusts of the wily
chief — twice again the steel of the savage drank his
blood, but weak from twenty wounds, the Indian's
eyes were not sure, and soon the knife of the
brave borderman reached his body with a fearful
thrust.

There was despair in the eye of Raven Feather,
- for nearly all his warriors had fallen around him,
taking some pale-faces to death as they fell, but
he made one more mighty effort. He struck
down wildly, heavily, and broke away the guard of
Buffalo Bill, but the latter, closing, grappled him

BUFFALO BILL. I/I

with his strong arms, and then both fell among the
dying and the dead, the Indian undermost. But
lithe, with the strength of the death agony, the
savage turned his opponent, and while his eyes
glared with fury, he clutched his throat with a
strangling grasp.

In vain did the borderman strive to tear himself
away — his knife was gone — his breath was going —
his doom seemed certain.

But now Wild Bill, released victoriously from a
similar struggle, sprang to his. aid, and quick as
thought his keen knife set his mate free from the
Indian's deadly clutch, for again and again it pierced
his quivering heart.

Sullenly, hate glaring even as his eyes glazed in
death. Raven Feather sank down among his fallen
"braves — the last of them in the vain struggle for life
and life's liberties.

A glad shout of victory rose from the lips of Wild
Bill — it was echoed from cliff to cliff, while he worked
around for a single living foe. Not one could be
seen. The gory dead — friend and foe, white and
red, lay thick about him — mute proofs of a conflict
which could know no other ending.

It was over.

Forced to leave their horses behind, for only with
difficulty could men climb over the debris of rocks
and earth which had filled up a portion of the can-
yon, destroying and burying the murderous foe —
came the regulars, led by their gallant young com-

' . V

172 ' BUFFALO BILL.

mander. With them came the surgeon, ready to
aid the wounded, and his services were needed in
many a case.

Even Buffalo Bill, anxious as he was to hurry back
to his loved ones, had to delay to have the blood
staunched which poured from many a sad gash in
his noble frame.

But the delay was brief. In a Itttle while the
force moved on, and debouching from the close can-
yon on the beautiful plain, hurried forward to the
Indian village.

The two border heroes, our hero and his mate,
led the van, while by their side Frank Stark, who
had fought as bravely as the bravest, hurried on,
eager once more to rest his eyes on the noble girl
who dared the fierce wrath of the fiendish warriors to
save him from torture.

On they all sped to the lodges, but, wondering,
they looked in vain to see the dear ones hurrying
out to meet and welcome them.

Not a human being was in sight. From lodge to
lodge the bordermen and their Kansas followers
rushed, but not one of the loved ones could be seen
— not a voice answered to their calls.

Buffalo Bill was in agony. What had become of
the guard he had left behind him — where were his
mother, sisters, and the rest of the captives ? What
new foe had swooped down and gathered them up ?

A cry from one of the men who had gone further
than the rest in the search was heard down near

BUFFALO BILL.

173

the river-side, and instantly all hands hurried to
where this man was standing.

And then they saw a sight which froze the hot
blood in every heart in a brief breath — a sight which
struck them, for no power of theirs could save if one
will was carried out I

•■':.■'* * ■

'•^

' ^ . .

• -s

174 BUFFALO BILL. ;

v

CHAPTER XXIX.

On a great square rock, inaccessible except by a
single narrow path, but where one could ascend at a
time, and this path overhung with a rock which her
women stood ready to hurl down if the ascent was
attempted, stood all the prisoners, also the Indian
women of the village, the widow of Raven Feather,
and the two wounded white renegades.

^ The rock overhung the foaming torrent of the
river where it was widest and > roughest, and where
no hope for life fcould exist if one were cast into the
terrible yeast of foam. Foremost of all was this
terrible tableau.

Holding poor Lillie, who was bound and helpless,
as were all the captives, so before him that her form
shielded his body, stood Dave Tutt, with a keen
knife pointing to her heart, requiring but a motion
to sink it there.

And Jake M*Kandlas stood in the same position,
holding the poor widow as his shield and at his
mercy.

Lottie was in the hands of the Indian queen, and
each of the other captives were in a similar position,
at the mercy of the squaws who held them.

" Pale-faces, raise but a hand against us and we
strike !" cried Ma-no-tee. " We have sworn by the
Great Spirit, and we will not He. The waterg of the

\

^

BUFFALO BILL. 1 75

Red River of the west will save us from your hands,
and when they are dead we will carry our captives
with us! Raise not a hand, but hear the words
.which Eagle-Eye will speak."

The hand of Buflfalo Bill clenched his long rifle so
hard that the blood seemed ready to start from be-
neath the nails. Yet he read death in that fierce
woman's eye — death to those who were part of
himself, and he dared not raise a hand.

** Let him speak ! Our ears are open !** was all
that he could utter.

Dave Tutt, while a sardonic light gleamed from
his dark eyes, raised his voice so that it could be
heard by every man of the command.

" Aye know that you are victors, that our friends
are dead, and we can expect no help from them.
Yet we are not in your power. We can die. But it
will be by our own choice. Ma-no-tee has spoken
truly. Every captive shall die at our hands if a
weapon is raised against us. And with them we
will bury ourselves in the river that rushes madly on
below. We have sworn it ! But we have terms —
terms which you can grant."

" Name them, fiend in human shape, name them !"
cried Captain Brown, shuddering as he spoke, for it
seemed as if the savage fiends would slay their victims
even while the talk went on.

"Hear them!** continued Dave Tutt, "and we
will give five minutes for their acceptance after they
are offered. It is that you promise on your honor
as men and soldiers, and swear on your oath as be-

V

176 BUFFALO BILL,

lievers in a hereafter, that you will allow every one
on this rock, red and white, their free, unrestrained
liberty to leave this plain, with provisions and stock
to carry them away ; that you will not harm them
in anyway, or check their departure, nor follow them
when they depart. On this condition, and this alone,
we will surrender these captives unharmed into your
hands. Speak quick, for if your answer is not yes,
so help me high Heaven, I strike the first blow
here /"

. And the broad blade of his knife quivered over
the heart of Lillie, who did not speak though her
face, white as snow itself, and her great, mournful
eyes looking hopelessly down, spoke more than words
xould say. ' ,

"Yes, — in Heaven's name, yesV cried Captain
Brown, in an agony of excitement.

" Let Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill, Frank Stark— let all
say yes, and swear it ?" cried Dave, his hand still
upheld.

" Yes — ^yes, yes^ YES !" gasped the men, one and
all, for they were almost palsied with the position of
the captives.

^*Swear it, and we ask no more."

" We, swear it !** came solemnly from every lip.

In an instant every prisoner stood free — their
bonds were cut at a signal from Ma-no-tee, with the
knives that threatened their existence.

And those who "would have slain them, even the
widowed squaws, now helped them in the perilous
descent to rejoin their friends.

* ,,

BUFFALO BILL. \^^

Soon all that party but one stood on the plain.
The relatives, clasped in each other's arms, sobbing
out their joy, forgot that they had suffered, forgot
their past peril in the depth of this new happiness.

All but onCy I said. It was Ma-no-tee.

Lofty in stature, regal in face and form, there she
stood on the verge of the rock, the wind blowing
back the long black hair from her shoulders and
toying with the folds of her scarlet robe.

" Raven Feather is dead and Silver Voice has
gone with him to the happy hunting grounds," she
cried. " The braves who would have died to defend
Ma-no-tee from the rifles of the pale-faces have all
fallen. The hunters who slew the fat buffalo and
killed the swift antelope as it ran, have perished.
Ma-no-tee only sees the squaws of her people and
the little children. . She has no one left to hunt for
her or to serve her. She will not stay alone. She
hates the pale-faces, and will not accept life as a
gift from their hands. She goes to join Raven
Feather and Silver Voice. The River Spirits shall
bury her in the caves of the deep waters !**

She ceased her wild harangue, drew her scarlet
robe over her head, and, with a fearless step ap-
proached the brink, looked not, paused not, but
sprang off, and went down into the mad current
which swept in foam along.

A mournful cry rose from the squaws of the tribe,
then all was still.

Shunned by the soldiers, and by the Kansas men,
who, but for their plighted word, would have rended

1/8 ^ BUFFALO BILL.

them limb from limb, the two white renegades tot-
tered feebly oflf with the Indian women to where
their horses were grazing, and made preparations
for leaving.

And now the troops took possession of the lodges,
and began to kill and cook meat, for hunger spoke
loud words among them all.

And while the widowed squaws, with their ponies
laden down with their camp equipage, were mourn-
fully moving away from their desolate homes, great
fires were sending smoke and light aloft to the cloud-
less sky, at which hungry men were roasting the
meat fatted under the care of their slain enemies.

Little did the soldiers care for their sorrows, as
littlei indeed, as they had cared for people mur-
dered, homes destroyed, or captives brought to tor-
ture by the warriors whose deeds were now forever
ended.

Such IS life. As night follows day, and day suc-
ceeds night, so do our fortunes vary.

It IS well ! For doth not He order it who doeth
all things well?.

BUFFALO BILL. 1 79

CHAPTER XXX.

Busy months have passed since that wild day of
hot carnage, when the spirits of Raven Feather and
his band of warriors sped on blood-tipped wings
away to the happy hunting-grounds of their fathers
gone before. Busy months, and over the flowery
South, over the fertile West, through the cities of
the North, and along the Atlantic's rock-bound
coast, the tocsin of war, ringing fearful and loud,
has brought out a nation's strength and a nation's
chivalry.

In the streets of St. Louis, that great city of the
West, whose future can only be measured by the
strength and enterprise of her men of mind and
means, all is life — busy, noisy, martial life. The
rolling drum, the pealing bugle, the glitter of gay
uniforms, the flash of burnished weapons, the dash
of steel-shod steeds, falls upon the ear and meets
the eye wherever you go.

In the streets of the great city you meet men of
every class ; hunters in buckskin and fur ; Indians
in the panoply of the plains ; soldiers in the uniforms
of their corps ; countrymen in butternut and jeans,
and citizens in broadcloth and patent leather.

And, alas! for the humanity that smiles on the
all-destroying traffic^ among these busy men you see
the fell effects of that demon of rum, which, degrad-

i8o

BUFFALO BILL,

ing humanity, makes man fiendish. Reeling and
staggering on, cursing and blaspheming, groups of
rum-maddened soldiers are seen here and there, li-
censed in excitement to liberties that, in times of
peace, would soon lodge them in a prison cell.

A wild throng of such men — a mixed party, in
which the colored trappings told that cavalry, artil-
lery, and infantry men were all on a debauch to-
gether — swept along Fourth street, singing Baccha-
nalian songs at the top of their voices.

A young girl, not over sixteen, very, very beauti-
ful, with great dreamy eyes, hair hanging in loose
manes all over her white shoulders, drew back at
the corned to let them pass. On her arm hung her
satchel of books, for she was a schoolgirl.

The eye of a great bearded sergeant of artillery
fell upon her shrinking form. Excited with strong
drink, he forgot his manhood, and shouted :

" Halt, boys ! Here's a girl that turns up her
nose at a Union soldier.**

The poor girl grew lily-white as she saw every
rude eye turn upon her, and she would have fled,
but the grasp of the drunken speaker was on her
round arm already, and she could not tear herself
from it.

s

'* Say, is it not true, isn't your dad a Confederate ?**
cried the brute, his rum-laden breath throwing its
sickening odor in her fair face.

** No, sir; my father's name is too well known as
a Union man to have that epithet applied to him.
He is—"

>

BUFFALO BILL.

I8l

And the young girl gave the name of a wealthy
Union banker in the city, and then added :

" Let me pass on, sir ; I am going to school."

" You don't pass here until you prove you love
Union soldiers by kissing every ipan of the party,*'
shouted the sergeant. " That's the tune, isn't it,
boys?"

" Aye, aye — ^that's the ticket !" cried one and all
of the drunken crowd.

" So, stand still — it's my turn first, my beauty,
and so put out those rosebud lips of yours."

" Coward ! I'll die before I submit to this insult,"
cried the brave girl.

The coarse wretch laughed, and bent his shaggy
head down as he threw his rude arms about her slen-
der waist.

Wildly arose her shrill scream upon the air, as she
dashed her small hands into his eyes, for the mo-
ment delaying his purpose.

** Girl, mind what you're about, or this shall be
the worse for you," shouted the sergeant, hoarsely,
and he raised her form in his arms as if she had been
but a doll.

But before he could again bend his hot, sensual '
face toward her pure lips, a horse and rider came
rushing down the street with the speed of a winged
bird.

It was Buffalo Bill on his wild Powder Face, and
he dashed into and over that crowd as if they were
only bags of down in his way.

With one blow of his clenched hand he dashed

- '^J • . ■

182 BUFFALO BILLr

the bulky miscreant to the earth, with his other arm
he encircled the waist of the lovely girl, and, lifting
her to his saddle-bow, gave the word " on'* to his
noble horse, and dashed through and over the crowd
before a hand could be raised to check him.

On for a block, until he was out of range of any
shot which might, in their mad excitement, be sent
after him, and then he halted, and looked down into
the lovely, confiding face which beamed up with a
look of glad wonder into his own.

"If you'll tell me where to leave you, miss, so
you'll be safe, FU go back and give them drunken
chaps satisfaction if they want it," said Bill, as he
drew his horse to a stop.

" Oh, sir, you are so brave and so good ! I was
frightened almost to death, for they would have killed
me. I would have died before they should kiss
-me," cried the lovely girl.

" Dying would come cheap for a willing kiss from
such lips, but the brute that would force it is too
mean to die — he ought to be wedged in a swamp
and fed on raw porcupine skins, shells thrown in.
But where do you live, miss? People will stare to
see you here ; and I'm rather bashful when I'm in
such good company."

** You have stopped right before my father's house,
and — oh, I am so glad ! he is coming down the steps
— for he can reward you better than I."

And the young girl pointed to a fine-looking, mid-
dle-aged gentleman descending the stone steps of a
handsome mansion.

BUFFALO BILL. 183

Bill reined his horse up to the sidewalk, and lifted
the girl lightly down ; then, as she hurriedly told
her father of the insult, her peril, and her gallant
rescue, he remounted to ride away.

But a word from the father and daughter stopped
him.

"Young man, your name, if you please?'* asked
the banker.

The borderman gave it, also with his sobriquet of
" Buffalo Bill."

** I have heard of you, young man, and all I have
heard tends to your credit. But what is better still,
I knew your brave, Union father, and I honored
him in his life and mourned him in his death. For
your rescue of my daughter, were you any other man,
I would offer you a full purse, in addition to my grati-
tude. Not a word — I know you would refuse it,
and therefore do not offer it. But Louisa shall thank
you, and as I know you are already in the ranks of
our country's defenders, I will use my influence to
lift you to a position which you will honor. Make
my house your home while you are in town.**

" I dare not, sir !** said Bill, and his voice trembled
as he spoke.

" Dare not ? What is the reason ?'* asked the
banker in astonishment.

" If I see her any more, I shall love her, and love
above my station would be madness and folly,** said
Bill, bluntly, and with that honor which was part of
his nature.

" Love her, man ? Why, what if you do ? If she

«

l84 BUFFALO BILL.

loves the man who has saved her from wrong, and
protected her from insult, and is able do it again, .
she has a father who will honor her for it, and never
by word or deed of his stand between her and her
heart's choice. I say again, make my house your
home, and if love comes from that, so much the bet-
ter. Take him right in, Lou, and introduce him to
your mother, and Til go to General Fremont and
get him commissioned.*'

Hold on about that, sir, if you please," said Bill.
As you were a dear friend of my dear father, I will
thankfully accept your hospitality, even at the risk
of losing my heart. But I do not want a commis-
sion. I command a party of noble, brave, tried
friends — scouts who are fearless and true — able to
do good and efficient service. But the moment I
put on shoulder-straps, I've got to have other shoul-
der-straps over me, who'll be ordering me about, and
. the first I know, they'll say something I don't like,
and then I'll iuck^ as Powder Face would do if any-
body else tried to ride him. No sir ; let me remain
independent, as I am, and I will do more service ten
times over than I would with a U. S. commission
inside my haversack.

** And now I'll go in and see your lady, and then,
if Miss Louise will go, I will take her to see my own
dear mother and my twin sisters, who've had hard
times out among the redskins and bushwhackers, but
are here safe at last, where I hope they will be con-
tented until we've squelched through this trouble.

BUFFALO BILL. 185

Then Til build up the farm-house again, and set
things to rights once more."

" And ril help you, my brave boy. I must go
now, but ru meet you at dinner time."

l86 BUFFALO BILL,

CHAPTER XXXI.

In a neat cottage in the old or French part of the
city, where even yet, amid grassy mounds and old
forest trees, dwell the descendants of the first set-

- tiers, the old voyageurSy such as the Sublettes,
Choteaus, Vallees, etc., etc., close by the bank of
the great river, with the moonlight playing in the
windows through trellised honeysuckles and climb-
ing roses, was a cheerful, happy scene.

The good mother of Buffalo Bill sat there with her
knitting in her hand. Close by the twin sisters were
seated, while Kitty Muldoon, inone corner, was dili-
gently engaged in paring potatoes for the morning
meal, for early rising was a virtue never forgotten

- in that family.

The females were not alone in the neat little sit-
ting-room.

Wild Bill, in an agony of uneasiness, sat there, for
he had got boots on his feet and a citizen's suit of
clothes on his body, and he was like a fish out of
water in them. Frank Stark, handsome even in
. store clothes, and happy in the thought of being a
reformed man and a Union soldier, was also there,
looking a love which he dared not speak, for the pure
young girl whom he had saved from wrong, and
who had saved him from the cruel death by tortuer
to which he had been doomed.

BUFFALO BILL. 1 87

It was a noble group, worthy of better pen-paint-
ing than my stiff hand can give.

The door opened, for Buffalo Bill was not one to
stand on the ceremony of knocking at his own home,
and the son and brother came hurriedly in with a
young and blooming girl on his arm.

*' Louisa, here is my dear mother, there are my
twin sisters, Lillie and Lottie, there is good Kitty
Muldoon, and last but not least, here are Frank
Stark* and Wild Bill, rough diamonds of the hills,
brave as the bravest and true as the truest. Mother,
girls and all hands, here is Louisa La Valliere, the
daughter of an old friend of our father, and if you'll
love her half as much as I do, you'll try to make her
as happy as a beaver among young cottonwoods !'*

This was rather a long speech for Bill, but as he
led Louisa forward to his mother and sisters while
he was talking, hands clasped hands, and speaking
eyes made them know each other before he was
through.

Then came a narration of the adventure which
had made him acquainted with the sweet girl and
her parents, and an invitation through Louisa from
her parents for the whole family to come and make
La Valliere mansion their home while in St. Louis.

Though not instantly accepted, the offer was
gratefully listened to, and then work was all laid
a^ide, for Bill, proud of his sisters and their natural
accomplishments, insisted on having some music.
Both sisters sung sweetly, Lillie accompanied finely
with the guitar, and with Louisa joining in their

"l88 BUFFALO BILL.

songs, the little cottage was literally flooded with
melody.

But a sudden interruption chased the thought of
harmony away.

While Mrs. Cody was sitting wrapped in pleasant
thought near the window, a hissing voice — a low
muttered curse reached her ear, and turning she saw
the wicked face of Jake M'Kandlas glaring through
the window.

Wildly she shrieked his name, and the villain see-
ing he was recognized, fired his pistol with deadly
aim at her and fled away. In an instant Wild Bill
and Frank Stark sprang from their seats, one through
the open window, the other out of the door in pur-
suit of the wretch. But Buffalo Bill, groaning out
the words, " My poor mother !** leaped forward as
she fell from her chair and caught her falling form.

The blood, gushing from a wound in her temple,
seemed to tell the screaming girls, who rushed to
her side, that it was a death wound.

Kitty Muldoon, whose outcries were piercing, had
yet presence of mind to run for some water. A
part of this, applied to the lips of the widow, revived
her, and then Bill, to his joy, examining the wound,
found that it was only a graze, plowing a furrow in
the temple, severing a small artery, but doing no
serious damage.

Oh, how thankful they all were when they found
that the wound was so slight — how full of joy when,
by simple appliances, the hemorrhage was stopped
and the wound properly dressed.

BUFFALO BILL* 1 89

And now, the excitement over, Buffalo Bill
wished to go after the villain whom his mother had
distinctly recognized. But he knew that if by that
time either Frank Stark or Wild Bill had not over-
hauled him, he had got to some hiding-place where
for the time at least he might be safe.

And soon the return of both Frank and Bill, un-
successiful, from their pursuit, convinced him of the
fact. It was now^^or them all to be on a constant
watch. For where M'Kandlas was, Dave Tutt
could not be far distant, and they were men who
would never be without confederates in crime, if bad
men could be found to join their ranks.

The incident broke up all the pleasure of the
evening, and Buffalo Bill soon escorted his new-
found friend back to her father's house.

igO BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXXII.

r

It had been known for some time to the com-
manding general at St. Louis that the Confederates
were recruiting men for their armies from the seces-
sion sympathizers in the city. He knew that with
so much money floating among them, prominent
leaders must be likewise there — men to be trusted
with money, and possessed of both talent and in-
fluence.

But when he heard from the lips of Buflfalo Bill
that Jake M'Kandlas, the great guerrilla leader, his
right-hand man, Dave Tutt, and several other no-
toriously desperate men had been seen in town, he
began to look on the matter with a serious eye,
though until then he had scouted the thought that
Confederate audacity would go so far as to recruit
disunion soldiers under ** his very nose,** to use a
common, but not a very refined phrase.

"It must be stopped — nipped in the bud, sir,*'
said he to the chief of scouts, for that was now the
position of our hero. " I give you every authority,
call for men and means as you need them, but hunt
these men down without mercy. They are spies
and. murderers, and \{ you spare them till they reach
tny hands, the nearest tree will be their gallows.**

** Not much danger of my sparing them, sir,** said
Bill. " But I wish you would offer a reward for

" il'

BUFFALO BILL.

191

their arrest, or any information that leads to it —
not that I or one of my men wants the reward, but
.because money may induce some of their followers
to turn traitor to them, and let us know where we
can find them.**

" You are right," said the General. ** I will issue
a proclamation to that effect immediately. By the
way, sir, a valued friend of mine called on me this
morning, who is much interested in you — Mr. La
Valliere. If you will accept it, you shall have an
eagle on your shoulder and a full regiment to
command.**

" Thank you, General; Mr. La Valliere knows my
mind on that subject. I am not fitted' for that po-
sition, and have just sense enough to know it. In
the place I now hold I can do my work, and do it
well. In the other Td be as helpless as a beaver
without a tail, and — what's the matter^ Bill, whafs

upr

This last question broke excitedly from his lips
as Wild Bill, closely followed by Frank Stark, rushed
into the parlor where the General held his recep-
tions.

" Jake M'Kandlas, Dave Tutt, and sixty men left
here before the break of day to join Price down be-
yond Pilot Knob. They are all armed and mounted .
on good horses. . I have it from a poor wretch who
owed me a life, and wanted to pay a part of the
debt, and I know he wouldn't lie !**

Wild Bill spoke fast, and every word was distinct
and to the point.

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192

BUFFALO BILL.

, " Have every one of our boys in the saddle and
here in fifteen minutes,*' cried our hero. " Bring
Powder Face along with you. Bill."

Not a word or questioning look, but away hurried
Wild Bill and Frank Stark to mount the scouts.

''General,** said Buffalo Bill, "please send an
order to the cavalry barracks, and have forty-three
saddled and bridled cavalry horses sent here for my
use. With fresh horses to change and relieve our
own, I will overtake the men before ten o'clock
to-night, though they have at least seven hours the
start. And when they are overtaken, I think I can
take care of them. They'll travel no further, or else
my journey is over."

The General rang for an orderly, wrote out the
order, and sent him in all haste to execute it. Then
he turned to the chief of scouts and asked :

"Do you not want more men, sir? With (orty-
three, including yourself, you are to follow over
sixty men."

" Yes, sir, to follow and to wipe them out, too.
My men know me, and I know them, and two to
one of this trash is poor odds for us to take. More
men would be in my way. * And now, General, if
you please, a favor."

" Anything, sir, that I can grant will not be re-
fused."

" It is only this — ^you know Mr. La Valliere well."

" Yes, sir, he is a bosom friend of mine."

" Then please tell him yourself, sir, where I have
gone, and ask him to let little Lou run down and

:V

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'V

1

•

1 •*

BUFFALO BILL. I93

tell my mother and sisters that Til be back to-mor-

row/'

((

I will do it with pleasure, sir ; but I beg you not

to risk too much, or too rashly expose a life which

«

I feel will be of great value to the country in this
crisis. I am not one who believes good men are
scarce — I believe they are plenty of them when they
are roused up, but the nation needs them all now.
We have too many bad men to oppose and defeat,
to spare any good ones who can be saved."

" Don't fear for me, sir. It will never be my fate
to die by such hands. Some red warrior, in time,
may lift my hair, but no white renegade to his race
and his country shall do it. Til come back to report
them used up, sir — but hark, I hear the clatter of
horsemen. They are my boys, for you hear no
bugles, no jingling sabres — their rifles, knives, and
revolvers don't reach your ears with their noises till
they're needed."

" True — for such service as you perform they are
the best fitted of all men. I will see you off."

And the General with the stars on his shoulder
walked out side by side with the scout in buckskin,
and saw him leap upon his fiery horse without touch-
ing foot to stirrup, and run his keen eye along the line
to see if every man was there. A quiet smile on his
fine face and all was right. Then the led cavalry
horses coming up a gallop, each man took the halter
of a spare horse, and at the word away they went
like leaves on the swift autumnal winds.

X

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194 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Many an eye followed the swift cavalcade that
passed at a gallop through the crowded streets of St.
Louis, and out on the road which led to the wild
mountain region where in the far distance Iron
' Mountain and Pilot Knob rested their towering
heads.

Well they might look. Three nobler-looking men,
three finer horsemen never sat in a saddle than the
trio who led that compact body of plain-clad, well-
armed, stem-visaged, silent men.

In that swift-passing column, riding in ranks of
foor, no. jests were passed, no loud, hilarious laughter
rose j)n the air to make the observer think that sol-
dienng' with them was mere amusement— every look
and action, every motion as well as that stern,
thoughtful silence, told that " deeds not words*'
would mark their career. Three " sons of liberty**
.were they.

On, at a gallop, only pausing here and there after
they had passed some way on the route to inquire if
a body of horsemen, easily described from their num-
bers and the appearance of their grizzled leader, had
passed. They soon found the trail, and after that no
questions were asked, none necessary indeed, for
those men had trailed the wily red men over sterile
plains, through boundless prairies, among tlie rocks

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BUFFALO BILL. I95

and shelves of the great mountains, too long not to /
follow easily the tracks made on beaten roads.

On — swiftly on, changing horses every eight or
ten miles, they kept, until, when night fell, they
were coursing along the banks of the swift Gascon-
ade river and enveloped in the wooded hills and
thickly settled valleys of that region.

It was moonlight, and though dark, where the
trees rose thickly on either hand and the road almost
invisible in some of the dark ravines, they never
checked their speed, for they knew they were rapidly
closing on the enemy whose horses must be well
nigh given out, for already had that party passed
over ninety miles of ground — perhaps even more,
with their relief of horses.

It was probably ten o'clock when they rode
silently through a small settlement, where the few
inhabitants seemed to have gone to rest, for in but
one house was a light seen.

Our hero had adopted the old army precaution of
throwing out an advance and rear-guard — Wild Bill,
with two men, rode two hundred yards in advance
— Frank Stark, with two men, as far in the rear,
while he led the main body.

Shortly after passing this little settlement, a
rocket was seen to ascend high in the air, and th^n
another Until five had been counted.

Buffalo Bill checked his men at once, and calling
in his officers, Wild Bill and Frank Stark, held a
hurried consultation.

** We're, spotted, boys," said he. " The party ahead ^

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f

196 BUFFALO BILL.

has friends in the settlement back and they were
writing news to -em with their rockets/'

"Ves — and it is received and answered T said
Wild Bill, as he pointed to a rocket rising in the sky
directly ahead of the party land not more than two
or three miles ahead. " They're warned of our com-
ing now, and we'll have harder work than we would
have had if we had come upon 'em unawares. But
never mind, boys, we could whip five times their
number. Remember one thing — we must do all on
the dash. They're -used up in horse-flesh and we are
not. We must go through 'em like a winter sleet-
storm, cutting and tearing 'em all to pieces as we go."

*' I'll take the lead now, and we'll all close up ex-
cept one man to scout three hundred yards ahead
to see the first glimpse of them and then get back to
us. Little Joe Bevins, there's just enough Injun in
you to do that work well. Put out ! You know
what to do !"

It was but a boy to whom he spoke, in years
not over eighteen, but his little frame was wiry as
steel, his eyes sharp and active, his heart as fearless as
that of a panther, and his nature just suited for the
work he was in.

Checking their speed a very little, to breathe their
horses, they rode on for twenty minutes more, pass-
ing in that time over four miles of ground, but noth-
ing was seen or heard to indicate the near presence
of the enemy.

But suddenly a half dozen rifle-shots were heard
in front. Then* for a minute or more all was still.

'' ' A.

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BUFFALO BILL. I97

'' I'm afraid they ve got little Joe," said Bill, who
had halted his party to receive news from the front.

A few seconds more, and more rifle-shots \vere
heard ; then followed the rapid reports of a revolver,
and a second after little Joe came tearing back, fir-
ing as he rode upon a half dozen horsemen who
were following him up.

The bordermen had halted in a dense shadow
where trees on both sides obscured the moonlight,
and the pursuers out in the light did not see them
as little Joe dashed back into the ranks of his
friends.

But they felt them, for a volley from the foremost
rank took every man out of his saddle, and as they
fell Buffalo Bill received the report of the young
scout.

H^ had ridden right into the face of the enemy,
who, mounted and drawn up in good order, waited
in an open cornfield among the stubble for the on-
set of their pursuers.

" Drop the horses you are riding — leave them in
the road and mount the fresh ones — form by eights,
till we reach the open field, and th*en spread to a
line and charge when I yell. Frank Stark takes the
right, I take the center and Wild Bill the left. Let
your pistols work first and your knives next. When
we get into it, every man for himself and Heaven"
for us all. Remember your homes, wives, and your
sisters, and don't let a shot be wasted, but sweep
the villains from the footstool."

These were the brief orders, plainly given, of one

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198 BUFFALO BILL.

who speaks quick as he thinks and acts even yet
more rapidly.

The formation by eights just filled the road, and
-With horses well in hand, yet ready for the burst,
the party dashed on.

A minute only passed, the open field was before

, them, and in the clear moonlight, not sixty, but

more than two hundred men waited for them, for

several parties had joined Jake M'Kandlas on the

route.

Not an instant did the bordermen hesitate, not a
second did they wait to count numbers, not even
for an order did they pause, but riding into line,
right and left in a gallop, swept forward as their
leader gave his wild yell — forward like an avalanche,
firing as they went, upon the enemy.

A volley from the latter emptied only four or five
saddles, and then face to face and hand to hand the
parties-met.

On through the mass dashed Buffalo Bill, a revol-
ver in each hand, and shot after shot, in the very
face of his opponents, dropped a man at every fire.
In a n[iinute h? was through, and his trained horse
wheeling at but a touch of the leg, brought him
right back into the broken, confused mass. Every
shot had been fired from his revolver, but now his
great knife-blade 'flashed in the air and came sweep-
ing down here and there, as he saw foes to strike, .
while Wild Bill, Frank Stark and all the rest were
at the same kind of work.

It could not last long — scarce the time I take to

^ /

BUFFALO BILL. . ^99

describe it elapsed before the foe, beaten and whip-
ped from their stand, made for a dense thicket bor-
dering the river.

All who could gain this left their horses, and
plunging into the river, either perished in its rapids
or, gaining the other shore, crept away into the
mountain fastnesses where, at that time, they could
not be followed.

The victory was complete. Dead men and horses
lay all around — a few wounded lay groaning on the
ground.

. Bill now ordered the bivouac fires to be lighted.
Full two-thirds of the enemy were past doing harm,
and the rest were scattered. Their arms had been
dropped and horses left, so he had no fear of any
resumption of the attack.

His men were counted and looked to, as soon as
the fires were blazing.

Only four had been killed, but full half the num-
ber had been wounded, some severely, others but
slightly. There was no surgeon in the party, but
half of those bordermen were worth more than five-
tenths of the volunteer surgeons of the army, who,
until the war had progressed some time, knew no
more about wounds than a cow knows about the
manufacture of cheese, though she is a material aid
in the matter.

Of the enemy one hundred and fifty lay on the
field when daylight enabled our heroes to examine
the vicinity with care.

Buffalo Bill looked at every dead man anxiously.

200 ^ BUFFALO BILL.

There were faces — several, indeed — which he recog-
nized, but he could not find the bodies of those
whom he wished to see.

" Satan must help his own,'* he said, as he looked
at the last of the party. ** Jake M'Kandlas and
Dave Tutt and Cantrell have got away. I expect,
coward-like, they ran when we charged, for I did not
get a glimpse of either in the fight. I would rather
have had those three men than all the rest who are
stretched out here."

" We'll have *em yet, mate ; don't fret. This has
been a big night's work though, hasn't it ?" said-
Wild Bill.

"It has, indeed," replied our hero. "Where's
little Joe? I hope he isn't hurt, for he brought
their scouts back so nicely for us to wipe out, that
he deserves a big credit mark. Is he hurt ?"

" No, cap," cried the young hero. " I got a scratch
from one of their pistols and a hole in my jacket.
But if you'll speak a good word for me to that rosy-
cheeked gal that lives at your house, she'll mend the
jacket and a bit of a hole in my heart that she made
her ownself, when you sent me there with a mes-
sage the other day."

" What ? Kitty Muldoon, you mean ?"

" Yes, sir ; that's the gal."

" She is pretty and good, Joe ; and if you'll fight
this war through and come out all right, if she don't
cook your meat and wash your clothes for the rest
of your life, it shall not be my fault."

" Thank you, cap. Just put me where there's

BUFFALO BILL. 201

work to do, and see if I don't do it up brown, after
this/*

" I will, boy ; and I know you'll do well. And
now ride back, a half dozen of you men, to the
nearest farm-house and get spades and shovels, and
all the men you can find. We'll be decent, if we
have been rough. We'll bury the dead, and that is
more than they would have done for us. They
would have left the wolf and the buzzard to take
care of our bodies."

Leaving these men to the work of humanity, we
will now look elsewhere.

^02

BtJFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Jake M*Kandlas, Dave Tutt, and Cantrell, the
guerrilla, escaped, when so many of their vile con-
federates took water in the River of Death. They
saw defeat in the terrible rush made by the border-
men — defeat in the instant confusion and panic in
their own ranks, and rode out of the melee into the
woods, and away by a side-path well known to Can-
trell, before their presence was detected by any of
the attacking party.

When the fight was finished; and the Kansas men
lighted their bivouac fires, the three ruffians were
safe and secure in a mountain cave some six .or
seven miles beyond and above them — an old place
of refuge for these men when, in former days, they
had followed the pleasant occupation of horse and
negro stealing.

Until they had reached this almost inaccessible
point, and had stabled their horses so far inside the
extensive cave that no sound from them would at-
tract the attention of pursuers, they scarcely paused
to draw a long breath, or enter into conversation.

But now, refreshed (?) from their whisky- flasks,
and out of fear of bullets for the time, they opened
their mouths and let out volleys of abuse against
the men from whom their flight had alone savjsd
them.

BUFFALO BILL. 203

" Buffalo Bill, Frank Stark, and Wild Bill have
done a big thing to-night," growled Jake M'Kandlas,
adding an oath.

"They have, and the whole country will ring with
their fame, while we poor wretches will only hear
how we've been whipped by less than a quarter of
our number. We may as well dry up and keep
away from the borders after this," said Dave Tutt.

" Away from the borders, for this ? No !*' cried
Cantrell. ** Til haunt the borders now worse than
ever. WeVe lost men — but there are more where
they came from. I'm neither beaten nor disheart-
ened. I shall take the back track and raise more
men. And then let Mr. Buffalo Bill look out. He'll
find that though I'm in his debt now, I know how
to pay up old scores."

" Well, I'm glad to see you so hopeful. I am as
bitter as the best of youj but luck has run against
me so long, I'm sick of the deal."

" Satan isn't sick of you yet, or you'd have been
called home to-night, colonel," said Dave, with a
laugh.

"You'd have your joke if he had you by the
neck, I suppose," growled the colonel.

"Yes, but it would be a black joke. But the
question now is — what are we to do next?"

" I've said my say," said Cantrell. " I'm going
back to St. Louis for more men."

" And I'll go with you — not for men, but for a
woman, for I've sworn to humble that girl Lillie,
and I'll do it, if it costs me my life !"

2d4 BUFFALO BILL.

" The bigger fool you. There isn't a woman on
earth that -*Id put in the balance against my life,"
said M*Kandlas, with a sneer. " You, boys, may
risk the city if you like, but I shall not put myself
in the way of the great Pathfinder. The open
country for me hereafter. I can raise a few men, I
reckon, and I'll bushwhack it for awhile. I can
make my grub and transportation, if nothing more."

** Where'll you make headquarters, so a fellow can
find you when he gets back !" asked Dave.

" At Rolla, or thereabout. Black Jake, the Cher-
okee half-breed, will know where I am, for he is my
* fence ' in that region. He's Union in talk, but
that's a blind. He's right side up for the South."

** When are you going to start for the city, Can-
trell !" asked Dave.

" Just as' soon to-morrow as we see them fellows
take the back track. From here we can see the
road forty miles with a glass, and I have a good
one. We've got to go in careful, for when they
don't find us with the dead, they'll *know what to
expect when our chance comes.'

" Yes, about as little mercy, as far as I'm con-
cerned, as a wild cat gives a rabbit. But Tm going
to turn in," said Dave. ** I'm as hungry as a cub
wolf, and sleep is all that will help it, till we get to
where there's something eatable to be had.'

The ruffian drew his blanket around him, and
dropped to the ground. The others followed his
example.

\-

BUFFALO BILL. 20$

CHAPTER XXXV.

"Och! isn't he a darlint, the bowld boy-sojer!"
cried Kitty Muldoon, as Joe Bevins rode up the
street at full speed, the day after the return of
Buffalo Bill and his party to the city.

For Joe had just ridden down with a message
from the chief of scouts for the young ladies, and
had taken this opportunity to put a big ring on
Kitty's fore-finger, and to tell her it should be her
fault if it wasn't a wedding-ring when " the cruel
war was over."

" Sure, and he rides aqual to the best hunter that
iver broke his neck among the hills of Tipperary.
He's not very big, that's true, but sure all that there
is of him is worth the havin', and that's more than
we can spake of everybody. An' what's wantin*
wid you, ould man ?"

Her last words were addressed to an old white-
haired man, whose thick matted hair almost covered
his face. His clothes were scanty and ragged, his
form bent,' and he leaned upon a staff with shaking
hands as if afflicted with palsied weakness.

" Bread ! I'm so hungry, and so weary !" said the
old man in a low, husky voice.

** Wouldn't meat be better than bread, sure. Stay
here and I'll get you a bite to ate, for it's not hun-
ger should ever be denied."

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206

BUFFALO BILL.

And the good-hearted girl went into the house to
procure the food.

In an instant the old man approached the door
and quickly examined the lock. From among his
rags he procured several keys and soon found one
that fitted the lock of the door after he had returned
the other key. Returning the regular key to its
place in the lock, he pocketed its duplicate and
took a hasty survey of all the surroundings.

When Kitty came back with a large plate of
thread and meat, however, he was seated on the door-
step with his head bowed in his hands, as if from
excess of weakness.

*' Here, ould man, here's what'U drive the hunger
out," said Kitty, as she put the plate down by his
^ide. " And there's a dollar apiece from the young
ladies I serve — two bits of angels all but the wings,
d'ye see, and I'll put another dollar wid it, so you
can have some mendin' and washin* done; tor sure
you nade it bad enough."

"I thank you — the people of the world are not
often so good as you are," said the old man.

" Faith, that's their business and not mine, then.
But I don't see what we're put here for, if it isn't to
do a bit of good when the chance runs in our way.
But ate away, and I'll get a mug of pure water from
the pump for yes to wash it down wid."

"Water! Haven't you any whisky.^" asked the
old man.

" Whisky! The drunkard's own drink, that. No,
faith, and it's a shame for an ould man like you to

/ '

BUFFALO BILL. 20/

be askin* afther it. Sure, it*s bad enough, and too
bad, too, to see a young man seekin* after the crater,
let alone an old man like you, wid one foot in the
grave and the other close behind it. If ye*ll have
water TU get it, but if I'd an ocean of whisky to dip
a bucket into if I'd the choice, I'd put a brand of
fire there instead. There's a bit of a gossoon of a
soldier lad that says he loves me, and I love him by
the same token, but let me smell whisky on his
breath, and he'll never come again where I'll
smell it."

The old man made no reply, but ate a little of
the food, then rose and leaving the rest, hobbled
away.

" Mad because I would't get whisky for him,**
muttered Kitty, as she took up the half-emptied
plate. " Well, bedad, when the next comes I'll ax
him will he have champagne wid his mate before I
bring it. But what he ate did him good, I reckon,
for he walks away twice as fast as he came. Maybe
he knows where there's whisky, and it's that he's
afther in such a hurry. If it is, it's sorry I am. he
got any money from us, for it's a sin and shame to
feed men wid that which makes bastes of 'em here
and fiends hereafter. But there comes the young
master and the bit of an angel too under his wing.
Sure they say she's a rich man's daughter, but for
all that she spakes as soft to me as if I was born a
lady instead of in a cabin on a bog*"

208 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

" How long are you goin* to stay here amongst
this noise, mate ?" asked Wild Bill of our hero, when
they had been back three or four days after the
chase and defeat of the M*Kandlas party.

They were both standing on the porch of the
house held as " Headquarters" by the general in
command.

" I don't know. The General wants me here to
tell him about the country they've got to operate
in very soon. Old Price is raising the old Harry
among the few Union folks out towards the borders,
. and he has got to leave. The General is going to
send a force that way, and when he is ready there
will be work enough for us. For the scouts are to
have the advance. I have bargained for that.'* ._

" Good on your head, mate. But what are we to
do in the meantime, that's what I want to know.
I'll rust laying around here. I go down to yo'
mother's to see the girls, but I'm nothing on the
cciiking trail, and I look like a fool sitting there
^watching their pretty fingers come and go with the
needle. Frank Stark has got tongue and can enjoy
himself as he deserves to, but I'm a dumb fool and
I know it."

" Bill, that is no discredit to you. A man can't
have every gift all to his own self. You can take a

k

BUFFALO BILL.

209

squirrel's head off at forty yards with your revolver,
or at two hundred with your rifle. Frank Stark
can't do it. You can outride any Comanche that
ever swung over or under a horse. Not one man
in a million can ride up to you, and no one can beat
you. As to fear, if you feel it you don't know how
to show it. And for love — there's your good old
mother in Illinois, and Black Nell, your pet mare,
and me, your mate — why, you love us all enough to
die for any one of us."

" That's so, mate — that's so, and I love one of my
enemies a little too much, too."

"Who is that?" asked Buffalo Bill, in surprise.

" His name is whisky ^ but I'm going tp. kick him
out of my company. If I don't he'll spoil my shoot-
ing — if he don't do worse."

** That's a fact — and now I've thought of some-
thing. I saw my darling ^ Lou* turn her head away
when my lips came mighty close to hers, this morn-
ing, an i I don't wonder. I'd been swallowing some
barreled lightning, and she smelled it. I'll not give
her reason to turn her dear head away again. It
weakens the strongest, unnerves the coolest, and
befools the wisest. I'm done with fire-water, mate."

" So am I, and there's my hand upon it. And
now. Bill, I'm dying for a hunt. As you will not
move out of here for a week at least, suppose I take
a run up into the Gasconade hills and knock over a
deer or two. Maybe I may trail out something, too,
that will pay. Frank will go along for company, and
we two will be able to take care of ourselves."

2IO BUFFALO BILL.

" I've no objections, mate, if so be you feel like
exercising yourselves and them creepin' insects that
can't go over a mile in two minutes without you use
a spur. If you go, don't be gone over three or four
days, and if you hear heavy guns anywhere, you'lj
know the army is on the move, and you'll know
where to find me."

"All right,' Bill; me and Frank will be off in two
or three hours, for I told him I'd ask you about the
trip."

Buffalo Bill was looking at the same old man who
had begged for food and been answered by Kitty
Muldoon on the day before. He stood just below
them, near enough, indeed, to have heard wh^t they
said, if he had been listening.

" Oh, he's one of those curiosities that grows in
cities, I reckon, for I never saw one on the plains or
in the mountains. He's a beggar by his rags and
wrinkles, and when he's as old as that and has to
beg, we young *uns ought to help him."

Wild Bill took a couple of dollars from his pocket
and tossed them down at the feet of the old man.

The latter looked his thanks out of a pair of glit-
tering black eyes, and bowing his head, picked up
the money and moved away just as Buffalo Bill was
drawing out his bag of buckskin.

" Hold on there, old boy — here's something to
get better clothes. It will be cold by-and-by, and
you need 'em bad enough now."

Bill followed his words with a twenty-dollar gold
piece, which the old man caught ere it touched the

BUFFALO BILL. 211

ground with an agility which made the two border-
men laugh heartily.

The old man muttered something — they supposed
it was thanks, but had they heard his words they
would not have let him go on unquestioned.

For he said :

"Laugh now- — laugh now, but it will be some-
body's turn to cry before many hours go by. It's
a long road that hasn't got a turn, and the one you
travel has got a short turn, just ahead/*

They did not hear it, however, and when their
laugh had died away, he was out of sight around
the corner.

The twD bordermen now walked to the stable
where their horses were kept, and Wild Bill had his
Black Nell saddled, also the horse of Frank Stark, ,
for he intended to lead the latter around to the
cottage, for he knew that Frank would be there.

212 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Just below a succession of wild rapids, where the
cascade, rushing through a gorge in the hills, came
boiling and foaming into a broad eddy, there was
one of those open groves which, if near a village,
would have been " run down" with picnic parties
and promenading lovers.

For beneath the great limbs of old trees the
green sward was level and soft, the road passed
just to the right, while the deep river, calming
down from the rush above, purled and whirled along
the low bank as quietly as if it hadn't been torn
all to pieces among the jagged rocks in the hills
beyond.

In this grove their horses, too well-trained to
move away from their masters on such good grass.
Wild Bill and Frank Stark camped on their second
night out.

Their saddles and blankets were at the foot of a
big tree. In front a fire blazed up cheerily, and be-
fore it hung a haunch of venison and a couple of
wild turkeys, roasting nicely and browning from
side to side, as one or the other of the men gave
them a turn before the red heat of the hard wood-
coals.

Hunters don't take the trouble to slice and cook
sparingly when they're in a' game country. The

BUFFALO BILL. 213

cook as they kill, by "wholesale," and what they
don't eat is left for the fox, the wolf, or the raven.

The two men were happy. They had bright
water close at hand, plenty of meat, and bread too,
though the last was a luxury rather than a necessity;
fuel, and warm, bold hearts.

Their arms and horses were tried, trusty, and near.
Their friends, though absent, were yet in their hearts,
.and that was a joy forever.

Oh! it is a blessed link, that of memory, even
though it has shadows as well as its lights. There
are none so soulless, none so utterly without heart,
that they have not some cherished memory to dwell
upon — something in the vista of the past ever dear,
which will come up to the vision, making the good
happier, the bad better.

The two men sat and talked about those they
loved and cared for — the mother of one far distant,
the sisters also of the other, and the dear friends
yet nearer in St. Louis.

After awhile the well-browned venison and juicy
turkey claimed their attention, and while from their
tin cups they sipped the warm, pleasant coffee,
rudely made, but all as fragrant as if it came from
a silver urn, they sliced off pieces of meat or fowl,
and ate with that keen appetite which perfect health,
exercise, and pure air always carries.

They had fasted since morning and ridden fast ;
therefore a hearty meal was easy to take, and natural.

After supper the inevitable pipe made its appear-
ance, and while circles of smoke came whirling from

V.

214 BUFFALO BILL.

theirmouths and nostrils, for your borderman smokes
as only he and the Indians do — as much through
his nostrils as his mouth — they talked about those
who were left behind.

All at once, however, a sound reached their ears
which caused them to spring to their feet and seize
their rifles, standing wkhin reach.

It was the swift clatter of hoofs coming up the
road.

And the next instant, on a powerful bay horse, a
man dashed into the circle of light made by the fire,
and before him, held in his arms, and apparently in-
sensible, was a female.

One glance at the man and at the ,white face of
the girl was enough.

" Lillie !" shouted Frank Stark.

" Dave Tutt !*' cried Wild Bill, as the- horseman
dashed madly past them with his helpless prize.

Both rifles were raised and fired at the same in-
stant ; and just as the bay horse bounded into the
darkness beyond the glimmer made by the fire-light,
he fell with two balls through him.

The bordermen did not wait to mount their own
horses, but both rushed on to overtake the dismounted
rider.

The horse, struggling in his death-agony, was on
the ground.

A scream from Lillie told where she was, for the vil-
lain was carrying her to the river. After her, with
a wild shout, to assure her help was near, rushed the
two bordermen.

BUFFALO BILL. 21$

Another shriek and a pistol shot froze their
hearts.

Fearing the worst, they rushed on, and in a second
more came to Lillie where Tutt had dropped her on
the earth, firing at her as he wheeled away to plunge
into the river, with deadly intent, of course.

" Lillie — oh, my poor Lillie — are you hurt ?" cried
Frank Stark, as discovering her by the light color
of her dress, he raised her in his arms.

**No; he fired almost in my face, but missed me,"
she cried, as she recognized by his voice the person
who had lifted her up.

*' Thank Heaven for that ! Bill, Lillie is safe !"

/* Yes, and I expect Dave Tutt is, too, for he is
across the river here where it is dark, and nobody
but his master, Satan, could find. him now. Is Miss
Lillie hurt?"

" No, thank you,** she answered, " but terribly
frightened. That man tore me from our home in
the dead of night, and changing horses I know not
how often, for he had horses and friends all along
the road, brought me here. We were pursued more
than once, fired at two or three times, but he never
stopped. Oh, it was horrible, horrible! Such a
ride, such wild threats and curses ! I could not
have lived to see the light of another day, had not
kind Heaven placed you where you could save me.**

" Dave Tutt shall be hunted for this, as the hound
follows the trail, till he dies !** said Wild Bill, in that
low, solemn tone which means even more than it
says. ** As soon as the light comes I will find his

/■"..• • 'x

2l6 _ .' BUFFALO BILrL.

track, for I heard the stones rattle where he went
up the other bank. He shall not rest, for he has no
horse, and Black Nell can climb where he can go."

" It is my work — the hunting him down," said
Frank Stark, eagerly. " You take Miss Lillie home,
Bill, on my horse, and I can follow him afoot — and
I will, till I lift his hair and leave his carcass for the
wolves!"

" No, Frank. Lillie would rather go with you, and
I want her to. I think as much of her as any man
on earth ought to, but I'm not company for any
sweet pearl of a woman like her — Fm too rough, you
see. Take her, Frank, on your own horse — it's
more than likely you'll meet Buffalo Bill and his
"men on the trail, though if that fiend changed horses
so often, he has got well ahead."

*' But, Bill, I don't like to have you go alone after
that villain."

"You make me laugh, Frank. Dave Tutt is
smart, I know that ; but if he were ten times the
man he is, when I get sight of him, and think that
this is third time he has had Lillieiirhis hands, and
that it isn't his fault that she is not now cold and
dead in your arms, I'll use him up as easy as I would
a bear cub. I will not hear a word against it — take
Miss Lillie back, after we've given her a bite to eat
and a cup of coffee, and let her rest awhile, and as
soon as a gleam of day opens to let me go on his trail,
lam there, to stay till I find him, aqd then he goes
under."

" Well, Bill, I know it is no use to argue with you.

BUFFALO BILL. 217

and as one of us must see Lillie back safe, it will
have to be me — not that I don't like the job, but I
feel as if / ought to be the one to give Dave Tutt
his ticket of leave.**

The men had now got back to the camp, for Lillie,
strengthened by the glad presence of dear and true
friends, was able to walk, though her wan face bore
evidence of the fearful suffering she had known with-
in the past few hours.

\

2l8 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Before day dawned, Frank was on his way toward
St. Louis, with Lillie seated on a blanket behind his
saddle, for one horse had to carry both until he
could get another.

And when day dawned, Wild Bill, swimming the
river where it ran slow in an eddy, on his petted
Black Nell, took the trail of Dave Tutt where he had
climbed up the bank after swimming the river in
the night.

The trail was easily found, for the ruffian had
been too much hurried to be careful, and the instant
that the eye of Bill rested on it, he said to Black
TNell, even as if she was human :

** Old gal, there's the track of the ongainliest reptile
that ever trod the airth ! Keep your eye on it, for
we don't leave it till it's maker is found, and then
him and nie has got to settle. You know what that
means, don't you, beauty?"

The small, sharp ears on Nell's head had been
pointed forward, as if she was listening to every word
he spoke, and now she nodded her head as if she
understood it all.

Then as he dropped the bridle reins, she turned up
the bank, following the place where loosened rocks
had made small furrows as they tumbled down — on
through grass bent only slightly, yet enough to show

BUFFALO BILL. 2ig

that something had recently gone through — on among
trees and bushes, only now and then hesitating as
she came to a hard, rocky place, where no trace
could be seen. Here Wild Bill, bringing his judgment
into play, would guide her until in some softer spot
the trail would again become visible.

Where it was possible, Bill rode rapidly, but the
chase had a good §tart, and the route was over lofty
hills, through rough gorges and tangled ravines, and
hours passed swiftly by without bringing the fugitive
insight.

Bill, however, did not hesitate or falter, and when
night with its darkness came, he was satisfied that
he must be very near, within three or four miles^
perhaps, of Tutt. He also knew, by the course he
had come, as well as by the lay of the land, that he
was near a small village in that part of Missouri sup-
posed to be most southern.

When it became too dark for him to see tbe trail,
he loosened the saddle girths and removed the bridle
from Nell's mouth, when he dropped into his blanket
under a tree to sleep. He well knew that Nell
would wake him,* as she had often done before, if
danger approached, and rest was needed.

When morning came, the mare refreshed on good
grass during the night was ready for the bit and
tightened saddle, and with a hasty lunch on dried
vension, washed down by cold water, he mounted
and struck the trail again.

* A historical fact, well known.

220 BUFFALO BILL.

Within three miles he struck the spot where Dave
Tutt had dropped his frame in the grass to rest, for
the bed was plain to view. But the latter had un-
doubtedly started the instant he could see, and
started much refreshed by rest, for where his steps
could be tracked the stride seemed a great deal
longer than before.

The country, though much broken yet, was easier
to travel than that traversed the day before, and Bill
got over it quite rapidly.

At noon he was close to a small village in which
the one tavern was made conspicuous by a huge
sign as well as by a crowd congregated about its
doors.

Toward this, after resting his horse for at least a
half hour to give her breath, Wild Bill galloped.

The village contained probably a hundred or more
houses, mostly on one broad street, with the county
court house nearly opposite the tavern.

Wild Bill rode directly up to the tavern, and leap-
ing from his mare, left her untied at the door, and
walked boldly into the bar-room, which was crowded
with people. Of these he knew some, and some
knew him, and he knew that most of them were
Southerners.

But his quick eye caught sight of the only man he
wanted then. Dave Tutt, flushed and heated, stood
at the bar, raising a glass of whisky to his lips, as
he saw Bill enter.

The color left his face, and with trembling hand
he set the liquor down untasted.

\

BUFFALO BILL. 221

" Drink it, Dave Tutt, drink it, for you'll need it
now more than you ever did in your life !** said Bill,
sternly, as he strode up within two feet of him, the
crowd parting to right and left as he advanced.
** Drink it, I say, and then go to the opposite side
of the street with your revolver, and remember, it
is you or me /'*

David Tutt, reassured, when he found that work
was not to commence instantly, swallowed the fiery
liquid, and the color came back in his face.

" You've followed me sharp. Bill," said he, and I
can't blame you. But Td rather it would have been
Frank Stark than you, for he is an infernal turn-coat,
and "

" Look here, Dave Tutt, you Ve got neither time or
breath to spare in talkin*. Just cross the street and
be ready to take care of yourself, or I'll rip your
heart out where you stand !"

Bill's look as well as his low, determined tone told
Tutt there was no chance of evading the combat or
of delay which might be of advantage where friends
on his side were so plenty.

So he at once put his hand on the butt of his re-
volver and slowly passed from the bar-room into
the street, and on across it to the front of the court-
house.

"A fight ! A fight ! Stand clear !" shouted the
landlord of the hotel.

" A fight ! A fight !" screamed a hundred delighted
men, and all drew off on one hand or the other to
arrange a free line of fire between the two men.

222 BUFFALO BILL.

"Are you ready, Dave?*' asked Wild Bill, as the
other reached the path fronting the court-house and
faced about.

" One question and I am !** cried Dave.

" Speak it quick, then, for my arm aches keeping
it down so long !*' replied Bill.

** Did I kill Lillie last night ?" asked Dave.

" No r thundered Bill. " She is too much of an
angel to die by such a fiend's hand as yours. You
never even stretched her!"

"Then Til \d\\you now and go for her on your
black mare. Fm ready,'* yelled Dave, and he
raised his pistol.

Both men fired at the same time, and for an instant
it seem as if both had missed, for both stood erect,
calm apparently, looking at each other.

Only a second, and with a death-yell on- his whiten-
ing lips, Dave Tutt essayed to fire again, but his
pistol exploded harmlessly as he fell forward on his
face, dead. ,

Then Bill raised the hat from his head and looked
at a hole in it where the ball had passed through,
actually cutting away the hair on his head as it
'grazed the skull.

"There's one debt paid!" said Bill, as he glared
fiercely on the crowd. " If any of you cared enough
for him to stand in his place, Til wait just one min-
ute to see it done !"

Bill calmly waited the minute. Not a man stirred
or spoke.

BUFFALO BILL. 223

Then he whistled to Black Nell, sprang on her
back as she trotted up, and rode off without hearing
one word from those who stood around. They
knew him too well to talk then.

224 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

When Wild Bill rode away from the village where
Dave Tutt met but too honorable a death, there
was not a man among all the people assembled, and
nine-tenths were Southerners, to raise a hand to stay
him, or speak a word to rouse his anger.

But as he rode away to the westward there were
fifty who cried out :

" Why did we let him go ? We should have hung
him up on the spot."

" I reckon the talking would have had to lead the
swinging !" said a rough-looking customer, who with
revolvers and knife belted around him, looked as if
talking would not be mere talk if it was tried on him.

" Are you a friend of his ?** asked half a dozen of
men, frowning on the stranger.

^* Not if I know myself, and I reckon I do. But I
know him, and the man that tackles Wild Bill single-
handed has got his winter's work paid for in advance.
I thought Fd see if you all would let him go before
you'd speak or raise a hand — so I kept still and saw
you do it. Now I'm going to fix him, or start them
that will. I want a gal that's smart as lightning on-
hitched, who can ride a race-horse and tell a smooth
lie without blushing."

" Mister, I'm one that can do all that if 'twill /ey',"
said a small but well-formed girl of eighteen or

BUFFALO BILL. 22$

twenty years — the landlord's daughter — a brunette,
with a good deal of mischief in her dark eyes, and a
firm, cruel look about her thin, close-drawn lips.

" It shall pay — his purse and gold watch, the one
is full, I reckon, and the other worth two hundred
dollars, for 'twas a gift from General Harney," said
the man, in a quiet, business way.

" Well, I'd go for half that, but what am I to do ?"
asked the girl.

" Come in the back room and I'll tell you. You'll
have to ride my led horse out there, he's a thorough-
bred, and will take you over the ground as quick as
you ever went, if he don't histe you out of the
saddle."

" I'll risk that," said the girl, laughing, as she fol-
lowed the man in to hear what he had to say.

This did not appear to take long, for she came
out soon dressed for a ride, and as soon as he had
put a side-saddle of hers on the horse, a magnificent
chestnut gelding, clean-limbed, deep-chested, and
with all the points of a thoroughbred visible, she
sprang into her seat as the horse was led up to the
tavern steps.

The animal was not used to a female rider, and
bounded into the air with a wild spring which would
have unseated many a maUy not to speak of a woman.

" Let him have his head, and take the trail of you

know whom. The story you tell will take him where

he'll meet his match and get his gruel !" cried the

stranger, as he saw the girl keep her seat in the sad-

>dle with a coolness which told him as well as the

/... . ^ ^

- \

226 BUFFALO BILL.

horse that she was mistress of the situation and able
to remain so.

She made no reply, but gave the horse the reins
and sped away at a gallop.

"That gal is fit to command a regiment, and
worth the whole caboodle of you men," said the
. stranger, with a sneer, as he turned and faced the
loungers at the bar. " Landlord, give me a slug of
your best brandy to drink her health in. If I come
out of this war a major-general 1*11 take her off your
hands, as sure as my n^me is — what it is'*

The crowd, eager to know his name, looked their
disappointment as he ended thus, and asked, speak-
ing unusually respectfully :

" What mought that name be, stranger ?'*

" It might be Smith, or Brown, or Jones, or Jenk-
ins, but it isn't," said the stranger, showing his white
teeth in an icy smile. "Landlord, is this the best
brandy you've got ?*'

" Yes, I paid eight dollars a gallon for it in Pilot
Knob," said the landlord, not pleased with the way
the stranger tasted it and then tossed the contents
of his glass on the floor.

"It was good whisky, I expect, before they put
burned sugar, oil of bitter almonds, and oil of vitriol
ih-Jt and called it brandy*' said the man, with a
mocking laugh.. " Never mind, there's your money
for it, whetherit is drank or not. And now, if any
of you men are for the South enough to fight for
her, starve when you can't get food, go wet when
yoti can't keep dry, and die when your time comes,

. \

r

BUFFALO BILL. 22/

why there's a muster roll for you to sign. My name
is at the head of it, and if you don't know me now,
you will when I take any of you under fire, for you'll
see me in front."

The men went one after the other and looked at
the name which headed the muster roll, and more
than one hat went off as the. whisper passed from
lip to lip—" It is Ben McCuUough, the gfreat Texan
ranger !"

..■*■ •

228 BUFFALO BILL.

V

CHAPTER XL.

Wild Bill did not ride very fast after he left the
village. He did not know but some of the bush-
whackers would feel inclined to follow him, and if
they did, knowing well that he could keep his own
range with Black Nell under him, he felt no desire
to get away until he had given them a chance.

He had gone four or five miles, perhaps, when he
saw a woman coming on behind him at an easy
gallop.

" That don't mean fight, but it may be a trick,"
he muttered, as he checked his speed a little to
allow her to come up.

She was soon nearly alongside, and turning care-
lessly in his saddle, he glanced, first curiously, and
then admiringly at her.

For not only was she dashingly pretty, but she
sat that horse in a way to captivate the fancy of any
one like Bill — a good horseman himself, and a judge
not only of animals, but how they should be ridden.

" That's a stunnin' animal you're on, miss,** said he.

" It ought to be. Aunt Sally gave two hundred
for him when he wa^ a yearlin* colt," said the fair
rider. " Uncle Jake M*Kandlas wants to buy him,
but I don't mean to let Aunt Sally sell him, for he
just suits me.^^

The girl spoke in a careless way, and did not ap^

■' •.*

BUFFALO BILL. 229

pear to observe the sudden start which Wild Bill in-
voluntarily gave as that last name left her lips.

"Who is Uncle Jake M'Kandlas? Is he Aunt
Sally's husband ?" asked Bill with well-assumed care-
lessness, recovering his self-possession in a minute
or less.

"Oh, no — we call him Uncle Jake because he's
old. He isn't well ; he got hurt among the Indians
not long ago, and he's stayin* at our house to get
well," said the girl, speaking as easily and natural as
if she had not learned a lesson. " Aunt Sally knowed
him years ago, I've heard her say, when I was a little
girl. Aren't you the man that shot a chap a while
ago back there ?"

And she pointed with her thumb over her shoulder
toward the now distant village.

"Yes, he was my enemy. I gave him an equal
chance, but he wasn't quite as sure as I. That drink
of whisky kind of outsteadied him, I reckon."

"I neard 'em say you shot him to kill. But I
must get on, or it'll be plum dark afore I get to
Aunt Sally's."

And the girl urged her horse on faster and
diverged more to the southwest, over the rolling
prairie-land.

" Hold on a minute, please," said Bill, letting Black
Nell " slide " a little faster. " How far do you live
from here ?"

" About ten or twelve mile, I reckon — it's just over
that range of hills there."

"You wouldn't mind if I rode home with you,

^. ".

230

BUFFALO BILL,

would you ?'* continued Bill. " Jake M'Kandlas is an
old friend of mine^ and Td like to see him, and
sleepin' in a house is nicer than campin' out when a
chap is all alone. I've got plenty of money to pay
my way, and I reckon your Aunt Sally won't object
to my giving you the price of a new dress."

" No, indeed, she wouldn't say nothin' agin that,
not if you're a friend of Uncle Jake's ; but you shoot
careless, they say, and it makes me kind of fearsome
of.you."

" Oh, you needn't fear me. I never spoke a cross
word or did a mean thing to a woman in all my life,
and I'm not goin' to begin now. So, if you'll let
nie ride home alongside of you, you may let that
chestnut beauty of yours skiffty 2Sid I'll try to keep
up.

"AH right, stranger — I'll trust you."

The girl, whose artless manner had won away all
feeling of distrust from Bill, rode along rapidly, and
Bill, chattering as they galloped, tried to make
himself agreeable.

.. »-

BUFFALO BILL. ' 2$ I

CHAPTER XLI.

Frank Stark, securing a second horse for Lillie
at the first settlement after leaving camp in the morn-
ing, made a rapid journey toward the city, but even
as Wild Bill had anticipated, before night he met
Buffalo Bill with a party on the trail of Dave Tutt.

The story of the rescue was soon related, and
when Buffalo Bill was told that his mate had kept
on after Dave, he took two of his men with him and
pushed forward to overtake Wild Bill, sending the
rest back in charge of Frank Stark with his sister.

He knew that Wild Bill would not now leave
the chase until he had run his game down, and he
determined to be " in at the death " himself, if he
could.

But as we have seen this was impossible, for Wild
Bill had been fast, and Dave Tutt had been dead
long before Buffalo Bill had reached the spot where
Lillie was rescued.

It was so dark after they crossed the river and
found the trail of Wild Bill and the man he had fol-
lowed, that they had to lay over until morning.

But when dawn came they started without any
delay, and pushed on at a rapid rate for the next
two hours.

But now, while crossing a valley of some extent,
between two hill ranges, where all was level, and

232

BUFFALO BILL.

there was neither bush, tree or rock to serve as con-
cealment, they saw that which would have chilled
the hearts of any man less fearless and less careless
of odds than these bordermen.

Yelling wildly, full a hundred Sioux Indians came
dashing over the hill in front of them, charging fairly
down upon them.

Flight seemed to be the only policy. But to
retreat is not in the tactics of Buffalo Bill.

His plan was formed in an instant, and acted on
as quickly. Powder Face, trained to a hundred
tricks, was made to lay down by a single word. The
other horses were thrown^ and tied so they could not
rise, and then all were sheltered- as far as possible
with their saddles and blankets.

The animals were so arranged as to form a trian-
gular breast-work, and inside of this, each man facing
an angle, with his breech-loading rifle and revolvers
ready for use, they waited the onset.

Yelling, as \{ yells could kill, the Indians came into
range, and the moment Buffalo Bill knew his fire
would tell, he and his companions began to blaze
away. He knew that only an effective fire in the
start, checking the enemy and throwing them into
confusion, would save him and his two men, and not
a shot was wasted.

Indian after Indian tumbled headlong from his
horse, and soon circling away further and further,
the red warriors rode out of range. In less than
five minutes they had lost full twenty warriors, one
of them a chief.

BUFFALO BILL, 233

Wild yells for vengeance rose from their lips, and
after a pow-wow of half an hours* duration, they
again prepared- to attack.

This time, dividing off into different squads, they
charged all at once from various points, laying down
on their horses, and shielding their bodies from fire
with all conceivable cunning.

" Shoot the horses if you can't get a bead on the
men," said Bill. " Fire sure and fast, and when a war-
rior is dismounted, put him out of the way of mount-
ing again."

His men, cool as himself, poured in a steady fire
with their long range guns, and though the Indians,
firing as they charged, repeatedly came within a
hundred yards before losing many, they wheeled
away. Not a single shot of theirs did any serious
injury, though some of their balls struck the saddles,
and two of the horses were slightly wounded.

The Indians lost, more in the second than on the
first attack.

Another pow-wow was Jield among them and a
change in the mode of attack made.

Buffalo Bill was the first to discover a small smoke
rise where the Indians had huddled together.

" They are going to try to fire the prairie," said
he. " But it is foolishness. The grass is too green
to burn. They must try some other game. If I
only had twenty men here Fd charge and whip the
crowd. As it is, I'll try it before I stay cooped up
here till after dark, when they'll be sure to creep in
upon us and use us up. Ah ! there they come again.

V

1^34 BUFFALO BILL.

Now I'll show *em another trick. Don't fire this
time as soon as they get in range, but lay as low as
you can. They'll think we're out of ammunition."

Again the Indians swept in a wide circle, whoop-
ing and yelling, and keeping under cover of their
horses as usual.

They seemed astonished when no shot was fired
from the novel barricade.

And then, when Bill hoisted a white handkerchief
on the barrel of his gun, their exultant yells came
wildly down on the wind. Not that for an instant
would they respect a flag of true or accept a surren-
der, but they thought the poor men, without ammu-
nition, were at their mercy.

They held a hurried pow-wpw, and then, in dense
column, rode, yelling and tearing, directly toward
their supposed victims.

Bill and his companions, with their rifles pointed
and two revolvers to each, loaded in their belts,
waited until the Indians, who did not now think it
necessary to fire, were within a hundred yards, and
then, like flashing lightning, poured in their deadly
fire.

Through that confused, headlong mass the rifle
' balls tore, killing and maiming them in line, and, as
they could not check themselves before they were
in revolver range, those swift, deadly weapons rained
in a leaden hail with terrible effect.
. Confused, huddled ^up, terror-stricken, the red
men turned in every way to flee from that shower
of death.

BUFFALO BILL. 235

" Now, up and follow me !*' cried Bill, and, with-
out waiting to saddle, he sprang on Powder Face,
and, with a fearful yell, charged right in among the
enemy, brandishing his heavy rifle as a club, and
striking down the warriors as if they were but play-
things in his hand.

Oh, it was a grand as well as a fearful sight, to
see him, bare-headed and bespattered with blood
and brains, dash here and there. Powder Face kick-
ing, plunging and snorting as he dashed his red hoofs
into the dead and dying, while the Indians, utterly
terror-mad, sought only to escape.

Bill was well supported by his two brave compan-
ions, and as long as there was an Indian left within
reach of blow or bullet, they fought on.

It was a gallant fight.

Kit Carson, or Ben McCullough in his glory among
the Comanches, could not have asked to see a
better.

To the Indians it was a bitter, a terrible lesson.
A few only fled far away, to tell that demons, in-
stead of men, had been met, and their party had
been swept away as the strong winds of November
strip the sere leaves from the forest tree. They had
fled to tell another story of the prowess of the
", Long-haired Chief," whom none of them could kill ;
who was shielded by the hand of the Great Spirit.

When the fight was all over, and the mere
scratches got in the last melee by Bill and his men
had been looked to, the saddles were again put upon
the horses, a little food eaten, and a drink of pure

236

BUFFALO BILL.

water from their canteens, and then the route was
resumed.

Night was approaching when Bill, observing the
smoke rise from a distant house on the prairie, re-
marked that they would go to it to camp, for pos-
sibly there they might hear from Wild Bill.

* y^

BUFFALO BILL. 237

CHAPTER XLII.

When the sun was just dipping to the crest of
the farthest western hills, the fair brunette showed
Wild Bill a smoke rising from a house half hidden
in a little grove of locust trees.

" There's where Aunt Sally lives," said she ; " now
for a race to see who'll get there first.*'

And even as the words left her lips she touched
her horse with the slack of the reins and he started
at his wildest speed.

He had thus two or three rods the lead of Black
Nell, but she began to slowly close the gap, and
when they reached the door the two horses were
side by side.

As Wild Bill leaped from his horse he turned to
help the girl down, but laughing, with a fiendish
light in her eyes, she cried out :

^^ Your friend, Jake M'Kandlas, comes yonder —
I'll go to tell him Wild Bill is here !"

And she pointed to a group of men, eleven in all,
who were slowly riding that way, and instantly rode
at full speed toward them.

A woman came to the door — an old woman whom
Bill had met years before, but who knew him in-
stantly.

" Oh, merciful Heaven, Mr. Hitchcock,* what will

^ 9 _^ _^ ^___

* His real name.

238" BUFFALO BILL.

become of you ?" she cried. " Jake M'Kandlas and
his gang will murder you under my roof ! Oh, what
brought you here ?**

" Your precious niece there," said Bill, as he turned
Nell loose and shouted : " Go for help, old gal — find
Buffalo Bill and bring him here to bury me."

*' My niece ? I have no niece — I do not know that
girl," said the woman, looking in wonder to see the
black mare speed .away as if she flew.

" Then Fm sold and the money paid in," cried
Bill. "She has told Jake M'Kandlas, and there he
and his tigers come. Old woman, if you ever do
any prayin*, get into your cellar, if you have one,
out of the way, and pray your tallest, for there's
going to be just the toughest fight here that ever
was fought. Go quick, I want a clear range and no
squalling to bother me."

There was a cellar and a trap-door leading to it,
and through this the weeping woman fled for safety,
perhaps to pray, as Bill asked her to do.

The next moment, throwing aside his hunting
shirt and putting knife-hilt and revolver-butt where
his hand would reach them easiest. Bill stood firm,
fronting the door with his rifle cocked and ready.

A rush of horsemen, the sound of heavy feet leap-
ing from the saddle to the ground, and then the
burly form of Jake M'Kandlas loomed up before
the door.

"Surrender, Yank!" shouted the renegade.

He never spoke again.

An ounce ball from Bill's rifle tor^ away the

s ■

BUFFALO BILL. 239

very tongue that spoke, and took half the head with
it, for he was on the threshold and the muzzle of
the gun was in his face.

As he fell back dead the gang rushed in on Bill,
and firing as he backed to a corner— -one, two, three,
four, five, six successive shots sent a man down in
less time than I can write. Four more were left,
and now knives in hand they were on him. One
clutched him by the throat with a strangling grasp,
while the others hewed and mangled him as he strug-
gled to free himself.

One fearful blow with his clenched fist sent one
combatant stunned out of the way, then he clutched
the arm which was extended to his throat, and broke
it as if it had been rotten wood instead of flesh and
bone — and now his own knife was out. Oh —
fearful, for an instant — sickening was the work.
Like tigers mad for blood, with flashing, clashing
knives, silent only that their breathing could be
heard for rods, they sprang and leaped at each other,
parrying and thrusting, until the last man of the
crowd lay dead before the hero.*

He, a mass of blood from head to foot, staggered
out of the door, where the brunette yet sat on her
horse to await the issue.

. She saw him, and with a wild scream gave her
horse the^rein and fled away in the thickening twi-
light.

Bill staggered to the well, and bending his head

, * A historical fact.

240 BUFFALO BIIX.

down to a trough full of water by it, drank a few
drops and then dropped sensdess to the earth.

The widow who had been frightened from the
cellar by the blood which drippe^ down in streams
upon her through the cracks in the floor, now came
up, found the state he was in, and canying him in
her arms into the house laid him on her bed and
dressed his wounds as well as she was able — stanch-
ing them with ice-cold water and lint hastily scraped
from the bed linen.

She had the joy to see his eyes open after a long
death-like swoon, and to hear his husky whisper as
he asked :

" Have I wiped *em all out ?**

" Yes, all but the girl, and she fled away. Oh, I
do believe there's good in prayer!" said the old
woman. *' I prayed and I cried, and I cried and
prayed all the time I heard the terrible work go on
— ^and I stayed there where the blood ran down on
me, until I thought I should die myself. The good
God must have heard me, for though you are hacked
and slashed all over, there isn't a wound that has
reached your vitals. You'll live — Heaven be praised,
you'll live !"

« Yes— it is to Him I owe it all !" said Bill, sol-
emnly. " Nothing else could have saved me, for
every man of 'em was a fighter ! I reckon my old
mother in Illinois must have been prayin' too, for
'twould take a heap of it to carry me through such
a scrape. Are you sure all of them cusses are
dead?"

J* •

BUFFALO BILL.

241

"Yes — there is not a breath in any of *em. FU
drag 'em out of the house — it's an awful job, but I
can't bear to see 'em lie here after I light up. Their
dead eyes would stare so awful like, for there isn't
one that shut 'em afore he went out."

"I wish I could help you," said Bill, in his low
whisper. "But I'm weak as a babe. now. There
will be help though afore long. I sent Black Nell
after it, and she'll never rest till she brings it.''

/.

^ 242 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XLIIL

All the long night the widow watched poor Bill.
He was so weak that the fluttering breath, the low
pulse, scarce told that he lived; but she prepared a
mild stimulant — not alcoholic, but a home prepara-
tion of roots and herbs — and by noon of the next
day he was, through its effects, able to take a little
broth.

While she was holding up his head to feed him, a
shrill neigh was heard, and Bill at once recognized
from whence it came.

"Black Nell is back, and she has friends with
her !" he said. " You'll not have to bother with me
much longer, my good, kind friend."

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth,
Buffalo Bill rushed into the room.

He, almost always cool and calm, was white as
snow now in the face, and trembled like a dry leaf
in the winter wind.

" Bill, is life left in you ?** he gasped.

" Yes; lots of life, but not much blood," whispered
Wild Bill.

"And you killed *em all^-old Jake and ten more
— for I saw and counted 'em as I ran by."

" Yes, mate — I wiped *em all out, but 'twas just
the hardest job I ever tackled," said Bill, his bright
eyes telling how sure he was of the work.

• *

V

BUFFALO BILL. 243

" Mate, I loved you before better than I loved my
own life — I don't know how I can love you more.
But if I ever have a chance to die for you, Til laugh
while Tm going, /should like to have given old
Jake his dose, but it came just as good from your
hand. He knew you and me were one. This has
been the biggest single-handed fight I ever knew;
for every man of them was a fighting man, a des-
perado. Me and two of the boys have had a big
tussle with the reds while we was hunting you up;
but our fight isn't anything compared with yours.
But can you stand moving?"

" I'll have to. A gal that led me into this scrape
got away, and I expect more of Dave Tutt's friends
will be after my hair when she gets back to tell *em
I haven't gone under."

" Dave Tutt ! Have you seen him ?"

** Yes, and for the last time. He was fool enough :
to exchange lead with me at thirty paces. There' is
a hole in my hat and one through his heart. So he
is settled with."

" Thunder, Bill — you don't leave nothin' for me
to do."

" Yes, I do, mate. You've got to get me back
where they can put the blood into my veins once
more, and make me strong, so that I can follow the
scout as before. Did you see Miss Lillie ?"

" Yes — Frank is with her. I sent all the men
back but two, so I could move fast and quiet to
join you. Do you think, if I sling a bed into the
wagon out here, that you can stand the ride back ?''

\

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244 BUFFALO BILL

" I must stand it, mate, whether I can get through
or not. It won't do for us to stay here. Just the
hardest man on the trail in the Southern army-
knows of this last scrimmage by this time. I saw
him in the little town where I killed Dave Tutt. He
and Van Dorn hunt in the same claim, and they are
both men whom you know to be hard to get away
from."

" Who is this other man, Bill ?"

** Ben McCuUough, the old ranger. I saw by his
eye that he wouldn't interfere between me and
Dave, for he is "one that never would prevent fair
play in a personal matter; but as soon as that was
over I made tracks out of that, for I knew he'd
overhaul me, and if he found I wasn't on his side in
what is going on in the States, I must go under.
But, by the way the landlord's -daughter acted in
showing me where Jake M'Kandlas and his gang
were, I feel satisfied that he sent her. And she is
back with him by this time, and has most likely told
him that his friends were too few to put me under,
and took the down track themselves. That being
the case, it is more than likely he'll come or send to
look after my welfare with anything but a friendly
interest."

** You're right. Bill — you're right. I'll rig up the
wagon outside and have the horses harnessed to it,
and we'll fix you as comfortable as we can, and start
right away."

** That's the talk, mate. The more start we have,
if we're to be followed, the better. But look here

r

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f ■«*■

BUFFALO BILL.

245

— don't take a thing from this old woman without
paying for it. There's not far from three hundred
dollars in my pouch, and there's the watch old
Harney gave me. If it hadn't been for her I should
have gone under, sure. When I got through I was
too near gone to stop the bleeding myself, but she
did it, and I live."

" All right, my mate — I'll do the clean thing by
her ; and if she'll come along and nurse you as we
go, I'll make it worth her while out of my own
pocket. Indeed, I reckon it'll be best for her any-
way, for they that will come after you will not be
likely to treat her well for haying befriended you."

The widow had' overheard the colloquy, for she
stood near.

" I will go gladly, asking no recompense, and not
willing to accept any," she said. " Take my wagon
and mules, pile in the feather beds and clothing,
and he'll lay soft and easy on 'em. As for me, I'm
a lone widow. My two boys have been carried off
to serve with them that you do not like ; and I'm
sure if I stay here I'll see rougher times than I have
seen. Get ready as quickly as you please ; take
what you need, and I'll go with you."

"You're just as true and good-hearted as women-
folks can be when they try," s^id Bill. " Go with
us and we'll stick by you to the last, and see that
every Comfort we can command comes to your
share. We're rough, but we never forget our own
mothers, and while we remember them we can't be
unkind to you."

246 BUFFALO BILL.

It took but a little time for the party to get
ready, and when the widow's wagon was all arranged,
it was far ahead of the usual ambulance used in the
army for comfort. ^

Wild Bill was lifted into it, the widow seated near
his head, with a canteen of water, and' then they
drove on, taking a course which Bill believed would
soonest bring him to where Union forces were
stationed.

It was a painful ride for the wounded man, but
he was too much of a hero to show by any com-
plaint what he suffered.

..^.:. :■'. ■-

BUFFALO BILL. 247

CHAPTER XLIV.

Back with all the speed of which her thorough-
bred horse was capable, sped the traitorous beauty,
who had led Wild Bill into his fearful peril with
the M'Kandlas gang — back over the plains toward
the village where her father lived.

"What will the great Ranger say,'* she asked
herself, " when I tell him his friends have been slain,
single-handed by the man whom he sent me to be-
tray into their hands."

For before he had dismissed her, he had told
Ruby Blazes, the landlord's daughter, his name and
rank, and that as well as her natural proclivities had
made her so willing to serve him and the cause in
which he was engaged. He had told her also
where his camp was situated, so that, if not still
in the village on her return, she might know where
to send the noble animal which he had loaned
her.

But when she reached her father's house, he
was there, and not alone. In the large sitting-
room, generally . used as a family room, she found
him and Van Dorn, who, with all his faults, was
the bravest of the brave, with a few more kindred
spirits, engaged in a friendly game of euchre, while
her father, delighted at the occupation, was very
frequently called upon to replenish their toddy

248 BUFFALO BILL.

glasses, for they were at leisure now and could
afford their grog with sugar fixings.

The room was blue with smoke, and long before
she reached the house. Ruby had heard the laughter
of those within.

But when the door opened and McCuUough saw
her flushed but weary-looking face, he dashed down
the cards he held in his hand and rising, cried :

**Ah, here comes my Prairie Queen. How is it,
my little fairy? Have you seen a little bit of trag-
edy since you left 7*

" If the. hardest ai\d wildest fight, that was ever
fought single-handed is a tragedy, I have seen it !"
she said, and a shudder ran through her fine form.

" What— that man was not fool enough to fight
such a party as Jake M'Kandlas had around him?"

"He was fool enough to fight them, and man
enough to whip them. There is not much of him
left that hasn't got a hole or a gash— -but of them
not one man lives !"

^" Girl, you surely do not speak this in earnest ?"

** I do — it is the truth — neither more or less, and
Jake M*Kandlas with ten more lay dead, for I saw
them myself. I might have killed him, when it was
over, for he had just life enough left to stagger out
for water, but I hadn't the heart to do it. He is
all man, if he isn't on our side."

" Yes, too much of a man to be on the other side.
He must be made a prisoner. As a guide, what he
knows of the country is invaluable. I do not blame
you for anything that h^s miscarried, but that man

\

BUFFALO BILL. 249

has done us too much damage now, and can do
too much yet to be permitted to escape. He must
be made a prisoner, or else he must die.'*

" Who is it r asked Van Dorn.

" The man Hitchcock, generally known as Wild
Bill. You know him well.*'

" I reckon I do. No better shot ever fired a rifle
or pistol. And is it he that has wiped out old
M'Kandlas and his gang?"

"Yes, so Miss Ruby says, and she saw it. But
you've had a hard ride, my bi-ave girl, and need
rest. You found the horse true, did you not?"

** Yes, general ; abetter never skimmed the prai-

rie."

" Then keep him hereafter for my sake, my little
beauty. One who rides so well as you deserves a
good horse to ride on, and you'll not find many to
beat him, especially with your weight on."

" Oh, you do not mian that I shall keep that no-
ble horse as my own ?" cried the pleased as well as
astonished girl.

" I do. You deserve some recompense for your
trouble. I may want you to go on another errand
for me some time."

" rd die for you !" cried Ruby, her dark eyes
flashing as she spoke. ** Oh, if I were only a man,
I'd ride where you ride, and fight where you fight, as
brave as the best of them all. I wish I was a man."

" Some may ; I'm rather glad you're Qot, and if I
live to come out of this war, my beauty, I'll tell you
why. If I donty there's no use in your knowing."

2SO * BUFFALO BILL.

Ruby blushed with pleasure, for the bold speaker
was one of those dashing, handsome men whose
kind attentions are seldom displeasing to the fair
sex.

" What is to be done about that man, Wild Bill ?"
she asked. " He is pretty badly hurt, but if he
is left alone, he'll get over it, and get back where
he can do work against our side."

"Yes," said McCuUough, thoughtfully. "That
will not do. He must be taken care of. I'll send
a party, or go after him myself to-night, or early
in the morning."

"There needn't be much hurry," said the girl.
" It'll be a good while before he is fit to travel, if
I'm any judge. He was terribly used up. They
fought awful, I tell you."

: "I should think so, with such odds. That man
is a human wild cat. There is no use in talking.
For one man, he hasn't got his match on earth.
Couldn't you win him over to our side. Ruby?
You've a mighty taking way with you."

"It wouldn't take with htMy* said ''Ruby, with a
sigh. " AH that did take was the way I rode. He
liked my horse a heap more than he did me."

"Pshaw! I though he had more taste. iBut
' ^ncver mind, my beauty. You shall see him dance
on nothing yet. "

" I'm not anxious for that. When a brave man
goes under I'd rather he'd die like one than to be
choked like a dog. He was polite to me, and I
don't owe him any grudge. The chaps he wiped out

%

BUFFALO BILL. 25 1

you know were mean as sneaks, even if they were
on our side !**

** You're right, Ruby — but be off to rest, for you
need it. 1*11 see you before I start in the morning.
IVe got something I want you to take care of for
me, for one don't know how soon he'll be beyond
care in this skrimmage. I've led a pretty swift sort
of a life, and have looked old Death in the face
about as often as any other man, but I never felt be-
fore as I do now, that I've got pretty near the end
of my grazing-ground. I've never made a will yet,
but I think I shall before I get out of this settle-
ment."

McCullough said this in a low, serious tone, and a
gentle pressure of the hand told Ruby that he meant
all he said, perhaps even more.

^$2

BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER XLV.

Dreary in its loneliness stood the cabin home of
the widow after its owner departed with her wounded
guest and his friends, but the unburied corpses of
Jake M'Kandlas and his gang made the picture ter-
rible.

It must have seemed so to a party of men who
reached it just as the sun was going down on the
eve of the day when it was deserted. For the leader
of these — they were but half a dozen, dressed as
hunters and trappers usually went, and armed like
them — drew back as he glanced at the bodies, and,
with a shudder, said :

" Mates, we've come to a poor place for food or
rest either, by the looks of matters here. Nothing
living ill sight, and dead men strewed around as if
life cost nothing."

" Don't you know who that is, cap ?" asked the
man next to him, pointing down at the ghastly face
of M'Kandlas.

" Bears and wild cats ! It is the old colonel — the
very man we've come to meet !"

" Yes, cap, and do you know who has been here?"

" Buffalo Bill, of course. I've heard of his oath,
and you are one of the gang that he has sworn to
kill ? Isn't it so, Rackensack ?"
" "Yes, cap, it is; and I'd rather meet any other

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BUFFALO BILL. 253

ten men all at once than him alone. Not that Tm
afeard of any man as a man, or afraid to die when
my time comes, but there's luck goes with him.
Colonel Jake has shot at him twenty times, and he
never missed any other man. WeVe all tried to put
him under, public and private, with lead, steel, and
pison, but he lives, and he lives and swears he will
live till we're all gone. There's but two or three
left of the original lot — for truth, I don't know posi-
tive of any but me and Ginger-blue, the Texas Boy.
But let's go inside — maybe we'll see something liv-
ing in there."

The man who was called " cap" pushed open the
unlatched door, and only saw the marks and stains
of the terrible fight which had occurred in there.
Bill and his companions had laid all the bodies out-
side while they were there.

" There are but few of our boys left now," said the
captain. "All of Alf Coye's men are gone; but
Dave Tutt must be left, for his body isn't among
these, and he generally hunted in mighty close com-
pany to the old colonel."

"Yes, most likely he was off when this fight came
on. Dave would go a hundred miles any day to see
a lump of honey in the shape of a pretty girl, and
most likely that took him off. Hark ! what is
that?"

" It's a voice singing — some girl. Like as not
Dave coming back with a prize."

" She has a horse under her, and is alone," said
one of the party, who glanced out of the door.

. ■ ■ i • - ■ ,

■ ' ■ : > ■ ■-- . • -^;

254 BUFFALO BILL, '

" Young, too — why, cap, haven't you seen her be-
fore?"

" Yes ; it looks like that gal the colonel took from
the Mormon train at Ash Hollow one time," said
the captain, looking ont.

" It is her," said Rackensack, " and she is as crazy
as a loon with a ball through both eyes! She is
coming right here, too !"

The men all had entered the cabin, but they now
hurried to the door to see the female, whose shrill,
plaintive voice rose louder and louder as she ap-
proached, chanting a wild improvisation like this :

*' Over the prairie, lonely and cheerless,
Wanders poor Mary, eyes dry and fearless —

Why should she weep ? >
See the birds flying home to their nests,
Daylight is dying away in^the west,
And Mary must sleep. '*

She did not seem to heed the presence of any one,
but let her horse take its own course until it halted
where the others were standing near the cabin door.

Then she raised her pale, haggard face, and, with
a look as cold and meaningless as if it had been mar-
ble instead of plastic flesh, saw the men before her.

" Why are you here ?" she cried. " Mary does
not belong to you. Her people are lost, and she is
looking for them."

"Does Mormon Mary know that man?" asked
the captain, pointing to the dead body of M'Kandlas.

** Yes ; it is the colonel. Don't wake him up, or

N

BUFFALO BILL. 255

he'll beat you terribly. He is worse than a tiger
when he is mad," she said.

"He'll not wake again in this world," said the
captain. " But come in the house, poor girl — come
in. There's no one of us will hurt you."

"Mary is hungry. The red Indians are afraid of
her because she is a spirit, and she cannot get food
from any one," said the girl, plaintively.

" We will find something for you. The man who
wronged you most is past wronging you or any one
else. Old Jake is dead."

" Dead — there are no dead !" said the girl, in a
low, sad tone. " They only sleep when they do not
move any more. I shall sleep by and by, and the
winds will sing wild songs over me. The flowers
will nod their heads and go to sleep, too. But we
will all awake when God's daylight comes."

" Crazy or not, the girl speaks bright ideas," said
the captain. "Stir about, men, and find something
lor supper — if you can't do better, kill a mule, for
we've got to eat !"

"There's meat and potatoes in the cellar!" cried
a man who had just made the discovery.

"Good! We'll have supper and a night's rest.
When morning comes it will be time enough for us
to decide what to do."

Soon a bright fire roared in the great chimney ; a
huge pot full of potatoes was hung over the fire-
place, and a great pan of bacon was set on to fry.

One of the men attended to all this, for the poor,
crazed girl had seated herself on a stool in one cor-

.■«•

556 , BUFFALO BILL.

V

ner, and there sat rocking to and fro, singing low
wild strains to herself, and not seeming to heed the
presence of any other.

The widow had not taken away her housekeeping
utensils, so these visitors found articles for setting
the table in her cupboard, and in a little while the
volunteer cook announced that supper was ready.

" Come, Mary ; come, poor girl, and get some-
thing to eat," said the captain to the female, whose
tangled hair and scanty, ragged garments made her
look so pitiful.

And she, without a word, took the seat to which
he led her, and ate ravenously of the food which he
placed before with a bounteous hand.

All the men sat down and ate as if long abstinence
had given them good appetites, conversing but little
. during the meal.

" Mary, have you ever seen me before ?** asked the
captain, when the woman at last drew- back as if her
hunger was fully appeased. *

" Yes, you ride on the clouds when it storms. I
have seen you at night when the owls sing, and I
have listened to you when you told the red men to
'go back to the hills. You are the spirit of the hunt-
ing grounds, and the red men fear you."
^ "Poor girl ! her brain is indeed gone wild," said
the man. ** Hallo ! look outside, one of you, quick !
I hear horses at a gallop. Be ready with your tools,
boys, for we don't know what is coming."

One. of the men sprang to the door, but had those
who approached done so with hostile intent, he

■y
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^ -. BUFFALO BILL. 2$/

would have been too late for resistance, for at the
same nioment that he opened the door, a dozen
armed men stood before him, ready to enter.

At their head was the dashing-looking stranger
who had lent Ruby Blazes his horse when he sent
her to act as guide to Wild Bill, and who, on her re-
turn, had made her a present of the animal.

" Who are you here ?'* cried the man, as, with
a cocked revolver in his hand followed first by the
little brunette, who had guided him there, and next
by several of his own men, he entered the warm cabin.

" None of us are enemies to Major Ben McCul-
lough/* cried the captain. " I've too good a memory
of hot times on the Brazos, when the Mexicans were
throwing escopette balls like hail among a few of us,
to travel with them that do not like a Texan Ranger

now.**

«

Why, it is old Cap Lewis, or Fm short of mem-
ory," cried the Ranger, extending his hand.

** It is me, or what is left of me, Major," cried the
man ; " and I'm glad to see you here. I got word
the other day up in the hills from Jake M'Kandlas
to meet him down here with what boys I had. I
got here just as night came on, and found Jake and
his gang, but they're done work for this world.
Some one has wiped *em out with rough and bloody
hands."

** Yes ; I know who did it, and I came here after
him."

*^Ifimf You don't mean one man did all the
killing that lays outside of this cabin ?"

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258

BUFFALO BILL.

" Yes, it was all the work of one man — Wild Bill ;
and here is a girl who saw it, Miss Ruby Blazes, who
has just guided me and my party here.**

" Where is he ? Wasn't he hurt ?**

**Yes,** said Ruby; ** he was all shot and all cut
up — bleeding from head to foot when I saw him
last. He couldn't have got away from here without
help. Where is the widow ? That isn't her."

**No; that poor girl is a victim of old Jake, who
lays dead outside. She came in since we did, and
there was no live man or woman here when we came."

" Then the widow has carried him toward a settle-
nient for help, most likely," said McCullough.
"When day comes so we can find a trail,"we'll see
to it. There seems to be plenty to eat here, so my
party will have supper, and we'll smoke a pipe and
talk over old times. Ruby may do something to
comfort that poor girl,**

** I don't like women folks," said Ruby, with a
careless glance at poor Mary — ** not without they're
like me, saucy, able to take care of themselves at
any rate. But I'd like to know what has become of
Wild Bill."

** We'll find out soon enough in the morning, my
little humming-bird," said McCullough, with a smile.
"Our horses will be fresh and rested then. You
must rig up a place for yourself and yon poor girl
to sleep to-night — we men can tumble down on our
blankets anywhere."

"Supper, major, supper," cried the temporary
cook, for the second table was now ready.

"\

BUFFALO BILL. 259

CHAPTER XLVI.

All the first day and well on in the night, Buffalo
Bill hurried on with his small party, after leaving the .
widow's cabin, for he realized how impossible it
would be to defend Wild Bill from capture, if not
death, if such a nr^an as McCullough should institute
pursuit, and with anything like an escort overtake
him.

Brave himself, he knew how to estimate bravery
in others — untiring in pursuit, determined in under- ,
takings, he knew what his own peril was when one
like him might have taken his trail.

Therefore, he did not camp until the exhaustion
of the wagon train made it a matter of actual neces-
sity, and then he chose a position in a ravine which
was not only defensible, but well calculated for con-
cealment if any scouts should pass near.

Wild Bill, though suffering intensely from the jar
of transportation, in his mangled condition, had
borne up bravely, not a groan escaping his lips, but
his spirits never flagged.

When asked by the widow if he suffered, his only
answer was a smile, and a look of well-assumed in-
difference, with a quiet " not much" — but one who
knows what suffering is could have told from the
transient flush which would occupy the ashy pale- *
ness of the face once in a while, the wild feverish

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260

BUFFALO BILLr

glance ^f the eyes moving to and fro and the set h'p,
that he was in physical agony hard for any but such
as he to endure without complaint.

Buffalo Bill had a small fire built and supper
cooked, and then made his men lay down to rest,
but with his usual disregard for self he kept guard,
seeing that the horses did not stray from" the feed
near camp and that no danger of surprise should
occur.

He knew the importance of this watchfulness, for
he was yet some distance from a part of the country
where he could expect help, and he could not move
with a wagon, either with the speed or concealment
of trail which would make escape practicable if pur-
suit was earnest.

The gray dawn, therefore, through his watchful-
ness and care, found the little party again ready to
move forward, and another day of rapid travel fol-
lowed. But the end of it found the wagon mules
so nearly used up that he knew others must be had,
or the progress of the party reduced to at least half
of its former rate of speed.

Therefore, when camped on the second night,
after selecting the feeding ground for the stock, and'
leaving orders for a strict watch to be kept until his
return, he mounted Powder Face and rode off in
search of other stock. He was somewhat acquainted
with the country, and knew enough of it to be aware
that if he and his real character were known there
would be but one way for him to get fresh stock,
and that would be by force.

■*

Bdffalo Biu. OM Guard. (P«ge a6o.)

262 BUFFALO BILL.

He rode out from the blind old river road which
he had followed during the day, to another more
traveled, and along which an occasional farm-house
might be seen, for on this route, if anywhere, he felt
stock might be secured.

He had money with him, and if he could but
purchase a team of smart mules, he could go on
with a speed which would soon place him among
friends where safety would be no longer a matter
of doubt.

He was about four or five miles from his camp,
riding westward along the road, when the baying of
dogs told him that he* was approaching habitations,,
and soon in the dim, uncertain starlight, shadowed
by passing clouds, he saw a clump of buildings, such
as are generally huddled up with the well-to-do
farmers — the dwelling, corn-cribs and stables all near
each other.

There was no light visible as he rode up, but the
furious baying of half-a-dozen fierce dogs soon
aroused some one within the dwelling house, and a
door flew open, revealing a man half-dressed, with a
light in his hand, who shouted roughly :

" What's goin* on out thar ? Has Satan got into
the dogs, or is there some one out thar ?"

" Satan may be in your dogs, for they make noise
enough, stranger," said Bill. " But there is a chap
out here who calls himself half white, who is rather
tired of a long day's ride, and wouldn't suffer by a
little rest and a bite to eat, which he is willing to
pay for."

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BUFFALO BILL. ^ 263

"Who ar ye and whar ar ye from?" asked the
stranger, raising liis Hght so that its rays fell on Bill,
who now rode close up to the door.

A sudden thought struck Bill — by a single name
he might know whether he was with friends or foes
to the " cause'* which he loved, and thereafter act
accordingly.

** Have you ever heard of Jake M'Kandlas?" he
asked.

" What, the old dare-devil colonel ? I reckon I
have and seen him, too — but you're not he ? He is
a brick, though, and I like him.*'

" I'm glad of that," said Bill, now knowing how
to act. ** He isn't a great ways off. My name is .
Tutt !"

" Tutt — Dave Tutt ? Why one of my gals met
you over in Liberty — my Sal — my name is Nat
Perkins. My darter Sal will be crazy to see you.
She is over at Bill Done's, a mile from here, to-
night ; but she' 11 be back in the morning. I've
heard her talk about you a hundred times. Why
don't you 'light and come in ? We'll have some red-
eye and the old woman will have bacon on the fire
in a minute — 'light and come in."

" I would," said Bill, ** but I left the colonel in a
bad fix and must go back to him. Our wagon is
bagged and we want a couple of span of mules or
horses to drag it out. If you could spare them, why
I'd have him here in an hour or two and all will be
as right as an open sight and a hair-trigger with
game before you."

N

■J.

264 BUFFALO BILL. ' -

" Why didn't you say so on the first?"
\ " Because I didn't know whether you was friendly
to our side or not. These are times when one
doesn't know who is who^ till he tries."

"That's so, and I don't blame you. How far
away is the colonel ?"

" About four miles back, up the road."

"All right — here, Jim, Ben — tumble out, you curs,
and harness the six-mule team. Be in a hurry while
me and the stranger takes a swash of red-eye. I'll
start the niggers and we'll soon overhaul them,"
cried Mr. Perkins.
V -^ ;**You needn't take, the trouble to go. In fact, as
we'll not make much of a stay after, day, for we're
hurrying on to join Price, after you and me take a
drink, if you'll just ride over and tell your gal I'll be
here soon, you'll do me a favor. Becr.use I've got
a present for her that I promised her:at Liberty,
but T didn't think I'd see her so soon. She is a
powerful smart gal, is Sallie !"

V You'd better believe that, Dave, and says you're
just about as smart as they make 'em now a-days !"

" Well, she is a good judge. So I'm rather flat-
tered !"

Bill had now dismounted, and entering the house
was soon engaged in a social glass, in which Mrs.
Perkins and two of her grown daughters joined, for
they were all up in the house now, anxious to see
the man whom ** Sal " had made famous in her talk
about him.

In a very few minutes the mules were harnessed.

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BUFFALO BILL. 265

"and Bill, going in a direction just opposite to that
which he must take to reach his own camp, started.

The old man Perkins'at the same time mounted
his horse and rode away to bring his daughter
home, so that she might meet her lover.
' For such in reality Dave Tutt had been, though
of this Bill knew nothing when the thought struck
him to assume the character.

Starting at a sharp trot he rode on with the mule
teams about half a mile, then riding alongside of the
negro who had them in charge, he spoke to him by
the same name which his master hiad used when he
told him to go along with Cap*n Tutt.

^*-Ben !" said he, " how far is it across to the old
river road ?**

" *Bout a mile, mas'r capn' — 'bout a mile I reckon !
Your wagon isn*t ober thar, is it?"

" Yes — I left it there and got out here some way.
But no matter, we can get there, can't we?'*

*' Yes, mas'r cap'n — dere's an old field here on de
left, but it's kind o' overflowed now, de water is
high from dem late rains !"

" No danger of missing in it ?"

" No, mas'r cap'n — all hard ground. Only jess de
water in de way !"

" It is just Ayhere I want it," thought Bill, as he
knew the water would hide his trail.

And at once, by his direction, the negro guided
his team from the main road across the flooded field
into a piece of wood which he well knew extended
to the other ro&d. •

■'^..:- -^

*
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266 BUFFALO BILL,

Not until he was on this road did he again speak
to the negro, but now when he urged him down in-'
stead of up the river, the man exhibited a surprise
which made an explanation and an understanding
necessary.

" Ben," said he, " do you know there is a wa?
going on?**

" Yes, mas*r cap*n — I've heam 'em tell 'bout dat.
But I doesn't know nuffin about it. I spec you do !**

"Yes, a good deal, and you'll know more about it
before long. For you're in the service now !*'

^^Me, mas'r cap'n ? De Lor' I doesn't know what
you mean !"

' " I mean this. I have appropriated you and these
mules for the benefit of Uncle Sam, and you'll be
wise if you mind me and ask no questions, but hurry
on them mules. They'll never see Nat Perkins's
stables again."

" De Lor', mas'r cap'n, you isn't a hoss thief ?"

" No, Ben, I am not, and if your master had been
a Union man I should have bought his mules. But
as he was not, I knew^ I couldn't get them for love
or money in any way but as I have. So they're mine
tilllhe can get them back from me, and I shall hire
you to drive them and take care of them, if you will
go with me willingly. If you don't I shall have to
tie you up in the swamp somewhere, even if you
should starve, till I get out of the country."

" I doesn't want you to do that, mas'r cap'n ; but
sposin* old master gets hold of this nigger if I goes
off with you !"

■ ;

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BUFFALO BILL.

267

" He'll not have the chance, Beft. In another day
or two you will be free among free men, and never
again be in his power.'*

" Did you say dat for true, masV cap*n ?"

" Yes, Ben. I need you and these mules — will
you go on willingly ?"

" I s*pose I'd better, mas'r cap'n ; but by the big
gum tree, I doesn't see what it all means ! But I is
only a nigger, and me isn't expected to know much.
So I'll jess do what you tell me, mas'r cap'n."

" Do it, Ben, and I'll see you through it all. The
route we've taken will keep them from finding out
our course, and I'll be many a mile away from this
section before I camp again."

Bill was in high glee when he reached his camp
with six fresh, strong mules to take the place of the
four worn-out ones in front of his wagon.

.^

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268

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BUFFALO BILL.

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CHAPTER XLVII.

Day dawned over the crowded cabin in which
we left McCulIough and his party a couple of chap-
ters back, and with the coming of the light all hands
were astir.

One of the first to greet the rosy smile of the
eastern day-god was Ruby Blazes, coming from the
little bedroom, as bright and fresh as a flower bathed
in dew.

She met the Texan ranger with a cheerful look,
bidding him good morning, as she extended her
little hand to meet his.

~ '1* Where is the poor crazy girl? Was she quiet
last night ?" he asked.

^'I reckon so. She was too proud, or to ugly to
share the bed with me, and tumbled down in a cor-
ner on a pile of blankets. I did not notice whether
she was awake or not when I came out — in fact, it
was rather dark in there,'and I had no candle. She
is big enough to look out for herself ; and as to being
crazy — that's all bosh ! Women don't get crazy so
easy, though some of 'em can put it on, when they
think it "wiW pay"

" What is the reason you women never have any
sympathy for each other?" asked McCulIough.

" Because it is a dead waste. The sympathy of
one true man is worth that of fifty — ^to me at least !

I'

BUFFALO BILL. 269

But excuse me, major — I must look to my horse.
He is too good an animal to be neglected !"

" Never mind — one of my men shall groom him."

" But where is he ? I picketed him here last night
and put the saddle and bridle close by the picket-
pin under this tree. All are gone ! The horse might
have strayed off, but the saddle and bridle could not/'

" No. This must be looked to. Boys, where is
the horse Miss Ruby rode — the bay that I gave her?'*

No one could answer.

A search was vainly made, every other animal be-
longing to the party, even the pony which Mormon
Mary had ridden, was there. The horse belonging
to Ruby, with all its trappings, was gone — ^and it
was the best horse of the whole lot.

"Count noses here inside the house and out!"
criefd the ranger. " Horses don't go off alone, with
the harness on, very often !"
' Lewis counted his men.

They were all right. So were those in McCul-
lough's party.

Ruby rushed into the bedroom, and found the
corner vacant where she had last seen Mormon Mary.
There was no sign of her around the house.

" There's \yhere my horse has gone !" cried the girl,
with flashing eyes. "She was crazy, wasn't she?
Yet she knew enough to get away from this camp
without waking me or any of you up. That is crazi-
ness for you ! How am I ever to get my horse, I'd
like to know. It will not be well for her if I get my
hands in her hair.">

i

r

'•■'-•l^C'''' »-*'-^'s^ ••»V-*^'^ a ' '^^fiitj^^'-' '\ ''" t-'j ^ ■■ ' »

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' 276 - : > BUFFALO BILL.

"Never mind, Ruby — we will take her trail and
get' the horse back. We'll have some coffee, and
then take the trail, if it can be found. WeVe got
\yild Bill to follow and capture."

" Yes, sir ; and more than him,'* cried the old ranger,
who had been out .examining the trails leading to
and from the place. There's a wagon mark leading
east from here, and quite a lot of shod-horse tracks.
Wild Bill has been carried off in a wagon, and he
has an escort of some kind with him."

" There was nobody with him here !** said Ruby.

" Not when you left. Miss Ruby," said McCuUough.
"But he has friends, who most likely have come
across him and are trying to get him back to the
Federal lines. But we'll block that game. We can
go two miles on horseback to their one with a wagon
and we'll overhaul them long before they can reach
a point where we cannot go."

" But my horse ? It is no way likely this crazy
woman has followed the trail of Wild Bill."

"She could not have done so in the dark — did
' you see di single trail — a shod horse? You ought
to know the track of my bay," McCullough asked.

" Yes, sir, it is fresher than the rest," replied the
ranger.

"Then we are all right. Hurry, all hands, and
get breakfast, and we'll then follow the trail."

"What am I to ride?" asked Ruby, pouting.
" That crazy girl has left her pony, but he isn't
worth shucks."

* You had better remain here — if you wish, I wiU

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BUFFALO BILL.

271

leave a guard with you/* said McCullough. " We
shall ride fast, and as they have a long start, it will
be hard work to come up with them. You could
not endure the fatigue.'*

" Major, you don't know me — but you will before

I'm through. I can stand as much fatigue as the

best man you have here, and where you go I'm

' going. It is a sorry bit of horseflesh, that pony of

hers, but Til ride it until I get a better one."

" rU do better than that. One of my men has
got to go back with a message, to General Van
Dorn— he shall ride the pony, for there is not much
haste required, and you shall have his horse."

•*0h, thank you, major. Fm happy now, for I
never, never wish to leave your side."

"Ah, Ruby, with a long and bloody war before
m^, it will be very foolish for you to try to follow
my fortunes."

- " Foolish ! Will any woman with a woman's
heart in her believe it is folly to follow the ideal of
heroism, in a cause to which her very soul is wed-
ded ?• I may be ypung in years, but I am old in
thought, and when I resolve, I am firm as the
mountains are. Get me the horse, while I make
coffee, for I will be so useful to you that you cannot
do without me."

The ranger smiled, and turned away with a low
sigh to give orders about the horse.- .

"Had I nothing else to do, I'd surely fall in
love," he murmured, as he saw the girl hasten away
to assist in getting breakfast.

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272 BUFFALO BILL.

.N

CHAPTER XLVIII.

When Buffalo Bill got to his camp, and the
negro, Ben, found out in re.al earnest who he was,
and that it was a matter of life and death with them
all to reach the Federal lines speedily, he proved
himself an auxiliary worth having.

The fresh mules hitched to the wagon were put
forward at a rapid trot, for the new driver was well
acquainted with the road, and at several points he
not only gained by making cuts across the country,
but he crossed water often, so as to make the trail
more difficult to follow.

Another day of travel was nearly ended, and Bill
was already looking out ahead for a good camping-
place, when the clatter of hoofs in their rear attracted
his attention.

A momentary alarm passed from his breast as he
saw that it was a woman who followed — a wan-faced
but wild-eyed creature, whose hair floated out in
disheveled tresses over her bare, sun-browned shoul-
ders. She was mounted on a magnificent horse,
which showed signs of having been ridden very hard.

Bill reined in his horse as she came up, deeming it
best to question her, though there was nothing in
her appearance to denote danger to him or his party.

** Where from, my friend, where from ?** he asked
kindly, as with a sad, wistful gaze she looked at him.

BUFFALO BILL.

273

^ ** Mary has ridden far, over the hills and over the
plains. She is hungry !** said the woman, in a pitiful
tone.

" We shall camp soon, and will have plenty to eat
there ; but here is a chunk of bread and meat to
last till then."

And Bill instantly took some food from his well-
filled haversack and handed it to her.

She ate a little, and then, in the same wild tone,
said :

" Mary saw them lying asleep all around her — the
bad and the bloody. She could not stay there, so
she rose and took the best horse and. came away.
They will follow, and they will kill us all !'*

"Who — who do you mean?"

" Colonel M'Kandlas, Captain Lewis, and all."

" Why, M'Kandlas is dead !"

" No, he sleeps ; I saw him. He was asleep, and
men slept all around him. Then others came, and
they fed Mary, and wanted her to sleep. She could
not, and she took a horse and came away."

" Others came !" Bill muttered ; for though he felt
sure that she was insane, he began to gather some-
. thing from what she said.

His eye accidentally fell on the silver front-piece of
the bridle on her horse. He saw a name engraved
on it — the name of one whom he knew but too well.
It was that of Ben McCullough.

In an instant the thought came to him as to who
had fed the girl, and from whom she had taken the
horse.

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274

BUFFALO BILL.

V

A few questions adroitly put drew from her a'
nearly coherent story — enough, at any rate, to sat-
isfy him that she had seen McCullough with a party
at the deserted cabin of the widow — had taken one
of his horses, and would, without a doubt, be
followed.

To go on without stopping would be his best
policy, if it could be done, but his horses and mules
were too nearly used up to think of it.

He could do no more than to select as he had
done the night before a defensible position for his
camp, and take a night to rest stock and men.

Yes — a second thought came to him — he could
get the woman, Mary, as she called herself,' to go
into the wagon with the widow, and on her horse,
which yet had plenty of vitality, send one of his
men on to a point where Union troops might possi-
bly be met.

He would do that. She was so weary with her
long, long ride, that Mary made no dissent when he
proposed to her to ride in the wagon.

The moment this change was made, he started his

lightest man forward with a message for the first

Union man or officer he could meet, and then, as

night was close at hand, looked out for a good

.^ camping-place.

He found one even better than he hoped for. It

was under a lofty ledge which overhung the stream,

.. with a little level ravine running back close by,

where there was plenty of grass for the stock.

' A cave, not large or very deep, ran back a little

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^ BUFFALO BILL. '27$

way in the great cliff, and a fire built here could
only be seen after entering it.

In truth, it was as good as a fort.

As the wagon could not be brought in there, Bill
carried his wounded mate in, and had his bed made
near a cheerful fire within.

The widow had succeeded in making Mormon
Mary quite contented with her situation, and after
night set in, and supper had been cooked and eaten,
Bill felt very well satisfied with his position, for even
if McCuUough did follow up the trail, he thought
he must have start enough to keep ahead of him
some ways yet.

Wearied out at last, he knew that he must get
some sleep or he could not much longer keep about,
so posting his single sentinel out on the road by
which-they came, and bidding Ben look out for the
stock, he laid down near the fire.

Wild Bill, worn out with continual suffering, also
slept, an uneasy, dreamy slumber, while the widow
and Mormon Mary alone kept awake.

The latter, with strange, incoherent, and rambling
complaints, told so much of her sad story that the
widow, listening with many a shudder, learned what
fearful wrongs she had endured ere her brain became
crazed. And it seemed to her as if retribution was
but partial in the mere death of such a wretch as
M'Kandlas.

Suddenly the girl paused, listened, and then start-
ing to her feet, Cried wildly :

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276

BUFFALO BILL.

" They come ! they come ! I hear the tramp of
horses !"

Buffalo Bill, aroused by her cry, started up, rifle
in hand, just as the sharp crack from his sentinel's
gun told that he was on the alert, and that enemies
were approaching.

The next second the man himself rushed in,
announcing a body of horsemen and two women as
being close at hand.

He had hailed and halted them, and satisfied by
one expression from the leader's lips of what they
were, had fired at the other and dashed in, as he
had been directed to do, to alarm the camp.

"Put out the fire, mate — put out the fire, and
you've all the advantage," said Wild Bill, in a husky
whisper. " Then put my revolver where I can reach
it. I'm good for six if they'll stand between me
and the star-light out there."

N

BUFFALO BILL, 277

CHAPTER XLIX.

Instantly, on the suggestion of Wild Bill, at the
moment that the negro, Ben, came rushing into the
cave to aid the defense, water was dashed on the
fire, and all inside were left in darkness.

Our hero had an instant now for thought, and in
which to direct his only two able-bodied assistants
how to act, for it was a matter of the sternest neces-
sity to keep ready with reserved loads, and not to
give their enemy an opportunity to rush in fimong
them empty-handed.

He knew well that if Ben McCullough was himself
in command, and had not been injured by the hasty
shot of his sentinel, he had one to deal with who in
strategy as well as courage was more to be dreaded
than any man in the country.

The very fact that after the alarm was given the
outside party did not at once rush on to the attack,
satisfied Bill that he had old hands to deal with.

They would reconnoiter carefully before they
risked life in the work before them.

Bill placed the bed of Wild Bill behind a point of
rock where it would be out of the range of fire, and
made the widow take Mormon Mary with her into
the same place.

He also arranged himself, the negro, and his other
man in different parts of the cave, when, while using

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BUFFALO BICL.

' their own weapons effectively, they would be out of
range to some extent from an outside fire, and so
far apart as to make their force appear larger than
it really was.

All this was the work of not more than two or
three minutes at the utmost, and it was done before
ally demonstration was seen or heard from outside.

But' the quiet did not last long. The intense
darkness made even the dim starlight outside capa-
ble of revealing the first movement.

, A creeping form was seen to approach the wagon,
raise, look in, then pass on, return, and listening, as
if by sound to endeavor to discover the whereabouts
. of the party.

Unsatisfied — for Bill and all with him were silent
— this person crept away.

A minute more and he returned, walking boldly,
and with him came two women.

Wild Bill -whispered to his mate :

" That's the gal who lured me into the hands of
Jake M'Kandlas — the smallest of the two I"

"Then I expect the other is Sal Perkins after
Dave Tutt," said Buffalo Bill, with a low laugh.

Neither had spoken above their breath, it seemed
to them ; but the sound evidently reached those out-
side, for they turned, and seemed to discover the
' entrance to the cave. ^ *

A whispered consultation was held, and the man
hurried away.

"A minute elapsed, and then Bill siaw such odds
coming forward that even his brave .heart began to

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tremble — not for the feair of death, but the thought
that he would not again see his dear twin sisters, his
noble mother, his darling "Lou !"

.One by one, silently and yet boldly, they came
forward, until he counted in all twenty-three men
beside the two women.

All were armed with rifles and pistols, and some
bore sabres.

Even yet no word had been spoken aloud on
either side. "But when his men were formed so as
to cut off egress from the cave, then McCulIough
himself spoke in a tone loud and clear as a bugle
note.

" Men — you who are hid away in yonder ! listen
to a man who never makes long speeches, but gene-
rally lets powder and lead talk for him. I know
-who you are, and that we are full five but here to
one in there ! If you will surrender, I will treat you
well as prisoners of war. If you do not I will
butcher you as we would so many grizzlies. We
know your condition. Wild Bill is too near dead
to fight."

"You lie, you cuss! I could put a ball through
your heart as easy as I did through that of Dave
Tutt, if I chose !" cried Wild Bill, forgetting all
prudence.

" He killed Dave Tutt — my Dave !" screamed the
largest of the two women. " Into 'em, men — into
'em, and wipe *em out this minute !"

The maddened woman was on the point of rush-
ing forward herself, but McCulIough held her back.

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280 BUFFALO BILL.

The very fact that words instead of lead came
from the concealed party gave him hope of a sur-
render.

He told the woman to keep still, and though his
men held their weapons ready to fire, told them to
wait for orders.

. " I could dash in there and maybe lose a man or
two, but it would be the last of you," he cried. " I
do not wish to see useless bloodshed. - I had rather
hold prisoners than fill graves. So listen to reason,
or it will be the worse for you."

"Ben McCullough, you know me and I know you.
Together we had a time once in the Smoky Hills
which you ought to remember, and you know what
my grit is," cried Bill.

" Buffalo Bill, by thunder," cried the ranger.

"Yes, it is me, and for old times' sake I don't'
want to hurt you. If I had, you know what my
needle-gun, now cocked in my hand, could and
would do. There are more of us here than you
expect, and we're fixed to stay. So, instead of
bothering about us, go while you can, without get-
ting hurt. All I'm trying to do is to get my mate
back where his wounds can be attended to. Let us
go in peace, and this will be the end of it."

" I can't do it, Bill. You must surrender as pris-
oners of war. You two men are worth too much to
the other side to be allowed to slide when you're in
my power. Just say you'll give up, and I'll draw
my men back, and you can come out."

"I don't w:ant to be impolite, Ben; but I'll see

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BUFFALO BILL. 28 1

you and all with you in Jericho first. And, now,
do you move, or I'll throw lead, for Fm tired of
talking. There, ready! Pick each a man, and ten
of them are dead !'*

" Fire ! There's no use in fooling — fire !" shouted
McCullough.

The words scarcely left his lips, when he felt the
graze of a ball along his temple, which, while it stag-
gered him, killed a man just behind him; and then,
as his own men fired, shot after shot came from dif-
ferent parts of the cavern, and several itien falling,
made him believe that the force in there was, indeed,
larger than he expected.

" Back to cover, men ! back to cover till we get
light on the subject, for they can see us now, and
we can't see them !" he shouted.

And, leaving a half-dozen men on the ground, he
got the rest out of sight.

" Pretty well for a starter ! Try again !'* shouted
Bill, in derision.

" We will ! Your doom is sealed, if I have to
stay here a year !" cried Ben, angrily.

" We've plenty of grub and powder. You can
camp, and take it easy, if you like," said Bill.

Ben made no reply. He was revolving a new plan
in his mind. What it was a few moments sufficed
to reveal.

Glimpses of men flitting to cover behind the trees
on the river bank could be seen, and then all was
quiet for several minutes.

" I don't like this. He is Indian enough for any-

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282 ^ BUFFALO BILL.

thing, and is most dangerous when stillest," said
Buffalo* Bill to his mate.

•* Keep under cover ! He is going to try and light
up in here so they'll have bullet range of us, I
reckon/' said Wild Bill.

"Yes, there it comes!" cried Bill, as a fire-ball
made of clothing and soaked in whisky came bound-
ing into the cavern thrown by a strong and skillful
hand.

Bill and the white borderman had got out of sight
before the ball, all ablaze, rolled in. But Ben, the
negro, was too slow, and half a dozen rifle shots
rung out, and the balls came singing in about him.
One only struck him, and that hit him fairly between
the eyes on the thickest part of his skull. The bul-
let was flattened, and so was he for a moment; but
*he crept away under cover in a few seconds ijiore,
for the blazing ball made him a complete target to
the concealed enemy.

" Ki !" he exclaimed, as he crept in among some
large, loose rocks. '*If dat ar had hit this chile
anywhar but on de head I spec' he'd have been
hurt."

The fire-ball blazed a little while, and a cap which
Buffalo Bill held up on a ramrod got several holes
in it, but no other damage was done.

The first plan of the great ranger had not met
with the success he hoped for.

His continued quiet after the ball had burned out
and all was dark again, told Bill that some other
dodge was in contemplation. He knew that now

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lyicCullough would permit no let up; that even a
surrender would not for'an instant be listened to.

"Be still and be ready!** he said, in a low tone.
** Have knives and revolvers ready if they make a
rush.*'

Creeping forms were again seen moving here and
there, and though Bill fired four or five times, he
was not sure of any shot.

Suddenly again a fire-ball rolled in, and then,
springing up from the ground at the very mouth of
the cavern where they had crept, McCullough and
his men were seen rushing forward with fearful
shouts.

Bullets for a second only could be used, and but
two men were down, when Bill, the negro, and the
borderman were forced to rise and face the music
with their knives. .

McCullough, singling out Buffalo Bill, closed with
his huge bowie-knife-uplifted, and as it came down,
BilL met and parried the deadly blow, then with a
counter-thrust nearly reached the heart at which he
aimed, but the ranger, with a bound on one side,
avoided the skillful lunge.

Then, with his keen eyes fixed tiger-like on his
enemy, he made another bound, and again, the
knives Bashed fire as they clashed together.

** Down with him ! Here*s for Dave Tu£t !**
shouted the Amazonian Sal Perkins, as with a large
club she dashed in and struck down the uplifted
arm of our hero.

Dark— dark seemed his chances now, though an

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284

BUFFALO BILL*

instant of generous thought seemed to hold bac|^
the ranger's hand.

That delay of scarce a second was life to Bill, yes,
and salvation to his party.

For the clatter of hoofs and sabres, the sight of
blue uniforms, and a wild charging cry was heard
outside, and the ranger, almost entrapped, had only
time to shout :

" Fall back, men, or we're lost !" when the Fede-
ral soldiers were seen rushing in.

Kicking the fire-ball far out of his range, McCul-
lough managed to break through the incoming crowd,
literally hewing his way out with his knife, and with
him escaped a few of his men.

Light was now made, and then investigation
showed that while Buffalo Bill and his men had been
only slightly hurt, two-thirds of McCullough's men
had paid for their assault with their lives.

The leader, with the rest and the two women, had
got entirely away.

A pursuit was made — but a man who knew the
country so well was not to be overtaken.

Buffalo Bill, whose forethought in sending on a
messenger for help had undoubtedly saved him from
destruction, was now safe with his partner and party,
and with proud satisfaction took his course under a
strong escort back toward the lines where Jie knew
he would soon meet his loved ones.

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BUFFALO BILL. , 28$

CHAPTER L.

In ten days, by slow and easy stages, carefully,
nursed by the widow and by Mormon Mary, who, if
not sane, had become quite calm under their treat-
ment, Wild Bill reached St. Louis. A regular sur-
geon had attended to his wounds when the party
halted each night, and when he and his noble mate
were once more under the home-roof in the great
city, he was a happy man.

Liilie had arrived safely under the care of Frank
Stark, and the good mother of our hero was once
more happy with her children all around her.

Kitty Muldoon was wild in the exuberance of her
joy, and'when she heard that Dave Tutt and colonel
M'Kandlas had been slain, she fairly danced for joy.

" The big bla*guards,** she cried. " Is it dead for
sure they are? I wonder what has become of their
souls? Sure its purgatory is too dacent a place for
*em, and ould Niclj is too much of a gentleman for
such company, bad as he is. Sure, Fm thinking
they'll wander and wander around outside all
through eternity, wantin* the bit to ate and the
drop to drink, and never a hope of getting aither !
Sure an* isn't starvin' in the midst o' plenty the
worst of troubles ?"

** How is my little friend, Joe Bevins, Kitty ?"

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BUFFALO BILL.

asked Bill, with a sly wink, expecting to see the
tell-tale blush rise on her rosy face.

"llow is he, sir ? why he is purty as a saint's pic-
ture and as brave as a game chicken wid new spurs
on !" cried Kitty, as proudly as if the words had
been spoken that would give her a right to comb
her loved one's hair with a three-legged stool, if she
chose.

" And now, if ye plaze. Mister Bill, will ye be
after teilin' me wan thing, and that isn't two ?"

" What is it, Kitty ?"

" Did you think I'd be after denying an interest
iii me bould little sojer -boy, that has a heart like a
lion and a mouth like a cherry, and is the most ille-
gant dancer* just that ever flung a leg !"

"No, Kitty, no — it is not the nature of your
countrywomen to be ashamed of the one they give
their heart to. I know that. And as to the danc-
ing, I hope to see that day not far distant when I
may dance at your wedding !"

" Sure that'll not be till the cruel war is over," said
Kitty, with a laugh. "And thin, maybe there'll
be more of yez sailing in the same ship wid poor
Uttle Kitty, and good luck be wid us all ?"

Frank Stark came in a few moments after this
conversation was over, and with a bright smile on
his manly face, told Bill he had just had a fine offer.

" What is it ?" asked Bill. '

" A commission in the general's body guard !"
said Frank.

" You took it, of course ?"

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BUFFALO BltL. ' ' 28;

"Of course I didn't take it !*'

** Why not — you'll have big pay and a pair of
shoulder straps !"

" Bill, what have I ddne that you talk this way
to me?*'

" Why, Frank, I talk nothing, mean nothing, but
kindness. We scouts get less pay and meet a
thousand more perils than those who hold higher
rank. You are a brave, true man, loyal to the
heart's core, and I owe you a great deal for the kind,
brave acts you have done for me and my family. I
wish to see you do well !"

" Then keep me where you can see it. I shall
serve as a scout, and under your eye or nowhere.
I wouldn't take the stars of a general and serve
away from you !"

" Brother, never try to urge such friends to leave
you," said Lottie, gently. ** We feel that you are
safe when brave and devoted men cling to you, for
where your daring leads you they will follow to
shield."

" Or to avenge," said Wild Bill, gloomily. " For
my part I want to be out and doing, though I know
I shall go under before long. I feel it, and have
since I had a dream the other night."

"Dreams are the sleeping shadow only of the
thought that was in your mind when slumber stole
over your senses. No man should be so weak as to
be influenced by his dreams," said Lillie with grave
earnestness.

" I can't help it ; but when a man dreams that he

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288 BUFFALO BILL.

dies by the hand of a woman, and knows, that he
never thought of a woman except with kindness, it
is something to worry about !**

" Did you dream that a woman killed ye for sure,
Mr. Bill r asked Kitty.

" Yes, I did."

" Then, sure, sir, it '11 be a man that does it, for
drames always go by contraries.''

Wild Bill shook his head and then said :

" If you'll all listen, I'll tell the dream exactly as
. it was. Then, maybe you'll notVwonder at the hold
it has upon me."

Every one drew near the easy-chair which Bill as
an invalid yet used, and he went on to relate

HIS DREAM.

" I thought that Buffalo Bill and me, with about
forty or fifty of our sort — all scouts — were in camp
in one of the sweetest spots in all Missouri, down on
the Saint Francis, with our horses picketed, supper
on the fire, and me just ready to eat it, when in rode
one of the boys in blue as fast as he could come,
and told us General Carr was in an all-fired pickle
down toward the Ozark range and wanted all the
help he could get.

" I thought we didn't wait to eat supper, or ask
questions, but were up and off in less time than it
would take a Dutchman to bolt a bologna.

" We went on at a gallop, for we could hear can-
non from the start, and after awhile we got into the
' hill country, and then we heard the crack of the rifles.

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BUFFALO BILL. ' 289

"We went no slower for this, but soon came
where there was a chance to take a hand in. Sure
enough, our folks were getting whipped awful. The
batteries over on some hills across were mowing our
men down by hundreds.

** Bufifalo Bill, says he to me :

'* * Mate, we can't stand this. Their guns must
be taken or capsized !*

** I said }^es, and we went for *em ! Oh, it was
glorious ! the way we went in, over and through
rank after rank, till we got to the guns ! We had a
fight there, you'd better believe, for it was revolver
to revolver, and knife to sabre ; but we got the guns,

"I'd just taken off my hat to give one hurrah,,
when a hand clutched my throat, a knife came hiss-
ing down hot into my heart, and, as I felt the blood
spout, I looked up and saw the face of a woman.
SAe had done it.

" * There's your pay for killing Dave Tutt !* she
cried. * Go where he is, and tell him Sal Perkins sent
you there !*

" I choked ; I tried to say something to Bill about
LiUie and Lottie, but I couldn't, for the blood was
all in my throat.

"The woman laughed at me like a devil, and it
made me so mad that I struggled to rise, and strike
.her, for I was down, I thought, and I hit my head
such an awful thump against' the wall that it woke
me up. It was a dream— I know that ; but it is a
warning, and I feel that I shall die soon, and 6y a
woman's hand,"

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290 BUFFALO BILL.-

** Oh, nonsense, Bill ! Don't talk that way ; It is
foolish ! Lillie, cheer him up with a song, or we'll
all get the blues, for they're as catching as the
measles." '

Lillie laughed, seized her guitar, and in a clear,
ringing voice, sung :

A BATTLE SONG.

The tempest is breaking
In wrath o'er the land.
The firm earth is shaking,

Like a storm-beaten strand';
Proud armies are moving
Like clouds on the blast,
, And patriots proving
* • Their manhood at last.

Then up in array,
And on to the fray —
Yes, up and away,
Where the war lightnings play !

' Bill forgot his dream in a moment, and his darlc
eyes flashed proudly as she closed the verse, and he
said:

"That is the music to get well on. I'll be in the
saddle in a week — see if I'm not.**

The good girl would have sung another verse for
him, but at that instant, the noble banker, Mr. La
Valliere, entered with his bright-eyed "Lou," her'
hair floating in soft waves down her fair neck and
shoulders, and the music was for a time interrupted.

For where little " Lou** came, there was music
without singing, one may be sure.

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291

< •

CHAPTER LI.

Mounting on the best horse, for there were^
plenty to pick among now, Ben McCullough and the
remnant of his party, on breaking through the dis-
ordered ranks of the charging soldiers, sped away
at the swiftest rate, never drawing a rein until they
reached the house of Nat Perkins.

Day had dawned before they got there, and the
old man was at the door, surrounded by his family, *
when the party dashed up.

** Hallo! Here you are!" he shouted. "That's
the way to ride — lickity-rip! lickity-rip ! Wiped 'em
all out, hey? Sal, did you. take the hair of the he
that killed yer lover?"

** Hold yer gab, you old carbuncle !" cried the girl,
bitterly. " Mother, you and the gal get us some-
thing to eat quicker than evey you did before in
your lives. Dad, roll out a keg of whisky — these
folks need it more now than ever they did before."

** What's the matter? You uns haven't been
whipped back?" gasped the old man.

** We just have, and the sooner you raise fresh
horses for us in the neighborhood, the better it will
be for you," said McCullough. •* For if the soldiers
follows us up and find us here, your houses and barns
will be apt;, to go up in smoke and blaze."

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"Wild-cats alive! General Ben McCullough
whipped !" •

And the old Missouri-man looked ghastly in his
astonishment.

" Come, dad, there's no use in making faces. This
crowd has got to be fed and to have fresh horses.
'Two-thirds of the party that went from here will
never eat again. So the world is saved that much
provender — but never mind that. Hurry up — hurry
up, or ril burn the whole caboodle out myself."

"Wild-cats alive — the gal has gone mad!" ex-
claimed the old man.

" You'll think so, old catamount, if you stand there
much longer, for I'll pitch \\\\.o yotiy sure as I live."

" Well, well, ril go get the red-eye. But I say,
did any of you see my nigger, Ben, and my six-mule
team ?"

" Yes ; I sent a ball into Ben's head, for I don't
Hke a nigger namesake," said McCullough, with a
laugh. "As to your mules, you'll most likely see a
U. S. brand on them if you ever see them again. I
suppose they're contraband, according to the new
code of Ben Butler."

" Well, if Ben can't be mine, I'd rather he would be
dead than theirs," said the old man as he went down
into his cellar.

There were lively times for the next two hours
about that ranche. Food was cooked, eaten, and put
in haversacks, and messengers sent to the neighbors
for fresh horses. Tliese came in rapidly, for the en.
tire neighborhood sided with McCullough and his

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BUFFALO BILL. 293

cause, so he had no trouble in obtaining a fresh
remount.

At the end of two hours the ranger was ready.
And now came the strangest episode of ail.

Sallie Perkins, dressed completely in a suit belong-
ing to her absent brother, Gus, made her appearance
on as good a horse as could be found in the whole
cavalcade. In the belt which fastened the fringed
hunting-coat to her waist, a pair of revolvers and a
large bowie-knife rested, while in her hand she carried
a useful as well as a dangerous weapon in guerilla
hands, a fine double-barreled shot-gun, at once light,
yet serviceable.

Her hair, long, curling, and red as afire-blaze seen
in the darkness of night, hung down over l\er grace-
ful shoulders. That alone, with her fair, smooth
face, revealed her sex. Her features were rSttl^er
masculine, her eye bold and fierce, her voice strong
and full.

" Where are you going, Sal ?" asked her father, as
he saw his daughter thus accoutred and mounted.

" I'm going to have revenge for the death of Dave
Tutt !** she cried. " I liked him as well as I ever
liked any man that traveled. If he had lived, we
would have been harnessed some time. Tm about as
good as a widow now that he has gone, and I don't
care to live any longer than to meet Wild Bill in a
fair, square fight. It will be him or me then, and I
don't think it will be me ! So good-by, dad — keep
your hair on as long as you can, and if you have to
lose it, be gritty while it is going."

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.^* Wild-cats alive, but this beats me!*' muttered
the old man. *' Gus'll swear when he finds, his new
trouserloons and Sunday coat gone/*

''Let me hear him swear, and I'll knock his two
eyes into one — that is, if he swears about me."

V Go it!'* cried Ruby glazes. " I like your spunk.
You've got something to fight for, and so have I.*'

" I'd like to know what. You haven't had a
sweetheart wiped out!'* cried Sallie.

" Never mind if I haven't. xThere is one that I
do love going in, and I'll fight by his side all
through, and if he falls avenge him !*'

Her dark eyes were fixed on McCullough as she
said this, and a quick, bright glance from him macle
her face flush till it was fairly radiant.

"We must have luck when the women feel this
way,-^' he murmured. Then glancing his eye along
the slender line of his followers to see if they were
all right in arms and equipment, he gave his order
in a sharp, quick tone :

** By twoSf right turn, and follow me !**

There was no bugle call, but his men knew their
duty, and though he dashed away at a gallop, every
man in his place followed at the same pace.
, . " He*s gone, and my best horses with him,"
sighed Nat Perkins, as the column vanished from
sight. " And Sal rode on the best one I had.
Wild- cats, alive, if I lost that horse for good, it
would well near brpak my heart. I hope 1*11 not
lose him, but that gal is fearful reckless."

He now turned away with a sigh, not for the

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BUFFALO BILL.

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daughter whom he might nevermore see, but the
stock that was gone, and could be but poorly re-
placed by the used-up animals left behind.

" If them Yanks do come, they musn't know Ben
McCuUough has been here and got fed, or we'll not
have a hair left," h-e said, warningly, to the family
and servants who stood grouped around. " We
must be Union Up to the handle in our talk, or
they'll go through us lickity-rip, like water through
a sieve. This war is going to be ruination to honest
folks like me."

And the old man sighed again.

296 BUFFALO BILL.

CHAPTER LII.

Already the armies of the West were in motion.
Lyon, Cuftis, Sigel, and, though last named, not
least in military skill or bravery, General Carr, were
out in Kansas and Missouri, moving to retard at
one p^int or intercept in another the forces rallying
under Price, Van Dorn, McCullough and Pike. The
general in command of the Western Department,
making his headquarters at St, Louis, had for a
long time directed matters entirely from there, issu-
ing proclamation after proclamation, but now he
began to get ready to take the field in person.

Much against their will, he had kept back the
scouts which had mustered under the leadership of
Buffalo Bill, assigning as a principal reason that he
could make them more useful to the country under
his own immediate eye when ke took the field.

It was to them a happy moment when, late one
afternoon, Buffalo Bill received notice that he must
prepare to start at dawn next morning for the front.

In his company quarters the news was received
with cheer after cheer, and every man began to fix
for the start.

If ordered, they would ha^e been ready to move
in twenty minutes instead of near as many hours,
such was their discipline and the temperate habits
which kept them always r^dy. And it was the

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BUTFALO BILL.

297

discipline of choice inculcated more by example than
rule in and by their leader.

There was not much hilarity in the cottage home
when the news reached there that the scouts would
depart with the rising of another sun. But warm
as were the hearts of the widow and her family with
love for those who must leave, there was not one of
them all who would lift a restraining voice, v Patriot-
ism had grown with their growth, and was a part
of their very lives.

Silently, though sadly, each had something to do'
to help fit out those who were to leave, and it was
understood that the last evening should be spent
by all in whom the family had an interest at home.

Thus at the supper-table there were gathered the
mother, her son and twin daughters. '* Lou** La
Valliefe was there also with her good father, and
Kitty Muldoon, with no eyes for anybody but brave
little Joe, was nestled away as near to him as she
could get.

Wild Bill once more in the glory of a full buck-
skin suit — Frank Stark, genteel and quiet, as mod-
est as he was brave — it was a circle to admire and be
proud of.

After supper, when Kitty with volunteer help had
cleared the table, away, the parties paired off, and a
general quiet conversation opened.

Lou and our hero had their talk in one corner,
Frank Stark and Lillie in another, while good, sweet
little Lottie tried to make Wild Bill laugh at the
dream which had taken such serious root in his mind.

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BUFFALO IBILL.

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Kitty was more than usually silent, though Joe
was trying to be just as funny as he could, to hide
the real sadness which filled his heart.

For I care not how brave and loyal, how true and '
patriotic he jnay have been, there was never yet the
loving man who could rush from his home to the
battle-field without leaving the best and warmest
thoughts of his heart behind him with the dear one
who last whispered out, or perchance sobbed the
word— farewell !

Many a thought is framed on* such occasions,
many a word is uttered, which will come to the dy-
ing man amid the din of battle, softening his last
agony — which will hallow the tears which may yet
water the sod above his honorable grave.

But truce to this moralizing — my readers will
grow sleepy over it.

Mr. La Valliere and the widow had planned out
'the whole campaign as they would carry it through
if in power, and the rest talked themselves almost
into silence when the iron tongue of time spoke out
the hour of midnight in syllables of twelve.

^This was a signal that could not be disregarded,
for men who must mount early and ride all the day
and for many days to come, needed rest.

" We may as well all say good-by to-night !" said
Bill. " For before the light of day is spread out for
the eyes of those who stay, we who are to travel
will be on our route. For my part, I'm not much
on the good-by — it is a shocking sort of word, and
I don't like it. All I can sTay is — we are going

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BUFFALO BILL.

299 . ^

where we are needed, and when there is no more
need of us at the front, we'll, if the good Father
above permits it, be back here to make home look
cheerful again. So don't spill any water out of
your eyes, but give us cheery looks to make our
hearts strong, and hope and pray that we'll all be
men, do our duty while we are away, and come-back
safe to say so."

" Bravo ! . A member of Congress could not have
made a better speech," cried Mr. La Valliere.

" I don't know, sir, why you should link me with
a member of Congress," said Bill, laughing. " I
have never done anything very bad to deserve it.
As to speeches — I'm rough, I know^ but Lou will
give me lessons by and by, and then I'll improve.**

The banker now rose to leave, and Bill whispered
a word or two to the darling of his heart, which
checked the tears that rose in her beautiful eyes — ■
for hope, brave hope is powerful to check the flood
of grief when it is brought home to the heart.

The parting words were soon spoken, and with
the solemn matronly blessing of that good mother
floating like a wave of comfort after them, the
young men filed away to take their accustomed rest
before being called to the saddle.

It was a touching scene — one worthy of an artist's
pencil rather than the too tame pen-paintings with
which I lay it before the reader's eyes.

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CHAPTER LIII.

It may interest the female portion of the readers
hereof (though they are not expected to have'a great
deal of curiosity in such matters), if I say that before
parting, betrothal vows had been exchanged between
at least three couples in whom we are interested in
this story. I will not insult the reader by naming
them, for she surely knows long before this who is
heart-mated in the party; and I don't believe in the
linking of hands where the heart does not throb
assent.

There is a great deal too much misery in this
world produced by mismating to have any sign of
approval from me, at least.

The sun just began to gild the spires and domes
of Stv Louis when Bill and his scouts turned at the
Five Mile House to give a parting look to the town.

There was little said ; but doubtless many a one
of the party, realizing what was before him, thought
he was very likely taking his last glance at the biisy
town.

'* Forward at a trot, boys ; we've no train to bother
us, and, now we're off, the sooner we are where there
is work to do, the better for us. There is nothing
like work to drive the blues away.

" Except whisky," said Wild Bill, with a forced
laugh.

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BUFFALO BILL. " V 361

"There's where youVe a mile outside the mark,"
said Buffalo Bill, seriously. ** Tm not much on a
temperance lecture — I wish I was ; but you know,
and you all know,, that there is more fight, more
headache — aye, more heart-ache in one rum-bottle
than there is in all the water that ever sparkled in
God's bright sunlight. And I, for the sake of my
dear brothers and sisters, and for the sweet, trust-
ing heart that throbs alone for me, intend to let the
rum go where it belongs, and that is not down my
throat, at any rate."

"Good for you. Bill! YouVe got something to
live for, and can afford to steer clear of pison," said
his mate. " It is all true that drink carries misery
with it to us who take it and to those who love us ;
but as I'm bound to go down before many days slip
by, I- think I'll take my bitters till I go."

Nothing more was said for a time, for the pace
was too rapid for pleasant conversation.

At noon there was a halt to water and loosen
girths and breathe the horses, while the men took a
bite from the three days* rations in their haversacks.

But half an hour covered the delay, and they again
dashed on at a rapid rate.

They frequently passed slow, ponderous wagon
trains, carrying provisions and ammunition to the
front ; and occasionally overtook and went by some
volunteer infantry regiments on the way to join the
brigades ahead.

Officers and men get proud of their new uniforms
and burnished arms, for it takes time and service to

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BUFFALO BILL.

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make one careless of show and alive only to the use
^nd efficiency of lirms and equipage.

*' Fifty good miles to-day, and the horses ready
for as much more to-morrow," said Bill, as he lighted
his pipe at the canip-fire when they bivouacked.
"That would just suit old Harney, wouldn't it,
mate."

*' Not much, without he was after reds ; then any-

. thing would suit him that had go in it. He cares
neither for man nor horse when his blood is hot, and
that, is always the case when he smells Indians.

'He'll never forget his Carloosahatchie scare while
he lives. It is the only scare he ever- had, I've
heard him say a hundred times, and the only time

- he ever forgot how to swear and took to praying."

^' "Look, to your horses, boys, the first thing.

sGiye them a rub down, and then, when supper is
ov^r, you'll have nothing to do and plenty of time
to do it in," said Bill.

The men needed no second order, but at once
took care of the good animals which were so useful
and necessary to them — a care which always brings
its own reward in the condition and readiness for
service in which it leaves the animal on which it is
bestowed.

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BUFFALO BILL. 303

CHAPTER LIV.

No one is less fond of alluding to the events in
which they were by necessity engaged than those
who did the fighting and not the talking during the
late civil war, and none are more anxious than those,
on either side, who actively participated, to now see
the hatchet buried and past animosities forgotten,
past errors blotted out.

Yet in a story founded entirely on fact, with real
characters for its actors, it is impossible to avoid
some allusion, descriptively, to the past.

So, within two weeks after he left St. Louis, the
hero of this story, with his company of scouts, held
the advance of the great army which was destined
to play such a conspicuous part in the long contested
and fearful battle of Pea Ridge.

For days before this battle came on, Bill and his
men were engaged in continual skirmishes, but
owiqg to the nature of the country, and the skill of
the bordermen in taking cover, he met with no im-
portant losses.

Ever by his side Wild Bill and Frank Stark par-
ticularly distinguished themselves, while Little Joe,
who had began to cultivate a mustache, did honor
to the devotion of sweet Kitty Muldoon so far away.

Bill had enough to do as leader of scouts. He
had McCuUough and his Texans to watch — Pike

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304 BUFFALO BILL.

was out with the Indian allies in their war-paint and
feathers — -and Van Dorn, as stubborn, if not near so
morally ^<:7^^/ as Stonewall Jackson, was moving with
lightning speed at every chance and opening.

To keep the Federal generals posted in every
movement was a hard task, but that Bill did it, and
did it well, history proves.

For three days preceding the final struggle — the
fifth, sixth, and seventh of March, almost without
eating, certainly without sleep — the noble scouts
kept the front.

On the last decisive day, when General Carr was
so nearly borne down by the combined weight thrown
on his command alone by Van Dorn and McCul-
lough, when hoped-for reinforcemients seemed de-
layed beyond the hour of hope, while a hill crested
with batteries so comnianded his position that to
remain was destruction, while to retreat was nearly
as bad, then the Kansas scouts reaped a harvest of
glory which will remain theirs as long as history -
lives. .

Buffalo Bill, riding up from a distant point where
he and his men had been hotly engaged since day-
light, saw what havoc the batteries were making —
saw, too, that the headquarter flags of the opposite
army were on the hill by the batteries.

" Boys,'* he cried, " Tm going to stop this butchery.
Those guns must be taken or silenced, or we're a
whipped crowd."

" They will be taken — that is the very spot I saw
in my dream!" cried Wild Bill, while a gfeam of

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BUFFALO BILL. 305

exultation flashed from his dark eyes. " We'll take
the guns — but I shall go under. My time has come /"

"To charge, but not to die!" cried his mate.
" Men, dismount, tighten every girth, look to your
weapons, and be ready for the best piece of work
you ever did. We must and will take ihe batteries
over there and save General Carr and his com-
mand !"

The "boys" dismounted in silence. Noise was
not in their line. Their girths tightened, revolvers
fresh capped, rifles slung, and then they were ready.

Buffalo Bill waited for no superior orders. His
eagle eye had seen what was needed, and now, rising
in his stirrups, he shpok his long rifle in the air and
shouted : .

" Charge l*

Merciful Heaven what a sight ! Not fifty men of
them all — ^yet like one swift cloud in a mottled sky,
driving fiend-like before a gale, on — on they dashed !

No bugle note — no wild yell — but on — on to kill
and to be killed !"

Over the plain, through the sulphurous smoke, up
on the ascent, amid bursting hail and rain of iron
and of lead — on they swept !

The Federal fire slackened in their rear, though it
increased to the right and left, for the charge was
looked on by many an eye, and now they were facing
the iron hail of the batteries.

Talk not to me of the Light Brigade, famed at
Balaklava — talk not to me of Lodi or Austerlitz.
On a hundred fields in this, our dear native land, have

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306

BUFFALO BILL.

charges been made and battles fought which were as
far beyond them as light is superior to darkness.

On — into and over the lines — through and through,
a sheet of fire blazing from their revolvers, and then
the clubbed rifle crashing down sabre guard and par-
rying arm — crashing in skulls and felling stalwart
forms, on with their trained horses they swept — those
heroic scouts !

Ben McCullough saw them coming — he saw the
eye of Wild Bill single him out and the hand raised
that never missed.

A smile, a defiant look, and he pressed his hand
to his heart. He had got his summons and he knew
it. Bitter and defiant to the last, he reeled from his
saddle, and as he went down and the Kansas men
swept like a destroying whirlwind over his body and
the corpses of a hundred more, a^yell for vengeance
rose on every hand.

Wedged in by foes, it seemed as if these heroes,
now fighting hand-to-hand, almost all with their
knives alone, must now perish. "^

But hark to a shout which makes the air tremble !

Curtis is up, and with a wild cry, the Federals
rush to the charge.

Wild Bill, for the first time in all the day, raises
his voice in a glad, defiant, ringing shout.

Alas ! it is his last. His cry has brought an eye
upon him — yes, more than one-r-for Ruby Blazes,
who had been in mute despair over the body of the
hero of her heart, raised her wild voice as Sallie Per-
kins, still in male attire, dashed in on the bold scout.

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BUFFALO BILL.

307

Wild BUI did not see the uplifted hand until the
knife came down swiftly to the very hilt in his
breast, and he heard her shriek :

" Take that for Dave Tutt ! Go, tell him that I
did it !"

** My dream is up !" was all he said. " Good-by
mate ! Tell Lillie "

He never closed the sentence. Death had him
in his grasp, and he sank down helpless to the
earth.

The next instant, as Curtis swept forward with
fresh men, a bullet sent the brave Van Dorn to his
last account, and then for an instant a fearful despe-
rate charge was made by the Confederate forces to
hold the guns, while they carried off the bodies of
their leaders.

Till now, Buffalo Bill was unscathed; but those
two women, fighting like demons, seemed to single
him out, and in the few terrible seconds that fol-
lowed, he went down, with nearly every man of his
command. Not all slain, but most of them were ter-
ribly wounded.

It was like many another scene that never has
been, or will be, faithfully described, where the cour-
age and desperation that immortalized the Spartans
at Thermopylae was more than equaled.

When Generals Curtis and Carr stood by the cap-
tured batteries and battle-flags on the hill, they
found Black Nell laying dead beside her brave mas-
ter, while Powder Face, with his ears set back, stood
defiantly over the body of his wounded rider, ready

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308 ~ BUFFALO BILL.

to bite or kick the first who approached him with
unfriendly motive.

Frank Stark and Little Joe both lay near by,
wounded, but not fatally.

The shouts of victory now rang far and wide.
The hard-fought battle was over, and friend and foe
were alike sought out to receive surgical care.

Wild, fearful as had been the fray, terrible as the
passions excited during its frenzied continuance,
humanity had not perished in the hearts of the sur-
vivors, and now tenderly, carefully many a mangled
form was lifted by the very hand that had helped to
shatter it

And this is war — war among brothers !

Oh, God of Mercy spare our land from a sad
renewal of calamities so dire !

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BUFFALO BILU

309

\

CHAPTER LV.

After the battle the army moved forward, but
the main portion of the wounded were sent back.
Not with the hospital train, but in selected ambu-
lances, with a special escort, and with* orders that
their own wishes as to destination should be con- -
suited.

Our wounded heroes of the Kansas scouts were
retired to the rear.

The news of their glorious conduct, as well as of
their condition, reached their friends in St. Louis,
over the wires, before the sun had set on the field
of carnage.

Was* it then to be wondered at, when they reached
the pleasant town of De Soto, on a south fork of
the Osage, that a kindly face beamed into the end
of the ambulance containing three of the most noted
of our heroes — Buffalo Bill, Frank Stark, and little
Joe Bevins.

It was that of Mr. La Valliere the banker.

" How are you, my brave boys — how are you ?"
he cried, as he saw their faces brighten on recognition '
of his own.

" Fifty per cent better than dead men, sir!" cried
our hero.

What do you know of per cent, my boy ?*' cried ,

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ar-d i^ked :; tl-i-irr*: was anything else they required
just t;i*^r;-

"Your r:'jrvr^ vi-l comc when yon caZl tbcm —
tiere is ^ o':!! or; th't tabk in reach of each one of
yon/' said h*::, a-^^ h^ went out.

*-To thunder '.vith the nurses when we Vc got so
andLtflHllrt as this around us !" said Buffalo Bill

• i

BUFFALO BILL. 311

when Mr. La Valliere quietly walked out of the
room.

" Vm going to ring for mine," said little Joe, "just
to see if he is white or black."

Tingle, tingle, went his bell.

"Och, you blissid little darlint — is it your own
Kitty Muldoon you're wantin*?" cried a familiar
voice, and the buxom little body rushfed to the bed-
side and half smothered him with kisses, not caring
" a bawbee" for the witnesses to this outpouring of
her heart's love.

It was surprising how quickly every bell in that
room rung for a nurse then.

And never were bells answered more promptly.

Little Lou, beautiful as a rose and pure as the dew
which gems it in the still breath of morning, was
quickly at the bedside of her young love's first dream.

Lillie, all blushes and tremulous with joy, was
bending tearfully over Fraqk Stark, while Lottie,
more bashful than all the rest, sweet May flower as
she was, came in as a kind of supernumerary, ready
to help where help was most needed.

Another came in, led by the good banker, and
Buffalo Bill turned even from his idolized Lou to
give vent to the love and reverence that he felt for
his mother.

Her white hand was so soft and cooling to his brow
— her words of low praise and thankfulness that
while he had done his duty, he had been spared —
all, all was like magic medicine to his bruised and
gashed body.

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312 BUFFALO BILL. ^

Mr. La ValHere looked at this scene a few moments
and then made a very singular, but, under the cir-
cumstances, a not very inappropriate speech.

He coughed a little to /dear his voice and then
proceeded thusly :

" My friends, the recollections of a busy lifetime,
as H. G. would say, throng in upon me just now and
suggest various eventful experiences of my own.

" First, a penny saved counts as much in bank as
a penny earned. Second, persons interested in the
ownership of property are always more careful of it
than those who are merely hired to take care of it.
These and a few other considerations have caused
me to call in the services of my friend here, Chaplain
Banner, for the purpose of making this nurse busi-
ness a 'joint-stock' affair, technically speaking.
^ " Lou, my darling, take that pallid looking hero
of yours by the hand, while this gentleman speaks
the words which I hope will make you both happy."

Tears of joy as well as wonder filled the eyes of
the brave scout, when that trusting little hand was
placed in his own. His voice grew strong as he re-
sponded to.the questions, and when he uttered the
vow to " love, protect, and cherish," it came up from
the inner depths of as true a lieart as ever beat for
woman ! Heaven bless him and her.'

"Your turn next, my pretty Lillie," said the
banker, as he approached the thrice perilled and
thrice rescued heroine, and the brave man who for
her sake had turned from evil ways and was striving
for the good.

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BUFFALO BILL.

313

Soon that ceremony was over — none were there
who could or would object.
^ For base indeed is the heart which will turn from
him who has left the darkness, of his own free will,
and come out into the light.

Foul and most ungenerous is the nature which
will not rejoice to grasp the hand of him who has
been redeemed from error, and who in the strength
of redeemed manhood has honorably proven himself
worthy of a good cause and pure, ennobling associ-
ations.

There was more to be done. Little Kitty stood
open-mouthed, blushing and turning white by turns
as the marriages went on, and now she trembled like
a leaf when Mr. La Valliere approached her.

"There will be no objections here I hope !*' said
the banker, with a smile as he approached the bed-
side of Joe Bevins. " What do you say, Kitty ; do
you love Joe well enough to take him for better or
for worse ?'*

" Faith, sir, I don't believe I'll find a better, and
if I waited, I might find a worse, and if he's willin'
I'm not the big fool to say no. But sure there's one
thing — he mustn't take me away from missis, for
I've promised in me heart never to lave her that has
been so good to the poor lone girl I was when she
found me."

" I'll never take you from them you love, Kitty,
for I hope always to be near Bill myself, and he'll
never lose sight of his mother, I know."

"Then let his riverence go ahead as soon as he

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BUFFALO BILL.

plases," said Kitty, as she put her chubby little hand
into that of Joe.

This last ceremony was soon over, and our story
is in such a happy stopping place, that I believe it
must be closed.

It is enough to say that Buffalo Bill, Joe Bevins,
and Frank Stark yet live — that ever since they were
linked to live-candy framed en statuette:, theyVe led
lives of wild adventure on the far western plains,
which may yet be worked up into another exciting
border tale by your very much obliged friend — THE

AUTHOR.

THE END.

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