THE CAPTAIN OF
THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION
THE CAPTAIN OF
the
GRAY-HORSE TROOP
H IRovel
by
HAMLIN GARLAND
NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1901, by THE CURTIS PUBLISHING
Copyright, 1902, by HAMLIN GAR
All rifktt
Published March, 1903.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. A CAMP IN THE SNOW i
II. THE STREETER GUN-RACK 14
III. CURTIS ASSUMES CHARGE OF THE AGENT . 29
IV. THE BEAUTIFUL ELSIE BEE BEE 38
V. CAGED EAGLES 48
VI. CURTIS SEEKS A TRUCE ........ 61
VII. ELSIE RELENTS A LITTLE 7o
viil. CURTIS WRITES A LONG LETTER 77
IX. CALLED TO WASHINGTON . . .... 87
X. CURTIS AT HEADQUARTERS 105
XI. CURTIS GRAPPLES WITH BRISBANE .... 114
XII. SPRING ON THE ELK 131
XIII. ELSIE PROMISES TO RETURN 137
XIV. ELSIE REVISITS CURTIS 141
XV. ELSIE ENTERS HER STUDIO ....... 155
XVI. THE CAMP AMONG THE ROSES 163
XVIL A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE .... 174
XVIII. ELSIE'S ANCIENT LOVE AFFAIR 194
XIX. THE SHERIFF'S MOB 205
XX. FEMININE STRATEGY 219
XXI. IN STORMY COUNCILS 230
XXII. A COUNCIL AT NIGHT 246
iii
248989
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
XXJII. THE RETURN OF THE MOB 261
XXJV. THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP 276
XXV. AFTER THE STRUGGLE 285
XXVI. THE WARRIOR PROCLAIMS HIMSELF. . . 301
XXVII. BRISBANE COMES FOR ELSIE 313
XXVIII. A WALK IN THE STARLIGHT 327
XXIX. ELSIE WARNS CURTIS 339
XXX. THE CAPTURE OF THE MAN 344
XXXI. OUTWITTING THE SHERIFF 355
XXXII. AN EVENTFUL NIGHT 364
XXXIII. ELSIE CONFESSES HER LOVE 377
XXXIV. SEED-TIME . 390
XXXV. THE BATTLE WITH THE WEEDS .... 398
XXXVI. THE HARVEST-HOME. . . . . . . . . 431
XXXVII. THE MINGLING OF THE OLD AUTO THE NEW 405
THE CAPTAIN OF
THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
i
A CAMP IN THE SNOW
WINTER in the upper heights of the Bear Tooth
Range is a glittering desolation of snow with
a flaming blue sky above. Nothing moves, nothing
utters a sound, save the cony at the mouth of the
spiral shaft, which sinks to his deeply buried den in
the rocks. The peaks are like marble domes, set
In'gh in the pathway of the sun by day and thrust
amid the stars by night. The firs seem hopeless
under their ever - increasing burdens. The streams
are silenced — only the wind is abroad in the waste,
the tireless, pitiless wind, fanged like ingratitude,
insatiate as fire.
But it is beautiful, nevertheless, especially of a
clear dawn, when the shadows are vividly purple and
each rime- wreathed summit is smit with ethereal
fire, and each eastern slope is resplendent as a high
way of powdered diamonds — or at sunset, when the
high crests of the range stand like flaming mile
stones leading to the Celestial City, and the lakes
I
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
are like pools of pure gold caught in a robe of green
velvet. Yet always this land demands youth and
strength in its explorer.
King Frost's dominion was already complete over
all the crests, over timber-line, when young Captain
Curtis set out to cross the divide which lay between
Lake Congar and Fort Sherman — a trip to test the
virtue of a Sibley tent and the staying qualities of a
mountain horse.
Bennett, the hairy trapper at the head of the lake,
advised against it. "The snow is soft — I reckon
you better wait a week."
But Curtis was a seasoned mountaineer and took
pride in assaulting the stern barrier. " Besides, my
leave of absence is nearly up/' he said to the trapper.
" Well, you're the doctor/' the old trapper replied.
"Good luck to ye, Cap."
It was sunrise of a crisp, clear autumn morning
when they started, and around them the ground was
still bare, but by noon they were wallowing mid-leg
deep in new-fallen snow. Curtis led the way on foot
— his own horse having been packed to relieve the
burdens of the others — while Sergeant Pierce, reso
lute and uncomplaining, brought up the rear.
"We must camp beside the sulphur spring to
night," Curtis said, as they left timber-line and en
tered upon the bleak, wind-swept slopes of Grizzly
Bear.
"Very well, sir," Pierce cheerily replied, and till
three o'clock they climbed steadily towards the far-
off glacial heights, the drifts ever deepening, the cold
ever intensifying. They had eaten no food since
dawn, and the horses were weak with hunger and
2
A CAMP IN THE SNOW
weariness as they topped the divide and looked down
upon the vast eastern slope, ^The world before them
seemed even more inhospitable and wind-swept than
the land they had left below them to the west. The
air was filled with flying frost, the sun was weak
and pale, and the plain was only a pale-blue sea far,
far below to the northeast. The wind blew through
the pass with terrible force, and the cold nipped every
limb like a famishing white wolf.
" There is the sulphur spring, sir," said Pierce,
pointing towards a delicate strand of steam which
rose from a clump of pines in the second basin be
neath them.
" Quite right, sergeant, and we must make that in
an hour. I'd like to take an observation here, but
I reckon we'd better slide down to camp before the
j horses freeze/'
j^ The dry snow, sculptured by the blast in the pass,
made the threadlike path an exceedingly elusive
line to keep, and trailing narrowed to a process of
feeling with the feet; but Curtis set his face reso
lutely into the northeast wind and led the way down
the gulch. For the first half-mile the little pack-
train crawled slowly and hesitatingly, like a bewil
dered worm, turning and twisting, retracing its way,
circling huge bowlders, edging awful cliffs, slipping,
stumbling, but ever moving, ever descending; and,
at last, while yet the sun's light glorified the icy kings
behind them the Captain drew into the shelter of the
clump of pii.es from which the steam of the warm
spring roseflike a chimney's cheery greeting.
"Whoa, boys!" called Curtis, and with a smile at
Pierce, added, " Here we are, home again!"
3
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
It was not a cheerful place to spend the night, for
even at this level the undisturbed snow lay full twelve
inches deep and the pines were bowed with the weight
of it, and as the sun sank the cold deepened to zero
point ; but the sergeant drew off his gloves and began
to free the horses from their packs quite as if these
were the usual conditions of camping.
" Better leave the blankets on/' remarked the young
officer. "They'll need 'em for warmth/'
The sergeant saluted and continued his work,
deft and silent, while Curtis threw up a little tent on
a cleared spot and banked it snugly with snow. In a
very short time a fire was blazing and some coffee
boiling. The two men seemed not to regard the
cold or the falling night, except in so far as the wind
threatened the horses.
"It's hard luck on them/' remarked Curtis, as they
were finishing their coffee in the tent; "but it is un
avoidable. I don't think it safe to try to go down that
slide in the dusk. Do you?"
" It's dangerous at any time, sir, and with our horses
weak as they are, it sure would be taking chances/'
"We'll make Tom Skinner's by noon to-morrow,
and be out of the snow, probably." The young sol
dier put down his tin cup and drew a map from his
pocket. "Hold a light, sergeant; I want to make
some notes before I forget them."
While the sergeant held a candle for him, Curtis
rapidly traced with a soft pencil a few rough lines
upon the map. "That settles that water-shed ques
tion ;" he pointed with his pencil. " Here is the
dividing wall, not over there where Lieutenant Crom-
bie drew it. Nothing is more deceptive than the rela-
4
A CAMP IN THE SNOW
tive heights of ranges. Well, now take a last look
at the horses/' he said, putting away his pencil, " and
I'll unroll our blankets/'
As they crawled into their snug sleeping-bags Cur
tis said again, with a sigh, " I'm sorry for the ponies/'
"They'll be all right now, Captain; they've got
something in their stomachs. If a cayuse has any
fuel in him he's like an engine — he'll keep warm/'
and so silence fell on them, and in the valley the cold
deepened till the rocks and the trees cried out in the
rigor of their resistance.
The sun was filling the sky with an all-pervading
crimson-and-orange mist when the sergeant crawled
out of his snug nest and started a fire. The air was
perfectly still, but the frost gripped each limb with
benumbing fury. The horses, with blankets awry,
stood huddled close together in the shelter of the
pines not far away. As the sergeant appeared they
whinnied to express their dependence upon him, and
when the sun rose they turned their broadsides to it
gratefully.
The two men, with swift, unhesitating action, set
to work to break camp. In half an hour the tent was
folded and packed, the horses saddled, and then,
lustily singing, Curtis led the way down upon the
floor of the second basin, which narrowed towards
the north into a deep and wooded valley leading to
the plains. The grasp of winter weakened as they
descended; December became October. The snow
thinned, the streams sang clear, and considerably
before noon the little train of worn and hungry horses
came out upon the grassy shore of a small lake to bask
in genial sunshine. From this point the road to
5
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Skinner's was smooth and easy, and quite untouched
of snow.
As they neared the miner's shack, a tall young
Payonnay, in the dress of a cowboy, came out to
meet them, smiling broadly.
'Tni looking for you, Captain."
" Are you, Jack? Well, you see me. What's your
message?"
"The Colonel says you are to come in right off.
He told me to tell you he had an order for you."
A slouching figure, supporting a heap of greasy
rags, drew near, and a low voice drawled, weakly :
"Jack's been here since Friday. I told him where
you was, but he thought he'd druther lay by my fire
than hunt ye."
Curtis studied the squat figure keenly. "You
weren't looking for the job of crossing the range
yourself, were you?"
The tramplike miner grinned and sucked at his
pipe. "Well, no — I can't say that I was, but I like
to rub it into these lazy Injuns."
Jack winked at Curtis with humorous apprecia
tion. " He's a dandy to rub it into an Injun, don't
you think?"
Even Skinner laughed at this, and Curtis said:
" Unsaddle the horses and give them a chance at the
grass, sergeant. We can't go into the fort to-night
with the packs. And, Skinner, I want to hire a horse
of you, while you help Pierce bring my outfit into the
fort to-morrow. I must hurry on to see what's in
the wind."
"All right, Captain, anything I've got is yours,"
responded the miner, heartily.
6
A CAMP IN THE SNOW
The bugles were sounding " retreat " as the young
officer rode up to the door of Colonel Quinlan's quar
ters and reported for duty.
"Good-evening, Major/' called the Colonel, with a
quizzical smile and a sharp emphasis on the word
major.
" Major I" exclaimed Curtis ; " what do you mean — "
"Not a wholesale slaughter of your superiors.
Oh no! You are Major by the grace of the Secre
tary of Indian Affairs. Colonel Hackett, of the War
Department, writes me that you have been detailed
as Indian agent at Fort Smith. You'll find your
notification in your mail, no doubt/'
Curtis touched his hat in mock courtesy. " Thanks,
Mr. Secretary; your kindness overwhelms me/'
"Didn't think the reform administration could get
along without you, did you?" asked the Colonel, with
some humor. He was standing at his gate. " Come
in, and we'll talk it over. You seem a little breath
less."
" It does double me up, I confess. But I can't con
sistently back out after the stand I've made/'
" Back out! Well, not if I can prevent it. Haven't
you hammered it into us for two years that the
army was the proper instrument for dealing with
these redskins? No, sir, you can't turn tail now.
Take your medicine like a man."
"But how did they drop onto me? Did you sug
gest it?"
The Colonel became grave. "No, my boy, I did
not. But I think I know who did. You remember
the two literary chaps who camped with us on our
trial march two years ago?"
7
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
The young officer's eyes opened wide. "Ah! I
sec. They told me at the time that they were friends
of the Secretary. That explains it."
"Your success with that troop of enlisted Chey-
ennes had something to do with it, too/' added the
Colonel. "I told those literary sharps about that
experience, and also about your crazy interest in the
sign-language and Indian songs/'
" You did? Well, then you are responsible, after
all."
The Colonel put his hand on his subordinate's
shoulder. "Go and do the work, boy! It's better
than sitting around here waiting promotion. If I
weren't so near retirement I'd resign. I have lived
out on these cursed deserts ever since 1868 — but I'll
fool 'em/' he added, with a grim smile. " I'm going
to hang on to the last, and retire on half-pay. Then
I'll spend all my time looking after my health and
live to be ninety-five, in order to get even/'
Curtis laughed. " Quite right, Colonel," and, then
becoming serious, he added, "It's my duty, and I
will do it." And in this quiet temper he accepted
his detail.
Captain George Curtis, as the Colonel had intimated,
was already a marked man at Fort Sherman — and,
indeed, throughout the western division of the army.
He feared no hardship, and acknowledged no supe
rior on- the trail except Pierce, who was as invincible
to cold and snow as a grizzly bear, and his chief di
versions were these trips into the wild. Each outing
helped him endure the monotony of barrack life, for
when it was over he returned to the open fire of his
study, where he pored over his maps, smoking his pipe
8
A CAMP IN THE SNOW
and writing a little between bugle-calls. In this way he
had been able to put together several articles on the
forests, the water-sheds, and the wild animals of the
region he had traversed, and in this way had made
himself known to the Smithsonian Institution. He
was considered a crank on trees and Indians by his
f ellow-officers, who all drank more whiskey and played
a better hand at poker than he ; " but, after all, Curtis
is a good soldier/' they often said, in conclusion. " His
voice in command is clear and decisive, and his con
trol of his men excellent." He was handsome, too,
in a firm, brown, cleanly outlined way, and though
not a popular officer, he had no enemies in the service.
His sister Jennie, who had devotedly kept house
for him during his garrison life, was waiting for him
at the gate of his little yard, and cried out in greeting :
"How did you cross the range this weather? I
was frightened for you, George. I could see the
storm raging up there all day yesterday."
"Oh, a little wind and snow don't count," he re
plied, carelessly. " I thought you'd given up worry
ing about me."
"I have — only I thought of poor Sergeant Pierce
and the horses. There's a stack of mail here. Do
you know what's happened to you?"
"The Colonel told me."
"How do you like it?"
" I don't know yet. At this moment I'm too tired
to express an opinion."
From the pile of mail on his desk he drew ou.t
the order which directed him to " proceed at once to
Fort Smith, and as secretly as may be. You will
surprise the agent, if possible— intercepting him at
0
* THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
his desk, so that he will have no opportunity for se
creting his private papers. You will take entire
charge of the agency, and at your earliest con
venience forward to us a report covering every detail
of the conditions there."
"Now that promises well/' he said, as he finished
reading the order. " We start with a fair expectancy
of drama. Sis — we are Indian agents 1 All this must
be given up." He looked round the room, which
glowed in the light of an open grate fire. The floor
was bright with Navajo blankets and warm with
fur rugs, and on the walls his books waited his hand.
"I don't like to leave our snug nest, Jennie/' he
said, with a sigh.
"You needn't. Take it with you/' she replied,
promptly.
He glanced ruefully at her. " I knew I'd get mighty
little sympathy from you/'
"Why should you? I'm ready to go. I don't
want you trailing about over these mountains till the
end of time ; and you know this life is fatal to you,
or any other man who wants to do anything in the
world. It's all very well to talk about being a soldier,
but I'm not so enthusiastic as I used to be. I don't
think sitting around waiting for some one to die is
very noble."
He rose and stood before the fire. "I wish this
whole house could be lifted up and set down at Fort
Smith; then I might consider the matter."
She came over, and, as he put his arm about her,
continued earnestly: "George, I'm serious about
this. The President is trying to put the Indian ser
vice into capable hands, and I believe you ought to
10
A CAMP IN THE SNOW
accept ; in fact, you can't refuse. There is work for
us both there. I am heartily tired of garrison life,
George. As the boys say, there's nothing in it."
" But there's danger threatening at Smith, sis. I
can't take you into an Indian outbreak."
" That's all newspaper talk. Mr. Dudley writes — "
"Dudley — is he down there? Oh, you are a mas
terful sly one! Your touching solicitude for the
Tetongs is now explained. What is Dudley doing
at Smith besides interfering with my affairs?"
"He's studying the Tetong burial customs — but
he isn't there at present."
"These Smithsonian sharps are unexpectedly
keen. He'd sacrifice me and my whole military ca
reer to have you study skulls with him for a few days.
Do you know, I suspect him and Osborne Lawson of
this whole conspiracy — and you — you were in it!
I've a mind to rebel and throw everything out o' gear."
Jennie gave him a shove. "Go dress for dinner.
The Colonel and his wife and Mr. Ross are coming
in to congratulate you, and you must pretend to be
overjoyed."
As he sat at the head of his handsome table that
night Curtis began to appreciate his comforts. He
forgot the dissensions and jealousies, the cynical
speculations and the bitter rivalries of the officers —
he remembered only the pleasant things.
His guests were personable and gracious, and
Jennie presided over the coffee with distinction. She
was a natural hostess, and her part in the conversa
tion which followed was notable for its good sense,
but Mr. Ross, the young lieutenant, considered her
delicate color and shining hair even more remark-
II
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
able than her humor. He liked her voice, also, and
had a desire to kick the shins of the loquacious Colo
nel for absorbing so much of her attention. Mrs.
Quinlan, the Colonel's wife, was, by the same token,
a retiring, silent little woman, who smiled and nod
ded her head to all that was said, paying special at
tention to the Colonel's stories, with which all wer«
familiar ; even Mr. Ross had learned them.
At last the Colonel turned to Curtis. "You'll miss
this, Curtis, when you're exiled down there at old
Fort Smith among the Tetongs. Here we are a
little oasis of civilization in the midst of a desert of
barbarians; down there you'll be swallowed up."
"We'll take civilization with us/' said Jennie.
"But, of course, we shall miss our friends."
"Well, you'll have a clear field for experiment at
Smith. You can try all your pet theories on the
Tetongs. God be with them ! — their case is desperate. "
He chuckled gracelessly.
"When do you go?" asked Mrs. Quinlan.
" At once. As soon as I can make arrangements,"
replied Curtis, and then added : " And, by-the-way,
I hope you will all refrain from mentioning my ap
pointment till after I reach Fort Smith."
The visitors did not stay late, for their host was
plainly preoccupied, and as they shook hands with
him in parting they openly commiserated him. " I'm
sorry for you," again remarked the Colonel, "but
it's a just punishment."
After they were gone Curtis turned to his sister.
"I must leave here to-morrow morning, sis."
"Why, George! Can't you take time to breathe
and pack up?"
12
A CAMP IN THE SNOW
" No, I must drop down on that agent like a hawk
on a June-bug, before he has a chance to bury his
misdeeds. The Colonel has given out the news of
my detail, and the quicker I move the better. I must
reach there before the mail does/'
"But I want to go with you," she quickly and re
sentfully replied.
"Well, you can, if you are willing to leave our
packing in Pierce's hands."
" I don't intend to be left behind," she replied. " I'm
going along to see that you don't do anything reck
less. I never trust a man in a place requiring tact/'
Curtis laughed. "That's your long suit, sis, but
I reckon we'll need all the virtues that lie in each of
us. We are going into battle with strange forces/'
II
THE STREETER GUN-RACK
'TPHERE is a good wagon-road leading to old Fort
A Smith from Pinon City, but it runs for the most
part through an uninteresting country, and does not
touch the reservation till within a few miles of the
agency buildings. From the other side, however,
a rough trail crosses a low divide, and for more than
sixty miles lies within the Tetong boundaries, a roll
ing, cattle country rising to grassy hills on the west.
For these reasons Curtis determined to go in on
horseback and in civilian's dress, leaving his sister
to follow by rail and buckboard ; but here again Jen
nie promptly made protest.
" Til not go that way, George. I am going to keep
with you, and you needn't plan for anything else —
so there!"
" It's a hard ride, sis — sixty miles and more. You'll
be tired out/'
" What of that? I'll have plenty of time to rest
afterwards."
" Very well. It is always a pleasure to have you
with me, you stubborn thing," he replied, affection
ately.
It had been hard to leave everything at the Fort,
kard to look back from the threshold upon well-ordered
14
THE STREETER GUN-RACK
books and furniture, and harder still to know that
rude and careless hands would jostle them into heaps
on the morrow, but Jennie was accustomed to all
the hardships involved in being sister to a soldier,
and, after she had turned the key in the lock, set her
face to the south cheerfully. There was something
of the missionary in her, and she had long burned
with a desire to help the red people.
They got off at a squalid little cow-town called
"Riddell" about noon of the second day, and Cur
tis, after a swift glance around him, said : " Sis, our
chances for dinner are poor/'
The hotel, a squat, battlemented wooden building,
was trimmed with loafing cowboys on the outside
and speckled with flies on the inside, but the land
lord was unexpectedly attractive, a smiling, courte
ous host, to whom flies and cowboys were matters
of course. It was plain he had slipped down to his
present low level by insensible declinations.
"The food is not so bad if it were only served de
cently/' said Jennie, as they sat at the table eying
the heavy china chipped and maimed in the savage
process of washing.
"I hope you won't be sorry we've left the army,
sis."
" I would, if we had to live with these people/' she
replied, decisively, looking about the room, which
was filled with uncouth types of men, keen-eyed,
slouchy, and loud-voiced. The presence of a pretty
woman 'had subdued most of them into something
like decorum, but they were not pleasant to look at.
They were the unattached males of the town, a mob
of barkeepers, hostlers, clerks, and railway hands,
15
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
intermixed with a half-dozen cowboys who had rid
den in to " loaf away a day or two in town/'
"The ragged edge of the cloth of gold/' said Cur
tis, as he glanced round at them. " Civilization has
its seamy side/'
"This makes the dear old Fort seem beautiful,
doesn't it?" the girl sighed. "We'll see no more
green grass and well-groomed men."
An hour later, with a half-breed Indian boy for a
guide, they rode away over the hills towards the
east, glad to shake the dust of Riddell off their feet.
The day was one of flooding sunlight, warm and
golden. Winter seemed far away, and only the dry
grass made it possible to say, "This is autumn/'
The air was without dust or moisture — crystalline,
crisp, and deliciously invigorating.
The girl turned to her brother with radiant face.
"This is living! Isn't it good to escape that horrid
little town?"
" You'd suppose in an air like this all life would be
clean and sweet," he replied. "But it isn't. The
trouble is, these people have no inner resource. They
lop down when their accustomed props are removed.
They come from defective stock."
The half-breed guide had the quality of his Indian
mother — he knew when to keep silence and when
to speak. He led the way steadily, galloping along
on his little gray pony, with elbows flapping like a
rooster about to take flight.
There was a wonderful charm in this treeless land,
it was so lonely and so sinister. It appealed with
great power to Curtis, while it appalled his sister.
The solitary buttes, smooth of slope and grotesque
16
THE STREETER GUN-RACK
of line ; the splendid, grassy hollows, where the cattle
fed ; the burned-up mesas, where nothing lived but the
horned toad; the alkaline flats, leprous and ashen;
the occasional green line of cottonwood-trees, deep
sunk in a dry water-course — all these were typical
of the whole vast eastern water-shed of the continental
divide, and familiar to the young officer, for in such
a land he had entered upon active service.
It was beautiful, but it was an ill place for a woman,
as Jennie soon discovered. The air, so dry, so fierce,
parched her skin and pinched her red lips. The al
kali settled in a gray dust upon her pretty hair and
entered her throat, increasing her thirst to a keen
pain.
"Oh, George! here is a little stream/' she cried out.
"Courage, sis. We will soon get above the al
kali. That water is rank poison/'
"It looks good/' she replied, wistfully.
" We'll find some glorious water up there in that
clump of willows/' and a few minutes' hard riding
brought them to a gurgling little brook of clear, cold
water, and the girl not merely drank — she laved away
all traces of the bitter soil of the lower levels.
At about four o'clock the guide struck into a trans
verse valley, and followed a small stream to its source
in a range of pine-clad hills which separate the white
man's country from the Tetong reservation. As
they topped this divide, riding directly over a smooth
swell, Curtis drew rein, crying out, " Wait a moment,
Louie."
They stood on the edge of a vast dip in the plain,
a bowl of amethyst and turquoise. Under the vivid
October sun the tawny grass seemed to be transmuted
17
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
into something that shimmered, was translucent,
and yet was firm, while the opposite wall, already
faintly in shadow, rose by two degrees to snow-flecked
mountains, faintly showing in the west and north.
On the floor of this resplendent amphitheatre a flock
of cattle fed irregularly, luminous as red and white
and deep-purple beads. The landscape was silent —
as silent as the cloudless sky above. No bird or
beast, save the cattle, and the horses the three trav
ellers rode, was abroad in this dream-world.
"Oh, isn't it beautiful'/' exclaimed Jennie.
Curtis sat in silence till the guide said : " We must
hurry. Long ways to Streeter."
Then he drew a sigh. "That scene is typical of
the old time. Nothing could be more moving to me.
I saw the buffaloes feed like that once. Whose are
the cattle?" he asked of the boy.
"Thompson's, I think."
" But what are they doing here — that's Tetong land,
isn't it?"
The guide grinned. "That don't make no differ
ence to Thompson. All same to him whose grass
he eats/'
"Well, lead on," said Curtis, and the boy galloped
away swiftly down the trail. As they descended to
the east the sun seemed to slide down the sky and the
chill dusk rose to meet them from the valley of the
Elk, like an exhalation from some region of icy waters.
Night was near, but Streeter's was in sight, a big log-
house, surrounded by sheds and corrals of various
sorts and sizes.
" How does Mr. Streeter happen to be so snugly set
tled on Indian land?" asked Jennie.
18
THE STREETER GUN-RACK
"He made his location before the reservation was
set aside. I believe there are about twenty ranches
of the same sort within the lines/' replied Curtis,
" and I think we'll find in these settlers the chief cause
of friction. The cattle business is not one that leads
to scrupulous regard for the rights of others."
As they clattered up to the door of the ranch-house
a tall young fellow in cowboy dress came out to meet
them. He was plainly amazed to find a pretty girl
at his door, and for a moment fairly gaped with lax
jaws.
"Good-evening/' said Curtis. "Are you the boss
here?"
He recovered himself quickly. "Howdy — howdy!
Yes, I'm Cal Streeter. Won't you 'light off?"
"Thank you. We'd like to take shelter for the
night if you can spare us room."
"WThy, cert. Mother and the old man are away
just now, but there's plenty to eat." He took a swift
stride towards Jennie. "Let me help you down,
miss."
"Thank you, I'm already down," said Jennie,
anticipating his service.
The young man called shrilly, and a Mexican ap
peared at the door of the stable. "Hosy, come and
take these horses." Turning to Jennie with a grin,
he said : " I can't answer for the quality of the grub,
fer Hosy is cooking just now. Mother's been gone a
week, and the bread is wiped out. If you don't mind
slapjacks I'll see what we can do for you."
Jennie didn't know whether she liked this young
fellow or not. After his first stare of astonishment
he was by no means lacking in assurance. How-
19
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
ever, she was plains-woman enough to feel the ne
cessity of making the best of any hospitality when
night was falling, and quickly replied: "Don't take
any trouble for us. If you'll show me your kitchen
and pantry I'll be glad to do the cooking."
"Will you? Well, now, that's a sure -enough
trade/' and he led the way into the house, which
was a two-story building, with one-story wings on
either side. The room into which they entered was
large and bare as a guard-room. The floor was un
even, the log walls merely whitewashed, and the
beams overhead were rough pine boles. Some plain
wooden chairs, a table painted a pale blue, and
covered with dusty newspapers, comprised the visi
ble furniture, unless a gun-rack which filled one
entire wall could be listed among the furnishings.
Curtis brought a keen gaze to bear on this arsenal,
and estimated that it contained nearly a score of rifles
— a sinister array.
Young Streeter opened a side door. "This is
where you are to sleep. Just make yourself to home,
and I'll rub two sticks together and start a fire."
After Jennie left the room, the young fellow turned
abruptly. "Stranger, what might I call you?"
"My name is Curtis. I'm going over to visit the
agency."
"She your wife?" He pointed his thumb in Jen
nie's direction.
"No, my sister."
"Oh! Well, then, you can bunk with me in this
room." He indicated a door on the opposite side of
the hall. "When she gets ready, bring her out to
the kitchen. It's hard lines to make her cook her
20
THE STREETER GUN-RACK
own grub, but I tell you right now I think she'd
better."
As Jennie met her brother a few moments later,
she exclaimed, "Isn't he handsome?"
" M — yes. He's good-looking enough, but he's just
a little self-important, it seems to me."
" Are you going to let him know who you are?"
" Certainly not. I want to draw him out. I begin
to suspect that this house is ^rendezvous for all the
interests we have to fight. Thesfe guns are all loaded
and in prime order."
"What a big house you have here/' said Jennie,
ingratiatingly, as she entered the kitchen. "And
what a nice kitchen."
"Oh, purty fair," replied the youth, busy at the
stove. " Our ranch ain't what we'd make it if these
Injuns were out o' the way. Now, here's the grub —
if you can dig up anything you're welcome."
He showed her the pantry, where she found plenty
of bacon and flour, and some eggs and milk.
"I thought cattlemen never had milk?"
"Well, they don't generally, but mother makes
us milk a cow. Now, I'll do this cooking if you
want me to, but I reckon you won't enjoy seein' me
do it. I can't make biscuits, and we're all out o'
bread, as I say, and Hosy's sinkers would choke a
dog."
" Oh, I'll cook if you'll get some water and keep a
good fire going."
"Sure thing/' he said, heartily, taking up the
water-pail to go to the spring. When he came back
Jennie was dabbling the milk and flour. He stood
watching her in silence for some minutes as she
21
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
worked, and the sullen lines on his face softened and
his lips grew boyish.
"You sure know your business/7 he said, in a tone
of conviction. "When I try to mix dough I get all
strung up with it."
She replied with a smile. " Is the oven hot? These
biscuit must come out just right/'
He stirred up the fire. " A man ain't fitten to cook ;
he's too blame long in the elbows. We have an old
squaw when mother is home, but she don't like me,
and so she takes a vacation whenever the old lady
does. That throws us down on Hosy, and he just
about poisons us. A Mexican can't cook no more'n
an Injun. We get spring-poor by the time the old
lady comes back/' Jennie was rolling at the dough
and did not reply to him. He held the door open
for her when she was ready to put the biscuit in
the oven, and lit another bracket-lamp in order to
see her better.
" Do you know, you're the first girl I ever saw in
this kitchen."
"Ami?"
"That's right." After a pause he added: "I'm
mighty glad I didn't get home to eat Hosy's supper.
I want a chance at some of them biscuit/'
"Slice this bacon, please — not too thick," she
added, briskly.
He took the knife. " Where do you hail from, any
way?" he asked, irrelevantly.
"From the coast/' she replied.
" That so? Bom there?"
"Oh no. I was born in Maryland, near Wash
ington/'
22
THE STREETER GUN-RACK
"There's a place I'd like to live if I had money
enough. A feller can have a continuous picnic in
Washington if he's got the dust to spare, so I hear."
"Now you set the table while I make the om
elette."
"The how-many?"
" The omelette, which must go directly to the table
after it is made."
He began to pile dishes on the table, which rait
across one end of the room, but found time to watch
her as she broke the eggs.
" If a feller lives long enough and keeps his moutk
shut and his eyes open he'll learn a powerful heap
won't he? I've seen that word in the newspaper ?
whole lot, but I'll be shot if I ever knew that it was
jest aigs."
Jennie was amused, but too hungry to spend muck
time listening. "You may call them in," she sai4
after a glance at the biscuit.
The young man opened the door and said, lazily
"Cap, come to grub."
Curtis was again examining the guns in the rack
"You're well heeled."
" Haff to be, in this country/' said the young fellow,
carelessly. "Set down anywhere — that is, I mean
anywhere the cook says."
Jennie didn't like his growing familiarity, but she
dissembled. "Sit here, George," she said, indicat
ing a chair at the end. " I will sit where I can reach
the coffee."
"Let me do that," said Calvin. "Louie, I guess
you're not in this game/' he said to the boy looking
wistfully in at the door.
23
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
" Oh, let him come — he's as hungry as we are. Let
him sit down/' protested Jennie.
Young Street er acquiesced. "It's all the same
to me, if you don't object to a 'breed/' he said, brutally.
Louie took his seat in silence, but it was plain he did
not enjoy the insolence of the cowboy.
Curtis was after information. "You speak of
needing guns — there isn't any danger, I hope?"
" Well, not right now, but we expect to get Congress
to pass a bill removing these brutes, and then there
may be trouble. Even now we find it safer to go
armed. Every little while some Injun kills a beef
for us, and we want to be prepared to skin 'em if we
jump 'em up in time. I wouldn't trust one of 'em as
far as you could throw a yearling bull by the tail."
"Are they as bad as that?" asked Jennie, with
widely open eyes.
"They're treacherous hounds. Old Elk goes
around smiling, but he'd let a knife into me too quick
if he saw his chance. Hark!" he called, with lifted
hand.
They all listened. The swift drumming of hoofs
could be heard, mingled with the chuckle of a car
riage. Calvin rose. " That's the old man, I reckon,"
and going to the door he raised a peculiar whoop. A
voice replied faintly, and soon the buggy rolled up
to the door and the new-comer entered the front room.
A quick, sharp voice cried out :
" Whose hat is that? Who's here?"
"A feller on his way to visit the agent. He's in
there eatin' supper."
A rapid, resolute step approached the door, and
Curtis looked up to meet the keen eyes of a big,
24
THE STREETER GUN-RACK
ruddy -faced man of fifty, with hair and beard as
white as wool. His eyes were steel-blue and pene
trating as fire.
" Good-evening, sir. Good-evening, madam. Don't
rise. Keep your seats. I'll just drop my coat and sit
down with you."
He was so distinctly a man of remarkable quality
that Curtis stared at him in deep surprise. He had
expected to see a loose-jointed, slouchy man of middle-
age, but Joseph Streeter was plainly a man of de
cision and power. His white hair did not betoken
weakness or age, for he moved like one in the full
vigor of his late manhood. To his visitors he ap
peared to be a suspicious, irascible, and generous
man.
"Hello!" he called, jovially, "biscuit! Cal, you
didn't do these, nor Hosy, neither/'
Cal grinned. " Well, not by a whole row o' dogs.
This— lady did 'em."
Streeter turned his vivid blue eyes on Jennie. "I
want to know! Well, I'm much obliged. When did
you come?" he asked of Curtis.
"About an hour ago."
"Goin'far?"
"Over to the agency."
" Friend of the agent?"
"No, but I have a letter of introduction to him."
Streeter seemed to be satisfied. "You'll find him
a very accommodating gentleman."
"So I hear," said Curtis, and some subtle inflec
tion in his tone caused Streeter to turn towards him
again.
" What did I understand your name was?"
25
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Curtis/1
"Where from?"
"San Francisco/'
"Oh yes. I think I heard Sennett speak of you.
Those biscuit are mighty good. I'll take another.
Couldn't persuade you to stay here, could I?" He
turned to Jennie.
Jennie laughed. "I'm afraid not — it's too lone
some."
Cal seized the chance to say: "It ain't so lone
some as it looks now. We're a lively lot here
sometimes."
Streeter gave him a glance which stopped him.
"Cal, you take Hosy and go over to the camp and
tell the boys to hustle in two hundred steers. I want
to get 'em passed on to-morrow afternoon, or next
day sure."
Calvin's face fell. "I don't think I need to go.
Hosy can carry the orders just as well as me," he
said, boyishly sullen.
"I want you to go!" was the stern answer, and it
was plain that Streeter was commander even of his
reckless son.
As he rose from the table, Calvin said, in a low
voice, to Jennie, " I'll be here to breakfast all right,
and I'll see that you get over to the agency."
Streeter the elder upon reflection considered that
his guests had not sufficiently accounted for them
selves, and, after Calvin left, again turned a pene
trating glance on Curtis, saying, in a peculiar way,
" Where did you say you were from?"
"San Francisco," replied Curtis, promptly, and
cut in ahead with a question of his own. " You seem
26
THE STREETER GUN -RACK
to be well supplied with munitions of war. Do you
need all those guns now?"
" Need every shell. We're going to oust these devils
pretty soon, and they know it, and they're ugly."
" What do you mean by ousting 'em?"
"We're pushing a bill to have 'em removed."
"Whereto?"
" Oh, to the Red River reservation, or the Powder
Valley; we're not particular, so that we get rid of
'em."
Jennie tingled with indignation as Streeter out
lined the plans of the settlers and told of his friction
with the redmen, but Curtis remained calm and
smiling.
"You'll miss their market for your beef, won't
you?"
"Oh, that's a small item in comparison with the
extra range we'll get," and thereupon he entered
upon a long statement of what the government oug-ht
to do.
Jennie rose wearily, and the old man was all at
tention.
" I suppose you are tired and would like to go to
bed?"
"We are rather limp," confessed Curtis, glad to
escape the searching cross-examination which he
knew would follow Jennie's retirement.
When they were alone the two young people looked
at each other in silence, Jennie with big, horrified
eyes, Curtis with an amused comprehension of his
sister's feeling. "Isn't he a pirate? He doesn't
know it, but his state of mind makes him indictable
for murder on the high seas."
27
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"George, I don't like this. We are going to have
trouble if this old man and his like are not put off this
reservation."
" Well, now, we won't put him off to-night, especial
ly as he is a gallant host. But this visit here has
put me in touch with the cattlemen. I feel that I
know their plans and their temper very clearly."
"George, I will not sleep here in this room alone.
You must make up a cot-bed or something. These
people make me nervous, with their guns and Mexi
can servants."
" Don't you worry, sis. I'll roll up in a blanket and
sleep across your door-sill/' and this he did, acknowl
edging the reasonableness of her fears.
Ill
CURTIS ASSUMES CHARGE OF THE AGENT
DURING the night Curtis was quite sure he heard
a party of men ride up to the door, but in the
morning there remained no signs of them.
They were early on their feet, and Calvin, true to
his promise, was present to help get breakfast. He
had shaved some time during the night, and wore
a new shirt with a purple silk handkerchief looped
about his neck, and Jennie found it hard to be as cold
and severe with him as she had resolved upon. He
was only a big, handsome boy, after all.
"I'm going to send that half-breed back and take
you over to the fort myself/' he said to Curtis.
"No, I can't have that/' Curtis sharply replied.
" If you care to ride with us over to the fort I've no
objection, but Louie will carry out his contract with
us." The truth was, he did not care to be under any
further obligation to the Streeters.
Breakfast was a hurried and rather silent meal.
As they rose, Jennie said, apologetically : " I fear I
can't stop to do up the dishes. It is a long, hard ride
to the fort."
" That's right," replied Calvin, " it's close on thirty-
five miles. Never you mind about the dishes. Hosy
will swab 'em out."
29
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
As they were mounting, the elder Streeter said,
hospitably: "If you return this way, Mr. Curtis,
make my ranch your half-way house." He bowed
to Jennie. " My wife will be here then, miss, and you
will not be obliged to cook your own meals."
" Oh, I didn't mind; I rather enjoyed it," responded
Jennie.
Calvin was delayed at the start, and came thun
dering after with a shrill, cowboy yell, his horse
running close to the ground with ears viciously laid
back. The boy made a fine figure as he swept past
them with the speed of an eagle. His was the per
fection of range horsemanship. He talked, gesticu
lated, rolled cigarettes, put his coat on or off as he
rode, without apparent thought of his horse or of the
ground he crossed.
He knew nothing but the life of a cattleman, and
spoke quite frankly of his ignorance.
" The old man tried to send me to school once. Pack
ed me off to St. Joe. I stayed a week. ' See here,
old man, don't do that again/ I says. ' I won't stand
for it/ Hell! You might as well tie up a coyote as
shut me in a school-room/'
He made a most picturesque guide as he rode ahead
of them, always in view, completing a thousand typ
ical combinations of man and horse and landscape —
now suppling in his saddle to look down and a little
backward at some "sign/' now trotting straight
towards a dark opening among the pines, now wheel
ing swiftly to mount a sudden ascent on the trail.
Everything he did was as graceful and as self-uncon
scious as the movements of a panther. He was a
living illustration of all the cowboy stories the girl
30
CURTIS ASSUMES CHARGE OF THE AGENT
had read. His horse, his saddle, his peculiar, slouch
ing seat, the roll of clothing behind his saddle, his
spurs, his long-heeled boots — every detail was as it
should be, and Jennie was glad of him, and of Louis,
too.
"Yes, it's all here, Jennie," replied Curtis— "the
wild country, the Indian, the gallant scout, and the
tender maiden/'
" I'm. having a beautiful ride. Since we left the
wagon-road it really seems like the primitive wilder
ness."
" It is. This little wedge of land is all these brave
people have saved from the flood. They made their
last stand here. The reflux from the coast caught
them here, and here they are, waiting extinction."
The girl's eyes widened. " It's tragic, isn't it?"
" Yes, but so is all life, except to Calvin Streeter,
and even he wants what he can't get. He told me
this morning he wanted to go to Chicago and take a
fall out of a judge who fined him for carrying a gun.
So even he has his unsatisfied ambition. As he told
me about it he snarled like a young tiger."
At about one o'clock, Calvin, who was riding
ahead, halted on the crest of a timbered ridge and
raised a shout.
"He's topped the divide!" called Curtis to Jennie,
who was riding behind. "We'll soon be in."
"I'm glad of it. I'm tired."
When they reached the spot where Calvin waited
they could look down into the main valley of the Elk,
and the agency, a singular village of ancient barracks,
sheds, corrals, and red - roofed storehouses was al
most beneath them. All about on the low hills the
31
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
criss-crossing trails gave evidence that the Tetongs
were still a nation of horsemen. Theirs was a bar
ren land, a land of pine-clad, precipitous hills and
deep valleys, which opened to the east — a region of
scant rains and thin, discouraged streams.
The sight of the officers' whitewashed quarters and
the parade-ground brought a certain sadness to Curtis.
" The old garrison don't look as it did when I was
here in 188-," he said, musingly. "Army days in
the West are almost gone. The Indian war is over,
What a waste of human life it was on both sides I
Yes, Louie, go ahead/'
As they alternately slid and trotted down the trail,
native horsemen could be seen coming and going,
their gay blankets sparkling in the clear air. Others
on foot were clustered about the central building,
where the flag hung droopingly on a tall staff. As
they passed the corral, groups of young Tetongs
smiled and nudged each other, but offered no greet
ing. Neither did the older men, though their keen
eyes absorbed every detail of the stranger's dress
and bearing. It was plain that they held every white
man in suspicion, especially if he came attended by
a cowboy.
Calvin was elaborately free and easy with them
all, eager to show his wide acquaintanceship. " Hello,
Two Horns; hello, Hawk," he called to a couple of
fine-looking men of middle age. They did not re
ply. "Hello, Gray Wolf, you old sardine; want to
try another horse-race?"
Gray Wolf, evidently something of a wag, smiling
ly replied : " You bet. Got new pony — heap fast."
Calvin wheeled and spurred into the bunch of young
32
CURTIS ASSUMES CHARGE OF THE AGENT
fellows, who scattered with shouts of laughter, while
the Captain and Jennie followed Louie, their guide,
to the agency gate.
They were met at the fence before the office by two
men, one a middle-aged man, with a dirty-gray beard
and fat, bloated cheeks, who said, blandly: "Good-
morning, sir. Good-morning, miss; nice day/'
Curtis dismounted. "Are you Mr. Sennett?"
" I am — what can I do for you?" He turned to his
companion, a tall young man, with innocent gray
eyes and a loose, weak mouth: "This is my son
Clarence. Clarence, take the lady's horse/'
" Thank you/' said the Captain, as he stepped in
side the gate. " I am Captain Curtis, of the cavalry,
detailed to take charge of this agency. You have
just left the office — have you the keys in your pocket?
If so, please surrender them to me. It is an unpleas
ant duty, but I am ordered to assume absolute con
trol at once."
The man's red skin faded to a yellow-gray — the
color of his beard. For a moment he seemed about
to fall, then the blood came surging back ; his cheeks
grew purple with its weight.
" I'll be damned if I submit. It is an outrage!"
"You can't afford to make any trouble. I am
sorry to do this, but I am under orders of the depart
ment to take you unawares, and on no account to let
you return to your office."
Sennett began to bluster. " Show me your author
ity/'
"My authority is in this paper." He drew the
order from his pocket. " If you think a moment you
see that instant acquiescence is best."
» 33
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
While Sennett stormed, the two chiefs, Elk and
Two Horns, drew near, and lifting his hand, Curtis,
using the sign language swiftly, said to them :
"I am your new agent. The Great Father has
heard that the old agent is bad. I am here to straight
en matters out. I am Swift Eagle — don't you re
member? I came with Bear Robe. I was only
second lieutenant then/'
The faces of the old chiefs lit up with pleasure.
" Ay, we remember ! We shake your hands. We
are glad you have come."
Curtis then asked: "Who is your interpreter — one
you can trust, one who can read this paper."
The two men looked at each other for a moment.
Elk said, "Joe?"
Two Horns shook his head ; then, catching sight
of a man who was regarding the scene from a door
way not very distant, he said, in English: "Him —
Nawson. Hay, my friend," he called, "come here!"
This observer at once responded to Two Horns'
sign. As he came up the chief said: "My friend,
here is a paper from Washington; read it for us."
Curtis said : " I am Captain Curtis, of the cavalry,
detailed to act as agent here. This is my commis
sion."
The stranger extended his hand. "I'm glad to
meet you, Captain Curtis, very glad, indeed." As
they shook hands he added : " I 've read your articles
on the sign language, et cetera, with great pleasure.
My name is Lawson."
Curtis smiled. "Are you Osborne Lawson? I'm
mighty glad to meet you. This is my sister, Mr.
Lawson."
34
CURTIS ASSUMES CHARGE OF THE AGENT
Mr. Lawson greeted Jennie with grace, and she
liked him at once. His manner was direct and his
voice pleasing. He was tall, lean, and a little stoop
ing, but strong and brown. "Now, Captain, what
can I do for you?" he asked, turning briskly.
"I want you to read this paper to the chiefs here,
and then I intend to put a guard on the door. Mr.
Sennett is not to be permitted to re-enter his office.
These are harsh measures, but I am not responsible
for them."
Lawson looked thoughtful. "I see." After read
ing the paper he said to the chiefs: "It is as this
man has said. The Great Father has sent him here
to take charge of the office. The old agent is cut off
— he is not allowed to go back to his office for fear he
may hide something. Have Crow put a guard on
the door. The new agent will try to find out why you
have not received your rations. This is the secret
of this paper, and here is the signature of the Secre
tary. This is a true thing, and you must now obey
Captain Curtis. I know him/' he said, looking round
him. " He is my friend ; you can trust him. That is
all."
"Good! Good!" said the chiefs. "We under
stand."
A short, dark Tetong in a frayed captain's uniform
came up. "I am chief of the police," he signed.
"What shall I do?"
" Guard the door of the office and of the issue house.
Let no one but those I bring enter. Will you do as I
say?" he asked.
" Ay !" replied the officer, whose name was Crow.
" Then all is said : go guard the door."
35
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Sennett and his son had withdrawn a little from
the scene and were talking in low voices. They had
placed themselves in the worst possible light, and they
felt it. As Curtis reached this point in his orders,
Sennett started to cross the road.
" Wait a moment, gentlemen/' called Curtis. "My
orders are very strict. I must precede you. There
is a certain desk in your library, Mr. Sennett, which
I must search/'
Sennett flamed out into wild oaths. "You shall
not search my private papers/'
11 Silence!" called Curtis. "Another oath and I'll
put you in the guard-house."
" Do you suppose I'm going to submit to this with
out protest? You treat me like a criminal."
"So far as my orders go, that's what you are,"
said Curtis. " I give you the benefit of the doubt so
long as you act the gentleman, but you must respect
the presence of my sister, or I'll gag you." After a
pause he added, in a gentler tone : " I don't pretend
to judge your case. I am merely obeying the orders
of the department."
"I have powerful friends in Washington. You
will regret this," snarled Sennett. But his son was
like one smitten dumb; his breathing was troubled,
and his big, gray eyes were childish in their wide
appeal.
Lawson then spoke. " Can I do anything further,
Captain? Command me freely."
"No, I think not, except to see that my horses are
taken care of and my guide fed. I suppose there is
a mess or boarding-house where my sister can get
something to eat."
36
CURTIS ASSUMES CHARGE OF THE AGENT
"Won't you come to dinner with me?" asked Law-
son. "Mrs. Wilcox, some artist friends, and I are
messing over in one of the old quarters, and our mid
day dinner is waiting/'
Curtis smiled grimly. " Thank you, I am on duty.
I must dine with Mr. Sennett. Jennie will accept
your invitation thankfully."
As Curtis walked over to the agency house with
Sennett and his son, Jennie looked anxious. " They
may do something to him."
Lawson smiled. "Oh no, they won't. They are
quite cowed, but 111 suggest a guard." He turned
to Two Horns and said, in Dakota : " Father, the old
agent is angry. The new agent is a brave man, but
he is only one against two."
"I understand," said the old man, with a smile,
and a few minutes later a couple of policemen were
sitting on the door-step of the agent's house. It was
a sunny place to sit, and they enjoyed being there
very much. One of them understood English, and
the other was well able to tell an angry word when
he heard it spoken.
The drowsy hush of mid-day again settled down
upon the little cluster of buildings — news, even when
it passes swiftly among red people, makes no noise.
It walks with velvet foot, it speaks in a murmur;
it hastens, but conceals its haste.
IV
THE BEAUTIFUL ELSIE BEE BEE
A 5 Jennie entered the mess -house she uttered a
little cry of amazement. Outwardly, it was a
rude barrack of whitewashed cotton wood logs, but
its interior glowed with color and light. Bright rugs
were on the floor, and a big divan in one corner dis
played a monstrous black bear -skin. A capacious
fireplace, which dated back to the first invasion of
the army, filled one end of the hall, which had been
enlarged by the removal of a partition. Oil-paint
ings, without frames, were tacked against the walls,
and the odor of fresh pigments lingered in the air.
"This is our general meeting -place/' explained
Lawson.
"It smells like a studio," Jennie replied, after a
glance around her.
A plain, quiet little woman, with a look of inquiry
on her face, appeared at the dining-room door, and
Lawson called out :
"Mrs. Wilcox, this is Miss Curtis, who will stay
with us for a few days/' As they greeted each other v
he added : " There is a story to tell, but we are late,
and it can wait. Where is Elsie?"
" Still at work. She never would come to her meals
if we didn't call her/'
38
THE BEAUTIFUL ELSIE BEE BEE
"I'm disposed to try it some day. Will you take
charge of Miss Curtis while I go fetch the delin
quent?"
Under Mrs. Wilcox's direction Jennie prepared
for luncheon in an adjoining room, wondering still
at the unexpected refinement of the furnishings, and
curious to see the artist.
As she re-entered the sitting-room a tall girl rose
languidly to meet her, and Lawson said: "Miss
Curtis, this is Miss Brisbane, the painter of the pict
ures you see about."
Miss Brisbane bowed in silence, while Jennie cried
out: "Oh! did you do them? I think they are beau
tiful!"
The sincerity of her voice touched the young ar
tist, and she said: "I'm glad you like them — some
times I think they're pretty ' bum. ' "
A slang word on the red lips of the handsome girl
seemed wofully out of place to Jennie, who stared at
her with the eager curiosity of a child. She was slen
der and dark, with an exquisite chin, and her hands,
though slim and white, were strong and capable.
Her eyes were very dark, of a velvety brown-black,
and her hair was abundant and negligently piled
upon her small head. Altogether she had a stately
and rather foreign presence, which made Jennie feel
very dowdy and very commonplace.
Mrs. Wilcox hurried them all out into the dining-
room, where a pretty table was spread for six people.
Jennie's attention was absorbed by the walls, which
were also lightened with sketches of small, red babies
in gay cradles, and of glowing bits of tawny plain
and purple butte.
39
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Did you do all of these beautiful things?" she
asked. '
Lawson interposed. "She did, Miss Curtis. Be
not deceived. Miss Brisbane's languid manner
springs from her theory of rest. When work is fin
ished she 'devitalizes' — I think that is the word —
and becomes a rag. But she's a horrible example
of industry, spineless as she now appears."
Miss Brisbane remained quite unmoved by Law-
son's words ; smiling dreamily, her red lips, as serene
as those of a child, softly shaped themselves to say:
"The strung bow needs relaxation."
" I think you are right," said Jennie, with sudden
conviction.
Elsie opened her eyes wide and murmured, " Thank
you."
Jennie went on: "Now my trouble is just that.
I'm always nerved up. I can't relax. Won't you
teach me how?"
" With pleasure. Are you going to live here?"
asked Elsie, with faint accession of interest.
"As long as my brother does."
"I suppose you've come to teach these ragamuf
fins?"
Lawson here answered for Jennie. "Miss Curtis
is a sister to Captain Curtis, who has come to dis
place your uncle."
Miss Brisbane looked up blankly. "I don't un
derstand."
Lawson became explicit, and as she listened the
girl's hands clinched.
"How abominable!" she cried, with eyes aflame.
" Not at all. If Mr. Sennett is an honest employ^
40
THE BEAUTIFUL ELSIE BEE BEE
of the government, he should be willing to be searched
— if he isn't, then no measure is too harsh. He'll
get a thorough raking over, if my impression of the
new agent is correct/'
" My father would not put a dishonest man in this
place/' insisted Elsie, "and I don't believe Uncle
Sennett has done wrong/'
"Well, now, we'll suspend judgment," retorted
Lawson, who knew just when to change his tone.
"Captain Curtis is an officer of known ability, and
no one can accuse him of prejudice. His living
doesn't depend upon pleasing either Mr. Sennett of
your father. Undoubtedly the government has good
reasons for sending him here, and I for one am will
ing to accept his judgment/'
Elsie rose in swift resolution. " I say it is an out
rage! I am going to see that Uncle Sennett is not
persecuted."
Lawson laid his hand on her arm and his voice
was sternly quiet. "I think you would better finish
your tea. Whatever protest you feel called upon to
make can be made later. If you like," he added, in
a gentler voice, "I will represent you in the matter
and go with you to see Captain Curtis during the
afternoon. I don't think we should trouble him now."
Elsie resumed her seat without either accepting or
rejecting his offer, and the meal continued in some
constraint, although Lawson summoned his best
humor to cover Elsie's passionate outburst.
A few minutes later Elsie sullenly retired to her
studio, and Lawson said : " I am going out to see what
is going on, Miss Curtis; please make yourself at
home here."
41
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
When the door closed behind him Jennie turned to
Mrs. Wilcox. " Why does Mr. Lawson use that tone
with Miss Brisbane — are they engaged?"
Mrs. Wilcox laughed. "That's just what none
of us knows. Sometimes I think they are husband
and wife — he lectures her so."
When Curtis joined the mess in the evening he
was weary and a little sombre. Vastly preoccupied
with his difficult task at the office, he had given but
little attention to Jennie's announcement of having
been taken into the bosom of an artistic family mess
ing at the barracks, and when Elsie met him in a
regal gown, glittering and changeful, he pulled him
self up in surprise and admiration.
Elsie, on her part, was eager to see him and ready
to do battle, but as he faced her, abrupt, vigorous
of movement, keen-eyed and composed — almost stern
of countenance — she was a little daunted. He was
handsomer than she had expected, and older. His
head was impressive, his frame muscular, and his
movements graceful. Plainly he was a man of power,
one it would be politic to treat with respect.
As they took up their napkins at the table Lawson
opened out: "Well, Captain, we don't want to seem
inquisitive, but we are dying to know what you've
been doing this afternoon. We feel on the outside
of it all."
"Yes," Elsie quickly added, "we want to know
whether there is to be a revolution, or only a
riot."
Curtis turned to her smilingly and replied : " You'll
all be disappointed. I've been looking over accounts
42
THE BEAUTIFUL ELSIE BEE BEE
and holding humdrum audience with my clerks — a
very busy but very quiet afternoon — nothing doing,
as the phrase goes."
" Where is Uncle Sennett ?" inquired Elsie. " I tried
to find him, but your men would not let me into the
office."
"You shouldn't have tried/' interjected Lawson,
"Is he your uncle?" asked Curtis.
"He's my father's sister's husband — but that
doesn't matter; I'd defend him if he were a stranger.
I think he has been shamefully treated. The idea of
searching his private desk!"
Curtis looked at her keenly. "I am under orders/'
he said. " Mr. Sennett is nothing to me, one way or
the other. The question for answer is — has he abused
his office?"
" He has not!" exclaimed Elsie. " I know he has not.
He is not a man to cheat and steal ; he is not a strong
man, but he is kind and generous."
" Too kind and too generous," muttered Law-
son.
" I'm sorry to say that the records are against him,"
replied Curtis, "and his action is against him. He
and his son have gone to Pinon City — riding very
like fugitives. I had no orders to hold them j indeed,
I was glad to let them go."
Elsie bit her lips. "He has gone to get aid," she
said at last, " and when he comes back you will take
a different tone with him."
Curtis laughed. "I believe he did say he'd have
my hide, or something like that."
Lawson put in a word. "He'll do it, too, if the
cattle interest can influence the Secretary. Don't
43
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
tell us any more than is proper, Captain, but — how
do you find his accounts?"
"In very bad shape. The chiefs say he has been
holding back rations and turning in bad beef for
some time."
" You'd take the word of a nasty Indian against
my uncle, or any white man, I can see that," said
Elsie, in withering scorn.
Curtis turned upon her a most searching glance.
"Miss Brisbane, I don't understand your attitude
towards me. As a soldier on special duty, detailed
almost against my will, I have no prejudice in this
affair. It is my duty to see that the treaties of the
government are carried out. You seem to think I
am started on a line of persecution of your uncle — "
he checked himself. "I beg you will not pursue the
subject any further." He turned to Lawson with an
effort to put aside unpleasant conversation. " Please
don't ask me disagreeable questions when I am curi
ous to know the meaning of this artistic invasion
of my territory. Who is responsible for these pict
ures?"
Lawson hastened to explain. "This plague of ar
tists is due to me entirely, Captain Curtis. I am
doing some studies of the Tetongs, and Miss Bris
bane came out to make some illustrations for me.
In fact, she suggested coining here rather than to the
upper agencies, because of her uncle's presence. Our
coming brought others."
"I am very glad you came," said Curtis, heartily,
*' and I will do all in my power to further your work.
Please do not allow rr^ coming to change your plans
in the slightest degree."
44
THE BEAUTIFUL ELSIE BEE BEE
Lawson continued: "Intending to stay some
months, we concluded to set up a mess and be com
fortable — and permit me to say, we hope you'll eat
with us until your own goods arrive/'
"Thank you; I accept with pleasure, for I don't
enjoy camping in the tent of my angry predecessor
— this company is more to my mind."
Elsie's red lips were tremulous with indignation.
" You can't blame Mr. Sennett for being angry. You
would be if treated in the same way. There is no
justice in it. I would never have surrendered those
keys to you."
Curtis patiently repeated, " My orders were peremp
tory."
"You can't take shelter behind that plea. Your
acts are atrocious, and 1 shall write to my father in
Washington and have you investigated." She was
beautiful as flame in the glow of her wrath.
Curtis seemed struck with a new idea. "Are you
the daughter of ex-Senator Brisbane?"
She braced herself. "Well, suppose I am?''
"Oh, nothing at all — only it explains."
"What does it explain?"
"Your attitude. It is quite natural for a daughter
of Andrew Brisbane to take sides against these peo
ple." He was not in a mood to be gallant, and his
glance quelled the angry girl.
With flushed face and quivering lips she sprang
to her feet. "I will not stay to be insulted," she
said.
Curtis rose as she swept from the room, but checked
his instinctive words of apology and returned to his
seat in silence.
45
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Mrs. Wilcox relieved the painful pause by saying,
"Captain Curtis, you must not misjudge Elsie. She
is a much better girl than she seems/1
Lawson was troubled as he said, "She has lashed
herself into a great rage over this affair, but as a mat
ter of fact she don't care a hang for Sennett."
"I can't apologize for doing my duty/' said Curtis,
"even to Miss Brisbane."
"Certainly not," replied Lawson, though he was
deeply hurt by Elsie's display of unreason.
As soon as he decently could, he followed her to
her studio, where he found her lying in sullen dejec
tion on the big divan. "Bee Bee, you are missing
a good dinner," he began, gently.
She was instantly ready to fight. "I suppose you
blame me for this scene."
" I think you are hasty, and a little unreasonable.
I know Curtis by reputation, and he is above any
petty malice/'
"You are taking his side against me!"
"Not at all, Bee Bee, I am merely trying to show
you—"
" He looked at me as no man ever dared to look be
fore, and I hate him. He thinks because he has a
little authority he can lord it over us all here. I shall
write to father at once, telling him just how this little
prig of a lieutenant — "
" Captain," interrupted Lawson — " for distinguished
service. "
His smile made her furious. She flung herself
back on the divan. "Go away. I hate you, too."
Lawson, at the end of his patience, went out and
closed the door behind him. "What is the matter
THE BEAUTIFUL ELSIE BEE BEE
with the girl?" he said to Mrs. Wilcox. "I've seen
her in temper, but never like this. She has taken
the most violent antagonism to Curtis."
"She'd better let that young man alone/* replied
Mrs. Wilcox, sagely. "He has a very firm mouth.*
V
CAGED EAGLES
THE word had gone out among all the red people
that the old agent was entirely "cut off/' and
that a soldier and a sign-talker had come to take his
place, and so each little camp loaded its tepees on
wagons or lashed them to the ponies and came flock
ing in to sit down before the Little Father and -be in
spired of him.
The young men came first, whirling in on swift
ponies, looking at a distance like bands of cowboys
— for, though they hated the cattlemen, they formed
themselves on Calvin Streeter as a model. Each wore
a wide, white hat and dark trousers, and carried a gay
kerchief slung round his neck. All still wore moc
casins of buckskin, beautifully beaded and fringed,
and their braided hair hung low on their breasts.
The old men, who jogged in later in the day, still
carried blankets, though they, too, had adopted the
trousers and calico shirts of the white man. Sev
eral of the chieftains preserved their precious peace-
pipes, and their fans and tobacco pouches, as of old,
and a few of those who had been in Washington came
in wrinkled suits of army-blue. \ The women dressed
in calico robes cut in their own distinctive style,
with wide sleeves, the loose flow of the garment being
CAGED EAGLES
confined at the waist with a girdle. As this was a
time of great formality, several of the young girls re
turned to their buckskin dresses trimmed with elk
teeth, which they highly prized.
As a race they were tall and strong, but the men,
from much riding, were thin in the shanks and bowed
out at the knee. They had lost the fine proportions
for which they were famed in the days when they
were trailers a-foot. "Straight as an Indian" no
longer applied to them, but they were all skilled
and picturesque horsemen. Lacking in beauty and
strength, they possessed other compensating qual
ities which still made them most interesting to an
artist. Their gestures were unstudiedly graceful,
and their roughhewn faces were pleasant in expres
sion. IJ1 words or dark looks were rare among them.
In all external things they were quite obviously
half-way from the tepee to the cabin. Their homes
consisted of small hovels of cotton-wood logs, set round
with tall tepees and low lodges of canvas, used for
dormitories and kitchens in summer. A rack for
drying meat rations was a part of each family's pos
sessions. They owned many minute ponies, and
their camps abounded in dogs of wolfish breed which
they handled not at all, for they were, as of old, mere
ly the camp-guard.
Such were the salient characteristics of the Te-
tongs, westernmost representatives of a once power
ful race of hunters, whose home had been far to the
east, in a land of lakes, rivers, and forests. They were
not strangers to the young soldier; he knew their
history and their habits of thought. He now studied
them to detect change and found deterioration, "I
* 49
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
am your friend/' he said to them each and all. "I
come to do you good, to lead you in the new road. It
is a strange road to me also, for I, too, am a soldier
and a hunter; but together we will learn to make
the earth produce meat for our eating. Put your
hand in mine."
He was plunged at once into a wilderness of work,
but in his moments of leisure the face of Elsie Bris
bane came into his thought and her resentment
troubled him more than he cared to acknowledge.
He well knew that her birth and her training put
her in hopeless opposition to all he was planning to
do for the Tetongs, and yet he determined to demon
strate to her both the justice and the humanity of his
position.
He knew her father's career very well. He had
once travelled for two days on the same railway train
with him, and remembered him as a boastful but
powerful man, whose antagonism no one held in
light esteem. /Andrew Brisbane had entered the
State at a time when its mineral wealth lay undevel
oped and free to the taker, and having leagued him
self with men less masterly than himself but quite
as unscrupulous, had set to work to grasp and hold
the natural resources of the great Territory — he laid
strong fists upon the mines and forests arid grass of
the wild land. Once grasped, nothing was ever sur
rendered.
It mattered nothing to him and his kind that a
race of men already lived upon this land and were
prepared to die in defence of it. By adroit juggling,
he and his corporation put the unsuspecting settler
forward to receive the first shock of the battle, and,-
50
CAGED EAGLES
when trouble came, loudly called upon the govern
ment to send its troops "in support of the pioneers."
In this way, without danger to himself, the shrewd
old Yankee had acquired mineral belts, cattle-ranges,
railway rights, and many other good things, and at
last, when the Territory was made a State, he became
one of its senators.
Naturally, he hated the red people. They were pes
tilential because, first of all, they paid no railway
charges, and also for the reason that they held the
land away from those who would add to his un
earned increment and increase the sum total of his
tariff receipts. His original plan was broadly simple.
" Sweep them from the earth/' he snarled, when asked
"What will we do with the Indians?" But his policy,
modified by men with hearts and a sense of justice,
had settled into a process of remorseless removal from
point to point, from tillable land to grazing land, from
grazing land to barren waste, and from barren waste
to arid desert. He had no doubts in these matters.
It was good business, and to say a thing was not
good business was conclusive. The Tetong did not
pay — remove him!
Elsie in her home-life, therefore, had been we
schooled in race hatred. Tender-hearted where suf
fering in a dog or even a wolf was concerned, she re
mained indifferent when a tribe was reported to be
starving. Nothing modified her view till, as an art
student in Paris, she came into contact with men who
placed high value on the redman as "material."
She found herself envied because she had casually
looked upon a few of these "wonderful chaps," as
Newt Penrose called them, and was often asked to
51
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
give her impressions of them. When she returned to
New York she was deeply impressed by Maurice
Stewart's enormous success in sculpturing certain
types of this despised race. A little later Wilfred J.
Buttes, who had been struggling along as a painter
of bad portraits, suddenly purchased a house in a
choice suburb on the strength of two summers' work
among the mountain Utes.
Thereupon Elsie opened her eyes. Not that money
was a lure to her, for it was not, but she was eager for
notice — for the fame that comes quickly, and with loud
trumpets and gay banners. In conversation with
Lawson one day she learned that he was about to do
some pen-portraits of noted Tetong chieftains, and
at once sprang to her opportunity. She admired
and trusted Lawson. His keen judgment, his def-
initeness of speech awed her a little, and with him
she was noticeably less assertive than with the others
of her artist acquaintances. So here now she sat,
painting with rigor and immense satisfaction the
picturesque rags and tinsel ornaments of the Tetongs.
To her they were beggars and tramps, on a scale with
the lazzaroni of Rome or Naples. That they were
anything more than troublesome models had not
been borne in on her mind.
She had never professed special regard for her
uncle the agent — in fact, she covertly despised him
for his lack of power — but, now that the issue was
drawn, she naturally flew to the side of those who
would destroy the small peoples of the earth. She
wrote to her father a passionate letter.
"Can't you stop this?" she asked. "No doubt
Uncle Henry will go direct to Washington and make
52
CAGED EAGLES
complaint. This Captain Curtis is insufferable. I
would leave here instantly only I am bound to do
some work for Mr. Lawson. We must all go soon,
for winter is coming on, but I would like to see this
upstart humbled. He treats me as if I were a school
girl — 'declines to argue the matter/ Oh! he is pro
voking. His sister is a nice little thing, but she sides
with him, of course — and so does Lawson, in a sense;
so you see I am all alone. The settlers are infuriated
at Uncle Bennett's dismissal, and will support you
and Uncle Henry."
In the days that followed she met Curtis's attempts
at modifying her resentment with scornful silence,
and took great credit to herself that she did not liter
ally fly at his head when he spoke of his work or his
wards. Her avoidance of him became so painful
that at the end of the third day he said to his sister:
"Jennie, I think I will go to the school mess after
this. Miss Brisbane's hostility shows no signs of
relenting, and the situation is becoming decidedly
unpleasant."
"George!" said Jennie, sternly. "Don't you let
that snip drive you away. Why, the thing is ridicu
lous! She is here on sufferance — your sufferance.
You could order them all off the reservation at
once."
" I know I could, but I won't. You know what I
mean — I can't even let Miss Brisbane know that she
has made me uncomfortable. She's a very instruc
tive example of the power of environment. She has
all the prejudices and a good part of the will of her
father, and represents her class just as?a little wild
cat represents its species. She's a beautiful girl, and
53
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
yet she is to me one of the most unattractive women
IJever knew."
Jennie looked puzzled. "You are a little hard on
her, George. She is unsympathetic, hut I think she
says a lot of those shocking things just to hurt you."
"That isn't very nice, either," he said, quietly.
" Well, our goods are on the way, and by Thursday
well be independent of any one. But maybe you
are right — it would excite comment if I left the mess.
I will join you all at meals until we are ready to
light our own kitchen fire."
Thereafter he saw very little of the artists. By
borrowing a few necessaries of his head farmer he
was able to camp down in the house which Sennett
had so precipitately vacated. He was busy, very
busy, during the day; but when his work was over
and he sat beside his fire, pipe in hand, Elsie's haughty
face troubled him. His life had not taken him much
among women, and his love fancies had been few.
His duties as an officer and his researches as a forester
and map-builder had also aided to keep him a bach
elor. Once or twice he had been disturbed by a fair
face at the post, only to have it whisked away again
into the mysterious world of happy girlhood whence
it came.
And now, at thirty-four, he was obliged to confess
that he was as far from marriage as ever — farther, in
fact, for an Indian reservation offers but slender op
portunity in way of courtship for a man of his ex
acting tastes.
He was not quite honest with himself, or he would
have acknowledged the pleasure he took in watching
Elsie's erect and graceful figure as she rode past his
54
CAGED EAGLES
office window of a morning. It was pleasant to pause
at the open door of her studio for a moment and say
"Good-morning/' though he received but a cold and
formal bow in return. She was more alluring at her
easel than in any other place, for she had several
curious and very pretty tricks in working, and seem
ed like a very intent child, with her brown hair loos
ening over her temples, her eyes glowing with excite
ment, while she dabbed at the canvas with a piece of
cheese-cloth or a crumb of bread. She dragged her
stool into position with a quick, amusing jerk, holding
her brush in her teeth meanwhile. Her blouses were
marvels of odd grace and rich color.
The soldier once or twice lingered in silence at the
door after she had forgotten his presence, and each
time the glow of her disturbing beauty burned deeper
into his heart, and he went away with drooping head.
Mrs. Wilcox took occasion one day to remonstrate
with her niece. "Elsie, you were very rude to Cap
tain Curtis again to-day. He was deeply hurt."
" Now, aunt, don't you iry to convert me to a belief
in that tin soldier. He gets on my nerves."
"It would serve you right if he ordered us off the
reservation. Your remarks to-day before that young
Mr. Streeter were very wrong and very injudicious,
and will be used in a bad cause. Captain Curtis is
trying to keep the peace here, and you are doing a
great deal of harm by your hints of his removal."
"I don't care. I intend to have him removed. I
have taken a frightful dislike to him. He is a prig
and a hypocrite, and has no business to come in here
in this way, setting his low-down Indians up against
the settlers."
55
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"That's just what he is trying not to do, and if
you weren't so obstinate you'd see it and honor him
for his good sense."
"Aunt, don't you lecture me/' cried the imperious
girl. "I will not allow it!"
In truth, Mrs. Wilcox's well-meant efforts at peace
making worked out wrongly. Elsie became insuffer
ably rude to Curtis, and her letters were filled with
the bitterest references to him and his work.
Lawson continued most friendly, and Curtis glad
ly availed himself of the wide knowledge of primi
tive psychology which the ethnologist had acquired.
The subject of Indian education came up very natu
rally at a little dinner which Jennie gave to the teach
ers and missionaries soon after she opened house,
and Lawson's remarks were very valuable to Curtis.
Lawson was talking to the principal of the central
school. "We should apply to the Indian problem
the law of inherited aptitudes/' he said, slowly. " We
should follow lines of least resistance. Fifty thou
sand years of life proceeding in a certain way results
in a certain arrangement of brain-cells which can't
be changed in a day, or even in a generation. The
red hunter, for example, was trained to endure hunger,
cold, and prolonged exertion. When he struck a
game-trail he never left it. His pertinacity was like
that of a wolf. These qualities do not make a market-
gardener; they might not be out of place as a herder.
We must be patient while the redman makes the
change from the hunter to the herdsman. It is like
mulching a young crab-apple and expecting it to
bear pippins."
" Patience is an unknown virtue in an Indian agent/'
56
CAGED EAGLES
remarked the principal of the central school — "pres
ent company excepted."
"Do you believe in the allotment?" asked Miss
Colson, one of the missionaries for kindergarten work,
an eager little woman, aflame with religious zeal.
"Not in its present form/' replied Lawson, shortly.
"Any attempt to make the Tetong conform to the
isolated, dreary, lonesome life of the Western farmer
will fail. The redman is a social being — he is pa
thetically dependent on his tribe. He has always
lived a communal life, with the voices of his fellows
always in his ears. He loves to sit at evening and
hear the chatter of his neighbors. His games, his
hunting, his toil, all went on with what our early
settlers called a 'bee.' He seldom worked or played
alone. His worst punishment was to be banished
from the camping circle. Now the Dawes theorists
think they can take this man, who has no newspaper,
no books, no letters, and set him apart from his fel
lows in a wretched hovel on the bare plain, miles
from a neighbor, there to improve his farm and be
come a citizen. This mechanical theory has failed
in every case; nominally, the Sioux, the Piegans,
are living this abhorrent life; actually, they are al
ways visiting. The loneliness is unendurable, and
so they will not cultivate gardens or keep live-stock,
which would force them to keep at home. If they
were allowed to settle in groups of four or five they
would do better."
Miss Colson's deep seriousness of purpose was
evident in the tremulous intensity of her voice. "If
they had the transforming love of Christ in their
hearts they would feel no loneliness."
57
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
A silence followed this speech; both men mentally
shrugged their shoulders, but Jennie came to the
rescue.
"Miss Colson, did you ever live on a ranch, miles
from any other stove-pipe?"
"No, but I am sure that with God as my helper I
could live in a dungeon/'
" You should have been a nun/' said Lawson. " I
don't mind your living alone with Christ, but I think
it cruel and unchristian to force your solitary way of
life on a sociable redman. Would Christ do that?
Would He insist on shutting the door on their my
thology, their nature lore, their dances and cere-
monies? Would He not go freely among them, glad
of their joy, and condemning only what was hurtful?
Is there any record that He ever condemned an inno
cent pleasure? How do you know but they are as
near the Creator's design as the people of Ohio?"
The teacher's pretty face was strained and white,
and her wide-set eyes were painful to see. She set
her slim hands together. "Oh, I can't answer you
now, but I know you are wrong — wickedly wrong!"
Jennie again broke the intensity of the silence by
saying: "Two big men against one little woman
isn't fair. I object to having the Indian problem
settled over cold coffee. Mr. Lawson, stop preach-
ing!"
"Miss Colson is abundantly able to take care of
herself," said Slicer, and the other teachers, who had
handed over their cause to their ablest advocate,
chorused approval.
Curtis, who sat with deeply meditative eyes fixed
on Miss Colson, now said: "It all depends on. what
58
CAGED EAGLES
we are trying to do for these people. Personally, I
am not concerned about the future life of my wards.
I want to make them healthy and happy, here and
now."
"Time's up!" cried Jennie, and led the woman out
into the safe harbor of the sitting-room.
After they had lighted their cigars, Lawson said
privately to Curtis: "Now there's a girl with too
much moral purpose — just as Elsie is spoiled by too
little. However, I prefer a wholesome pagan to a
morbid Christian."
" It's rather curious," Curtis replied. " Miss Colson
is a pretty girl — a very pretty girl; but I can't quite
imagine a man being in love with her. What could
you do with such inexorable moral purpose? You
couldn't put your arm round it, could you?"
" You'd have to hang her up by a string, like one of
these toy angels the Dutch put atop their Christmas-
trees. The Tetongs fairly dread to see her coming
— they think she's deranged."
"I know it — the children go to her with reluc
tance ; she doesn't seem wholesome to them, as Miss
Diehl does. And yet I can't discharge her."
"Naturally not! You'd hear from the missionary
world. Think of it! 'I find Miss Colson too pious,
please take her away." Both men laughed at the
absurdity of this, and Lawson went on : "I wished a
dozen times during dinner that Elsie Bee Bee had
been present. It would have given her a jolt to come
in contact with such inartistic, unshakable convic
tions."
"She would have been here, only her resentment
towards me is still very strong."
59
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
" She has it in for you, sure thing. I can't budge
her," said Lawson, smiling. "She's going to have
you removed the moment she reaches Washington."
"I have moments when I think I'd like to be re
moved," said Curtis, as he turned towards Mr. Slicer
and his other guests. "Suppose we go into the li
brary, gentlemen."
VI
CURTIS SEEKS A TRUCE
artists are going to flit/' remarked Jennie,
one evening, as they were taking seats at
luncheon.
He looked up quickly. "Are they?"
"Yes, Miss Brisbane is going back to Washing
ton, and Mr. Lawson will follow, no doubt."
He unfolded his napkin with unmoved countenance.
" Well, they are wise ; we are likely to have a norther
any day now."
The soldier had all the responsibilities and perplex
ities he could master without the addition of Elsie
Brisbane's disturbing lure. The value of her good
opinion was enormously enhanced by the news of
her intended departure, and for a day or two Curtis
went about his duties with absent-minded ineffec
tiveness j he even detected himself once or twice sitting
with his pen in his hand creating aimless markings
on his blotting-pad. Wilson, the clerk, on one occa
sion waited full five minutes for an answer while his
chief debated with himself whether to call upon Miss
Brisbane at the studio or at the house. He began to
find excuses for her — " A man who is a villain in busi
ness may be a very attractive citizen in private life
she may have been very fond of Sennett. From
61 '
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
her point of view — anyhow, she is a lovely young
girl, and it is absurd to place her among my enemies/'
The thought of her face set in bitter scorn against
him caused his heart to contract painfully. "I've
been too harsh. These people are repugnant to one
so dainty and superrefined. There are excuses for
her prejudice. I can't let her go away in anger."
And in this humble mood he stopped at the door of
her studio one morning, prepared to be very patient
and very persuasive.
"Good-morning, Miss Brisbane. May I come in?"
"Certainly, if my work will interest you," she re
plied; "you'll excuse my going on. I want to finish
this portrait of Little Peta to-day."
" By all means — I do not intend to interrupt." He
took a seat to the front and a little to the left of her,
and sat in silence for a few moments. Her brown
hair, piled loosely on her head, brought out the ex
quisite fairness of her complexion, and the big, loose
sleeve of her blouse made her hand seem like a child's,
but it was strong and steady. She was working
with her whole mind, breathing quickly as she mixed
her colors, holding her breath as she put her brush
against the canvas. She used the apparently aim
less yet secure movement of the born painter. With
half-closed eyes and head a little to one side, with
small hand lifted to measure and compare, she took
on a new expression, a bewitching intentness, which
quite transformed her.
"I hear you are going away," said Curtis at
last, speaking with some effort, uncertain of her
temper.
"Yes, we break up and vacate to-morrow."
62
CURTIS SEEKS A TRUCE
"Why break up? You will want to come back
next spring. Leave the place as it is."
She gave him a quick, keen glance, and put her
head again on one side to squint.
"I have no intention of returning."
" Have you exhausted Indian subjects?"
"Oh nol" she exclaimed, with sudden, artistic en
thusiasm. " I have just begun to see what I want to
do."
"Then why not come back?" She did not reply,
and he resumed, with tender gravity: "I hope I
haven't made it so unpleasant for you that you are
running away to escape me?"
She turned with a sharp word on her tongue, but
he was so frank and so handsome, and withal so
humble, that she instantly relented. She was used
to this humility in men and knew the meaning thereof,
and a flush of gratified pride rose to her face. The
proud soldier had become a suitor like the others.
"Oh no — you have nothing to do with it," she
replied, carelessly.
" I am glad of that. I was afraid you might think
me unsympathetic, but I am not. I am here this
morning to offer you my cordial assistance, for I am
eager to see this people put into art. So far as I know,
they have never been adequately treated in painting
or in sculpture."
" Thank you," she said, " I don't think I shall go
very far with them. They are very pleasant on can
vas, but there are too many disagreeable things con
nected with painting them. I don't see how you en
dure the thought of living here among them." She
shuddered, " I hate them 1 "
63
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"I don't understand that hardness in you, Miss
Brisbane," he replied.
" I'm sure it isn't mysterious. I hate dirt and rags,
even when painted. Now Little Peta here is quite
different She is a dear little thing. See her sigh —
she gets so tired, but she's patient."
" You are making a beautiful picture of her. Your
skill is marvellous." His method of approach was
more adroit than he realized ; she softened yet again.
" Thank you. I seem to have hit her off very well. "
"Will you exhibit in Washington this winter?"
he asked, with boyish eagerness.
"I may — I haven't quite decided," she said, quite
off guard at last.
" If you do I wish you would let me know. I may
be able to visit the exhibition and witness your tri
umph."
She began to suspect his motives. "Oh, my little
row of paintings couldn't be tortured into a triumph.
I've stolen the time for them from Mr. Lawson, whose
illustrations I have neglected." She was again cold
and repeDent.
"Miss Brisbane, this whole situation has become
intolerable to me." He rose and faced her, very sin
cere and deeply earnest. " I do not like to have you
go away carrying an unpleasant impression of me.
What can I do to change it? If I have been boorish
or presuming in any way I sincerely beg your par
don."
She motioned to Peta. "You can go now, dear.
I've done all I can to-day."
Curtis took up his hat. " I hope I have not broken
up your sitting. It would be unpardonable in me."
CURTIS SEEKS A TRUCE
She squinted back at the picture with professional
gravity. "Oh no; I only had a few touches to put
in under the chin — that luminous shadow is so hard
to get. I'm quite finished/'
She went behind a screen for a few moments, and
when she reappeared without her brushes and her
blouse she was the society young lady in tone and
manner.
" Would you like to look at my sketches?" she asked.
"They're jolly rubbish, the whole lot, but they rep
resent a deal of enthusiasm/'
Her tone was friendly — too friendly, considering
the point at which he had paused, and he was a little
hurt by it. Was she playing with him?
His tone was firm and his manner direct as he said :
"Miss Brisbane, I am accustomed to deal directly
with friends as well as enemies, and I like to have
people equally frank with me. I know you are angry
because of my action in the case of your uncle. I do
not ask pardon for that ; I was acting there in line of
my duty. But if I have spoken harshly or without
due regard to your feelings at any time I ask you to
forgive me."
He made a powerful appeal to her at this moment,
but she wilfully replied: "You made no effort to
soften my uncle's disgrace."
" I didn't know he was your uncle at that time,"
he said, but his face grew grave quickly. "It
would have made no difference if I had — my orders
were to step between him and the records of the office.
So far as my orders enlightened me, he was a man to
be watched." He turned towards the door. " Is there
anything I can do to help you reach the station to-
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
morrow? My sister and I would gladly drive you
down."
She was unrelenting, but very lovely as she re
plied : " Thank you ; you are very kind, but all ar
rangements are made/'
"Good- afternoon, Miss Brisbane/
"Good-bye, Captain Curtis/'
" She is hard — hard as iron/' he said, as he walked
away. "Her father's daughter in every fibre."
He was ashamed to acknowledge how deeply he
felt her rejection of his friendship, and the thought of
not seeing her again gave him a sudden sense of
weakness and loneliness.
Elsie, on her part, was surprised to find a new nerve
tingling in her brain, and this tremor cut into the
complete self-satisfaction she expected to feel over
her refusal of the peace-pipe. Several times during
the afternoon, while superintending her packing, she
found herself standing in an attitude of meditation —
her inward eye reverting to the fine, manly figure he
made, while his grave, sweet voice vibrated in her
ears. She began to see herself in an unpleasant
light, and when at the dinner-table Lawson spoke of
Curtis, she listened to him with more real interest
than ever before.
" He is making wronderful changes here," Lawson
was saying. "Everywhere you go you see Tetongs
working at fence - building, bridge - making, cabin-
raising, with their eagle feathers fluttering in the
winds, their small hands chapped with cold. They
are sawing boards and piling grain in the warehouse
and daubing red paint on the roofs. They are in a
frenzy of work. Every man has his rations and is
66
CURTIS SEEKS A TRUCE
happy. In some way he has persuaded the chiefs to
bring in all the school-children, and the benches are
full of the little shock-heads, wild as colts/'
"A new broom, etc./' murmured Elsie.
" His predecessor never was a new broom/' retorted
Lawson, quickly. "Sennett always had a nasty
slaunch to him. He never in his life cleaned the dirt
from the corners, and I don't see exactly why you
take such pains in defending him."
" Because he is my uncle," she replied.
"Uncle Boot-jack! That is pure fudge, Bee Bee.
You didn't speak to him once a week; you privately
despised him — anybody ould see that. You are
simply making a cudgel of him now to beat Curtis
with — and, to speak plainly, I think it petty of you.
More than this, you'd better hedge, for I'm not at all
sure that Sennett has not been peculating."
Elsie stopped him with an angry gesture. "I'll
not have you accusing him behind his back."
Lawson threw out his hands in a gesture of despair.
"All right! But make a note of it: you'll regret
this taking sides with a disreputable old bummer
against an officer of Captain Curtis's reputation."
"You are not my master!" she said, and her eyes
were fiercely bright. " I do not wish to hear you use
that tone to me again! I resent it!" and she struck
the floor with her foot. " Henceforth, if we are to re
main friends, you will refrain from lecturing me!"
and she left the room with a feeling of having done
two men a wrong by being unjust to herself, and
this feeling deepened into shame as she lay in her
bed that night. It was her first serious difference
with Lawson and she grew unhappy over it. " But
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
he shouldn't take sides against me like that/' she
said, in an attempt to justify her anger.
On the second morning thereafter Lawson came
into the office and said: "Well, Captain, we leave
you this morning."
Curtis looked up into his visitor's fine, sensitive
face, and exclaimed, abruptly — almost violently : " I'm
going to miss you, old man."
"My heart's with you," replied Lawson. "And
I shall return next spring."
"Bring Miss Brisbane with you."
" I'd like to do so, but she is vastly out of key — and
I doubt. Meanwhile, if I can be of any use to you in
Washington let me know."
" Thank you, Lawson, I trust you perfectly," Cur
tis replied, writh a glow of warm liking.
As he stood at the gate looking up into Elsie's
face, she seemed very much softened, and he wished
to reach his hand and stay her where she sat; but
the last word was spoken, and the wagpn rolled
away with no more definite assurance of her grow
ing friendship than was to be read in a polite
smile.
Jennie was tearful as she said: "After all, they
were worth while."
Curtis sighed as he said : " Sis, the realities of our
position begin to make themselves felt. Play-spells
will be fewer now that our artists are gone."
"They certainly broke our fall," replied Jennie,
soberly. "Osborne Lawson is fine, and I don't be
lieve Elsie Bee Bee is as ferocious as she pretends to
be."
"It's her training. She has breathed the air of
68
CURTIS SEEKS A TRUCE
rapacity from childhood. I can't blame her for
being her father's child."
Jennie looked at him as if he were presented from
a new angle of vision. "George, there is a queer
streak in you — for a soldier; you're too soft-hearted.
But don't you get too much interested in Elsie Bee
Bee; she's dangerous — and, besides, Mr. Lawson
wears an air of command.
VII
ELSIE RELENTS A LITTLE
THE feeling against the redmen, intensified
throughout the State by the removal of Sen-
nett, beat against Curtis like a flood. Delegations
of citizens, headed by Streeter and Johnson, proceeded
at once to Washington, laden with briefs, affidavits,
and petitions, and there laid siege to Congress as soon
as the members began to assemble. The twenty
original homesteaders were taken as the text for most
impassioned appeals by local orators, and their mel
ancholy situation was skilfully enlarged upon. They
were described as hardy and industrious patriots,
hemmed in by sullen savages, with no outlet for trade
and scant pasturage for their flocks — in nightly fear
of the torch and the scalping-knife.
To Curtis, these settlers were by no interpretation
martyrs in the cause of civilization — they were quite
other. His birth, his military training, and his nat
ural refinement tended to make him critical of them.
They were to him, for the most part, "poor whites/'
too pitiless to be civilized, and too degenerate to have
the interest of their primitive red neighbors. "The
best of them/' he said to Jennie, "are foolhardy
pioneers who have exiled their wives and children for
no good reason. The others are cattlemen who fol-
70
ELSIE RELENTS A LITTLE
lowed the cavalry in order to fatten their stock under
the protection of our guidon/'
The citizens of Pinon City wondered why their
delegates made so little impression on the depart
ment, but Streeter was not left long in doubt.
The Secretary interrupted him in the midst of his
first presentation of the matter.
"Mr. Streeter, you are a cattleman, I believe?"
Streeter looked a little set back. " I am — yes, sir,
Mr. Secretary."
The Secretary took up a slip of paper. "Are you
the Streeter located on the reservation itself?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, you are an interested witness. How can
you expect me to take your word against that of Cap
tain Curtis? He tells me the Tetongs are peaceful,
and quick to respond to fair treatment. The depart
ment has absolute confidence in Captain Curtis, and
you are wasting time in the effort to discredit him.
The tribe will not be removed. Is there any other
question you would like to raise?"
Streeter took his dismissal hard. He hurried at
once to Brisbane, his face scarlet with rage. "He
turned me down," he snarled, " and he's got to suffer
for it. There's a way to get at him, and you must
find it."
Brisbane was too crafty to promise any definite
thing. "Now wait a moment, neighbor; never try
to yank a badger out of his den — wait and catch him
on the open plain. We must sound the Committee
on Indian Affairs, and then move on the House. If
we can't put through our removal bill we'll substi
tute the plan for buying out the settlers. If that
71
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
don't work I've a little scheme for cutting down the
reservation. We must keep cool — and don't mention
my name in the matter. What we want to do is to
pave the way for my return to the Senate next fall ;
then I can be of some real service to you. I am now
entirely out of it, as you can see, but I'll do what I
can."
Streeter went away with a feeling that Brisbane
was losing his vigor, and a few days later returned to
the West, very bitter and very inflammatory of speech.
" The bill is lost. It will be smothered in committee/'
he said to Calvin.
Brisbane, after leaving Streeter that day, went
home to dinner with an awakened curiosity to know
more about this young man in whom the department
had such confidence. Lawson was dining at his
table that night, and it occurred to him to ask a little
more fully about Curtis.
" See here, Lawson, you were out there on the Fort
Smith reservation, weren't you? Wasn't that where
you and Elsie camped this summer?"
Elsie replied, "Yes, papa. We were there when
Uncle Sennett was dismissed."
Brisbane started a little. "Why, of course you
were ; my memory is failing me. Well, what about
this man Curtis — he's a crank on the Indian question,
like yourself, isn't he?"
Lawson smiled. "We believe in fair play, Gov*
ernor. Yes, he's friendly to the Indians."
"And a man of some ability, I take it?"
" A man of unusual ability. He is an able forester,
a well-read ethnologist, and has made many valuable
surveys for the War Department."
72
ELSIE RELENTS A LITTLE
"His word seems to have great weight with the
department."
"Justly, too, for he is as able a man as ever held
an agent's position. A few men like Curtis would
solve the Indian problem/'
Elsie, who had been listening in meditative silence,
now spoke. "Nevertheless, his treatment of Uncle
Sennett was brutal. He arrested him and searched
all his private papers — don't you remember?"
Brisbane looked at Lawson solemnly and winked
the eye farthest from his daughter. Lawson's lips
quivered with his efforts to restrain a smile. Turn
ing then to Elsie, Brisbane said : " I recall your story
now — yes, he was pretty rigorous, but I'm holding
up the department for that; the agent wasn't to
blame. He was sent there to do that kind of a job,
and from all accounts he did it well."
Elsie lifted her eyebrows. " Does that excuse him?
He kept repeating to me that he was under orders,
but I took his saying so to be just a subterfuge."
"Mighty little you know about war, my girl. To
be a soldier means to obey orders from general down
to corporal. Moreover, your uncle has given me a
whole lot of trouble, and I wouldn't insist on a rela
tionship which does us no credit. I've held his chin
above water about as long as I'm going to."
Elsie was getting deeper into the motives and pri
vate opinions of her father than ever before, and, as
he spoke, her mind reverted to the handsome figure of
the young soldier as he stood before her in the studio,
asking for a kindlier good-bye. His head was really
beautiful, and his eyes were deep and sincere. She
looked up at her father with frowning brows. "I
73
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
thought you liked Mr. Sennett? He told me you got
him his place."
Brisbane laughed. " My dear chicken, he was a
political choice. He was doing work for our side,
and had to be paid/'
" Do you mean you knew the kind of a man he was
when you put him there?"
Brisbane pulled himself up short. " Now see here,
my daughter, you're getting out of your bailiwick/'
"But I want to understand — if you knew he was
stealing — "
"I didn't know it. How should I know it? I put
him there to keep him busy. I didn't suppose he was
a sot and a petty plunderer. Now let's have no more
of this." Brisbane was getting old and a trifle irri
table, but he was still master of himself. "I don't
know why I should be taken to task by my own daugh
ter/'
Elsie said no more, but her lips straightened and
her eyes grew reflective. As the coffee and cigars
came in, she left the two men at the table and went
out into the music-room. It seemed very lonely in
the big house that night, and she sat down at the
piano to play, thinking to cure herself of an uneasy
conscience. She was almost as good a pianist as a
painter, and the common criticism of her was on
this score. "Bee does everything too well," Penrose
said.
She played softly, musingly, and, for some reason,
sadly. " I wonder if I have done him an injustice?"
she thought. And then that brutal leer on her fa
ther's face came to disturb her. " I wish he hadn't
spoken to me like that," she said. "1 don't like his
74
ELSIE RELENTS A LITTLE
political world. I wish he would get out of it. It
isn't nice."
In the end, she left off playing and went slowly up
to her studio, half determined to write a letter of apol
ogy. Her "work-shop/' which had been added to
the house since her return from Paris, was on a level
with her sitting-room, which served as a reception
hall to the studio itself. Her artist friends declared
it to be too beautiful to work in, and so it seemed, for
it was full of cosey corners and soft divans — a glori
ous lounging - place. Nevertheless, its walls were
covered with pictures of her own making. Costly
rugs and a polished floor seemed not to deter her
from effort. She remained a miracle of industry
in spite of the scoffing of her fellows, who were
stowed about the city in dusty lofts like pigeons.
Proud and wilful as she seemed, Elsie had always
prided herself on being just, and to be placed in the
position of doing an honorable man a wrong was in
tolerable. The longer she dwelt upon her action
the more uneasy she became. Her vision clarified.
All that had been hidden by her absurd prejudice and
reasonless dislike — the soldier's frank and manly firm
ness, Lawson's reproaches, her aunt's open reproof —
all these grew in power and significance as she mused.
Taking a seat at her desk, she began a letter,
"Captain Curtis, Dear Sir — " But this seemed so
palpably a continuance of her repellent mood that
she tore it up, and started another in the spirit of
friendliness and contrition which had seized upon her :
" DEAR CAPTAIN CURTIS,— I have just heard something
which convinces me that I have done you an injustice, and
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
I hasten to beg your pardon. I knew my uncle Sennett
only as a child knows a man of middle age — he was always
kind and good and amusing to me. I had no conception of
his real self. My present understanding of him has changed
my feeling towards your action. I still think you were harsh
and unsympathetic, but I now see that you were simply
doing the will of the department. So far I apologize. If
you come to Washington I hope you will let us know/'
As she re-read this it seemed to be a very great con*
cession indeed; but as she recalled the handsome,
troubled face of the soldier, she decided to send it, no
matter what he might think of her. As she sealed
the letter her heart grew lighter, and she smiled.
When she re-entered the library her father was
saying: "No, I don't expect to get him removed.
The present administration and its whole policy must
be overthrown. Curtis is only a fly on the rim of the
wheel. He don't count/'
" Any man counts who is a moral force/' Lawson
replied, with calm sincerity. " Curtis will bother you
yet."
vin
CURTIS WRITES A LONG LETTER
THE stage-driver and mail-carrier to Fort Smith
was young Crane's Voice, and this was his first
trip in December. He congratulated himself on hav
ing his back to the wind on the fifty-mile ride up the
valley. A norther was abroad over the earth, and,
sweeping down from arctic wildernesses, seemingly
gathered power as it came. It crossed two vast States
in a single night and fell upon the Fort Smith reserva
tion with terrible fury about ten o'clock in the morning.
Crane's Voice did not get his mail-sack till twelve,
but his ponies were fed and watered and ready to
move when the bag came. He did not know that it
contained a letter to warm the heart of his hero, the
Captain, but he flung the sack into his cart and put
stick to his broncos quite as manfully as though the
Little Father waited. The road was smooth and hard
and quite level for thirty miles, and he intended to
cover this stretch in five hours. Darkness would
come early, and the snow, which was hardly more
than a frost at noon, might thicken into a blizzard.
So he pushed on steadily, fiercely, silently, till a sin
ister dusk began to fall over the buttes, and then,
lifting his voice in a deep, humming, throbbing in
cantation, he sang to keep off spirits of evil.
77
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Crane's Voice was something of an aristocrat. As
the son of Chief Elk he had improved his opportu
nities to learn of the white man, and could speak a
little English rnd understand a good deal more than
he acknowledged, which gave him a startling in-
sight at times into the words and actions of the white
people. It was his report of the unvarying kindli
ness and right feeling of Captain Curtis which had
done so much to make the whole tribe trust and obey
the new agent.
Crane's Voice was afraid of spirits, but he shrank
from no hardship. He was proud of his blue uni
form, and of the revolver which he was permitted to
wear to guard the mail. No storm had ever prevented
him from making his trip, and his uncomplaining
endurance of heat, cold, snow, and rain would have
been counted heroic in a military scout. His virtues
were so evident even to the cowboys that they made
him an exception by saying, "Yes, Crane is purty
near white/' and being besotted in their own vanity,
they failed to see the humor of such a phrase in the
mouth of a drunken, obscene, lawless son of a Mis
souri emigrant. As a matter of fact there were many
like Crane in the tribe, only the settlers never came in
personal contact with them.
Crane found his road heavy with drifts as he left
the main valley and began to climb, and he did not
reach the agency till long after Curtis had gone to
bed, but he found his anxious mother waiting for him,
together with the captain of police, who took the bag
of mail to the office. As he drove into the big corral out
of the wind the boy said, in his quaint English : " Me
no like 'urn blizzard. Fleeze ears like buffalo horn/''
78
CURTIS WRITES A LONG LETTER
Curtis came to the office next morning with a heavy
heart. He knew how hard the bitter cold pressed
upon his helpless wards, and suffered acutely for sym
pathy. He spoke to all of those he met with unusual
tenderness, and asked minutely after the children, to
be sure that none were ill or hungry.
As Wilson, his clerk, laid the big package of letters
and papers on his table, the pale-blue, square envelope
which bore Elsie's handwriting was ostentatiously
balanced on top. Wilson, the lovelorn clerk, sighed
to think he had no such missive in his mail that
gloomy morning. Looking in, a half-hour later, he
found Curtis writing busily in answer to that letter,
all the rest of his mail being untouched. " I thought
so/' said he; "I'd neglect any business for a sweet
little envelope like that/' and he sighed again.
Curtis had opened the letter eagerly, but with no
expectation of comfort. As he read he forgot the
storm outside. A warm glow crept into his blood.
Lover-like, he got from the letter a great deal more
than Elsie had intended to say. He seized his pen
to reply at once — just a few lines to set her mind at
rest; but his thought ran on so fast, so full of energy,
that his writing became all but illegible :
" DEAR MISS BRISBANE, — You have given me a great
pleasure by your letter, and I am replying at once to
assure you that I did not lay your words up against you,
because I felt you did not fully understand the situation.
Your letter gives me courage to say that I think you are
unjust in your attitude towards these primitive races — and
I also hope that as fuller understanding comes you will
change your views.
" Here they are, fenced in on the poorest part of this bleak
79
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
reservation, on the cold slope of the range, exposed to the
heat and drought of summer and the storms of winter. This
morning, for example, the wind is rushing up the converg
ing walls of this valley — which opens out to the northeast,
you remember — and the cold is intense. I am just sending
out messengers to see that no children are freezing. Every
thing is hard as iron, and the Indians, muffled in their blan
kets, are sitting beside their fires glum as owls, waiting the
coming of the sunshine.
" I must tell you something which happened since you
went away — it may correct your views of the Tetongs. It
is my policy to give all hauling and wood contracts to the
Indian instead of the white man, and when I told the white
who has been putting in the wood that I was about to let the
contract to the reds he laughed and said, ' You can't get 'em
to do that work!' But I felt sure I could. I called them to
gether and gave them fifty axes and told them how much
wood I wanted. A few days later I thought I'd ride over to
see how they were getting along. As I drew near I heard
the most astonishing click-clack of axe-strokes, shouts,
laughter, the falling of trees, and when I came in sight I
' trun up both hands/ They had hundreds of cords already
cut — twice as much, it seemed, as I could use. I begged
them to stop, and finally got them to begin to haul In
the end I was obliged to take sixty cords more than I
needed.
" You cannot understand what a pleasure it is for me to
see ancient lies about these people destroyed by such ex
periences as this. It was pathetic to me to find the Two
Horns, the Crawling Elk, and other proud old warriors toil
ing awkwardly with their axes, their small hands covered
with blisters ; but they laughed and joked about it, and en
couraged each other as if they were New-Englanders at a
husking-bee. My days and nights are full of trouble, be
cause 1 can do so little for them. If they were on tillable
land I could make them self-supporting in two years, but this
fco
CURTIS WRITES A LONG LETTER
land is arid as a desert. It is fair to look upon, but it will
not yield a living to any one but a herder.
" Your attitude towards the so-called savage laces troubles
me more than I have any right to mention. The older I
grow the less certain I am that any race or people has a
monopoly of the virtues. I do not care to see the ' little
peoples ' of the world civilized in the sense in which the word
is commonly used. It will be a sorrowful time to me when
all the tribes of the earth shall have cottonade trousers and
derby hats. You, as an artist, ought to shrink from the
dead level of utilitarian dress which the English-speaking
race seems determined to impose on the world. If I could,
I would civilize only to the extent of making life easier and
happier — the religious beliefs, the songs, the native dress —
all these things I would retain. What is life for, if not for this ?
" My artist friends as a rule agree with me in these matters,
and that is another reason why your unsympathetic attitude
surprises and grieves me. I know your home-life has been
such as would prejudice you against the redman, but your
training in Paris should have changed all that. You con
sider the Tetongs ' good material ' — if you come to know
them as I do you will find they are folks, just like anybody
else, with the same rights to the earth that we have. Of
course, they are crude and unlovely — and sometimes they
are cruel; but they have an astonishing power over those
who come to know them well.
" Pardon this long letter. You may call me a crank or
any hard name you please, but I am anxious to have you on
the right side in this struggle, for it is a struggle to the
death. The tragedy of their certain extinction overwhelms
me at times. I found a little scrap of canvas with a sketch
of Peta on it— may I keep it? My sister is quite well and
deep in ' the work/ She often speaks of you and we are
both hoping to see you next year."
It was foolish for him to expect an immediate reply
to this epistle, but he did — he counted the days which
•* Si
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
lay between its posting and a possible date for return
mail. Perhaps, had he been in Washington, diverted
by Congress, cheered by the Army and Navy Club,
and entertained by his friends, he would not have
surrendered so completely to the domination of that
imperious girl-face; but in the dead of winter, sur
rounded by ragged, smoky squaws and their impa
tient, complaining husbands, with no companionship
but his sister and Wilson, the love-sick clerk, his
thought in every moment of relaxation went back to
the moments he had spent in Elsie's company. Nat
ure cried out, " It is not good for man to be alone/'
but the iron ring of circumstance held him a pris
oner in a land where delicate women were as alien as
orange blossoms or tea-roses.
Outwardly composed, indefatigable, stern in dis
cipline and judicial of report, he was inwardly filled
with a mighty longing to see again that slim young
girl with the big, black, changeful eyes. Pie made
careful attempt to conceal his growing unrest from
Jennie, but her sharp eyes, accustomed to every change
in his face, detected a tremor when Elsie's name was
mentioned, and her ears discovered a subtle vibration
in his voice which instructed her, though she did not
attain complete realization of his absorbing interest.
She was sympathetic enough to search out Elsie's
name in the social columns of the Washington
papers, and it was pitiful to see with what joy the
busy Indian agent listened to the brief item con
cerning "Miss Brisbane's reception on Monday,"
or the description of her dress at the McCartney
ball.
Jennie sighed as she read of these brilliant assen>
82
CURTIS WHITES A LONG LETTER
blages. "George, I wonder if we will ever spend
another winter in Washington?"
"Oh, I think so, sis — some time/'
"Some timel But well both be so old we won't
enjoy it. Sometimes I feel that we are missing ev
erything that's worth while."
He did not mention Elsie's letter, and as the weeks
passed without any reply he was very glad he had
kept silence. Jennie had her secret, also, which was
that Elsie was as good as engaged to Lawson. No
one knew this for a certainty, but Mrs. Wilcox was
quite free to say she considered it a settled thing.
Jennie was relieved to know how indifferent her
brother was to Miss Colson, the missionary, who
seemed to be undergoing a subtle transformation.
With Jennie she was always moaning and sighing,
but in the presence of her lord, the agent, she relaxed
and became quite cheerful and dangerously pretty.
The other teachers — good, commonplace souls! — went
their mechanical way, with very little communica
tion with the agent's household, but Miss Colson
seized every opportunity to escape her messmates.
"They are so material/' she said, sighfully; "they
make spiritual growth impossible to me."
Jennie was not deceived. "You're a cat, that's
what you are — a nice, little, scared cat; but you're
getting over your scare," she added, as she watched
the devotee in spirited conversation with her brother.
Elsie's reply to Curtis's long letter was studiedly
cool but polite. "I feel the force of what you say,
but the course of civilization lies across the lands of
the ' small peoples/ It is sorrowful, of course, but
they must go, like the wolves and the rattlesnakes."
83
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
In this phrase he recognized the voice of Andrew J.
Brisbane, and it gave him a twinge to see it written
by Elsie's small hand. The letter ended by leaving
matters very adroitly at an equipoise. It was friend
lier than she had ever been in conversation, yet not so
womanly as he had hoped it might be. As he stud
ied it, however, some subtler sense than sight de
tected in its carefully compounded phrases some
thing to feed upon, and though he did not write in
answer to it, he had a feeling that she expected him
to do so.
Meanwhile the tone of the opposition grew con
fident. The settlers were convinced that Congress
would accede to their wishes and remove the Tetongs,
and they began to treat the redmen with a certain
good-natured tolerance, as if to say, "Well, you'll
soon be settled for, anyway."
Calvin Streeter came often to the agency, and not
infrequently stayed to dinner with Curtis, paying
timid court to Jennie, who retained enough of her
girlhood's coquetry to enjoy the handsome cowboy's
open-eyed admiration, even though she laughed at
him afterwards in response to her brother's jesting.
Calvin vastly improved under the stress of his desire
to be worthy of her. He caught up many of the Cap
tain's nice mannerisms, and handled his fork and
napkin with very good grace indeed. He usually
came galloping across the flat, his horse outstretched
at full speed, his hat -rim uprolled by the wind,
his gay neckerchief fluttering, his hands holding
the reins high — a magnificent picture of powerful
young manhood. As he reached the gate it was his
habit to put his horse on his haunches with one sud-
CURTIS WRITES A LONG LETTER
den, pitiless wrench on the Mexican bit and drop to
the ground, and in dramatic contrast with his ap
proach call out in smooth, quiet, voice :
" Howdy, folks, howdy ! Nice day. "
These affectations pleased Jennie very much,
though she finally complained of his cruelty in rein
ing in his horse so sharply.
"All right, miss, I won't do it no more/' he said,
instantly.
He quite regularly invited them to the dances given
round about, and Jennie was ready to go, but Curtis,
being too deeply occupied, could not spare the time,
and that debarred Jennie, though Calvin could see
no good reason why it should. "I'll take care of
you," said he, but the girl could not trust herself to
his protection.
His was not a secretive nature, and he kept Curtis
very well informed as to the feeling of the settlers,
reporting, as he did, their conversations as well as
their speeches, with great freedom and remarkable
accuracy.
In this way the agent learned that the cattlemen
had agreed to use caution in dealing with him. " He's
a bad man to monkey with/' was the sentiment Cal
vin reported to be current among the settlers on the
West Fork. Young Crane's Voice also circulated
this phrase, properly translated into Dakota, to his
uncles Lame Paw and Two Horns, and so the tribe
came to understand that they had a redoubtable
defender in Swift Eagle, as they called the agent in
their own tongue.
From every source they heard good things of him,
and they came to love him and to obey him as they
85
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
had never loved and obeyed even their best-regarded
chief. The squaws made excuse to come in and shake
hands with him and hear his laughter, and the chil
dren no longer hid or turned away when he came
near — on the contrary, they ran to him, crying " Hel
lo, Hagent!" and clung to his legs as he walked. The
old men often laid their arms across his shoulders as
they jokingly threatened to pull out the hairs of his
face, in order to make him a redman. His lightest
wish was respected. The wildest young dare - devil
would dismount and take a hand at pushing a wagon
or lifting a piece of machinery when Curtis asked it
of him.
" If I only had the water tfiat flows in these three
little streams/' he often said to Jennie, "I'd make
these people self-supporting/'
" We'll have things our own way yet/' replied Jen
nie, always the optimist.
IX
CALLED TO WASHINGTON
day Curtis announced, with joyful face:
"Sis, we are called to Washington. Get on
your bonnet!"
She did not light up as he had expected her to do.
" I can't go, George/' she replied, decisively and with
out marked disappointment.
He seemed surprised. " Why not?"
"Because I have my plans all laid for giving my
little 'ingines' such a Christmas as they never
had, and you must manage to get back in time to be
'Sandy Claws.'"
" I don't see how I can do it. I am to appear before
the Committee on Indian Affairs relative to this re
moval plan, and there may be other business requir
ing me to remain over the holidays."
" I don't like to have you away. I suppose you'll
see Mr. Lawson and Miss Brisbane," she remarked,
quietly, after a pause.
" Oh yes," he replied, with an assumption of care
lessness. " I imagine Lawson will appear before the
committee, and I hope to call on Miss Brisbane — I
want to see her paintings." He did not meet his sis
ter's eyes as squarely as was his wont, and her keen
glance detected a bit more color in his face than was
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
usual to him. " You must certainly call/' she finally
said. " I want to know all about how they live."
Many things combined to make this trip to Wash
ington most pleasurable to the soldier. He was
weary with six weeks of most intense application to a
confused and vexatious situation, and besides he had
not been East for several years, and his pocket was
filled with urgent invitations to dinner from fellow-
officers and co-workers in science, courtesies which
he now had opportunity to accept; but back of all
and above all was the hope of meeting Elsie Brisbane
again. He immediately wrote her a note, telling her
of his order to report at the department, and asking
permission to call upon her at her convenience.
It was a long ride, but he enjoyed every moment
of it. He gave himself up to rest. He went regularly to
his meals in the dining-car ; he smoked and dreamed
and looked out with impersonal, shadowy interest
upon the flying fields and the whizzing cities. He
slept long hours and rose at will. Such freedom he
had known only on the trail; here luxury was com
bined with leisure. In Chicago a friend met him and
they lunched at a luxurious club, and afterwards went
for a drive. That night he left the Western metrop
olis behind and Washington seemed very near.
As the train drew down out of the snows of the hill
country into the sunshine and shelter of the Potomac
Valley his heart leaped. This was home! Here
were the little, whitewashed cabins, the red soil, the
angular stone houses — verandaed and shuttered — of
his native town. It was pleasant to meet the darkies
swarming, chirping like crickets, around the train.
They shadowed forth a warmer clime, a less iiisis-
88
CALLED TO WASHINGTON
tent civilization than that of the West, and he was
glad of them. They brought up in his mind a thou
sand memories of his boy-life in an old Maryland
village not far from the great city, which still re
tained its supremacy in his mind. He loved Wash
ington ; to him it was the centre of national life.
The great generals, the great political leaders were
there, and the greatest ethnologic bureau in all the
world was there, and when the gleaming monument
came into view over the wooded hills he had only one
regret — he was sorrowful when he thought of Jennie
far away in the bleak valley of the Elk.
It was characteristic of him that he took a cab to
the Smithsonian Society rather than to the Army and
Navy Club, and was made at home at once in the
plain but comfortable "rooms of the Bug Sharps/'
He had just time to report by telephone to the Depart
ment of the Interior before the close of the official day.
Several letters awaited him. One was from Elsie, and
this he read at once, finding it unexpectedly cordial :
" My father is writing you an invitation to come to us
immediately. You said you would arrive in Washington
on the I7th, either on the 1 1 A.M. train or the one at 3 P.M.
In either case we will look for you at 6.30 to dine with
us before you get your calendar filled with engagements.
I shall wait impatiently to hear how you are getting on out
there. It is all coming to have a strange fascination for me.
It is almost like a dream."
This letter quickened his pulse in a way which
should have brought shame to him, but did not. The
Senator's letter was ponderously polite. "I hope,
my dear Captain Curtis, you will be free to call at
once. My daughter and Lawson — "
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
At that word a chill wind blew upon the agent's
hope. Lawson! "I had forgotten the man!" he
said, almost aloud. "Ah! that explains her frank
kindliness. She writes as one whose affections are
engaged, and therefore feels secure from criticism
or misapprehension." That explained also her feel
ing for the valley — it wras the scene of her surrender
to Lawson. The tremor went out of his nerves, his
heart resumed its customary beating, steady and
calm, and, setting his lips into a straight line, he re
sumed the Senator's letter, which ended with these
significant words : " There are some important mat
ters I want to talk over in private."
A note from Lawson urged him to take his first
breakfast in the city with him. " I want to post you
on the inside meaning of certain legislation now pend
ing. I expect to see you at the BrisbanesV
Curtis made his toilet slowly and with great care,
remitting nothing the absence of which would in
dicate a letting down of military neatness and dis
cipline. He wore the handsome undress uniform of
a captain", and his powerful figure, still youthful in
its erectness, although the lines were lees slender
than he wished, was dignified and handsome — fit to
be taken as a type of mature soldier. He set forth,
self-contained but eager.
The Brisbane portico of rose granite was immense
ly imposing to a dweller in tents and cantonments,
such as Curtis had been for ten years, but he allowed
no sign of his nervousness to appear as he handed
his overcoat and cap to the old colored man in the
vestibule.
As he started down the polished floor of the wide
90
CALLED TO WASHINGTON
hall, stepping over a monstrous tiger-skin, he saw
Elsie in the door of the drawing-room, her back against
the folded portiere. Her slender figure was exquisite
ly gowned in pale-green, and her color was irides
cent in youthful sparkle. He thought once again —
"Evening dress transforms a woman/' She met
him with a smile of welcome.
" Ah, Captain, this is very good of you, to come to
us so soon/'
"Not at all/' he gallantly replied. "I would have
come sooner had opportunity served/'
" Father, this is Captain Curtis/' she said, turning
her head towards a tall man who stood within.
Brisbane came forward, greeting Curtis most cord
ially. He was grayer than Curtis remembered
him, and a little stooping from age. His massive
head was covered with a close-clipped bristle of white
hair, and his beard, also neatly trimmed, was shaped
to a point, from the habit he had of stroking it with
his closed left hand in moments of deep thought.
His skin was flushed pink with blood, and his ur
bane manner denoted pride and self-sufficiency. He
was old, but he was still a powerful personality, and
though he shook hands warmly, Curtis felt his keen
and penetrating glance as palpably as an electric
shock.
Lawson's voice arose. "Well, Captain, I hardly
expected to see you so soon."
As the two men clasped hands Elsie again closely
compared them. Curtis was the handsomer man,
though Lawson was by no means ill-looking, even by
contrast. The soldier more nearly approached the ad
mirable male type, but there was charm in the char-
91
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
act eristic attitudes and gestures of the student, who had
the assured and humorous manner of the onlooker.
A young woman of indeterminate type who was
seated in conversation with Mrs. Wilcox received
Curtis with impassive countenance, eying him close
ly through pinch-nose glasses. Mrs. Wilcox beamed
with pleasure, and inquired minutely concerning the
people at the agency, and especially she wished to
know how little Johnny and Jessie Eagle were. "I
quite fell in love with the tots, they were so cunning.
I hope they got the toys I sent/'
Brisbane gave Curtis the most studious attention,
lounging deep in his big chair. Occasionally he
ponderously leaned forward to listen to some remark,
with his head cocked in keen scrutiny — actions
which did not escape the Captain's notice. "He's
sizing me up," he thought. " Well, let him."
Elsie also listened, curiously like her father in cer
tain inclinations of the head — intent, absorbed ; only
Lawson seemed indifferent to the news the agent
guardedly recited.
Brisbane broke his silence by saying: "I infer
you're on the side of the redskin?"
"Decidedly, in this connection."
"Quite aside from your duty?"
"Entirely so. My duty in this case happened to
be my inclination. I could have declined the detail,
but being a believer in the army's arrangement of
Indian affairs, I couldn't decently refuse."
Brisbane settled back into his chair and looked
straight at his visitor.
"You think the white man the aggressor in this
land question?"
92
CALLED TO WASHINGTON
Curtis definitely pulled himself up. " I am not at
liberty to speak further on that matter."
Mrs. Wilcox interrupted smilingly. " Andrew, don't
start an argument now. Dinner is served, and I
know Captain Curtis is hungry."
Elsie rose. "Yes, papa, leave your discussion till
some other time, when you can bang the furniture."
Curtis expected to take Miss Cooke in to dinner,
but Elsie delighted him by saying, " You're to go in
with me, Captain."
"I am very glad of the privilege," he said, with
deliberate intent to please her; his sincerity was un
questionable.
Curtis would have been more profoundly impressed
with the spaciousness of the hall and the dining-
room had they been less like the interior of a hotel.
The whole house, so far as its mural decoration went,
had the over-stuffed quality of a Pullman car (with
the exception of the pictures on the walls, which were
exceedingly good), for Brisbane had successfully op
posed all of Elsie's new-fangled notions with regard
to interior decoration ; he was of those who insist on
being masters in their houses as well as in their
business offices, and Elsie's manner was that of an
obedient daughter deferring to a sire who had not
ceased to consider her a child.
Seated at Elsie's right hand, with Mrs. Wilcox be
tween himself and the head of the table, Curtis was
fairly out of reach of Brisbane, who was dangerously
eager to open a discussion concerning the bill for the
removal of the Tetongs.
Elsie turned to him at once to say : " Do you know,
Captain Curtis, I begin to long to return to the West.
93
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
All my friends are enthusiastic over the studies I
made last year, and I've decided to go back next
spring. How early could one come out?"
" Any time after the first of May — in fact, that is
the most beautiful month in the year; the grass is
deliciously green then. I'm glad to know you think
of returning. Jennie will also rejoice. It seems too
good to be true. Will Mr. Lawson also return?"
"Oh yes. In fact, I go to complete his work — to
do penance for neglecting him last summer." And
in her tone, he fancied, lay a covert warning, as
though she had said : " Do not mistake me; I am not
coming out of interest in you."
He needed the word, for under the spell of her near
presence and the charm of her smile, new to him,
the soldier was beginning to glow again and to
soften, in spite of his resolution to be very calm.
She went on : . " I am genuinely remorseful, because
Mr. Lawson has not been able to bring his paper out
as he had planned."
"I will see that you have every possible aid," he
replied, matter- of -factly. "The work must be done
soon. *'
"How handsome he is!" the girl thought, as she
studied his quiet face. " His profile is especially fine,
and the line of his neck and shoulders — " an impulse
seized her, and she said :
" Captain, I'd like to make a sketch of you. Could
you find time to sit for me?"
" That's very nattering of you, but I'm afraid my
stay in Washington is too short and too preoccupied."
Her face darkened. " I'm sorry. I know I could
make a good thing of you."
94
CALLED TO WASHINGTON
"Thank you for the compliment, but it is out of
the question at present. Next summer, if you come
out, I will be very glad to give the time for it. And
that reminds me, you promised to show me your pict
ures when I came, and your studio."
"Did I? Well, you shall see them, although they
are not as good as I shall do next year. One has
to learn to handle new material. Your Western at
mosphere is so different from that of Giverney, in
which we all paint in Paris; then, the feeling of the
landscape is so different; everything is so firm and
crisp in line — but I am going to get it ! ' There is the
mystery of light as well as of the dark,' Meunnot
used to say to us, and if I can get that clear shimmer,
and the vibration of the vivid color of the savage in
the midst of it—"
She broke off as if in contemplation of the problem,
rapt with question how to solve it.
" There speaks the artist in you, and it is fine.
But I'd like you to see the humanitarian side of life,
too/' he replied.
" There is none," she instantly replied, with a curi
ous blending of defiance and amusement. "I be
long to the world of Light and Might — "
"And I to the world of Right— what about that?"
" Light and Might make right. "
"Your team is wrongly harnessed — Light and
Right are co-workers. Might fears both Light and
Right."
Mrs. Wilcox, who had been listening, fairly clapped
her hands. " I'm glad to have you refute her argu
ments, Captain. She is absolutely heartless in her
theories — in practice she's a nice girl."
95
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HOR&E TROOP
Elsie laughed. "What amuses me is that a sol*
dier, the embodiment of Might, should dare to talk of
Right"
Curtis grew grave. "If I did not think that my
profession at bottom guarded the rights of both white
men and red, I'd resign instantly. Our army is only
an impartial instrument for preserving justice."
" That isn't the old-world notion," put in Lawson
from across the table.
"It is our notion," stoutly replied Curtis. "Our
little army to-day stands towards the whole nation
as a police force relates itself to a city — a power that
interferes only to prevent aggression of one interest
on the rights of another."
Brisbane's big, flat voice took up the theme.
" That's a very pretty theory, but you'll find plenty
to claim that the army is an instrument of oppres
sion."
"I'll admit it is sometimes wrongly used," Curtis
replied. "We who are in the field can't help that,
however. We are under orders. Of course," he add
ed, modestly, " I am only a young soldier. I have
seen but ten years of service, and I have taken part in
but one campaign — a war I considered unavoidable
at that time."
" You would hold, then, that an officer of the army
has a right to convictions?" queried Brisbane, in the
tone of the lawyer.
"Most certainly. A man does not cease to think
upon entering the army."
"That's dangerous doctrine."
" It's the American idea. What people would
fer by having its army intelligent?"
CALLED TO WASHINGTON
Lawson coughed significantly. "Bring forth the
black-swathed axe — treason has upreared her head/'
It was plain that Brisbane was lying in wait for
him. Curtis whispered to Elsie :
" Rescue me I Your father is planning to quiz me,
and I must not talk before I report to the depart
ment/'
"I understand. We will go to my studio after
dinner/' And with Lawson's aid she turned the
conversation into safe channels.
It was a very great pleasure to the young soldier
to sit once more at such a board and in pleasant re
lation to Elsie. It was more than he had ever hoped
for, and he surprised her by his ability to take on her
interests. He grew younger in the glow of her own
youth and beauty, and they finished their ices in such
good-fellowship that Mrs. Wilcox was amazed.
" We will slip away now," Elsie said, in a low tone
to Curtis, and they both rose. As they were about
to leave the room Brisbane looked up in surprise.
"Where are you going? Don't you smoke, Captain?
Stay and have a cigar."
Elsie answered for him. "Captain Curtis can
come back, but I want him to see my studio now, for
I know if you get to talking politics he will miss the
pictures altogether."
"She has a notion I'm growing garrulous," Bris
bane retorted, " but I deny the charge. Well, let me
see you later, Captain ; there are some things I want
to discuss with you."
"Grace, you are to come, too," Elsie said to her
girl friend, and led the way out into the hall.
Miss Cooke stepped to Curtis's side. "You've
7 97
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP*
been in Washington before?" she asked, with an in
flection which he hated.
"Oh yes, many times. In fact, I lived here till I
was sixteen. I was born in Maryland, not far from
here."
"Indeed! Then you know the city thoroughly?"
"Certain sides of it. Exteriorly and officially I
know it ; socially, I am a stranger to it. My people
were proud and poor. A good old family in a fine old
house, and very little besides."
Elsie led the way slowly up the big staircase, se
cretly hoping Miss Cooke would find it too cool for
her thin blood. She wished to be alone with Curtis,
and this wish, obscure as it was, grew stronger as
she set a chair for him and placed a frame on an
easel.
" You really need daylight to see them properly."
" Am I to make remarks?"
"Certainly; tell me just what you think."
" Then let me preface my helpful criticisms by say
ing that I don't know an earthly thing about painting.
We had drawing, of a certain kind, at the academy,
and I used to visit the galleries in New York when
occasion served. Now you know the top and the
bottom of my art education."
"It's cold in here, Elsie," broke in Miss Cooke,
whom they had quite forgotten. " Is the steam turned
on?"
" Wrap my slumber-robe around you," Elsie care
lessly replied. " Now here is my completed study of
Little Peta. What do you think of that? Is it like
her?"
"Very like her, indeed. I think it excellent," he
98
^ CALLED TO WASHINGTON
said, with unaffected enthusiasm. " She was a quaint
little thing. She is about to be married to young
Two Horns — a white man's wedding."
Elsie's eyes glowed. " Oh, I wish I could see that !
But don't let her wear white man's clothing. She'd
be so cunning in her own way of dress. I wish she
had not learned to chew gum."
"None of us quite live up to our best intentions/'
he replied, laughing. "Peta thinks she's gaining
in grace. Most of the white ladies she knows chew
gum."
The pictures were an old story to Miss Cooke, who
shivered for a time in silence and at last withdrew.
Elsie and Curtis were deep in discussion of the effect
of white man's clothing on the Tetongs, but each was
aware of a subtle change in the other as the third
person was withdrawn. A delicious sense of danger,
of inward impulse warring with outward restraint,
added zest to their intercourse. He instantly re
called the last time he stood in her studio feeling
her frank contempt of him. " I am on a different foot
ing now," he thought, with a certain exultation. It
was worth years of hardship and hunger and cold to
stand side by side with a woman who had not merely
beauty and wealth but talent, and a mysterious qual
ity that was more alluring than beauty or intellect.
What this was he could not tell, but it had already
made life a new game to him."
She, on her part, exulted with a sudden sense of
having him to herself for experiment, and every mo-
lion of his body, every tone of his voice she noted
and admired.
He resumed : " Naturally, I can say nothing of the
99
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
technique of these pictures. My praise of them must
be on the score of their likeness to the people. They
are all admirable portraits, exact and spirited, and
yet — " He hesitated, with wrinkled brows.
"Don't spare mel" she cried out. "Cut me up if
you canl"
" Well, then, they seem to me unsympathetic. For
example, the best of them all is Peta, because you
liked her, you comprehended her, partly, for she was
a child, gentle and sweet. But you have painted old
Crawling Elk as if he were a felonious mendicant.
You've delineated his rags, his wrinkled skin, his
knotted hands, but you've left the light out of his
eyes. Let me tell you something about that old man.
When I saw him first he was sitting on the high bank
of the river, motionless as bronze, and as silent. He
was mourning the loss of his little grandchild, and
had been there two days and two nights wailing till
his voice had sunk to a whisper. His rags were a
sign of his utter despair. You didn't know that
when you painted him, did you?"
"No, I did not," she replied, softly.
"Moreover, Crawling Elk is the annalist and story
teller of his tribe. He carries the ' winter count ' and
the sacred pipe, and can tell you of every movement
of the Tetongs for more than a century and a half.
His mind is full of poetry, and his conceptions of the
earth and sky are beautiful. He knows little that
white men know, and cares for very little that the
white man fights for, but his mind teems with lore
of the mysterious universe into which he has been
thrust, and which he has studied for seventy-two
years. In the eyes of God, I am persuaded there is
100
CALLED TO WASHINGTON
no very wide difference between old Crawling Elk
and Herbert Spencer. The circle of Spencer's knowl
edge is wider, but it is as far from including the in
finite as the redman's story of creation. Could you
understand the old man as I do, you would forget his
rags. He would loom large in the mysterious gloom
of life. \ Your painting is as prejudiced in its way as
the description which a cowboy would give you of this
old man. You have given the color, the picturesque
qualities of your subjects, but you have forgotten
that they are human souls, groping for happiness and
light/'
As he went on, Elsie stared at the picture fixedly,
and it changed under her glance till his deeply pas
sionate words seemed written on the canvas. The
painting ceased to be a human face and became a
mechanical setting together of features, a clever de
lineation of the exterior of a ragged old man holding
a beaded tobacco-pouch and a long red pipe.
"This old 'beggar/" Curtis continued, "never
lights that pipe you have put in his hands without
blowing a whiff to the great spirits seated at the car
dinal points of the compass. He makes offerings for
the health of his children — he hears voices in the
noonday haze. He sits on the hill-top at dawn to
commune with the spirits over his head. As a beggar
he is picturesque ; as a man, he is bewildered by the
changes in his world, and sad with the shadow of his
children's future. All these things, and many more,
you must learn before you can represent the soul of
the redman. You can't afford to be unjust."
She was deeply affected by his words. They held
conceptions new to her. But his voice pierced her,
101
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
strangely subdued her. It quivered with an emotion
which she could not understand. Why should he
care so much whether she painted her subjects well
or ill? She was seized with sudden, bitter distrust.
"I wish I had not shown you my studies," she
said, resentfully.
His face became anxious, his voice gentle. "I
beg your pardon; I have presumed too far. I hope,
Miss Brisbane, you will not take what I say too much
to heart. Indeed, you must not mind me at all. I
am, first of all, a sort of crank ; and then, as I say,
I don't know a word about painting; please forget
my criticisms."
She understood his mood now. His anxiety to
regain her good-will was within her grasp, and she
seized the opportunity to make him plead for himself
and exonerate her.
"You have torn my summer's work to flinders/'
she said, sullenly, looking down at a bit of charcoal
she was grinding into the rug beneath her feet.
He was aghast. "Don't say that, I beg of you!
Good Heavens! don't let my preachment discourage
you. You see, I have two or three hobbies, and when
I am once mounted I'm sure to ride right over some
body's garden wall."' He rose and approached her.
"I shall never forgive myself if I have taken away
the smallest degree of your enthusiasm. My aim —
if I had an aim — was to help you to understand my
people, so that when you come out next summer — "
"All that is ended now," she said, sombrely. "I
shall attempt no more Indian work!"
This silenced him. He took time to consider what
this sudden depression on her part meant. As he
102
CALLED TO WASHINGTON
studied her he saw her lip quiver, and anxiety sud
denly left him. His tone was laughter-filled as he
called: "Come, now, Miss Brisbane, you're making
game of me by taking my criticisms so solemnly. I
can see a smile twitching your lips this moment.
Look at me!"
She looked up and broke into a laugh. He joined
in with her, but a flush rose to his face.
"You fooled me completely. I reckon you should
have been an actress instead of a painter/'
She sobered a little. " Really, I was depressed for
a moment. Your tone was so terribly destructive.
Shall we go down?"
" Not till you say you 11 forgive me and forget my
harangue."
She gave him her hand. "I'll forgive you, but
Fm going to remember the harangue. I — rather
liked it. It made me think. Strange to say, I like
people who make me think."
Again his heart leaped with the blood of exultant
youth. "She is coming to understand me better!"
he thought.
"You must see my other pictures by daylight/'
she was saying. "Mr. Lawson likes this one par
ticularly." They had moved out into the little re
ception-room. " I did it in Giverney — we all go down
sooner or later to paint one of Monet's pollard wil
lows. These are my 'stunts.'"
Lawson! Yes, there was the secret of her increas
ing friendliness. As the fiance'e of Lawson she could
afford to lessen her reserve towards his friend.
And so it happened that, notwithstanding her cord
ial welcome and her respectful consideration of his
103
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
criticism, he went away with a feeling of disappoint
ment That her beauty was more deeply enthralling
than he had hitherto realized made his disquiet all
the greater. As he stepped out upon the street, she
seemed as insubstantial as a dream of his imagina
tive youth, far separated from any reality with which
he had any durable association.
CURTIS AT HEADQUARTERS
/""^URTIS was frankly exclamatory at the size and
V^ splendor of Lawson's apartments. He had
accepted the invitation to take breakfast with him
without much thought as to the quality of the break
fast or where it would be eaten, until he found
himself entering the hall of a superb apartment
hotel
"Why, see here, Lawson," he exclaimed, as he
looked about his friend's suite, " this is too much for
any bachelor — it's baronial! I must revise my judg
ments. I had a notion you were a hard-working
ethnologic sharp."
"So I am," replied Lawson, smiling with frank
enjoyment of his visitor's amazement. "I've been
at work two hours at my desk. If you don't believe
it, there's the desk."
The room was filled with books, cases of antique
pottery, paintings of Indians, models of Pueblo dwell
ings, and other things in keeping, and was made rich
in color by a half-dozen very choice Navajo blankets
in the fine old weaves with the vegetable dyes so dear
to the collector. The long table was heaped with
current issues of the latest magazines, and dozens of
books, with markers set to guard some valuable pas-
105
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
sages, were piled within reach. It was plainly the
library of a student and man of letters.
Lawson's lean, brown face at once assumed a differ
ent aspect to Curtis. It became more refined, more
scholarly, and distinctly less shrewd and quizzical,
and the soldier began to understand the writer's
smiling defiance of Western politicians and million
aire cattle-owners. Plainly a man of large fortune,
with high social connections, what had Lawson to
fear of the mountain West? The menace of the
greedy cattlemen troubled him no more than the
howl of the blizzard.
In the same measure that Lawson's power was
revealed to him the heart of the agent sank. He
could not but acknowledge that here was the fitting
husband and proper home for Elsie — "while I," he
thought, "have only a barrack in a desolate Indian
country to offer her/' and he swung deep in the trough
of his sea of doubt.
A map on the wall, lined with red, caught his
eye, and he seized upon it for diversion.
"What is this?" he asked.
"That's my trail -map/' replied Lawson. "The
red lines represent my wanderings."
Curtis studied it with expert eyes. "You have
ploughed the Arizona deserts pretty thoroughly."
" Yes, I've spent three summers down in that coun
try studying cliff-dwellings. It's a mighty alluring
region. Last summer I broke away and got back
into the north, but I am greatly taken with the hot
sunshine and loneliness of the desert."
Curtis turned sharply. " What I can't understand,
Lawson, is this: How can you pull up and leave
106
CURTIS AT HEADQUARTERS
such a home?" — he indicated the room with a sweep
of his hand — " and go out on the painted desert or
down the Chaco and swelter in the heat like a horned
toad?"
Lawson smiled. "It is absurd, isn't it? Man's
an unaccountable beast. But come! Breakfast is
waiting, and I hope you're hungry."
The dining-room was built on a scale with the
library, and the mahogany table, sparsely covered
with dishes, looked small and lonely in the midst of
the shining floor. This feature of the beautiful room
impressed Curtis, and as they took seats opposite
each other he remarked, "If I were not here you
would be alone?"
"Yes, quite generally I breakfast alone. I enter
tain less than you would think. I'm a busy man
when at home."
"Well, the waste of room is criminal, Lawson,
that's all I have to say — criminal. You'll be called
upon to answer for it some time."
"I've begun to think so myself," replied the host,
significantly.
They talked mountain ranges and Pueblo dwellers,
and the theoretical relation of the mound-builders to
the small, brown races of the Rio Grande Valley,
touching also on the future of the redman; and all
the while Curtis was struggling with a benumbing
sense of his hopeless weakness in the face of a rival
like Lawson. He gave up all thought of seeing
Elsie again, and resolutely set himself 10 do the work
before him, eager to return to his duties in the West
ern foot-hills.
Lawson accompanied him to the Interior Depart
107
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
ment and introduced him to the Secretary, who had
the preoccupied air of a business man rather than the
assumed leisure of the politician. He shook hands
warmly, and asked his visitors to be seated while he
finished a paper in hand. At last he turned and
pleasantly began:
" I'm glad to meet you, Captain. Yours is a dis
tinguished name with us. We fully recognize the
value of your volunteer service, and hope to make
the best use of you. Our mutual friend, Lawson
here, threatens to make you Secretary in my stead/'
Here he looked over his spectacles with a grave and
accusing air, which amused Lawson greatly.
"Not so bad as that, Mr. Secretary/' he laughed.
" I merely suggested that Captain Curtis would make
an excellent President/'
"Oh, well, it all comes to the same thing." He
then became quite serious. "Now, Captain, I would
suggest that you put this whole matter as you see it,
together with your recommendations, into the briefest,
most telling form possible, and be ready to come be
fore the committee to-morrow. Confer with the com
missioner and be ready to meet the queries of the op
position. Brisbane is behind the cattlemen in this
controversy, and he is a strong man. I agree entirely
with you and Lawson that the Tetongs should re
main where they are and be helped in the way you
suggest. Be ready with computations of th« cost of
satisfying claims of the settlers, building ditches,
etc. Come and see me again before you return.
Good-morning/' and he bent to his desk with instant
absorption.
Lawson again led the way across the square in
108
CURTIS AT HEADQUARTERS
search of the commissioner's office. The large,
bare waiting-room was filled with a dozen or more
redmen, all wearing new blue suits and wide black
hats. They were smoking in contemplative silence,
with only an occasional word spoken in undertone.
It was plain they were expecting an audience with
the great white chief.
Several of them knew Lawson and cried out : " Ho !
Ho!" coming up one by one to shake hands, but they
glowed with pleasure as Curtis began to sign-talk
with them.
" Who are you?" he asked of one. " Oh! Northern
Cheyenne — I thought so. And you — you are Apache?"
he said to another. " I can tell that, too. What are
you all waiting for? To see the commissioner? Have
you had a good visit? Yes, I see you have nice new
suits. The government is good to you — sometimes."
They laughed at his sharp hits. " Well, don't stay
too long here. The white man will rob you of your
good clothes. Be careful of fire-water."
One old man, whose gestures were peculiarly flow
ing and dignified, thereupon signed: "When the
white man come to buy our lands we are great chiefs
— very tall; when we ask for our money to be paid
to us, then we are small, like children." This
caused a general laugh, in which Curtis joined. They
all wanted to know who he was, and he told them.
"Ah! we are glad for the Tetongs. They have a
good man. Tell the commissioner we are anxious
to council and go home — we are weary of this place."
Lawson, meanwhile, had entered the office and
now reappeared. "Mr. Brown will see you at once,
Captain."
109
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
The acting commissioner wore the troubled look
of a man sorely overworked and badly badgered.
He breathed a sigh of ostentatious relief as he faced
his two visitors, who came neither to complain nor to
ask favors. He studied Curtis contemplatively, his
pale face set in sad lines.
"I'm leaning on you in this Tetong business/' he
began. "I have so many similar fights all over the
West, I can't give you the attention you deserve. It
seems as though our settlers were insane over Indian
lands. I honestly believe, if we should lay out a res
ervation on the staked plains there 'd be a mad rush
for it. 'The Injun has it — let's take it away from
him/ seems to be the universal cry. I am pestered
to death with schemes for cutting down reservations
and removing tribes. It would seem as if these poor,
hunted devils might have a thumb-nail's breadth
of the continent they once entirely owned; but no,
so long as an acre exists they are liable to attack.
Fin worn out with the attempt to defend them. Ill
have nervous prostration or something worse if this
pressure continues. Yesterday nearly finished me.
What kind of pirates do you raise out there, any way ?"
Curtis listened with amazement to this frank avow
al, but Lawson only laughed, saying, in explanation :
** This is one of the commissioner's poor days. He'll
fight till the last ditch—"
"Irrigating ditch!" supplemented the commission
er. " Yes, there's another nightmare. Beautiful com
plication! The government puts the Indian on a
reservation so dry that water won't run down hill,
and then Lawson or some other friend of the Indian
conies in here and insists on irrigating ditches being
no
•
CURTIS AT HEADQUARTERS
put in, and then I am besieged by civil engineers for
jobs, and wild-eyed contractors twist my door-knobs
off. Captain Curtis, keep out of the Indian service
if you have any conscience."
"That's exactly why I recommended him," said
Lawson — "because he has a conscience."
" It '11 shorten his life ten years and do no material
good. Well, now, about this Tetong imbroglio."
Immediately he fell upon the problem with the
most intense application, and Curtis had a feeling
that his little season of plain speaking had refreshed
him.
Lawson went his way, but Curtis spent the remain
der of the day in the commissioner's office, putting
together his defence of the Tetongs, compiling fig
ures, and drawing maps to show the location of grass
and water. He did not rise from his work till the sig
nal for closing came, and even then he gathered his
papers together and took them home to his room in
the club in order to put the finishing touches to them.
While dressing for his dinner with Lieutenant
Kirkman, a classmate and comrade, he began to won
der how soon he could decently make his dinner-call
on the Brisbanes. It was shameful in him, of course,
but he had suddenly lost interest in the Kirkmans.
The day seemed lost because he had not been able to
see Elsie. There was a powerful longing in his heart,
an impatience which he had not experienced since
his early manhood. It was a hunger which had
lain dormant — scotched but not killed — for now it
rose from its mysterious lair with augmented power
to break his rest and render all other desires of no
account.
in
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
That night, after he returned from the Kirkmans',
where he had enjoyed an exquisite little dinner amid
a joyous chatter reviving old-time memories, he found
himself not merely wide-awake, but restless. His
brain seemed determined to reveal itself to him com
pletely. Pictures of his early life and the faces and
homes of his friends in the West came whirling in
orderless procession like flights of swift birds — now
a council with the Sioux ; now a dinnei of the staff of
General Miles; visions of West Point, a flock of them,
came also, and the faces of the girls he had loved
with a boy's fancy; and then, as if these were but
whisks of cloud scattering, the walls of great moun
tain ranges appeared behind, stern and majestic,
sunlit for a moment, only to withdraw swiftly into
gray night; and when he seized upon these sweeping
fragments and attempted to arrange them, Elsie's
proud face, with its dark, changeful eyes and beauti
ful, curving lips, took central place, and in the end
obscured all the rest.
The Kirkman home, the cheer, the tenderness of
the husband towards his dainty little wife, the obvious
rest and satisfaction of the man, betokening that the
ultimate of his desires had been reached, also came in
for consideration by the restless brain of the soldier-
mountaineer. "I shall never be at peace till I have
wife and child, that I now realize/' he acknowledged to
himself in the deep, solitary places of his thought.
Then he rose and took up the papers which he
had been preparing, and as he went over them again
he came to profounder realization than ever before
of the mighty tragedy whose final act he seemed
about to witness. His heart swelled with a great
112
CURTIS AT HEADQUARTERS
tenderness towards that fragment of a proucT and free
people who sat in wonder before the coming of an
infinite flood of alien races, helpless to stay it, appalled
by the breadth and power of the stream which swept
them away. He felt himself in some sense their
chosen friend — their Moses, to lead them out of the
desolation in which they sat bewildered and despair
ing. Thinking of them and of plans to help them, he
grew weary at last, his brain ceased to grind, and
he slept
XI
CURTIS GRAPPLES WITH BRISBANE
THE hearing took place at ten o'clock, but Cur
tis had opportunity for a little helpful consul
tation with Lawson before the chairman called the
committeemen to order. The session seemed unim
portant — perfunctory. The members sat for the most
part silent, ruminating, with eyes fixed on the walls
or upon slips of paper which they held abstractedly
in their hands. Occasionally some one of them would
rouse up to ask a question, but, in general, their atti
tudes were those of bored and preoccupied business
men. They came and went carelessly in response to
calls of their clerks, and Curtis perceived that they
had very little real interest in the life or death of the
redmen. He would have been profoundly discour
aged had not the chairman been alert and his ques
tions to the point. After his formal statement had
been taken and the hearing was over, the chairman
approached Curtis informally and showed a very hu
man sympathy for the Tetongs.
"Yes, I think we can hold this raid in check/' he
said, in answer to Curtis, and added, slowly, "I am
very glad to find a man of your quality taking up this
branch of service." He paused, and a smile wrinkled
his long, Scotch face. "They accuse me of being a
114
CURTIS GRAPPLES WITH BRISBANE
weak sentimentalist, because I refuse to consider the
redman in the light of a reptile. I was an abolition
ist " — the smile faded from his eyes and his thin lips
straightened — "in days when it meant something to
defend the negro, and in standing for the rights of
the redman I am merely continuing my life-work. It
isn't a question of whether I know the Indian or not,
though I know him better than most of my critics;
it's a question of his dues under our treaties. We
considered him a man when we bought his land, and
I insist he kshall be treated the same now. I should
like to hear from you — unofficially, of course — when
ever you have anything to say. Lawson's testimony "
— he laid a caressing hand on Lawson's shoulder — "is
worth more to me than that of a thousand land spec
ulators. He's a comfort to us, for we know he is dis
interested, and has nothing to gain or lose in any
question which concerns the reds, and we find very
much the same about you, Captain Curtis, and I am
determined that you shall have free hand."
Curtis shook hands with the old man with a sense
of security. Here, at least, wras a senator of the old
school, a man to be depended upon in time of trouble.
He began also to realize Lawson's power, for he
seemed to be the personal friend of every honest offi
cial connected with the department
As the two young men stepped out into the hall
they came face to face with Elsie and her father.
" Are we too late?" cried the girl " Is the hearing
over?"
"My part of it is," answered Curtis — "at least for
to-day. They may recall me to-morrow."
Brisbane was visibly annoyed. "I didn't sup-
US
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
pose you would come on till eleven; that's the word
I got over the 'phone. I particularly wanted to hear
your deposition," he added, sourly.
"Papa has an idea your opposition to this bill is
important/' Elsie said, lightly, as Curtis edged away
from Brisbane.
Brisbane followed him up. "Well, now that your
hearing is over, suppose you get into our carriage and
go home with us to lunch?"
"Please do I" said Elsie, with flattering sincerity.
Curtis hesitated, and was made captive. "It is a
great temptation," he said, looking at Lawson.
Elsie saw him yielding and cried out: "Oh, you
must come — and you, too, Osborne."
Lawson was plainly defeated. "I can't do it. I
have a couple of New York men to lunch at the club,
and I couldn't think of putting them off."
" Oh, I'm so sorry ; we would have made a nice little
lunch party."
"There are other days coming!" he replied, as
lightly as possible.
As they drove away Curtis had a premonition that
his impending interview would be disagreeable, for
Brisbane sat in silence, his keen eyes full of some
sinister resolution. He was, in fact, revolving in
his mind a plan of attack. He realized the danger
of attempting to bribe such a man even indirectly,
but a poor and ambitious soldier might be removed
by gentler means, through promotion; and friendly
pressure might be brought to bear on the War De
partment to that effect. Having set himself to the
task of clearing the reservation of the Tetongs, a man
*>f Brisbane's power did not hesitate long over the
116
CURTIS GRAPPLES WITH BRISBANE
morality of methods, and having decided upon pro
motion as his method of approaching Curtis, the old
man distinctly softened, and made himself agreeable
by extending the drive and affably pointing out the
recent improvements in the city. "Our Capitol is
as good as any now/' he said. "Our new buildings
are up to the standard/'
The young soldier refused to be drawn into any
blood-heating discussions, being quite content to sit
facing Elsie, feeling obscurely the soft roll of the
wheels beneath him, and absorbing the light and
color of ihe streets. "This is my city/' he said; "I
spent mj) boyhood here. I went to West Point from
here."
"It is beautiful," replied Elsie, and at the moment
a spark of some mysterious flame sprang from each
to the othei , They were young, and the air was soft
and sweet. Thereafter everything gave the young
soldier pleasure. The whistling of the darkies, the
gay garmei its of the shoppers, the glitter of passing
carriages, the spread of trees against the bright sky
— everything assumed a singular grace. His cour
age rose, an 1 he felt equal to any task.
As they entered the big house Elsie said : " You're
to come right up to the studio. I want to show you
a canvas I finished yesterday. I had an inspiration
—1 think yc/u brought it to me."
As she led the way up the wide and splendidly
carved stairway the soldier's elation sank away,
for each st(,p emphasized the girl's pride and power,
and by contrast threw the poor Indian agent into
hopeless s7\adow. He hardly heard what she said,
EiO flh? *td him before her easel and said :
117
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"There is yesterday's work. I've been trying for
days to get a certain effect of color, and, behold! I
caught it flying this morning. What puzzles me in
your country is the enormously high value of your
earth in reference to the sky. The sky is so solid/'
As he took in the significance of the canvas Cur
tis exclaimed :
"It is very beautiful. It is miraculous. How do
you do it?"
"Fm glad you like it. My problem there was to
represent the difference in value between Chief Elk,
who is riding in the vivid sunlight, and his wife and
Little Peta, who are just in the edge of that purple cloud-
shadow. The difference between white in sunlight
and white in shadow is something terrific in your
dry air. Contrasts are enough to knock you down.
This gray, Eastern studio light makes all my sketches
seem false, but I know they are not. "
"They are very true, it seems to me."
" When I close my eyes and hark back to the flood
ing light of the valley of the Elk, then I can do these
things; I can't if I don't. I have to forget all my
other pictures. This is nearer my impression than
anything else I've done."
"It has great charm," he said, after a pause, "and
it also reminds me of my duty. I must return at
once to the West."
" When do you go — actually?"
" Actually, I leave to-morrow at three o'clock ; un
less I receive word to the contrary, to-morrow morn
ing."
"So soon? You are making a very short stay.
Gan't you remain over the holidays? Some friends
118
CURTIS GRAPPLES WITH BRISBANE
of mine are coming on from New York. I'd like you
to meet them,"
"I think I must return. Jennie is preparing to
give her little 'Ingines' a Christmas-tree, and I am
told that my 'Sandy Claws' would add greatly to
their joy, so I am making special effort to reach there
on the 23d."
She looked at him musingly. "You really are
interested in those ugly creatures? I don't under
stand it."
'* To be really frank, I don't understand your lack
of sympathy," he replied, smiling a little. " It isn't
at all feminine."
She took a seat on the divan before she spoke again.
" Oh, women are such posers. You think I am quite
heartless, don't you?"
"No, I don't think that, but I do think you are a
little unjust to these people, whose thought you have
made very little effort to comprehend."
"Why should I? They are not worth while."
" Do you speak now as an artist?" he asked, grave-
ly.
"But they are so gross and so cruel!"
"I don't deny but they are, sometimes, both gross
and cruel, but so are civilized men. The scalp-dance
no more represents them than a bayonet charge rep
resents us. It isn't just to condemn all for the faults
of a few. You wouldn't destroy servant-girls because
some of them are ugly and untidy, would you?"
"The cases are not precisely similar."
"I'll admit that, but the point is here: as an ar
tist you can't afford to dispose of a race on the testi
mony of their hereditary enemies. You wouldn't
119
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
expect a sympathetic study of the Greek by the Sara
cen, would you?"
"It isn't that so much, but they are so perfectly
unimportant. They have no use in the world. What
does it matter if they die, or don't?"
" Perhaps not so much to them ; but to me, if I can
help them and fail to do it, it matters a great deal.
We can't afford to be unjust, for our own sake. The
bearer of the torch should not burn, he should illu
mine."
"I don't understand that/' she said, genuinely
searching for his meaning.
" There is where you disappoint me," he retorted.
"Most women quiver with altruistic passion the mo
ment they see helpless misery. If you saw a kitten
fall into a well what would you do?"
" I should certainly try to save it."
" Your heart would bleed to see it drown?"
She shivered at the thought. "Why, of course!"
" And yet you can share in your father's extermi
nating vengeance as he sweeps ten thousand red-
men into their graves?"
"The case is different — the kitten never did any
harm."
" The wrong is by no means all on the redman's
side. But even if it were, Christ said, 'Love them
that hate you/ and as a Christian nation we should
not go out in vindictive warfare against even those
who despitefully use us. I haven't a very high seat
in the synagogue. I have a soldier's training for war
fare, but I acknowledge the splendor of Christ's pre
cepts and try to live up to them. I always liked Grant's
position as regards the soldier. But* more than that
120
CURTIS GRAPPLES WITH BRISBANE
— I like these red people. They are a good deal more ,
than rude men. It is a great pleasur to feel their
trust and confidence in me. It touches me deeply
to have them come and put their palms on me rever
ently, as though I were superhuman in wisdom, and
say : ' Little Father, we are blind. We cannot see
the way. Lead us and we will go/ At such times
I feel that no other work in the world is so important.
If human souls are valuable anywhere on earth they
are valuable here; no selfish land-lust should blind
us to see that."
As he spoke, the girl again felt something large
and sweet and powerful, like a current of electrical
air which came out of wide spaces of human emotion
and covered her like a flood. She was humbled by
the high purpose and inexplicable enthusiasm of the
man before her.
"I suppose you consider me cruel and heartless!"
she cried out. "But I am not to blame for being^
what I am/'
"If you are not free, who is? You have it all —
youth, wealth, beauty. Nothing enslaves you but
indifference/'
She was thinking that Lawson had never moved
her so, and wishing Curtis were less inexorable in
his logic, when he checked himself by saying: "I
beg your pardon again. I came to see your pictures,
not to preach forgiveness of sins. I here pull my
self up short."
" I think you could make me feel personal interest
in brickbats or — or spiders/' she said, with a quaint,
relaxing smile. " You were born to be a preacher,
not a soldier."
121
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Do you think so? I've had a notion all along
that I was a fairly good commander and a mighty
poor persuader; what I don't intend to be is a bore/'
He rose and began to walk slowly round the walls,
studying the paintings under her direction. He was
struggling with obscure impulses to other and more
important speech, but after making the circuit of
the room he said, as though rendering a final verdict :
" You have great talent; that is evident. What do
you intend to do with it? It should help some one."
"You are old-fashioned/' she replied. "In our
modern day, art is content to add beauty to the world ;
it does not trouble itself to do good. It is un-moial."
" Perhaps I am a preacher, after all, for I like the
book or picture that has a motive, that stands for
something. Your conception of art's uses is French,
is it not?"
"I suppose it is; clearly, it isn't Germanic. What
would you have me do — paint Indians to convince
the world of their sufferings?"
"Wouldn't that be something like the work Mil
let did? Seems to me I remember something of that
sort in some book I have read."
She laughed. "Unfortunately, I am not Millet;
besides, he isn't the god of our present idolatry. He's
a dead duck. We paint skirt-dancers and the singers
in the caf e* s now. Toiling peasants are ' out.
"You are a woman, and a woman ought — "
" Please don't hand me any of that stupid rot about
what a woman ought to be, and isn't. What I am I
am, and I don't like dirty, ragged people, no matter
whether they are Roman beggars or Chinese. I
like clean, well-dressed, well-mannered people, and
122
CURTIS GRAPPLES WITH BRISBANE
no one can make me believe they are less than a lot
of ill-smelling Indians."
" Miss Brisbane, you must not do me an injustice/'
he earnestly entreated. "It was not my intention
to instruct you to-day. I am honestly interested in
your pictures, and had no thought of renewing an
appeal. I was tempted and fell. If you will forgive
me this time, I'll never preach again."
" I don't say I object to your preachment. I think
I rather like it. I don't think I ever met a man who
was so ready to sacrifice his own interest for an idea.
It's rather amusing to meet a soldier who is ready to
knock one down with a moral war-club." She end
ed with a mocking inflection of voice.
His face lost its eager, boyish expression. "I'm
delighted to think I have amused you," he said,
slowly. "It makes amends."
"Please don't be angry," she pleaded. "I didn't
mean to be flippant."
"Your words were explicit/' he replied, feeling at
the moment that she was making a mock of him,
and this duplicity hurt him.
She put forth her sweetest voice. "Please forgive
me! I think your work very noble, only I can't un
derstand how you can exile yourself to do it. Let
us go down ; it is time for lunch, and papa is waiting
for you, I know."
It was unaccountable that a mocking tone, a derisive
smile from this chance acquaintance, should so shake
the soldier and so weaken him, but he descended
the stairway with a humiliating consciousness of
having betrayed his heart to a fleering, luring daugh
ter of wealth.
123
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
At the door of the library the girl paused. " Papa,
are you asleep?"
The abrupt rustle of a newspaper preceded Bris
bane's deep utterance. "Not at all — just reading
the Star. Come in, Captain. Is lunch nearly ready ?"
he asked of Elsie.
" I think so. They are a little late. I'll go see. "
As she left the room Brisbane cordially rumbled
on. "Sit down, Captain. I'm. sorry I missed your
talk to-day. I am curious to know what your notion
is about the Tetongs. Of course, I understood you
couldn't go into the case the other night, but, now
that your testimony is all in, I hope you feel free to
give me your reasons for opposing our plan for a re
moval of the tribe/'
Curtis took a seat, while Brisbane stretched him
self out in a big chair and fixed his cold, gray-blue
eyes on the soldier, who hesitated a moment before
reptying, " I don't think it wise to go into that matter,
Senator."
" Why not ?"
" Well, we differ so radically on the bill, and your
interests make it exceedingly difficult for you to be just
in the case. Nothing would be gained by argument."
"You think you know what my interests are?"
There was a veiled sarcasm in the great man's smile.
"I think I do. As a candidate for re-election to
the Senate you can't afford to antagonize the cattle
and mining interests of your State, and, as I am
now officially the representative of the Tetongs, I
sincerely hope you will not insist on a discussion of
the motives involved." The young officer spoke
firmly, but with impressive dignity and candor.
124
CURTIS GRAPPLES WITH BRISBANE
Brisbane's ambiguous manner took a sudden shift
to cordiality, and, leaning forward, he said :
"Curtis, I like you. I admire your frankness.
Let me be equally plain. You're too able a man to
be shelved out there on a bleak reservation. What
was your idea of going into the Indian service, any
way?"
The young officer remained on guard despite this
genial glow. "I considered it my duty/' he replied.
"Besides, I was rusting out in garrison, and — but
there is no need to go into my motives. I am agent,
and shall stand firmly for the right of my wards so
long as I am in position to do so/'
" But you're wasting your life. Suppose you were
offered a chance to go to — well, say West Point, as an
instructor on a good salary?"
"I would decline the appointment."
"Why?"
"Because at this time I am needed where I am,
and I have started on a plan of action which I have
a pride in finishing."
Brisbane grew distinctively less urbane. " You are
bent on fighting me, are you?"
"What do you mean?" asked Curtis, though he
knew.
"You are dead set against the removal of the Te-
tongs?"
"Most certainly I am!"
Elsie re-entered the room during this rapid inter
change of phrase, but neither of the men heard her,
so intent were they upon each other.
" Young man, do you know who you are fighting?"
asked Brisbane, bristling like a bear and showing
125
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
his teeth a little. Curtis being silent, he went on:
" You're lined up against the whole State! Not only
the cattlemen round about the reservation, but a ma
jority of the citizens are determined to be rid of those
vagabonds. Anybody that knows anything about
'em knows they're a public nuisance. Why should
they be allowed to camp on land which they can't use
— graze their mangy ponies on lands rich in min
erals—"
" Because they are human beings."
"Human beings I" sneered Brisbane. "They are
nothing but a greasy lot of vermin — worthless from
every point of view. Their rights can't stand in the
way of civilization."
" It is not a question of whether they are clean or
dirty, it is a question of justice/' Curtis replied,
hotly. " They came into the world like the rest of
us, without any choice in the matter, and so far as I
can see have the same rights to the earth — at least,
so much of it as they need to sustain life. The fact
that they make a different use of the soil than you
would do isn't a sufficient reason for starving and
robbing them/'
" The quicker they die the better/' replied BrisbaneP
flushing with sudden anger. "The only good In
jun is a dead Injun."
At this familiar phrase Curtis took fire. "Yes,
I expected that accursed sentence. Let me tell you,
Mr. Brisbane, I never knew a redman savage enough
to utter such a sentiment as that. The most fero
cious utterance of Geronimo never touched the tiger
ish malignity of that saying. Sitting Bull was will
ing to live and let live. If your view represents civil-
126
CURTIS GRAPPLES WITH BRISBANE
ization, I want none of it The world of the savage
is less cruel, less selfish. "
Brisbane's face writhed white, and a snarling
curse choked his utterance for a moment. " If you
weren't my guest/' he said, reaching a clutching
hand towards Curtis, "I'd cut your throat."
Elsie, waiting in strained expectancy, cried out:
"Father! What are you saying? Are you crazy?"
Curtis hastily rose, very white and very quiet.
" I will take care not to put myself in your way as
guest again, sir."
"You can't leave too quick!" roared the old man,
his face twitching with uncontrollable wrath. "You
are a traitor to your race I You'd sacrifice the set
tlers to the interests of a greasy red vagabond 1"
"Father, be quiet! You are making a scene/'
called Elsie, and added, sadly: "Don't go, Captain
Curtis ; I shall be deeply mortified if you do. Father
will be sorry for this/'
Brisbane also rose, shaking with a weakness pitiful
to see. "Well, sir, you can go, for I know now the
kind of sneak you are. Let me tell you this, young
man: you'll feel my hand before you are a year older.
You can't come into my house and insult me in the
presence of my daughter. Get out!" His hands
were moving uncontrollably, and Elsie discovered
with a curious pang that she was pitying him and
admiring the stern young soldier who stood quietly
waiting for an opportunity to speak. At last he said :
"Miss Brisbane, I beg your pardon; I should not
have said what I did." He turned to Brisbane. "I
am sorry I spoke so harshly, sir. You are an older
man than I, and — "
127
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Never mind my age/' replied Brisbane, his heat
beginning to cool into self-contained malice. "I de
sire no terms of friendship with you. It's war now
— to the knife, and the knife to the hilt. You think
you are safe from me, but the man that lines up against
me generally regrets it to the day of his death."
"Very well, sir, I am not one to waste words. I
shall do my duty to the Tetongs regardless of you
or your friends." He turned to Elsie. "Miss Bris
bane. I ask you to remember that I honestly tried to
avoid a controversy."
Six months before Elsie would have remained pas
sive while her father ordered Curtis from the door,
but now she could not even attempt to justify his
anger, and the tears glistened on her lashes as she
said : " Father, why can't you accept Captain Curtis 's
hand? These ragamuffin redmen aren't worth quar
relling about. No one ever went away from us like
this, and it breaks my heart to have it so. Don't go,
Captain Curtis. Father, ask his pardon."
The old man turned towards her. "Go to your
room. I will see that this young squirt finds the
door!"
Elsie shrank from the glare of his eyes. " Father,
you are brutal ! You hurt me."
"Do as I say!" he snarled.
"I will not!" She faced him, tall and resolute.
" I am not a child. I am the mistress of this house. "
She turned and walked towards the door. " Captain
Curtis, I beg your pardon; my father has forgotten
himself."
Brisbane took a step towards Curtis. "Get out!
And YOU, girl, leave the room."
128
CURTIS GRAPPLES WITH BRISBANE
The girl's face whitened. " Have you no sense of
decency?" she said, and her voice cut deep down
into his heart and he flinched. "Captain Curtis is
my guest as well as yours." She extended her
hand. " Please go 1 It is best. "
"It is the most miserable moment of my life/' he
replied, as they moved down the hall, leaving Bris
bane at the door of the study. " I will do any hon
orable thing to regain your good- will."
" You have not lost it," she replied. " I cannot
blame you — as I should," she added, and the look on
her face mystified him.
" May I see you again before I leave for the West ?"
" Perhaps," she softly replied. " Remember he is
old— and— "
" I will try not to bear anger," he replied.
And as he turned away it seemed that she had
leagued herself with him against her own father,
and this feeling deepened as she ran up the stairs
heedless of the voice whose commands had hitherto
been law to her.
The young officer walked down the sunny avenue
towards the White House with a curious feeling of
having just passed through a bitter and degrading
dream. He was numb and cold. Around him the
little negro newsboys were calling the one- o'clock
editions of the " Sty ah'9 and tne pavements were
swarming with public servants hastening to lunch,
punctual as clocks, while he, having been ordered
from the house of his host, was mechanically return
ing to his club.
There was something piercingly pathetic in the
thought of the good cheer he had anticipated, and
9 129
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
the lost pleasure of sitting opposite Elsie made his
heart ache. At the moment his feet stumbled in the
path of duty. Surely he was a long way from the
single-minded map-builder who had crossed the
Sulphur Spring Divide.
xn
SPRING ON THE ELK
SPRING came early in that latitude, and Curtis
was profoundly thankful that his first winter
had proven unusually short and mild, for it enabled
him to provide for his people far better than he had
dared to hope. The rations were insufficient at best,
and for several days of each alternate week the grown
people were hungry as well as cold, though no one
actually perished from lack of food. Beyond the
wood contract and the hauling of hides each month
there was very little work to be done during the win
ter, not enough to buy the tobacco the men longed
for.
They believed in Swift Eagle, however, for he
visited every cluster of huts each month, and became
acquainted with nearly every family during the win
ter. No agent had ever taken the like pains to shake
the old women by the hand, or to speak as kindly to
the old men who sat beside the fire, feeble and bent
with rheumatism. The little children all ran to him
when he came near, as if he were a friend, and that
was a good sign, too. Some of the old chiefs com
plained, of course — there was so little else for them
to do; but they did not blame the Little Father.
They were assured of his willingness to do whatever
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
lay within his power to mitigate their poverty. Jen
nie, who was often at the beds of those who suf
fered, had won wide acceptance of her lotions by an
amused tolerance of the medicine - men, whose mys
tic paraphernalia interested her exceedingly. The
men of magic came at last to sing their curious songs
and perform their feats of healing in her presence.
" Together we will defeat the evil spirits/' they said,
and the health of the tribe continued to be very good,
in spite of unsanitary housing and the evil influence
of the medicine-men. When the missionaries came
to have the native doctors suppressed Curtis said :
" My policy is to supplant, not to suppress."
The bill which called for the removal of the Tetongs
to another reservation was reported killed. The
compromise measure for buying out the settlers was
" hung up " in the committee-room, and this delay on
the part of Congress exasperated the settlers beyond
reason, and at a convention held early in April at
Pinon City, Joseph Streeter brazenly shouted, "If
the government does not remove these Injuns before
the first of July we'll make it hot for all concerned/'
and his threat was wildly cheered and largely quoted
thereafter as the utterance of a man not afraid of
Congress or anybody else.
Seed-time came without any promise of change,
and the white settlers on the reservation went sullenly
to their planting, and the cattlemen drove their herds
across the boundaries upon the Tetong range as they
had been doing for many years. " We are in for an
other season of it," they said, with the air of being
martyrs in the cause of civilization.
Curtis immediately sent warning commands to
132
SPRING ON THE ELK
all the outside ranchers to keep clear of the reserva
tion, and also notified Streeter, Johnson, and others
of the settlers on the Elk and the Willow that their
cattle must not be allowed to stray beyond certain
lines, which he indicated. These orders, according
to Calvin, made the settlers "red-headed as wood
peckers. They think you're drawin' the lines down
pretty fine."
"I mean to," replied Curtis. "You original set
tlers are here by right and shall have full opportunity
to graze your stock, but those on the outside must
keep out. I will seize and impound all stock that does
not belong on this land."
Calvin reported this statement to the outside men,
and its audacity provoked the most violent threats
against the agent, but he rode about unaccompanied
and unarmed; but not without defence, for Calvin
said to one of the loudest of the boasters, " The man
who jerks a gun on Curtis runs a good chance of
losing a lung or two/' and the remark took effect, for
Calvin had somehow acquired a reputation for being
"plumb sassy when attack-ted."
Curtis had the army officer's contempt of personal
injury, and, in pursuance of his campaign against
the invading stockmen, did not hesitate to ride into
their round-up camps alone, or accompanied only
by Crow Wing, and no blusterer could sustain his
reputation in the face of the agent's calm sense of
command.
" I am not speaking personally/' he said once, to an
angry camp of a dozen armed men. " I am here as an
officer of the United States army, detailed to special
duty as an Indian agent, and I am in command of
133
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
this reservation. It is of no use to bluster. Your
cattle must be kept from the Tetong range."
" The grass is going to waste there/' the boss ar
gued.
" That does not concern you. It is not the fault of
the Tetongs that they have not cattle enough to fill
the range/'
In the end he had his way, and though the settlers
and ranchers hated him, they also respected him.
No one thought of attempting to bribe or scare him,
and political " pull " had no value in his eyes.
Jennie, meanwhile, had acquired almost mythic
fame as a marvellously beautiful and haughty
"queen/' Calvin was singularly close - mouthed
about her, but one or two of the cowboys who had
chanced to meet her with the agent spread the most
appreciative reports of her beauty and of the gar
ments she wore. She was said to be a singer of opera
tunes, and that she played the piano "to beat the
Jews/' One fellow who had business with the agent
reported having met her at the door. " By mighty 1
she's purty enough to eat," he said to his chum.
"Her cheeks are as pink as peaches, and her eyes
are jest the brown I like. She's a 'glad rag/ all
right."
"Made good use o' your time, didn't ye?" remarked
his friend.
"You bet your life! I weren't lettin' nothin' git
by me endurin' that minute or two."
"I bet you dursn't go there again."
"I take ye — I'll go to-morrow."
"Without any business, this time? No excuse
but jest to see her? You 'ain't got the nerve."
134
SPRING ON THE ELK
"You'll see. I'm the boy. There ain't no 'rag*
gay enough to scare me."
It became a common joke for some lank, brown
chap to say carelessly, as he rose from supper, " Well,
I guess Fll throw a saddle onto my bald-faced sorrel
and ride over and see the agent's sister." In reality,
not one of them ever dared to even knock at the door,
and when they came to the yards with a consign
ment of cattle they were as self-conscious as school
boys in a parlor and uneasy as wolves in a trap, till
they were once more riding down the trail ; then they
" broke loose/' whooping shrilly and racing like mad,
in order to show that they had never been afraid.
Calvin continued to call, and his defence of the agent
had led to several sharp altercations with his father.
The red people expanded and took on cheer under
the coming of the summer, like some larger form of in
sect life. They were profoundly glad of the warmth.
The old men, climbing to some rounded hill-top at
dawn, sat reverently to smoke and offer incense to
the Great Spirit, which the sun was, and the little
children, seeing the sages thus in deep meditation,
passed quietly by with a touch of awe.
As the soft winds began to blow, the dingy huts
were deserted for the sweeter and wholesomer life of
the tepee, which is always ventilated, and which has
also a thousand memories of battle and the chase asso
ciated with its ribbed walls, its yellowed peak, and its
smouldering fires. The sick grew well and the weak
became strong as they passed once more from the
foul air of their cabins to the inspiriting breath of
the mountains, uncontaminated by any smoke of
white man's fire. The little girls went forth on the
135
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
hills to gather flowers for the teachers, and the medi
cine - men, taking great credit to themselves, said :
"See! our incantations again prevailed. The sun
is coming back, the grass is green, and the warm
winds are breathing upon the hills."
"Ay, but you cannot bring back the buffalo/'
said those who doubted, for there are sceptics among
the redmen as elsewhere. " When you do that, then
we will believe that you are really men of magic."
But the people did not respond cheerfully to Curtis
when he urged them to plant gardens. They said :
" We will do it, Little Father, but it is of no use. For
two years we tried it, and each year the hot sun dried
our little plants. Our corn withered and our potatoes
came to nothing. Do not ask us to again plough
the hard earth. It is all a weariness to no result."
To Jennie, Curtis said: "I haven't the heart to
push them into doing a useless thing. They are right.
I must wait until we have the water of the streams
for our own use."
The elder Streeter was very bitter, Calvin reported.
" But he ain't no idyot. He won't make no move that
the law don't back him up in ; but some o' these other
yaps are talkin' all kinds of gun-play. But don't
you lose any flesh. They got to git by me before
they reach you."
Curtis smiled. "Calvin, you're a loyal friend,
but I am not a bit nervous."
" That's ail right, Captain, but you can't tell what
a mob o' these la-hees will do. I've seen 'em make
some crazy plays — I sure have ; but I'll keep one ear
lapped back for signs of war."
XIII
ELSIE PROMISES TO RETURN
ONE beautiful May day Curtis came into the
house with shining face.
"Sis, our artists are coming back," he called to
Jennie from the hall.
" Are they ? Oh, isn't that glorious ! " she answered,
running to meet him. " When are they to reach here?
Whom did you hear from?"
" Lawson. They can't come till some time in June,
however. "
Jennie's face fell. " In June ! I thought you meant
they were coming now — right away — this week."
"Lawson furthermore writes that he expects to
bring a sculptor with him — a Mr. Parker. You
remember those photographs he showed us of some
statues of Indians? Well, this is the man who made
the figures. His wife is coming as chaperon for
Miss Brisbane."
"She still needs a chuperon, does she?"
"It would seem so^ Besides, Mrs. Parker goes
everywhere with her hiisband."
"I hope she'll be as Aice as Mrs. Wilcox."
I don't think Larson would bring any crooked
timber along — there n(iust be something worth while
in them."
137
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Well, I am delighted, George. I confess I'm
hungry for a message from the outside world; and
during the school vacation we can get away once in
a while to enjoy ourselves/'
The certainty of the return of the artistic colony
changed Curtis 's entire summer outlook. Work had
dragged heavily upon him during February and
March, and there were moments when his enthu
siasm ebbed. It was a trying position. He began
to understand how a man might start in his duties
with the most commendable desire, even solemn res
olution, to be ever kindly and patient and self-re
specting, and end by cursing the redmen and him
self most impartially. Misunderstandings are so
easy where two races are forced into daily contact,
without knowledge of each other's speech, and with
only a partial comprehension of each other's outlook
on the world. Some of the employes possessed a
small vocabulary of common Tetong words, but they
could neither explain nor reason about any act. They
could only command. Curtis, by means of the sign
language, which he had carried to marvellous clear
ness and swiftness, was able to make himself under
stood fairly well on most topics, but nevertheless
found himself groping at times in the obscure caverns
of their thinking.
" Even after a man gets their thought he must com
prehend the origin of their motives/' he said to Wil
son, his clerk. "Everything; they do has meaning
and sequence. They have developed, like ourselves,
through countless generation,! of life under relative
ly stable conditions. These material conditions are
now giving way, are vanishing, but the mental traits
ELSIE PROMISES TO RETURN
they formed will persist. Think of this when you
are impatient with them/'
Wilson took a pessimistic view. " I defy the angel
Gabriel to keep his temper if he should get himself ap
pointed clerk. If I was a married man I could make
a better mark; but there it is — they can't see me/'
He ended with a deep sigh.
Curtis took advantage of Lawson's letter to write
again to Elsie, and though he considered it a very
polite and entirely circumspect performance, his fer
vor of gladness burned through every line, and the
girl as she read it fell to musing on the singular
ity of the situation. He was in her mind very often,
now ; the romance and the poetry of the work he was
doing began at last to appeal to her, and the knowl
edge that she, in a sense, shared the possibilities
with him, was distinctly pleasurable. She had per
ception enough to feel also the force of the contrast
in their lives, he toiling thanklessly on a barren,
sun-smit land, in effort to lead a subject race to self-
supporting freedom, while she, dabbling in art for
art's sake, sat in a secure place and watched him
curiously.
"How well he writes/' she thought, returning to
his letter. His sentences clutched her like strong
hands, and she could not escape them. As she read
she drew again the splendid lines of his head in pro
file, and then, a sentence later, it seemed that he was
' looking straight into her eyes, grave of countenance,
involved in some moral question whose solution he
considered essential to his happiness and to the wel
fare of his people. Surely he was a most uncommon
soldier. When she had finished reading she was
139
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
sincerely moved to reply. She had nothing def
initely in mind to say, and yet somehow she visual
ized him at his desk waiting an answer. " The worst
of it is, we seem to have no topic in common except
his distressing Indians/' she said, as she returned
to her work. "Even art to him means painting the
redmen sympathetically/'
But he could not be put aside. He was narrow
and one-sided, but he was sincere and manly — and
handsome. That was the very worst of it; he was
too attractive to be forgotten. Therefore she took up
her pen again, being careful to keep close to artistic
motives. She spoke of the success of her spring ex
hibition, and said : " It has confirmed me in the desire
to go on valiantly in the same line. That is the rea
son I am coming back to the Tetongs. I feel that
I begin to know them — artistically, I mean; not as
you know them — and I need your blazing sunlight
to drink up the fogs that I brought from Holland
and Belgium. The prismatic flare of color out there
pleases me. It's just the white ray split into its
primary colors, but I can get it. I'm going to do
more of those canvases of the moving figure blended
with the landscape; they make a stunning technical
problem in vibration as well as in values ; and then
the critics shout over them, too. I sold the one you
liked so well, and also five portraits, and feel vastly
encouraged. Owen Field was over from New York
and gave me a real hurrah. I am going to exhibit
in New York next fall if all goes well with me among
the Tetongs/'
XIV
ELSIE REVISITS CURTIS
JENNIE thought her brother the handsomest man
I in the State as they walked up and down the
station platform waiting for the express train which
was bringing Elsie and Lawson and a famous Pari
sian-American sculptor and his wife. Curtis was in
undress uniform, and in the midst of the slouching
crowd of weather-beaten loafers he seemed a man of
velvet -green parade grounds and whitewashed pal
ings, commanding lines of polished bayonets.
He was more profoundly stirred at the thought of
Elsie's coming than he cared to admit, but Jen
nie's delight was outspoken. "I didn't know how
hungry for a change I was," she said. " They will
bring the air of the big city world with them."
The whistle of the far-off train punctuated her
sentences. "Oh, George, doesn't it seem impossible
that in a few moments the mistress of that great Wash
ington home will descend the car-steps to meet us?"
"Yes, I can't believe it," he replied, and his hands
trembled a little as he nervously buttoned his coat.
The train came rapidly to a stop, with singing rods,
grinding brakes, and the whiz of escaping steam.
Some ordinary mortals tumbled out, and then the
wonderful one!
141
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
i
"There they are!" cried Jennie. "And, oh —
aren't her clothes maddening 1"
Lawson, descending first, helped Elsie to the plat
form with an accepted lover's firm touch. She wore
a blue-cloth tailored suit which fitted marvellously,
and her color was more exquisite than ever. Ad
miring Jennie fairly gasped as the simple elegance
of Elsie's habit became manifest, and she had only a
glance for the sculptor and his wife.
Elsie, with hands extended, seized upon them both
with cordial intensity. A little flurry of hand-shak
ings followed, and at last Mr. and Mrs. Jerome
Parker were introduced. He was a tall man with a
bush of yellow beard, while she was dark and plain;
but she had a pleasant smile, and her eyes were nice
and quiet.
"Do you know, I'm overjoyed to get back!" said
Elsie to Curtis. "I don't know why I should be, but
I've been eagerly looking for the Cleft Butte all day.
Jerome will tell you that I expressed a sort of propri
etorship in every prairie-dog/'
"We are very glad to have you here again," re
plied Curtis. " And now that you are here, we must
get your belongings together and get away. We are
to camp to-night at the Sandstone Spring."
"A real camp?"
" A real camp. We could drive through, of course,
but it would be tiresome, and then I thought you'd
enjoy the camp."
" Of course we shall. It's very thoughtful of you. "
" Everything will be ready for us. I left Two Horns
to look after it."
"Then it will be right," said Lawson, who was
142
ELSIE REVISITS CURTIS
beaming with placid joy. "Isn't it good to breathe
this air again? It was stifling hot in Alta City. I
never knew it to be hotter in the month of June."
While they talked, Crane's Voice was collecting
the trunks, and in a few minutes, with Elsie by his
side, Curtis drove his three -seated buckboard out
upon the floor of the valley, leaving the squalid town
behind. Lawson and Mrs. Parker occupied the mid
dle seat, and Jennie and the tall sculptor sat behind.
They were all as merry as children. Elsie took off
her hat and faced the sun with joyous greeting.
"Isn't this glorious? I've dreamed of this every
night for a month."
" That's one thing the Tetong has — good, fresh air,
and plenty of it," said Lawson.
"A thin diet, sometimes/' Curtis replied. He
turned to Elsie. "Your studio is all ready for you,
and I have spoken to a number of the head men
about you. You'll not lack sitters. They are eager
to be immortalized at your convenience."
" You are most kind — I am going to work as never
before."
"You mustn't work too hard. I have a plan for
an outing. One of my districts lies up in the head
waters of the Willow. I propose that we all go camp
ing up there for a couple of weeks."
"Do you hear that, Osborne?" she called, turning
her head.
"I did not— what is it?"
Curtis repeated his suggestion, and Parker shouted
with joy. " Just what I want to do/' he said.
Curtis went on : " We'll find the redman living
there under much more favorable conditions than
143
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
down in the hot valley. We have a saw-mill up in
the pines, and the ladies can stay in the superin
tendent's house — "
"Oh no!" interrupted Elsie. "We must camp.
Don't think of putting us under a roof." A little
later she said, in a low voice : " Father is in Chicago,
and expects to be out here later. I mean, he's com
ing to make a tour of the State/'
"How is his health?" Curtis asked, politely.
Her face clouded. "He's not at all well. He is
older than he realizes. I can see he is failing, and he
ought not to go into this senatorial fight." After
a pause she said : " He was quite ill in March, and
I nursed him; he seemed very grateful, and we've
been very good friends since."
" I'm glad of that," he replied, and bent closely to
his driving.
"You drive well, Captain."
" An Indian agent needs to be able to do anything. "
"May I drive?"
" You will spoil your gloves. "
" Please 1 I'll take them off. I'm a famous whip. "
She smiled at him with such understanding as they
had never before reached, as she stripped her gloves
from her hands and dropped them at her feet. " Now
let me take the reins," she said. He surrendered
them to her unhesitatingly.
"I believe you can drive," he said, exultantly.
Her hands were as beautiful as her face, strong
and white, and exquisitely modelled ; but he, looking
upon them with keen admiration, caught the gleam
of a diamond on the engagement finger. This should
not have chilled him, but it did. Then he thought:
144
ELSIE REVISITS CURTIS
" It is an engagement ring. She is now fairly bound
to Lawson," and a light that was within him went
out. It was only a tiny, wavering flame of hope, but
it had been burning in opposition to his will all the
year.
As she drove, they talked about the grasses and
flowers, the mountain range far beyond, the camping
trip, and a dozen other impersonal topics which did
not satisfy Curtis, though he had no claim to more
intimate phrase. She, on her part, was perfectly
happy, and retained her hold of the reins and the whip
in spite of his protest.
"You must not spoil your beautiful hands," he
protested; "they are for higher things. Please re
turn the lines to me."
"Oh no! Please! Just another half -hour— till
we reach that butte. I'm stronger than you think.
I am accustomed to the whip."
She had her way in this, and drove nearly the en
tire afternoon. When he took the reins at last, her
fingers were cramped and swollen, but her face was
deeply flushed with pleasure.
"I've had a delicious drive/' she gratefully re
marked.
At the foot of a tall butte Curtis turned his team
and struck into a road leading to the left. This road
at once descended upon a crescent-shaped, natural
meadow enclosed by a small stream, like a babe in a
sheltering arm. All about were signs of its use as a
camping-ground. Sweat lodges, broken tepee-poles,
piles of blackened stones, and rings of bowlders told
of the many fires that had been built. Willows fringed
the creek, while to the south and west rose a tall, bare
145
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
hill, on which a stone tower stood like a sentinel war
rior.
Elsie cried out in delight of the place. "Isn't it
romantic!" Already the sun, sinking behind the
hill, threw across the meadow a mysterious purple
gloom, out of which a couple of tents gleamed like
gray bowlders.
" There is your house to-night/' said Curtis. " See
the tents?"
" How tiny they look!" Elsie exclaimed, in a hushed
voice, as though fearing to alarm and put them to
flight.
"They are small, but as night falls you will be
amazed to discover how snug and homelike they
can become."
Two Horns came to meet them, and Parker cried
out, "Hello! see the big Indian I"
The chief greeted Lawson with a deep and hearty
"Hah! Nawson — my friend. How! How!" And
Lawson, with equal ceremony, replied, in Dakota :
"I am well, my brother; how is it with you?"
"My heart is warm towards you."
Elsie gave him her hand, and he took it without
embarrassment or awkwardness. "I know you;
you make pictures/' he said, in his own tongue.
"Jerusalem, but he's a stunner!" said Parker.
"Hello, old man! How you vass, ain't it?" and he
clapped the old man on the shoulder.
Two Horns looked at him keenly, and the smile faded
from his face. " Huh ! Big fool," he said to Lawson.
" You mustn't talk to an Indian like that, Parker,
if you expect to have his friendship," said Lawson.
"Two Horns hates over-familiarity."
146
ELSIE REVISITS CURTIS
"Oh, he does, does he?" laughed Parker. "Kind
of a Ward McAllister, hey?"
Lawson, a little later, said, privately : " That was
a bad break, Parker ; you really must treat these head
men with decent respect or they'll hoodoo you so
you can't get any models. Two Horns is a gentle
man, and you must at least equal him in reserve
and dignity or he will report you a buffoon."
Parker, who had done his figures from models pro
cured in Paris from Buffalo Bill's show, opened his
eyes wide.
"Lawson, you're joking!"
"You'll find every word I tell you true. I advise
you to set to work now and remove your bad impres
sion from Two Horns, who is one of the three princi
pal chiefs. You can't come out here and clap these
people on the back and call 'em 'old hoss.' That
will do in some of the stories you read, but realities
are different. You'll find money won't command
these people, either."
" I thought they liked to be treated as equals?"
"They do, but they don't like to have a stranger
too free and easy. You haven't been introduced
yet."
While Crane's Voice attended to the teams, Jennie
and Two Horns worked at getting supper. Their
comradeship was charming to see, and the Parkers
looked on with amazement. Two Horns, deft, atten
tive, careful, anticipated every want. Nothing could
be finer than the perfectly cheerful assistance he ren
dered the pretty cook. His manner was like that of
an elder brother rather than that of a servant.
"I didn't suppose Indians ever worked around a
147
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
camp, and especially with a woman/' remarked
Parker.
"What you don't know about Indians is still a
large volume, Parker/' retorted Lawson. "If you
stay around with this outfit for a few weeks you'll
gather a great deal of information useful for a sculp
tor of redmen."
Elsie took Lawson mildly to task for his sharp
reply.
Lawson admitted that it made him impatient when
a man like Parker opened his mouth on things he knew
nothing about. "You never can tell what your best
friend will do, can you? Parker is decidedly fresh.
If he keeps on he'll become tiresome."
El^ie presumed on her enormous experience of three
months on the reservation, and gave Parker many
valuable hints of how to wheedle the Tetongs in per
sonal contact.
"It seems I'm being schooled," he complained.
"You need it," was Lawson's disconcerting reply.
As night fell, and the fire began to glow in the cool,
sweet dark with increasing power, they all sat round
the flame and planned the trip into the mountains.
"I have some Tetongs up there who are disposed
to keep very clear of the agency. Red Wolf is their
head man. You may all go with me and see my
council with him if you like."
"Oh! that will be glorious fun!" cried Elsie.
But Parker asked, a little anxiously, " You think
it safe?" which amused Curtis, and Parker hastened
to explain : " You've no idea what a bad reputation
these Tetongs have. Anyhow, I would not feel justi
fied in taking Mrs. Parker into any danger."
148
ELSIE REVISITS CURTIS
" She is quite safe/' replied Curtis. " I will answer
for the action of my wards/'
"Well, if you are quite sure!"
" How far away Washington seems nowl" remarked
Elsie, after a silence. "I feel as if I had gone back
to the very beginning of things."
"It seems the end of things for the Tetongs," re
plied Lawson. " We forget that fact sometimes when
we are anxious to have them change to our ways.
Barring out a few rudenesses, their old life was a
beautiful adaptation of organism to environment.
Isn't that so, Curtis?"
" It certainly had its idyllic side."
" But they must have been worried to death for fear
of getting scalped," said Parker.
"Oh, they didn't war much till the white man came
to disturb them, by crowding one tribe into another
tribe's territory. Their 'wars' were small affairs —
hardly more than skirmishes. That they were in
frequent is evident from the importance given small
forays in their ' winter counts.' '
One by one the campers began to yawn, and Jen
nie and Mrs. Parker withdrew into the tent reserved
for the women, but Lawson and Elsie and Curtis
still remained about the fire. The girl's eyes were
wide with excitement. "Isn't it delicious to be a
little speck of life in this limitless world of darkness?
Osborne, why didn't we camp last year?"
" I proposed it, but Mat tie would not hear to it. I
have a notion that you also put my suggestion aside
with scorn."
She protested that he was mistaken. "It is the
only way to get close to these wild people. I begin
149
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROO?
to understand them as I sit here beside this fire. What
do you suppose Two Horns is thinking about as he
sits over there smoking?"
As they talked, Lawson began to yawn also, and
at last said : " Elsie Bee Bee, I am sleepy, and I know
Curtis is."
"Not at all/' protested Curtis. "I'm just coming
to myself. As the camp-fire smoulders the night
is at its best. Besides, I'm in the midst of a
story."
"Well, I didn't sleep very well last night," began
Lawson, apologetically. "I think — if you don't
mind—"
" Go to bed, Sleepy Head," laughed Elsie. " Well
excuse you."
"I believe I will," and off he went, leaving the two
young people alone.
" Go on ! " cried Elsie. " Tell me all about it. "
Curtis glowed with new fire at this proof of her in
terest. " Well, there we were, Sergeant Pierce, Stand
ing Elk, and myself, camped in Avalanche Basin,
which at that time of the year is as full of storms
as a cave is of bats." A yelping cry on the hill
back of them interrupted him. "There goes a coy
ote! Now the night is perfect," he ended, with a
note of exultant poetry.
She drew a little nearer to him. "I don't enjoy
that cry as well as you do," she said, with a touch of
delicious timidity in her voice. "That's the woman
of it, isn't it?"
"I know how harmless he is." After a pause, he
slowly said : " This is the farthest reach of the im
aginable — that you should sit here beside my fire in
150
ELSIE REVISITS CURTIS
this wild land. It must seem as much of a dream to
you as your splendid home was to me."
"I didn't suppose these things could shake me so.
How mysterious the world is when night makes it
lone and empty! I never realized it before. That
hill behind us, and the wolf — and see those willows
by the brook. They might be savages creeping upon
us, or great birds resting, or any silent, threatening
creature of the darkness. If I were alone my heart
would stand still with awe and fear of them/'
"They are not mysterious to me/' he made an
swer. "Only in the sense that space and dusk are
inexplicable. After all, the wonder of the universe
is in our brains, like love, rather than in the object
to which we attribute mystery or majesty. To the
Tetong, the simplest thing belonging to the white
race is mysterious — a button, a cartridge, a tin-plate.
'How are they made? What are they built for?' he
asks. So, deeply considered, all nature is inexpli
cable to us also. We white children of the Great
Ruler push the mystery a little further back, that is
all. Once I tried to understand the universe; now
I am content to enjoy it."
"Tell me, how did you first become interested in
these people?"
He hesitated a little before he replied. "Well, I
was always interested in them, and when I got out
among the Payonnay I tried to get at their notions
of life; but they are a strange people — a secretive
people — and I couldn't win their confidence for a long
time. One day while on a hunting expedition I came
suddenly upon a crew of wood-choppers who had an old
man tied to a tree and were about to burn him alive — "
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Horrible! Why?"
"No reason at all, so far as I could learn. His
wife sat on the ground not far away, wailing in deep
despair. What treatment she had suffered I do not
know. Naturally, I ordered the men to release the
old man, and when they refused I cut his bands.
The ruffians were furious with rage, and threatened
to tie me up and burn me, too. By this time I was
too angry to fear anything. "If you do, you better
pulverize the buttons on my uniform, for the United
States government will demand a head for every one
of them/ Had I been a civilian they would have
killed me."
"They wouldn't have dared!" Elsie shuddered.
"Such men dare do anything when they are safe
from discovery — and there is always the Indian to
whom a deed of that sort can be laid."
" Did they release the old man?"
" Yes ; and he and his wife camped along with me
for several days, and their devotion to me was pa
thetic. Finally I came to understand that he consid
ered himself dead, so far as his tribe was concerned.
'My life belongs to you/ he said. I was just begin
ning the sign language at that time and I couldn't
get very far with him, but I made him understand
that I gave his life back to him. He left me at last
and returned to the tribe. Thereafter, every redmaii
I met called me friend, and patiently sat while I
struggled to learn his language. As I grew pro
ficient they told me things they had concealed from
all white men. I ceased to be an enemy. I became
an adviser, a chief."
"Did you ever see the old man again?"
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ELSIE REVISITS CURTIS
"Oh yes. He was my guide on several hunting
expeditions. Poor old Siyeh, he died of small -pox.
'The white man's disease/ he called it, bitterly. He
wanted to see me, but when he understood that I
would be endangered thereby, he said: 'It is well —
I will die alone; but tell him I fold my hands on my
breast and his hand is between my palms/' The
soldier's voice grew hard and dry as the memory of
the old man's death returned upon him.
Elsie shuddered with a new emotion. " You make
my head whirl — you and the night. Did that de
termine your course with regard to them?"
" Yes. I resolved to get at their hearts — their inner
thoughts — and my commanders put me forward from
time to time as interpreter, where I could serve both
the army and the redman. In some strange way
all the Northwest tribes came to know of me, and I
could go where few men could follow me. It is curi
ous, but they never did seem strange to me. From
the first time I met an Indian I felt that he was a man
like other men — a father, a son, a brother, like any
body else. Naturally, when the plan for enlisting
redmen into the cavalry came to be worked out, I
was chosen to command a troop of Shi-an-nay. I
received my promotion at that time. My detail as
Indian agent came from the same cause, I suppose.
I was known to be a friend of the redman, and the
department is now experimenting with 'Curtis of
the Gray -Horse Troop/" he added, with a smile.
" Such is the story of my life."
" How long will you remain Indian agent?"
" Till I can demonstrate my theory that, properly
led, these people can be made happy/'
153
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"I am afraid you will live here until you are old/'
she said, and there was a note of undefinable regret
in her voice. "I begin to feel that you really have a
problem to solve."
" It lies with us, the dominant race/' he said, slowly,
"whether the red race shall die or become a strand
in the woof of our national life. It is a question of
saving our own souls, not of making them grotesque
caricatures of American farmers. 1 am not of those
who believe in teaching creeds that are dying out of
our own life; to be clean, to be peaceful, to be happy
— these are the precepts I would teach them/'
" I don't understand you, and I think I would bet
ter go to bed," she said, with a return to her ordinary
manner. " Good-night. "
"Good-night," he replied, and in the utterance of
those words was something that stirred her unac
countably.
"He makes life too serious, and too full of re
sponsibility/' she thought. "I don't like to feel
responsible. All the same, he is fine/' she added,
in conclusion.
XV
ELSIE ENTERS HER STUDIO
ELSIE, being young and of flamelike vitality, was
up and ready for a walk while Two Horns was
building the fire, and was trying to make him un
derstand her wish to paint him, when Curtis emerged
from his tent.
"Good-morning, Captain," she called. "Fin glad
you've come. Please tell Two Horns I want to have
him sit for me."
Curtis, with a few swift gestures, conveyed her
wishes to Two Horns, who replied in a way which
made Curtis smile.
Elsie asked, "What does he say?"
"He says, 'Yes, how much?' '
"Oh, the mercenary thing!"
"Not at all," replied Curtis. "His time is worth
something. You artists think the redmen ought to
sit for nothing."
Two Horns ran through a swift and very graceful
series of signs, which Curtis translated rapidly.
"He says: 'I have heard of you. You painted
Elk's daughter. I hear you sell these pictures and
catch a great pile of money. I think it is right you
pay us something when we stand before you for long^
hours, while you make pictures to sell to rich men in
155
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Washington. Now, I drive a team ; I earn some days
two dollars driving team. If I stop driving team,
and come and sit for you, then I lose my two dol
lars/ "
As he finished, Two Horns smiled at Elsie with a
sly twinkle in his eyes which disconcerted her. " You
sabbe?" he ended, speaking directly to her.
"I sabbe," she said, in reply.
"Good!" He held out his hand and she took it,
and the bargain was sealed. He then returned to his
work about the camp.
"Isn't it glorious!" the girl cried, as she looked
about her. "It's enough to do an artist all over
new." The grass and the willows sparkled with
dew-drops. The sky, cloudless save for one long,
low, orange-and-purple cape of glory just above the
sunrise, canopied a limitless spread of plain to the
north and east, while the high butte to the back was
like the wall of a temple.
"Oh, let's take a run up that hill," Elsie said, with
sudden change of tone. "Come!" and, giving Cur
tis no time to protest, she scuttled away, swift as a
partridge. He followed her, calling :
"Wait a moment, please!"
When he overtook her at the foot of the first incline
she was breathless, but her eyes were joyous as a
child's and her cheeks were glowing.
"Let me help you," he said; "and if you slip,
don't put your hand on the ground ; that is the way
men get snake-bitten."
"Snakes!" She stopped short '"I forgot — are
there rattlesnakes here?"
"There is always danger on the sunny side of
156
ELSIE ENTERS HER STUDIO
these buttes at this time of the year, especially where
the rocks crop out/'
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't give me time."
"Do you really think there is danger?"
"Not if you walk slowly and follow me; I'll draw
their poison. After they bite me they'll have no-
virus left for you."
She began to smile roguishly. "You are tired —
you want an excuse to rest."
"If I thought you meant that, I'd run up to the
summit and back again to show you that I'm younger
than my years."
She clapped her hands. " Do it ! It will be like the
knight in the story — the glove-and-lion story."
"No, On reflection, I will not run; it would com
promise my dignity. We will climb soberly, side by
side, like Darby and Joan on the hill of life."
With a demure countenance she took his hand, and
they scrambled briskly up the slope. When they
reached the brow of the hill she was fairly done up,
while he, breathing easily, showed little fatigue, al
though she had felt his powerful arm sustaining her
many times on the steeper slopes. She could not
speak, and he smilingly said, " I hope I haven't hur
ried you?"
"You — are — strong," she admitted, brokenly.
"I'm not tired, but I can't get breath."
At length they reached the summit and looked
about. "What is the meaning of those little towers
of stone?" she asked, after a moment's rest.
"Oh, they have different meanings. Sometimes
they locate the springs of water, sometimes they indi?
157
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
cate the course of a trail. This one was put here by
a young fellow to mark the spot from whence he saw
a famous herd of buffalo — what time he made a won
derful killing."
" I suppose all this land has been the hunting-ground
of these people for ages. Do you suppose they had
names for hills like this, and were fond of them like
white people?"
"Certainly. They had a geography of their own
as complete in its way as ours, and they are wonder
fully sure of direction even now. They seldom make
a mistake in the correlative positions of streams or
mountains, even when confused by a white man's
map."
"It is wonderful, isn't it — that they should have
lived here all those years without knowing or caring
for the white man's world?"
" They don't care for it now — but I see Two Horns
signalling that breakfast is ready, so we had better
go."
"Let's run down!"
"Wait!" He caught her. " It will lame you fright
fully, I warn you."
"Oh no, it won't."
"Very well, experience is a fine school. If you
must run down, we'll go down the shadowed side.
Now I'll let you get half-way down and beat you in,
after all. One, two, three— go ! "
With her skirt caught up in her hand, she started
down the hill in reckless flight. She heard his shout
'and the thud of his prodigious leaps, and just as she
reached the level he overtook her and relentlessly
left her far behind. Discouraged and panting, she
158
ELSIE ENTERS HER STUDIO
fell into a walk and waited for him to return, as she
knew he would.
"Oh, these skirts!" she said, resentfully. "What
chance has a woman with yards of cloth binding her?
I nearly tumbled headlong/'
He did not make her suffer for her defeat, and they
retained to camp gay as a couple of children. Law-
son smiled benevolently, like an aged uncle, while
Elsie told him of their climb. Said he : " When you're
as old as I am you will wait for wonders to come your
way; you will not seek them."
The breakfast was made merry by Jennie, who
waged gentle warfare on Parker, whose preconceived
ideas of the people resident on an Indian reservation
had been shaken.
"Why, you're very decent/' he admitted at last.
" They are all like us— nit," replied Jennie. " We're
marked 'special/ "
"Couldn't be any more like you, sis," said Curtis.
" You shouldn't say that."
"Well, it needed saying, and no one else seemed
ready to do it. If Calvin had been here!"
"Who is Calvin?" asked Mrs. Parker.
"I know!" cried Elsie. "He's one of the hand
somest young cowboys you ever saw. If you want
to do a cow-puncher, Parker, he's your model."
"I certainly must see him. If I don't do a cow
boy or a bucking bronco I'm a failure."
As they were ready to start, Elsie again took her
place beside Curtis, but Lawson insisted on sitting
behind with Jennie. "It's hard luck, Parker, to
have to sit with your wife/' he said, compassion
ately.
159
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Oh, well! I'm used to disappointments/' Parker
replied, in resigned calm.
Elsie felt the need of justifying herself. "Are you
complaining? Am I the assistant driver, or am I
not? If I am, here is where I belong."
" When I was coaching in Scotland once — " began
Lawson.
"Oh, never mind Scotland!" interrupted Elsie.
"See that chain of peaks? Aren't they gorgeous!
Do we camp there?"
"Yes," replied Curtis. "Just where that fan-
shaped belt of timber begins, I hope to set our tent.
The agency is just between those dark ridges."
"It is strange," Elsie said, after a pause. "Last
year I was wondering at everything ; now I am look
ing for familiar things."
"That is the .second stage," he answered. "The
third will be sympathy."
"What will the fourth be?"
"Affection."
"And the fifth?"
"Devotion."
She laughed. "You place too high a value on
your Western land."
" I admit there is to me great charm in these barren
foot-hills and the great divide they lead up to," he
soberly answered.
As they talked, the swift little horses drummed
along the hard road, and by the time the agency flag
pole came in view they had passed over their main
points of difference, and were chatting gayly on topics
not controversial. Elsie was taking her turn with the
reins, her face flushed with the joy and excitement
160
ELSIE ENTERS HER STUDIO
of it, while Jennie and Mrs. Parker, shrieking with
pretended fear, clung to their seats with frenzied clasp.
Curtis was as merry as a boy, and his people, seeing
him come in smiling and alert, looked at each othei"
in amazement, and Crow Wing said :
"Our Little Father has found a squaw at last."
Whereas, as her lover, Curtis had been careful to
consider the effect of every word, he now went to Elsie's
service as frankly as Lawson himself, and his thought-
fulness touched her deeply. Her old studio had been
put in order, and contained all needful furniture, and
her sleeping apartment looked very clean and very
comfortable indeed.
Jennie apologized. "Of course, it's like camping
compared to your own splendid home, but George
said you wouldn't mind that, being an artist. He
has an idea an artist can sleep in a palace one night
and a pigsty the next, and rejoice."
"He isn't so very far wrong," Elsie valiantly re
plied. "Of course, the pigsty is a little bit extreme-
This is good enough for any one. You are very
kind," she added, softly. "It was good of him to
take so much trouble."
"George is the best man I ever knew," replied Jen
nie. "That's why I've never been able to leave him
for any other man." She smiled shrewdly. "I'll
admit that eligible men have been scarce, and my
chances have been few. Well, I must run across and
look after dinner. You're to eat with us till you get
settled. We insist on being hosts this time."
" Surely," said Curtis, as they rose from the table,
" being Indian agent is not the grim, vexatious ex-
" 161
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
perience I once considered it. If the charm of such
company should get reckoned in as one of the per
quisites of the office, the crush of applicants would
thicken into a riot. I find it hard to return to my
work in the office."
" Don't be hasty; we may turn out to be nuisances/'
responded Elsie.
XVI
THE CAMP AMONG THE ROSES
DURING the remainder of the day the agent found
office work most difficult. His mind wandered
to other and pleasanter things, and at last he began
to make out a list of the necessaries for the camping
trip.
The next day, about four o'clock, Crow Wing and
Crawling Elk came into his office bringing a young
Tetong, who said he had been struck on the head by
a sheep-herder.
Curtis was instantly alert. "Sit down — all of
you I" he commanded. "Now, Yellow Hand, tell your
story."
Yellow Hand, a tall and sinister - looking fellow,
related his adventure sullenly. "I was riding the
line of the reservation, as Crawling Elk had told me
and as you commanded, when I came upon this sheep
man driving his flocks across the river. I hollered
to him to keep away, but he kept on pushing the
sheep into the river ; then I tried to drive them back.
This made him angry and he threw a rock at me, and
struck me here." He touched his bandaged head.
"1 had no gun, so I came away."
"Did you throw rocks at him?" asked Curtis.
"No, I was on my horse."
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
" You rode among his sheep?"
"Yes."
"Well, that was wrong. You should have reported
to me and I would have sent a policeman. You must
not make trouble with these men. Come to me or re
port to Grayman, your head man over there. The
ranchers are angry at Washington, and we must be
careful not to make them angry at us. I will send
Crow back with you and he will remove this man/'
As they went out Curtis said to Wilson : " This is the
second assault they have made on our boys. They
seem determined to involve us in a shooting scrape,
in order to influence Congress. We must be very
careful. I am afraid I ought not to take this camp
ing trip just now."
"Don't put too much importance on these little
scraps, Major. Yellow Hand is always getting into
trouble. He's quarrelsome. "
"I'd disarm a few of these reckless young fellows
if it would do any good."
"It wouldn't. They'd simply borrow a gun of
some one, and it won't do to disarm the whole tribe,
for if you do these cowboys will swarm in here and
run us all out."
" Well, caution every one to be careful. I'm par
ticularly anxious just now, on account of our visitors. "
"I don't think you need to be, Major. You take
your trip with your friends. I'll guarantee nothing
serious happens down here. And as you are not to
leave the reservation, I don't see as the department
can have any roar coming."
Nevertheless, it was with some misgiving that Cur
tis made his final arrangements for the start. Crane's
THE CAMP AMONG THE ROSES
Voice and Two Horns had interested Elsie very much ;
therefore he filled their places with other men, and
notified them to be in readiness to accompany the
expedition, an order which pleased them mightily.
Mary, the mother of Crane's Voice, was to go along
as chief cook, under Jennie's direction, while Two
Horns took general charge of the camp.
Elsie burdened herself with canvases. "I don't
suppose Fll paint a picture while I'm gone, but I'm
going to make a bluff at it on the start," she said, as
she came out and took her place with the driver amid
the mock lamentations of Lawson and Parker and
Jennie.
"Can any of you drive — no!" replied Elsie, in Ger
man fashion. " Then I am here. "
" I like her impudence," said Lawson.
As they drove up the valley, Curtis outlined his plan
for using the water on a huge agency garden. "I
would lay it out in lots and mark every lot with the
name of a family, and require it to be planted and
taken care of by that family. There are sites for
three such gardens, enough to feed the entire tribe,
but so long as a few white men are allowed to use up
all the water nothing can be done but continue to feed
the Tetongs in idleness, as we are now doing."
As they rose the grass grew greener, and at last
Elsie began to discover wild roses growing low in
damp places, and at noon, when they stopped for
lunch, they were able to eat in the shade of a mur
muring aspen, with wild flowers all about them. The
stream was swift and cold and clear, hardly to be
classed with the turbid, sluggish, discouraged cur
rent which seeped jjast the agency.
165
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"It is a different world up here/' Elsie said, again
and again. " I can't believe we are only a half-day's
drive from the agency. I never saw more delicious
greens/'
Mrs. Parker, being an amateur botanist, was filled
with delight of the thickening flowers. "It is ex
actly as if we had begun in August and were moving
backward towards spring. I feel as though violets
were near. It is positively enchanting. "
"You'll camp beside violets to-night," replied
Curtis.
Lawson pretended to sleep. Parker smoked a pipe
while striding along behind the wagon. Elsie drove,
and of course Curtis could not leave her to guide the
team alone. Necessarily, they talked freely on many
topics, and all restraint, all reserve, were away at last.
It is difficult to hold a formal and carefully considered
conversation in a jolting buckboard climbing towards
a great range of shining peaks, and every frank
speech brought them into friendlier relation. Con
sidered in this light, the afternoon assumed vast im
portance.
At last, just ion the edge of a small lake entirely
enclosed by sparse pines, they drew into camp. To
the west the top of a snow mountain could be seen,
low down, and against it a thin column of blue smoke
was rising. The water, dark as topaz and smooth as
oil, reflected the opposite shore, the yellow sky, and
the peak with magic clearness| and Elsie was seized
with a desire to do something.
" Where is my paint-box? Here is the background
for some action — I don't know what — something
primeval."
166
THE CAMP AMONG THE ROSES
"An Indian in a canoe, a la Brush; or a bear
coming down to drink, a la Bierstadt," suggested
Parker.
" Don't mention that old fogy/' cried Elsie.
Lawson interposed. "Well, now, those old chaps
had something to say — and that's better than your
modern Frenchmen do."
She was soon at work, with Lawson and Parker
standing by her side, overlooking her panel and
offering advice.
"There's no color in that/' Parker said, finally.
"It's a black-and-white merely. Its charm is in
things you can't paint — the feel of the air, the smell
of pine boughs."
" Go away — both of you," she commanded, curtly,
and they retreated to the camp, where Curtis was set
ting the tents, and Jennie, old Mary, and Two Horns,
with swift and harmonious action, were bringing
appetizing odors out of various cans and boxes, what
time the crackle of the fire increased to a gentle roar.
There they sat immovably, shamelessly waiting till
the call for supper came.
They were all hungry, and Jennie's cooking re
ceived such praise as comes from friends who speak
and devour — Parker nearly devoured without speak
ing, so lank and empty was he by reason of his long
walk. Elsie seemed to have forgotten her life of
luxury, and was reverted to a primitive stage of cult
ure wherein she found everything enjoyable. Her
sketch, propped up against a basket by Curtis, was
admired unreservedly. Altogether, the trouble and
toil of civilized life were forgotten tyrants, so far as
these few souls were concerned. They came close
167
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
to the peace and the care-free tranquillity of the red-
man, whose ideals they had come to destroy.
As soon as supper was eaten and the men had
lighted their cigars, the whole party walked out to the
edge of the little pond and lounged about on blank
ets, and watched the light go out of the sky. Talk
grew more subdued as the beauty and the mystery
of the night deepened. Elsie listened to every sound,
and asked innumerable questions of Curtis. She
insisted on knowing the name of every bird or beast
whose call could be heard. The young soldier's
wood-craft both pleased and astonished her. Mrs.
Parker, with her lap full of botanical specimens, was
absorbed in the work of classifying them. Parker
was a gentleman of leisure, with nothing to do but
watch the peaceful coming of the dusk and comment
largely on the universe.
It was natural that, as host, Curtis should enjoy a
large part of Elsie's company, but neither of them
seemed to realize that Lawson was being left quite
unheeded in the background, but Jennie was aware
of this neglect, and put forth skilful effort to break
the force of it. Lawson himself seemed to be entire
ly unconscious of any loss or threatening disaster.
A little later, as they sat watching the fire grow
in power in the deepening darkness, Curtis suddenly
lifted his hand.
"Hark!"
All listened. Two Horns spoke first. "One man
come, on horse."
"Some messenger for me, probably," said the Cap
tain, composedly. "He is coming fast, too."
As the steady drumming of the horse's hoofs in-
168
THE CAMP AMONG THE ROSES
creased in power, Elsie felt something chill creep
beneath the roots of her hair. Perhaps the Indians
had broken out in war against the whites! Per
haps —
A tall young Tetong slipped from his tired horse
and approached the Captain. In his extended hand
lay an envelope, which gleamed in the firelight. As
Curtis took this letter the messenger, squatting before
him, began to roll a cigarette. His lean and power
ful face was shadowed by a limp sombrero and his
eyes were hidden, but his lips were grave and calm.
A quirt dangled from his right wrist, and in the two
braids of his hair green eagle-plumes were twisted.
The star on the lapel of his embroidered vest showed
him to be a police-officer. From the intensity of his
attitude it was plain he was studying his agent's
face in order to read thereon the character of the mes
sage he had brought.
Curtis turned the paper slowly and without excite
ment. With rapid signs he dismissed the courier.
"I have read it. You will camp with Two Horns,
Go get some food. Mary will give you meat."
Turning to his guests, he then said : " It is nothing
special — merely some papers I forgot to sign before
leaving."
"By George! what a picture the fellow made, sit
ting there!" said Parker. " It was like an illustration
in a novel. Why don't you paint that kind of thing,
Bee Bee?"
"Because I can't," she replied. "Don't you sup
pose I saw it? I'd need the skill of Zorn to do a thing
as big and mysterious as that. Did you see the in
tensity of his pose? He expected Captain Curtis to
169
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE 'I IOOP
show excitement or alarm. He was very curious to
know what it was all about — don't you think so?"
Curtis was amused. "Yes, I suppose he thought
the paper more important than it was. The settlers
have kept the tribe guessing all the spring by threats
of running them off the reservation. Of course they
wouldn't openly resort to violence, but there are sev
eral irresponsibles who would strike in the dark if
they found opportunity."
In spite of his reassuring tone, a vague fear fell
over the camping party. Parker was frankly alarmed .
" If you think there is any danger, Captain, 1 want
to get out o' here quick. I'm not here to study the
Tetong with his war-paint on."
" If there had been any danger, Mr. Parker, I would
not have left my office. I shall have a report similar
to this every day while I am away, so please be com
posed."
The policeman came back, resumed his squatting
position before the fire, and began a series of vigor
ous and dramatic gestures, to which the Captain re
plied in kind, absorbed, intent, with a face as inscru
table as that of the redman himself. The contrast
between the resolute, handsome young white man
and the roughhewn Tetong was superb. "There's
nothing in it for me," said Parker, "but it's great
business for a painter."
Elsie seized a block of paper, and with soft pencil
began to sketch them both against the background
of mysterious blackness, out of which a pine bole
gleamed ashy white.
Suddenly, silently, as though one of the tree-trunks
had taken on life, another Tetong appeared in the
170
THE CAMP AMONG THE ROSES
circle of the firelight and stood with deep-sunk eyes
fastened on the Captain's face. Another followed,
and still others, till two old men and four young fel
lows ranged themselves in a semicircle before their
agent, with Crane's Voice and Two Horns at the left
and a little behind. The old men smoked a long
pipe, but the young men rolled cigarettes, taking
no part in the council, listening the while with eyes
as bright as those of foxes.
It was all sinister and menacing to the Parkers, and
all wondered till Curtis turned to say : " They are my
mill-hands — good, faithful boys, too."
"Mill -hands!" exclaimed Parker. "They looked
uncommonly like a scalping party."
"That is what imagination can do. I thought
your faces were extra solemn," remarked Curtis,
dryly; but Lawson knew that the agent was not so
untroubled as he pretended, for old Crow Killer had
a bitter story to relate of the passage of a band of
cowboys through his camp. They had stampeded his
ponies and shot at him, one bullet passing so close to
his ear that it burned the skin, and he was angry.
"They wish to kill us, these cattlemen," he said,
sombrely, in conclusion. " If they come again we will
fight."
Happily, his vehemence did not reach the com
prehension of the women nor the understanding of
Parker, and Lawson smoked on as calmly as if these
telltale gestures were the flecking of shadows cast
by the leaping flames. At last the red visitors rose
and vanished as silently as they came. They seemed
to pass through black curtains, so suddenly they
disappeared.
171
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
In vSpite of all reassurance, the women were a little
reluctant to go to bed — at least Mrs. Parker and Elsie
were.
"I wish the men's tent were not so far off/' Mrs.
Parker said to Elsie, plaintively.
"I'll ask them to move it, if you wish/' returned
Elsie, and when Jennie came in she said: "Aren't
you a little nervous to-night?"
Jennie looked surprised. "Why, no! Do you
mean about sleeping in a tent?"
"Yes," replied Mrs. Parker. "Suppose a wolf or
a redman should come?"
Jennie laughed. "You needn't worry — we have
a powerful guard. I never am afraid with George. "
" But the men are so far away ! I wish their tent
were close beside ours. I'm not standing on pro
priety," Mrs. Parker added, as Jennie hesitated. I'm
getting nervous, and I want Jerome where he can
hear me if I call to him."
Perceiving that Elsie shared this feeling in no small
degree, Jennie soberly conveyed their wish to Curtis.
"Very well, we'll move over. It will take but a
moment."
As she heard the men driving the tent-pegs close
beside her bed Mrs. Parker sighed peacefully.
" Now I can sleep. There is no comfort like a man
in case of wolves, Indians, and burglars," and the fact
that the men were laughing did not disturb her.
With a little shock, Elsie realized that Curtis and
not Lawson was in her mind as her defender. Of
course, he was in command ; that accounted for it.
Nevertheless, as she listened to the murmur of their
voices she detected herself waiting for Curtis's crisp,
172
THE CAMP AMONG THE ROSES
clear bass, and not for the nasal tenor of the man
whose ring she wore. Her mind was filled, too, with
the dramatic figure the young officer made as he sat
in gesture-talk with his Tetong wards. In case of
trouble the safest place on all the reservation would
be by his side, for his people loved and trusted him.
She did not go to sleep easily; the excitement, the
strangeness of being in a tent, kept her alert long after
Jennie and Mrs. Parker were breathing tranquilly on
their cots.
One hears everything from a tent. It seems to
stand in the midst of the world. It is like being in
a diving-bell under water. Life goes on almost un
interruptedly. The girl heard a hundred obscure,
singular, sibilant sounds, as of serpents conferring.
Mysterious footsteps advanced, paused, retreated.
Whispered colloquies arose among the leaves, giv
ing her heart disquiet. Every unfamiliar sound
was a threat. The voices of birds and beasts no
longer interested her — they scared her; and, try as
she would to banish these fancies, her nerves thrilled
with every rush of the wind. It was deep night before
she dropped asleep.
XVII
A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
ELSIE dreamed she was at the theatre. The opera
was " II Trovatore," and at the moment when
the prison song — that worn yet ever-mournful cry —
should have pulsed forth; but in its stead another
strain came floating from afar, a short phrase equally
sad, which sank slowly, as a fragment of cloud de
scends from sky to earth to become tears of dew on
the roses. Over and over again it was repeated, so
sad, so sweet, so elemental, it seemed that the pain of
all love's vain regret was in it, longing and sorrow
and despair, without relief, without hope, defiant of
death.
Slowly the walls of the theatre faded. The gray
light of morning crept into the dreamer's eyes, and
she was aware of the walls of her tent and knew she
had been dreaming. But the sorrowful song went
on, with occasional slight deviations of time and tone,
but always the same. Beginning on a high key, it
fell by degrees, hesitating, momentarily swooping
upward, yet ever falling, till at last it melted in with
the solemn moan of the pines stirring above her head.
Then she drowsed again, and seemed to be listening
to the wailing song with some one whose hand she
held. As she turned to ask whence the music came,
174
A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
a little shudder seized her, for the eyes looking into
hers were not those of Lawson. Curtis faced her,
grave and sweet.
With this shock she wakened, but the song had
ceased. She waited in silence, hoping to hear it
again. When fully aroused to her surroundings,
she was convinced that she had dreamed the music
as well as the hand-clasp, and a flush ran over her.
• ' Why should I dream in that way of him ?"
She heard the soft lisp of moccasined feet outside
the tent, and immediately after the sound of an axe.
Presently the fire began to crackle, and the rising
sun threw a flood of golden light against the canvas
wall. Jennie lifted her arms and yawned, and at last
sat up and listened. Catching Elsie's eye she said :
" Good-morning, dear. How did you sleep?"
"Deliciously — but did you hear some one singing
just before sunrise?"
"No— did you?"
"1 thought I did; but perhaps I dreamed it/'
"Where did it seem to come from?"
" Oh, from away off and high up — the saddest song
— a phrase constantly repeated."
"Oh, I know. It was some young Tetong lover
playing the flute. They often do that when the girls
are going for water in the morning. Isn't it beautiful ?"
" I never heard anything so sad."
" All their songs are sad. George says the primi
tive love-songs of all races are the same. But Two
Horns has the fire going, and I must get up and super
intend breakfast. You need not rise till I call."
Mrs. Parker began to stir. "Jerome! What time
is it?"
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THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
The girls laughed as Jerome, in the other tent., re
plied, sweetly:
"Time to arise, Honey Plum."
Mrs. Parker started up and stared around, her eyes
still misty with slumber. "I slept the whole night
through," she finally remarked, as if in answer to a
question, and her voice expressed profound astonish
ment.
"Didn't hear the wolves, did you, pet?" called
Parker.
"Wolves! No. Did they howl?"
"Howl is no name for it. They tied themselves
into double bow-knots of noise."
"I don't believe it."
Elsie replied: "I didn't hear anything but the
music. Did you hear the singing?"
Lawson spoke. " You people have the most active
imaginations. All I heard was the wind in the pines,
and an occasional moose walking by."
"Moose!" cried Mrs. Parker. "Why, they're enor
mous creatures."
Jennie began to laugh. "You people will need to
hurry to be ready for breakfast. I'm going to put
the coffee on." She slipped outside. "Oh, girls!
Get up at once, it's glorious out here on the lake!"
Curtis was busy about the camp-fire. "Good-
morning, sis. Here are some trout for breakfast."
"Trout!" shouted Lawson, from the tent.
"Trout!" echoed Parker. "Well be there," and
the tent bulged and napped with his hasty efforts at
dressing.
In gay spirits they gathered round their rude table,
Parker and Jennie particularly jocular. Curtis was
A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
puzzled by some subtle change in Elsie. Her gaze
was not quite so frank, and her color seemed a little
more fitful; but she was as merry as a child, and
enjoyed every makeshift as though it were done for
the first time and for her own amusement.
"What's the programme for to-day?" asked Parker.
"After I inspect the saw-mill we will hook up and
move over the divide to the head- waters of the Willow
and camp with Red Wolf's band."
Parker coughed. " Well, now — of course, Captain,
we are depending on you."
Curtis smiled. "Perhaps you'd like to go back
to the agency?"
"No, sirree, bob! I'm sticking right to your coat-
tails till we're out o' the woods."
Lawson interposed. "You wouldn't infer that
Parker had ever had a Parisian education, would
you?"
Parker was not abashed. "I know what you
mean. Those are all expressions my father used.
They stick to me like fly-paper."
"I've tried and tried to break him of his plebeian
phrases, but I cannot," Mrs. Parker said, with sad
emphasis.
"I wouldn't try," replied Jennie. "I like them."
"Thank you, lady, thank you," Parker fervently
made answer.
Curtis hurried away to look at the saw-mill. Law-
son and Parker went fishing, and Elsie got out her
paint-box and started another sketch. The morn
ing was glorious, the air invigorating, and she painted
joyously with firm, plashing strokes. Never had she
been so sure of her brush. Life and art were very
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THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
much worth while — only now and then a disturbing:
wish intruded — it was only a vague and timid long
ing; but it grew a little in power each time. Once
she looked steadily and soberly at the ring whose
jewel sparkled like a drop of dew on the third finger
of her left hand.
A half-hour later Curtis came back, walking rapid
ly. Seeing her at work he deflected from the straight
trail and drew near.
"I think that is wonderful/' he said, as he looked
at her sketch. "I don't see how you do so much
with so few strokes."
"That always puzzles the layman/' she replied.
"But it's really very simple."
"When you know how. I hope you're enjoying
your trip with us?"
She flashed a smile that was almost coquettish
upon him. " It is glorious. I am so happy I'm afraid
it won't last."
"We always feel that way about any keen pleas
ure/' he replied, soberly. "Now I can't keep the
thought of your going out of my mind. Every hour
or two I find myself saying, ' It '11 be lonesome busi
ness when these artists leave us."
"You mustn't speak of anything sorrowful this
week. Let's be as happy as we can."
He pondered a fitting reply, but at last gave it up
and said: "If you are satisfied with your sketch,
we'll start. I see the teams are ready."
" Oh yes, I'm ready to go. I just wanted to make
a record of the values — they are changing so fast
now," and she began to wipe her brushes and put
away her panel. "I don't care where we go so we
A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
keep in the pines and have the mountains somewhere
in sight"
It must have been in remorse of her neglect of Law-
son the preceding day that Elsie insisted on sitting be
side him in the back seat, while Mrs. Parker took her
place with the driver. The keen pang of disappoint
ment which crossed his heart warned Curtis that his
loyalty to his friend was in danger of being a burden,
and the drive was robbed of all the blithe intercourse
of the day before. Parker and Jennie fought clamor
ously on a variety of subjects in the middle distance,
but Curtis was hardly more than courteous to Mrs.
Parker — so absorbed was he in some inner controversy.
Retracing their course to the valley the two wagons
crossed the stream and crawled slowly up the divide
between the Elk and the Willow, and at one o'clock
came down upon a sparse village of huts and tepees
situated on the bank of a clear little stream — just
where it fell away from a narrow pond which was
wedged among the foot-hills like an artificial reser
voir. The year was still fresh and green here, and
the air was like May.
Dogs were barking and snarling round the teams,
as a couple of old men left the doors of their tepees
and came forward. One of them was gray-haired,
but tall and broad-shouldered. This was Many
Coups, a famous warrior and one of the historians of
his tribe. He greeted the agent soberly, expressing
neither fear nor love, asking : " Who are these with
you? I have not seen them before."
To this Curtis replied : " They are my friends. They
make pictures of the hills and the lakes and of chief
tains like Many Coups."
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THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Many Coups looked keenly at Elsie. "My eyes
are old and poor/' he slowly said. " But now I re
member. This young woman was at the agency
last year/' and he put up his hand, which was small
and graceful even yet — the hand of an artist. "I
make pictures also/' he said.
When this was translated, Elsie said: "You shall
make a picture of me and I will make one of you."
At this the old man smilingly answered : " It shall
be so."
" Where is Red Wolf?" asked Curtis.
"He is away with Tailfeathers to keep the cow
boys from our land. We are growing afraid, Little
Father."
"We will talk more of that by-and by — we must
now camp. Call your people together and at mid-
afternoon we will council/' replied Curtis.
Driving a little above the village, Curtis found a
sheltered spot behind some low-growing pines and
not far from the lake, and there they hastened to
camp. The news flew from camp to camp that the
Little Father was come, but no one crowded unsea
sonably to look at him. "We will council," Many
Coups announced, and began to array himself for the
ceremony. Horsemen galloped away to call Red
Wolf and others who lived down the valley. Never
before had an agent visited them in their homes, and
they were disposed to make the most of it.
By the time the white people had eaten their lunch
all the red women were in their best dresses. The
pappooses were shining with the scrubbing they had
suffered and each small warrior wore a cunning buck
skin coat elaborate with beads and quills. A semi-
180
A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
circular wall of canvas was being erected to shield
the old men from the mountain wind, and a detail of
cooks had started in upon the task of preparing the
feast which would end the council.
Said Curtis : " You will find in this camp the Tetong
comparatively unchanged. Red Wolf's band is the
most primitive encampment I know." A few min
utes later he added, "Here comes Many Coups and
his son in official garb."
The two chieftains greeted their visitors as if they
had not hitherto been seen — with all the dignity of
ambassadors to a foreign court.
"Please treat them with the same formality/'
warned Curtis. "It will pay you for the glimpse of
the old-time ceremony."
The younger man was unpainted, save for some
small blue figures on his forehead. On his head he
wore a wide Mexican hat which vastly became him.
His face was one of the handsomest and most typical
of his race.
" This young man is the son of Many Coups, and
is called Blue Fox, or 'The Southern Traveller/ be
cause he has been down where the Mexicans are.
His hat he got there, and he is very proud of it/' ex- .
plained Curtis.
Jennie gave each of them a cup of coffee and a
biscuit, of which they partook without haste, dis
cussing meanwhile the coming council.
" We did not know you were coming ; some of
our people will not get here in time," said Many
Coups.
" To-night, after the council, we wish to dance,"
•4aid Blue Fox, meaning it as a request.
181
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"It is forbidden in Washington to dance in the
old way/'
"We have heard of that, but we will dance for your
wives. They will be glad to see it. "
" Very well, you may dance, but not too long. No
war-dance — only the visitors' dance."
"Ay, we understand," said Many Coups as he rose
and drew his blanket about him. "In one hour we
will come to council. Red Wolf will be there, and
Hump Shoulder and his son. It may be others will
return in time."
The women were delighted at the promise of both
a council and a dance, and Lawson unlimbered his
camera in order to take some views of both functions,
though he expressed some dissatisfaction.
"The noble redman is thin and crooked in the
legs," he said to Curtis. " Why is this?"
"All the plains Indians, who ride the horse almost
from their babyhood, are bow-legged. They never
walk, and they are seldom symmetrically developed."
"They are significant, but not beautiful," said
Lawson.
As they walked about the camp Elsie exclaimed:
" This is the way all redmen should live," and, indeed,
the scene was very beautiful. They were far above
the agency, and the long valleys could be seen de
scending like folds in a vast robe reaching to the
plain. The ridges were dark with pines for a space,
but grew smooth and green at lower levels, and at
last melted into haze. The camp was a summer
camp, and all about, in pleasant places among the
pines, stood the tepees, swarming with happy chil
dren and puppies. Under low lodges of canvas or
182
A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
bowers of pine branches the women were at work
boiling meat or cooking a rude sort of cruller. They
were very shy, and mostly hung their heads as their
visitors passed, though they soon yielded to Jennie,
who could speak a few words to them.
"There's nothing in them for sculpture/' said
Parker, critically. " At least not for beauty. They
might be treated as Raffaelle paints — for character/'
"They grow heavy early," Jennie added, "but
the little girls are beautiful — see that little one!"
The crier, a tall old man, toothless and wrinkled
and gray, began to cry in a hollow, monotonous
voice, "Come to the council place/' and Curtis led
his flock to their places in the midst of the circle.
The council began with all the old-time forms, with
gravity and decorum. Red Wolf was in the centre,
with Many Coups at his left. The pipe of peace went
round, and those whose minds were not yet prepared
for speech drew deep inspirations of the fragrant
smoke in the hope that their thoughts might be clari
fied, and when they lifted their eyes they seemed not
to perceive their visitors or those who passed to and
fro among the tepees. The sun, westering, fell with
untempered light on their heads, but they faced it
with the calm unconcern of eagles.
To please his guests, Curtis allowed the utmost
formality, and did not hasten, interrupt, or excise.
The speeches were translated into English by Law-
son, and at each telling point or period in Red
Wolf's speech the women looked at each other in sur
prise.
"Did he really say that?" asked Elsie. "Didn't
you make it up?"
183
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Rather good for a ragamuffin, don't you think?"
said Lawson, as the old man took his seat.
Many Coups spoke slowly, sadly, as though half
communing with himself, with nothing of the bom
bast the visitors had expected, and he grew in dig
nity and power as his thought began to make itself
felt through his interpreter.
"He is speaking for his race," remarked Lawson
to Elsie.
"By Jove! the old fellow is a good lawyer! " cried
Parker. " I don't see any answer to his indictment."
Curtis sat listening as though each point the old
man made were new — and this attitude pleased the
chieftains very much.
The speech, in its general tenor, was similar to
many others he had heard from thoughtful redmen.
Briefly he described the time when the redmen were
happy in a land filled with deer and buffalo, before
the white man was. " We lived as the Great Spirit
made us. Then the white man came — and now we
are bewildered with his commands. Our eyes are
blinded, we know not where to go. We know not
whom to believe or trust. I am old, I am going to
my grave troubled over the fate of my children.
Agents come and go. The good ones go too soon
— the bad ones stay too long, but they all go.
There is no one in whose care to leave my chil
dren. It is better to die here in the hills than to
live the slave of the white man, ragged and spir
itless, slinking about like a dog without a friend.
We do not want to make war any more — we ask
only to live as our fathers lived, and die here in the
hills."
184
A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
As he spoke these final tragic words his voice grew
deep and trembled, and Elsie felt some strong force
gripping at her throat, and burning tears filled her
eyes. In the city it was easy to say, "The way of
civilization lies over the graves of the primitive races,"
but here, under the sun, among the trees, when one
of those about to die looked over and beyond her to
the hills as though choosing his grave — the utterance
of the pitiless phrase was difficult in any tone — im
possible in the boasting shout of the white promoter.
She rose suddenly and walked away — being ashamed
of her tears, a painful constriction in her throat.
The speakers who followed spoke in much the same
way — all but Blue Fox, who sharply insisted that
the government should help them. "You have put
us here on barren land where we can only live by
raising stock. You should help us .fence the reser
vation, and get us cattle to start with. Then by-and-
by we can build good houses and have plenty to eat.
This is right, for you have destroyed our game —
and you will not let us go to the mountains to hunt.
You must do something besides furnish us ploughs
in a land where the rain does not come."
In answer to all this, Curtis replied, using the sign
language. He admitted that Red Wolf was right.
" The Tetongs have been cheated, but good days are
coming. I am going to help you. I am going to
stay with you till you are safely on the white man's
road. We intend to buy out the settlers, and take
the water in the streams so that you may raise po
tatoes for your children, and you will then be glad
because your gardens will bear many things good
to eat. Do not despair, the white people are coming
185
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
to understand the situation now. You hare many
friends who will help/'
As Many Coups rose and shook hands with the
agent he was smiling again, and he said, "Your
words are good."
The old crier went forth again calling: "Come to
the dance-hall. The white people desire to see you
dance. Come clothed in your best garments."
Then the drum began to utter its spasmodic sig
nal, and the herald's voice sounded faint and far
off as he descended the path to the second group of
tepees.
" Shall we go now?" asked Mrs. Parker.
"Oh no, it will be two hours before they begin.
The young men must go and dress. We have time
to sup and smoke a pipe."
"Oh! I'm so, glad we're going to see a real Indian
dance. I didn't suppose it could be seen now — not
the real thing."
Lawson smiled. "You'll think this is the real
thing before you get inside the door. I've known
tenderfeet to weaken at the last moment."
Parker pretended to be a little nervous. "Sup
pose they should get hold of some liquor."
"This band is too far away from the white man
to have his vices," replied Curtis, with a slight smile.
He had wondered at Elsie's going, but concluded
she had grown weary of the old chief's speech.
" There is great charm in this life," said Lawson,
as they all gathered before their tent and sat over
looking the village and the lake. " I sometimes won
der whether we have not complicated life without
adding to the sum of human happiness."
186
A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
" I'm thinking of this in winter/' said Elsie. " O-oo!
It must be terrible! No furnace, no bath-tubs."
The others laughed heartily at the sincerity of her
shudder, and Curtis said:
" Well, now, you'd be surprised to know how com
fortable they keep in their tepees. In the old skin
tepee they were quite warm even on the coldest days.
They always camp in sheltered places out of the wind,
and where fuel is plenty."
"At the same time I prefer my own way of living
to' theirs — when winter comes."
"I know something of your logic," replied Curtis.
"But I think I understand the reluctance of these
people when asked to give up the old things. I love
their life — their daily actions — this man coiling a
lariat — that child's outline against the tepee — the
smell of their fresh bread — the smoke of their little
fires. I can understand a Tetong when he says : ' All
this is as sweet to me as your own life — why should
I give it up?' Feeling as I do, I never insist on their
giving up anything which is not an impediment. I
argue with them, and show that some of their ways
are evil or a hinderance in the struggle for life un
der new conditions, and they always meet me half
way."
" Supper is ready," called Jennie, and his audience
rose.
While still at meat, the drum, which had been sound
ing at intervals, suddenly took on a wilder energy,
followed immediately by a high, shrill, yelping call,
which was instantly augmented by a half-dozen others,
all as savage and startling as the sudden burst of
howling from a pack of wolves. This clamor fell
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
away into a deep, throbbing chant, only to rise again
to the yelping, whimpering cries with which it began.
Every woman stiffened with terror, with wide eyes
questioning Curtis. " What is all that?"
" The opening chorus/' he explained, much amused.
"A song of the chase."
The dusk was beginning to fall, and the tepees,
with their small, sparkling fires close beside, and the
shadowy, blanketed forms assembling slowly, si
lently, gave a wonderful remoteness and wildness to
the scene. To Curtis it was quite like the old-time
village. The husky voice of the aged crier seemed
like a call from out of- the years primeval before the
white race with its devastating energy and its killing
problems had appeared in the east. The artist in
Elsie, now tully awake, dominated the daughter of
wealth. "Oh, this is beautiful! I never expected
to see anything so primitive.1"
Knowing that his guests were eager to view it all,
Curtis led the way towards the dance-lodge. Elsie
was moved to take her place beside him, but checked
herself and turned to Lawson, leaving Mrs. Parker
to walk at the Captain's elbow.
To the ears of the city dwellers the uproar was ap
palling — full of murder and sudden death. As they
approached the lodge the frenzied booming of the
drum, the wild, yelping howls, the shrill whooping,
brought up in their minds all the stories of dreadful
deeds they had ever read, and Parker said to Jennie :
"Do you really think the Captain will be able to
control them?'"'
Jennie laughed. "I'm used to this clamor; it's
only their way of singing."
188
A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
Elsie said: "They must be flourishing bloody
scalping-knives in there ; it is direful. "
" Wait and see/' said Lawson.
The dance-house was a large octagonal hut built
of pine logs, partly roofed with grass and soil. It
was lighted by a leaping fire in the centre, and by four
lanterns on the walls, and as Curtis and his party
entered, the clamor (in their honor) redoubled. In
a first swift glance Elsie apprehended only a con
fused, jingling, fluttering mass of color — a chaos of
leaping, half-naked forms and a small circle of singers
fiercely assaulting a drum which sat on the floor at
the right of the door.
Then Red Wolf, calm, stately, courtly, came before
them carrying his wand of office and conducted them
to seats at the left of the fire, and the girl's heart
ceased to pound so fiercely. Looking back she saw
Jennie shaking hands with one of the fiercest of the
painted and beplumed dancers, and recognized him
as Blue Fox. Turning, she fixed her eyes on a mid
dle-aged man who was dancing as sedately as Wash
ington might have led the minuet, his handsome
face calm of line and the clip of his lips genial and
placid. Plainly the ferocity did not extend to the
dancers; the singers alone seemed to express hate
and lust and war.
The music suddenly ceased, and in an instant the
girl's mind cleared. She perceived that the singers
were laughing as they rolled their cigarettes, and
that the savage warrior dancers were gossiping to
gether as they rested, while all about her sat plump
young girls in gay dresses, very conscious of the eyes
of the young men. In her early life Elsie had at-
189
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
tended a country dance, and her changed impassions
of this mad, blood-thirsty revel was indicated in her
tone as she said :
"Why, it's just an old-fashioned country hoe-
down."
Curtis laughed. "I congratulate you on your
penetration/' he mockingly said.
The old men came up to shake hands with the
agent, and on being presented to Elsie smiled reassur
ingly. Their manners were very good, indeed. Sev
eral of them gravely made a swift sign which caused
Curtis to color and look confused, and when his an
swering sign caused them all to look at Lawson,
Elsie demanded to know what it was all about
" Do you think you'd better know?" he asked.
"Certainly, I insist on knowing," she added, as he
hesitated again.
He looked at her, but a little unsteadily. r'They
asked if you were my bride, and I replied no, that you
came with Lawson."
It was her turn to look confused. " The impudent
things!" was all she could find to say at the moment.
Red Wolf called out a few imperative words, the
song began with its imitation of the wolves at war
as before, then settled into a pounding chant — deep,
resonant, and inspiriting. The dancers sprang forth —
not all, but a part of them — as though their names
had been called, while a curious little bent and with
ered old man crept in like a gnome and built up the
nre till it blazed brightly. As they danced the younger
men re-enacted with abrupt, swift, violent, yet grace
ful gestures the drama of wild life. They trailed
game, rescued lost warriors, and defeated enemies.
190
A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
"You see it proceeds with decorum/' said Curtis
to Elsie and Mrs. Parker, as the dancers returned to
their seats. "They enjoy it just as white people en
joy a cotillion, and, barring the noise of the singers,
it is quite as formal and harmless/'
A little boy in full dancing costume now came on
with the rest, and the visitors exclaimed in delight of
his grace and dignity. He could not have been more
than six years of age. His companion, an old man
of seventy, was a good deal of a wag, and danced in
comic-wise to make the on-lookers laugh.
Parker was fairly hooking his chin over Curtis's
shoulder to hear every word uttered and to see all
that went on, and Curtis was in the midst of an ex
planation of the significance of the drama of the
dance, when a short, sturdy, bow-legged Tetong,
dressed in a police] nan's uniform, pushed his way in
at the door and thrust a letter at his agent's hand.
Instantly every eye was fixed on Curtis's bent head
as he opened the letter. The dancers took their seats,
whispering and muttering, the drum ceased, and the
singers, turned into bronze figures, stared solemnly.
A nervous chill ran though Elsie's blood and Parker
turned pale and cold.
"What's up — what's up?" he asked, hurriedly.
"This is a creepy pause."
Lawson laid a hand on his arm and shut down on
it like a vice.
Red Wolf brought a lantern and held it at the Cap
tain's shoulder.
Jennie, leaning over, caught the words, " There's
been a row over on the Willow — "
Curtis calmly folded the paper, nodded and smiled
IQI
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
his thanks to Red WoM , and then lifting his hand
he signed to the policeman, in full view of all the
dancers :
"Go back and tell Wilson to issue just the same
amount of flour this week that he did last, and that
Red Wolf wants a new mowing-machine for his peo
ple. You need not return till morning/' Then,
turning to Red Wolf, he said : " Go on with the dance ;
my friends are much pleased."
The tension instantly gave way, every one being
deceived but Jennie, who understood the situation
and tried to help on the deception, but her round face
was plainly anxious.
Elsie, as she ceased to wonder concerning the forms
and regulations of the dance, grew absorbed in the
swirling forms, the harsh clashing of colors, the
short, shrill cries, the gleam of round and polished
limbs, the haughty fling of tall head-dresses, and
the lightness of the small and beautifully modelled
feet drumming upon the ground; but most of all she
was moved by the aloofness of expression on the faces
of many of the dancers. For the most part they seem
ed to dream — to revisit the past — especially the old
men. Their lips were sad, their eyes pensive — sin
gularly so — and mentally the girl said: "I must
paint my next portrait of this quality — an old man
dreaming of the olden time. I wonder if they really
were happy in those days — happier than our civili
zation can make them?" and thoughts came to her
which shook her confidence in the city and the mart.
For the first time in her life she doubted the sanctity
of the steam-engine and the ore-crusher.
As they took their seats from time to time the older
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A FLUTE, A DRUM, AND A MESSAGE
men smoked their long pipes; only the young men
rolled their cigarettes. To them the past was a child's
recollection, not the irrevocable dream of age. They
were the links between the old and the new.
As the time came to go, Curtis rose and addressed
his people in signs. "We are glad to be here/' he
said. "All my friends are pleased. My heart is
joyous when you dance. I do not forbid it. Some
times Washington tells me to do something, and I
must obey. They say you must not dance the war-
dance any more, and so I must forbid it. This dance
was pleasant — it is not bad. My heart is made
warm to be with you. I am visiting all my people,
and I must go to-morrow. Do not quarrel with the
white man. Be patient, and Washington will do you
good/7
Each promise was greeted by the old men with
cries of: "Ay! Ay!" and the drummers thumped
the drums most furiously in applause. And so the
agent said, " Good-night," and withdrew.
>3
XVIII
ELSIE'S ANCIENT LOVE AFFAIR
A 5 they walked back to their camp Jennie took
her brother's arm :
"What is it, George?"
" I must return to the agency. "
" That means we must all go?"
"I suppose so. The settlers seemed determined
to make trouble. They have had another row with
Gray Man's band, and shots have been fired. Fortu
nately no one was hurt. We must leave here early.
Say nothing to any of our guests till we are safely
on the way home."
Elsie, walking with Lawson, was very pensive. " I
begin to understand why Captain Curtis is made
Indian agent. He understands these people, sym
pathizes with them."
"No one better, and if the department can retain
him six years he will have the Tetongs comfortably
housed and on the road to independence and self-
respect."
"Why shouldn't he be retained?"
"Well, your father may secure re-election to the
Senate next winter."
" I know," she softly answered, * he dislikes Cap
tain Curtis."
194
ELSIE'S ANCIENT LOVE AFFAIR
" More than that — in order to be elected, he must
pledge himself to have Curtis put out o' the way."
"That sounds like murder/' she said.
"Oh no; it's only politics — politics and business.
But let's not talk of that — let us absorb the beauty
of the night. Did you enjoy the dance?"
"Very much. I am hopeless of ever painting it
though — it is so full of big, significant shadows. I
wish I knew more about it."
" You are less confident truin you were last year. "
He looked at her slyly.
"I see more/'
" And feel more?" he asked.
"Yes — I'm afraid I'm getting Captain Curtis's
point of view. These people aren't the mendicants
they once seemed. The expression of some of those
faces to-night was wonderful. They are some
thing more than tramps when they discard their
rags."
" I wish you'd come to my point of view," he said,
a little irrelevantly.
"About what?"
"About our momentous day. Suppose we say
Wednesday of Thanksgiving week?"
" I thought you were going to wait for me to speak,"
she replied.
He caught his breath a little. " So I will — only you
won't forget my gray hairs, will you?"
"I don't think I will — not with your broad daily
hints to remind me. But you promised to be patient
and — just friendly."
He ignored her sarcasm. "It would be rather
curious if I should become increasingly impatient,
195
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
wouldn't it? I made that promise in entire good
faith, but — I seem to be changing/'
"That's what troubles me/' she said. "You are
trying to hurry me/'
At this moment they came close to the Parkers and
she did not continue. He had given her another dis
turbing thought to sleep on, and that was, "Would
it hurt him much if I should now return his ring?"
Mrs. Parker was disposed to discuss the dance,
but Jennie said:
" We must all go to sleep. George says we are to
move early to-morrow."
The walls of the tent could hardly be seen when
the sound of the crackling flames again told that
faithful Two Horns was feeding the camp-fire. Crane's
Voice could be heard bringing in the horses, and in
a few moments Curtis called out in a low, incisive
voice :
"Everybody turn out; we must make an early
start across the range/'
The morning was gray, the peaks hidden in clouds,
and the wind chill as the women came from their beds.
Two Horns had stretched some blankets to keep off
the blast, but still Elsie shivered, and Curtis roundly
apologized. "I'm sorry to get you up so early. It
spoils all the fun of camping if you're obliged to rise
before the sun. An hour from now and all will be
genial. Please wait for my explanation."
Breakfast was eaten in discomfort and compara
tive silence, though Parker, with intent to enliven
the scene, cut a few capers as awkward as the antics
of a sand-hill crane. Almost before the smoke of the
ELSIE'S ANCIENT LOVE AFFAIR
tepee fires began to climb the trees the agent and
his party started back over the divide towards the
mill, no one in holiday mood. There was a certain
pathos in this loss of good cheer.
Once out of sight of the camp, Curtis turned and
said : " Friends, I'm sorry to announce it, but I must
return to the agency to-night and I must take you all
with me. Wilson has asked me to hasten home, and
of course he would not do so without good reason/'
" What is the matter?" asked Elsie.
" The same old trouble. The cattlemen are throw
ing their stock on the reservation and the Tetongs
are resenting it."
"No danger, I hope," said Parker, pop-eyed this
time with genuine apprehension.
"Oh no — not if I am on hand to keep the races
apart. Now I'm going to drive hard, and you must
all hang on. I want to pull into the agency before
dark."
The wagon lurched and rattled down the divide as
Curtis urged the horses steadily forward. With his
foot in the brake, he descended in a single hour the
road which had consumed three long hours to climb.
Conversation under these conditions was difficult
and at times impossible.
Jennie, intrepid driver herself, clutched her brother's
arm at times, as the vehicle lurched, but Curtis made
it all a joke by shouting, " It is always easy to slide
into Hades — the worst is soon over."
Once in the valley of the Elk the road grew better,
and Curtis asked Elsie if she wished to drive. She,
being very self-conscious for some reason, shook her
head, "No, thank you," and rode for the most part
197
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
in silence, though Lawson made a brave effort to
keep up a conversation.
By eleven o'clock not even Curtis and Lawson to
gether could make the ride a joke. The women were
hungry and tired, and distinctly saddened by this
sudden ending of their joj^ous outing.
" I wish these rampant cowboys could have waited
till we had our holiday," Jennie grumbled, as she
stretched her tired arms.
"Probably they were informed of the Captain's
plans and seized the opportunity," suggested Parker.
" I wonder if Cal is a traitor?" mused Jennie.
Two Horns and Crane's Voice came rattling along
soon after Curtis stopped for noon at their first camp
ing-place, and in a few minutes lunch was ready.
Conversation still lagged in spite of inspiriting coffee,
and the women lay out on their rugs and blankets,
resting their aching bones, while the men smoked
and speculated on the outcome of the whole Indian
question.
The teams were put to the wagons as soon as their
oats were eaten and the homeward drive begun, brisk
and business-like, and for some mysterious reason
Curtis recovered his usual cheerful tone.
It was mid-afternoon when the agency was sighted,
and the five-o'clock bell had just rung as they drove
slowly and with no appearance of haste into the yard.
Wilson came out to meet them. " How-de-do? You
made a short trip."
" How are things?" inquired Curtis.
" Nothing doing — all quiet/' replied the clerk, but
Curtis detected something yet untold in the quiver of
his clerk's eyelid.
ELSIE'S ANCIENT LOVE AFFAIR
" Well, I'm glad we got in."
Supper was eaten with little ceremony and very
languid conversation, and the artists at once sought
their rooms to rest. The Parkers were too tired to be
nervous, and Curtis was absorbed with some private
problem.
As Lawson and Elsie walked across the square in
the twilight he announced, meditatively :
"I'm going to be more and more impatient — that
is now certain."
"Osborne, don't! Please don't take that tone; I
don't like it."
"Why not, dear?" he asked, tenderly.
"Because — because — " She turned in a swift,
overmastering impulse. " Because if you do, I must
give you back your ring." She wrung it from her
finger. "I think I must, anyhow."
As she crowded the gem into his lax hand he said :
"Why, what does this mean, Elsie Bee Bee?" His
voice expressed pain and bewilderment.
"I don't know what it means yet, only I feel that
it isn't right now to wear it. I told you when you
put it on that it implied no promise on my part."
"I know it, and it doesn't imply any now."
"Yes, it does. Your whole attitude towards me
implies an absolute engagement, and I can't rest
under that. Take back your ring till I can receive
it as other girls do — as a binding promise. You
must do this or I will hate you!" she added, with a
sudden fury.
"Why, certainly, dearest — only I don't see what
has produced this change in you."
"I have not changed — you have changed."
199
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
He laughed at this. "The woman's last word!
Well, I admit it. I have come to love you as a man
loves the woman he wishes to make his wife. I'm
going to care a great deal, Elsie Bee Bee, if you do
not come to me some time/'
"Don't say that! " she cried, and there was an im
ploring accent in her voice. "Don't you see I must
not wear your ring till I promise all you ask?"
They walked on in silence to the door. As they
stood there he said : " I feel as though I were about
to say good-bye to you forever, and it makes my
heart ache."
She put both hands on his shoulders, then, swift
as a bird, turned and was gone. He felt that she
had thought to kiss him, but he divined it would have
been a farewell kiss, and he was glad that she had
turned away. There was still hope for him in that
indecision.
As for Elsie, life seemed suddenly less simple and
less orderly. She pitied Osborne, she was angry and
dissatisfied with herself, and in doubt about Curtis.
"I'm not in love with him — it is impossible, absurd;
but my summer is spoiled. I shall go home at once.
It is foolish for me to be here when I could be at the
seashore."
After a moment she thought: "Why am I here? I
guess the girls were right. I am a crank — an irre
sponsible. Why should I want to paint these mal
odorous tepee dwellers? Just to be different from
any one else."
As she sat at her open window she heard again
the Tetong lover's flute wailing from the hill-side
across the stream, and the sound struck straight in
200
ELSIE'S ANCIENT LOVE AFFAIR
upon her heart and filled her with a mysterious long
ing — a pain which she dared not analyze. Her mind
was active to the point of confusion — seething with
doubts and the wreckage of her opinions. Lawson's
action had deeply disturbed her.
They had never pretended to sentiment in their
relationship ; indeed, she had settled into a conviction
that .love was a silly passion, possible only to girls
in their teens. This belief she had attained by pass
ing through what seemed to her a fiery furnace of
suffering at eighteen, and when that self-effacing
passion had burned itself out she had renounced love
and marriage and "devoted herself to art," healing
herself with work. For some years thereafter she
posed as a man-hater.
The objective cause of all this tumult and flame
and renunciation seemed ridiculously inadequate in
the eyes of others. He was the private secretary
of Senator Stollwaert at the time, a smug, discreet,
pretty man, of slender attainment and no great am
bition. Happily, he had afterwards removed to New
York, or Washington would have been an impossible
place of residence for Elsie. She had met him once
since her return — he had had the courage to call upon
her — and the familiar pose of his small head and the
mincing stride of his slender legs had given her a
feeling of nausea. " Is it possible that I once agonized
over this trig little man?" she asked herself.
To be just to him, Mr. Garretson did not presume
in the least on his previous intimacy; on the con
trary, he seemed timid and ill at ease in the presence
of the woman whose beauty had by no means been
foreshadowed in her girlhood. He was not stupid;
201
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
the splendor of her surroundings awed him, but above
all else there was a look on her face which too plainly
expressed contempt for her ancient folly. Her shame
was as perceptible to him as though expressed in
spoken words, and his visit was never repeated.
Of this affair Elsie had spoken quite freely to Law-
son. "It only shows what an unmitigated idiot a
girl is. She is bound to love some one. I -knew
quantities of nice boys, and why I should have select
ed poor Sammy as the centre of all my hopes and af
fections I don't know. I dimly recall thinking he
had nice ears and hands, but even they do not now
seem a reasonable basis for wild passion, do they?"
Lawson had been amused. "Love at that age
isn't a creature of reason/'
"Evidently not, if mine was a sample/'
"Ours now is so reasonable as to seem insecure
and dangerous."
Her intimacy with Lawson, therefore, had begun
on the plane of good-fellowship while they were in
Paris together, and for two years he seemed quite
satisfied. Of late he had been less contained.
After her outburst of anger at her father's eject
ment of Curtis, she met Lawson with a certain re
serve not common to her. At the moment, she more
than half resolved that the time had come to leave
her father's house for Lawson's flat, and yet her will
wavered. She said as little as possible to him con
cerning that last disgraceful scene, as much on her
own account as to spare Curtis, but her restlessness
was apparent to Lawson and puzzled him. Two
or three times during the summer he had openly,
though jocularly, alluded to their marriage, but she
202
ELSIE'S ANCIENT LOVE AFFAIR
had put him off with a keen word. Now that her
father seemed intolerable, she listened to him with a
new interest. He became a definite possibility — a
refuge.
Encouraged by this slight change in her attitude
towards him, Lawson took a ring from his pocket
one night and said, "I wish you'd wear this, Elsie
Bee Bee. "
She drew back. "I can't do that. I'm not ready
to promise anything yet."
"It needn't bind you," he pleaded. "It needn't
mean any more than you care to have it mean. But
I think our understanding justifies a ring."
"That's just it/' she answered, quickly. "I don't
like you to be so solemn about our 'understanding/
You promised to let me think it all out in my own
way and in my own time. "
" I know I did — and I mean to do so. Only" — he
smiled with a wistful look at her — " I would have you
observe that I have developed three gray hairs over
my ears."
She took the ring slowly, and as she put the tip of
her finger into it a slight premonitory shudder passed
over her.
" You are sure you understand — this is no binding
promise on my part?"
" It will leave you as free as before."
"Then I will wear it," she said, and slipped it to
its place. " It is a beautiful ring."
He bent and kissed her fingers. " And a beautiful
hand, Elsie Bee Bee."
Now, lying alone in the soundless deep of the night,
she went over that scene, and the one through which
203
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
she had just passed. " He's a dear, good fellow, and
I love him — but not like that." And the thought
that it was all over between them, and the decision
irrevocably made, was at once a pain and a pleasure.
The promise, slight as it was, had been a burden.
"Now I am absolutely free/' she said, in swift, ex
ultant rebound.
XIX
THE SHERIFF'S MOB
THE next day was cloudless, with a south wind,
and the little, crawling brook which watered
the agency seemed about to seethe. The lower foot
hills were already sere as autumn, and the ponies
came down to their drinking - places unnaturally
thirsty; and the cattle, wallowing in the creek-bed,
seemed at times to almost stop its flow. The timid
trees which Curtis had planted around the school-
house and office were plainly suffering for lack of
moisture, and the little gardens which the Indians
had once more been induced to plant were in sore
distress.
The torrid sun beat down into the valley from the
unclouded sky so fiercely that the idle young men
of the reservation postponed their horse-racing till
after sunset. Curtis felt the heat and dust very keen
ly on his guests' account, and was irritated over the
assaults of the cattlemen. "If they had but kept
the peace we would still be in the cool, sweet hills/'
he said to Lawson.
"This will not last," Lawson replied. "We'll
get a mountain wind to-night. The girls are wisely
keeping within doors and are not yet aware of the
extreme heat."
205
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"I hope you are a true prophet. But at this mo
ment it seems as if no cool wind could arise out of this
sun-baked land."
"Any news from the Willow?"
" The trouble was in the West Fort. Some cow
boys raided a camp of Tetongs. No one was in
jured, and so it must pass for a joke/'
" Some of those jokes will set something afire some
of these hot days/'
"But you know how hard it is to apprehend the
ruffians; they come and go in the night like wolves.
They spoiled our outing, but I hope we may get away
again next week/'
In the days which followed, Curtis saw little of
Elsie, and when they met she seemed cold and pre
occupied. In conversation she seemed listening to
another voice, appeared to be pondering some ab
stract subject, and Curtis was puzzled and vaguely
saddened. Jennie took a far less serious view of the
estrangement. "It's just a mood. We've set her
thinking; she's 'under conviction/ as the revival
ists used to say. Don't bother her and she'll ' come
through."
Curtis was at lunch on Wednesday when Wilson
came to the door and said, "Major, Streeter and a
man named Jenks are here and want to see you."
" More stolen cattle to be charged up to the Indians,
I suppose/'
"I reckon some such complaint — they didn't say/'
" Well, tell them to wait — or no — ask them to come
over and lunch with me."
Wilson soon returned. "They are very glum,
and say they'll wait at the office till you come."
206
THE SHERIFF'S MOB
"As they prefer. I will have finished in a few
moments/'
He concluded not to hasten, however, and the ranch
ers had plenty of time to become impatient. They
met him darkly.
" We want a word in private, Major/' said Jenks,
a tall, long-bearded man of most portentous gravity.
Curtis led the way to an inner office and offered
them seats, which they took in the same oppressive
silence.
The agent briskly opened the hearing. " What
can I do for you, gentlemen?"
Jenks looked at Streeter — Streeter nodded. "Go
ahead, Hank/'
Jenks leaned over aggressively. "Your damned
Injuns have murdered one o' my herders/'
Curtis hardened. "What makes you think so?"
he sharply asked.
"He disappeared more than a week ago, and no
one has heard of him since. I know he has been
killed, and your Injuns done it. No one — "
"Wait a moment," interrupted Curtis. "Who
was he?"
" His name is Cole — he was herdin' my sheep."
"Are you a sheep-man?"
"lam."
"Where do you live?"
"My sheep ranch is over on Horned Toad Creek."
" Where was this man when he disappeared?"
Jenks grew a little uneasy. " He was camped by
the Mud Spring."
Curtis rose and called Wilson in. " Wilson, where
is the Mud Spring?"
207
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
" Just inside our south line, about four miles from
the school/'
"I thought so/' replied Curtis. "Your sheep
were on the reservation. Are you sure this man was
murdered?"
"Him and the dog disappeared together, and
hain't neither of 'em been seen since."
"How long ago was this?"
; " Just a week to-morrow. "
"Have you made a search for him? Have you
studied the ground closely?"
Streeter interposed. "We've done all that could
be done in that line. I know he's killed. He told Cal
about two weeks ago that he had been shot at twice
and expected to get wiped out before the summer
was over. There isn't a particle of doubt in my mind
about it. The thing for you to do is to make a de
mand — "
"I am not in need of instructions as to my duty,"
interrupted Curtis. "Wilson, who is over from the
Willow Creek?"
j "Old Elk himself."
" Send him in. I shall take all means to help you
find this herder," Curtis said to the ranchers, "but
I cannot allow you to charge my people with his death
without greater reason than at present. We must
move calmly and without heat in this matter. Mur
der is a serious charge to make without ample proof."
The Elk, smiling and serene, entered the door and
stood for a moment searching the countenances of
the white men. His face grew grave as the swift
signs of his agent filled his mind with the story of
the disappearance of the herder.
208
THE SHERIFF'S MOB
"I am sorry; it is bad business/' he said.
"Now, Crawling Elk, I want you to call together
five or six of your best trailers and go with these men
to the place where the herder was last seen and see
if you can find any trace of him;" then, turning to
Streeter, he said : " You know Crawling Elk; he is the
one chief against whom you have no enmity. If
Cole was murdered, his body will be found. Until
you have more proof of his death I must ask you to
give my people the benefit of the doubt. Good-day,
gentlemen."
As they turned to go, two young reds were seen
leaving the window. They had watched Curtis as
he signed the story to Crawling Elk. As the white
men emerged these young fellows were leaning
lazily on the fence, betraying no interest and very
little animation, but a few minutes later they were
mounted and riding up the valley at full gallop, heavy
with news of the herder's death and Streeter's threats.
"Now, Elk," vsigned Curtis, "say nothing to any
one but your young men and the captain of police,
whom I will send with you to bring me word/'
After they had all ridden away, Curtis turned to
Wilson and said, "I didn't suppose I should live to
see a sheep-man and a cattleman riding sicle by side
in this amicable fashion."
"Oh, they'll get together against the Indian, all
right. They're mighty glad of a chance to make any
kind of common cause. That lazy herder has jumped
the country. He told me he was sick of his job."
"But the dog?"
"Oh, he killed the dog to keep him from being
traced. There isn't a thing in it, Major."
"* 209
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"I'm inclined to think you're right, but we must
make careful investigation; the people are very cen
sorious of my policy/'
Next morning Crawling Elk brought word that no
trace of the man could be found. " The grass is very
dry/' he explained, "and the trail is old. We dis
covered nothing except some horses' hoof-marks."
"Keep searching till every foot of land is covered/'
commanded Curtis. " Otherwise the white man will
complain/'
On Friday, just after the bell had called the people
to resume work at one o'clock, Crow, the police cap
tain, rode into the yard on a pony covered with ridges
of dried sweat, His face was impassive, but his
eyes glittered a he lifted his hand and signed :
"The white man's body is found!"
"Where?" asked Curtis from the door- way.
"On the high ground near the spring. He has
three bullet -holes in him. Three cartridge - shells
were found where the horses' hoof-marks were. The
ones who shot dismounted there and fired over a little
knoll. There are many white men over there now ;
they are very angry. They are coming here — "
"Be silent! Come in here!" Once within the
office, Curtis drew from Crow Wing all he knew. He
was just in the midst of giving his orders when Wil
son opened the door and said, quietly, though his
voice had a tremulous intensity :
"Major, step here a moment."
Curtis went to the door. He could not restrain a
smile, even while a cold chill went to his heart. Noth
ing could exceed the suddenness of the change which
had swept over the agencj^. As he had stood in the
210
THE SHERIFF'S MOB
office door ten minutes before, his ears had been filled
with the clink-clank of the blacksmiths' hammers, the
shouts of drivers, and the low laughter of young
women on their way to the store. Crane's Voice
was hitching up his team, while Lost Legs and Turkey
Tail were climbing to the roof of the warehouse with
pots of red paint. Peter Wolf was mending a mow*
ing - machine, and his brother Robert was cutting
wood behind the agency kitchen. All about he had
observed groups of white-blanketed Indians smok
ing cigarettes in the shade of the buildings, while
a crowd of nearly twenty others stood watching
a game of duck - on - the - rock before the agency
store.
Now as he looked over the yards not a redman could
be seen at his work. On every side the people, with
out apparent haste, but surely, steadily, and swiftly,
were scattering. The anvil no longer cried out, the
teamsters were silent, all laughter had ceased, the
pots of paint sat scorching in the sun. There was
something fiercely ominous as well as uncanny in
this sudden, silent dispersion of a busy, merry throng,
and Curtis, skilled in Indian signs, appreciated to
the full the distrust of the white man here expressed.
He understood this panic. The settlers had long
threatened war. Now the pretext had come, and the
sound of guns was about to begin.
"Wilson," said Curtis, calmly, "if the settlers
fire a shot they will regret it. See Crane's Voice, if
you can find him, and send him to me." He turned
to Crow and signed : " Go tell your people I will not
let the cowboys hurt them. Hurry! Call them all
back. Tell them to go to work. I will call the sol-
211
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
diers, if necessary, to keep the white man away. There
is no danger."
Crow was a brave and loyal man, and, weary as he
was, hastened to carry out his orders. The call for
"assembly" was rung on the signal-bell, and a few
of the red employes responded. To them Curtis
spoke reassuringly, but his words were belied by
Thomas Big Voice, the official interpreter, who was
so scared his knees shook.
Curtis sent Wilson to quiet the teachers and hur
ried immediately to the studio, where Elsie was at
work painting a portrait of old Chief Black Bull.
The old man sprang to his feet the instant he caught
sight of his agent's face.
" Friend, what is the matter?" he asked.
To Elsie, Curtis said : " Do not be alarmed."
" There is no danger," he signed to Black Bull.
"The white man's body has been found near the
spring. He was shot by two men with horses. The
white men are coming to see me about it, but there
is no need of alarm. Tell your people to go quietly
to their camps. I will protect them."
The old chief's face grew sterner as he flung his
blanket over his arm. " I go to see," he said. " The
white men are very angry."
"Wait!" called Curtis. "Keep your people quiet
right where they are. You must help me. I de
pend on you. You must not alarm them. "
"I will do as you command," Bull replied, as he
went away, but it was plain he apprehended violence.
" What is the matter?" inquired Elsie.
" The settlers have discovered the body of the herder
who was killed, and Crow brings word they are angry.
212
THE SHERIFF'S MOB
I don't think there is any danger, but I wish you and
Jennie were at the fort for a few days. I don't like
to have you disturbed by these things/'
It was their first meeting alone since their return
from the camping-trip, but Elsie was too much con
cerned with the serious expression of his face to feel
any embarrassment.
"You don't th'ink there will be trouble?"
"No, only a distracting wrangle, which may pre
vent your getting models. The Indians are nervous,
and are even now getting out for the hills. But I
hope you will not be alarmed."
"I'm not a nervous person."
"I know you're not — that is the reason I dared to
come and tell you what was going on. I deeply re
gret-"
Wilson rapped on the door. "Major, you are
needed. Bow-legs reports two bodies of armed men
riding up the valley; the dust of their horses' hoofs
can be seen. There are at least twenty men in the
two squads," Wilson continued; "one came across
from the West Fork, the other came from the south.
It looks like a prearranged invasion."
" Very well, Wilson, I'll be at the office in time to
meet them."
Curtis turned on Elsie a look which went to her
heart. His voice was low as he said : " Let me take
you over to Jennie. I presume these men are coming
to make a demand on me for the murderers. They
may or may not know who the guilty ones are, but
their coming in force by prearrangement has alarmed
the people."
As she laid down her brushes and took up her hat
213
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
she said, gleefully : " Father won't be able to ask me
what I know about war — will he? Will they begin
shooting at once?"
" I don't think they are likely to do anything as a
body, but some reckless cowboy may do violence to
some Tetong, which will rouse the tribe to retaliation.
The settlers have too much sense to incite an out
break." At the door he said : " I wish you would go
to Jennie. Tell her not to get excited. I will let you
know what it is all about as soon as I find out my
self. It may be all a mistake. "
As he was crossing the road Lawson joined him,
and when they reached the gate before the office,
several of the invaders had dismounted and were
waiting the agent's coming. There were eleven of
them; all were deeply excited, and two or three of the
younger men were observably drunk and reckless.
Streeter, stepping forward, introduced a short, sullen-
faced man as " Sheriff Winters, of Pinon County."
"What name?" said Curtis, as he shook hands
pleasantly.
" Sheriff Winters," repeated Streeter.
"What is the meaning of all this?" queried Curtis.
" We have come for the man that killed Ed Cole.
We are a committee appointed by a convention of
three hundred citizens who are holding an inquest
over the body," said Winters. " We have come for
the murderer."
" Do you know who committed the murder?"
"No, but we know it was an Injun."
"How do you know it?" They hesitated. "Do
you come as an officer of the law? Have you a war
rant?"
214
THE SHERIFF'S MOB
" No, I have not, but we are determined — "
" Then I deny your right to be here. Your coming
is an armed invasion of federal territory/' said Cur
tis, and his voice rang like steel.
"Here comes the other fellers," called some one in
the crowd. Turning his head, Curtis saw another
squad of men filing down over the hill from the north.
He counted them and made out fifteen. Turning
sharply to the sheriff, he asked : " Who are those men?"
"I don't know."
" Are you responsible for their coming?"
" No, sir, I am not!" the sheriff replied, plainly on
the defence.
As the second squad came galloping up, the sher
iff's party greeted them with nods and low words.
Curtis heard one man ask: "Where's Charley? I
thought he was coming," and became perfectly cer
tain that this meeting had been prearranged. The
new-comers mingled with the sheriff's party quite
indistinguishably and made no further explanation
of their presence.
The young officer burned hot with indignation.
" Sheriff Winters, order these men to retire at once.
They have no business here!"
A mutter of rage ran over the mob and several hands
dropped ostentatiously upon pistols.
One loud-voiced young whelp called out an insult
ing word. "You go to ! We'll retire when we
get an Injun, not before!"
"Shut up, you fool!" called the sheriff, and, turn
ing to Jenks, began to mutter in consultation. Cur
tis advanced a step, and raising his voice addressed
the entire mob.
215
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"As commander of this reservation, I order you
to withdraw. Your presence here is unlawful and
menacing. Retire to the boundary of the reserva
tion, and I will use every effort to discover the mur
derer. If he is in the tribe I will find him and deliver
him to the county authorities/'
At this one of the same young ruffians who had
challenged him before spurred his horse close to
Curtis, and with his pistol in his hand shouted : " Not
by a d sight. We come to take it out o' these
thieves, and we're goin' to do it. Go ahead, Win
ters — say the word and we'll clean out the whole
tribe."
Curtis looked the youth in the eye. "My boy, I
advise you to make war slowly, even with your
mouth."
Calvin Streeter, with his teeth clinched, crowded
his horse forward and struck the insolent hoodlum
in the face with his hat. " Shut up, or I'll pinch your
neck off! Think you're sheriff?" The belligerent
retired, snarling wild curses.
Curtis addressed himself again to Winters, as
suming a tone of respect and confidence which he
did not feel. "Mr. Winters, you are here as a rep
resentative of the courts of Pinon County. I call
upon you, as sheriff, to disperse all these men, who
are here without warrant of law!"
The sheriff hesitated, for the cattlemen were now
furious and eager to display their valor. Many of
them were of the roughest types of cowboys, the pro
fane and reckless renegades of older communities,
and being burdened with ammunition, and fool
hardy with drink, they were in no mood to turn tail
216
THE SHERIFF'S MOB
and ride away. They savagely blustered, flourish
ing their revolvers recklessl}*-.
The sheriff attempted to silence them, and said,
petulantly, to Curtis : " If I hadn't come you'd 'a' had
a mob of two hundred armed men instead of twenty.
I had hard work to ke^p 'em back. I swore in these
ten men as my deputies. This second crowd I don't
know anything about. They just happen to be here. "
Curtis knew this to be a lie, but proceeded to ca
jole the sheriff by recognizing him and his author
ity.
"In that case I shall act." Addressing the leader
of the second party, he said: "Sheriff Winters is the
legal representative of the county; you are an un
lawful mob, and I once more command you to leave
the reservation, which is federal territory, under my
command."
"No, you don't! We stay right here!" shouted
several.
"We'll see whether the people of this State have
any rights or not," said Jenks, deeply excited. "We
won't allow you to shield your murdering redskins
under such a plea; we'll be judge and jury in this
case."
Curtis turned sharply to the sheriff: "Officer, do
your duty! Dispose of this mob!" His tone was
magnificently commanding. "I shall hold you re
sponsible for further trouble," said Curtis, turning a
long look on Winters, which stung.
The sheriff angrily addressed the crowd. "Get
out o' this, boys. You're twisting me all up and
doing no good. Vamoose now! I've got all the
help I need. I'm just as much obliged, but you'd
217
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
better clear out/' Then to his deputies, "Round
'em up, boys, and send 'em away."
Calvin's face wore a smile of wicked glee as he
called out :
"Now you fellers git!" and spurring his horse into
their midst he hustled them. "Hunt your holes!
You're more bother than you are worth. Git out o'
here!"
While the sheriff and his deputies alternately plead
ed and commanded the mob to withdraw, Lawson
touched Curtis on the arm and pointed to the crests j
of the hills to the west. On every smooth peak aj
mounted sentinel stood, silent and motionless as a]
figure on a monument — watching the struggle going
on before the agency gate.
"Behind every hill young warriors are riding,"
said Lawson. "By sundown every man and boy|
will be armed and ready for battle. If these noble j
citizens knew what you have saved them from they;
would bless you."
The mob of cattlemen retreated slowly, with many
fierce oaths and a jangle of loud debate which Cur
tis feared each moment might break into a crackle of
pistol shots.
"That was a good stroke," said Lawson. "It]
sets up division, and so weakens them. You will be
able to handle the sheriff now."
XX
FEMININE STRATEGY
TTAVTNG seen the horsemen ride away, Jennie
JLl and Elsie came across the road tense with ex
citement
" Tell us all about it? Have they gone?"
"Who are they?"
"We hope they are gone/' Curtis replied, as lightly
as he could. "It was the sheriff of Pinon County
and a lynching party. I have persuaded one mob
to drive away the other. They were less dangerous
than they seemed."
"See those heads 1" exclaimed Lawson, pointing
out several employe's who were peering cautiously
over roofs and around corners. "Not one has re
tained his hat/' he added. "If the danger sharpens,
off will come their shirts and trousers, and those bellig
erent white men will find themselves contending
with six hundred of the best fighters in the world/'
"We must temporize/' said Curtis. "A single
shot now would be disaster." He checked himself
there, but Lawson understood as well as he the sit
uation.
Jennie was not yet satisfied. "Has the sheriff
come for some one in particular?"
" No, he has no warrant, hasn't even a clew to the
219
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
murder. He is really at the lead of a lynching party
himself, and has no more right to be here than the
men he is driving away/'
"What ought he to do?" asked Elsie.
" He should go home. It is my business as agent
to make the arrest. I have only a half-dozen police,
and I dare not attempt to force him and his party to
leave the reservation/'
"The whole situation is this/' explained Lawson.
" They've made this inquest the occasion for bring
ing all the hot-headed fools of the country together,
and this is a bluff which they think will intimidate
the Indians."
"They wouldn't dare to begin shooting, would
they?" asked Elsie.
"You can't tell what such civilized persons will
do/' said Lawson. "But Curtis has the sheriff
thinking, and the worst of it is over."
"Here they come again!" exclaimed Wilson, who
surprised Curtis by remaining cool and watchful
through this first mutiny.
At a swift gallop the sheriff and his posse came
whirling back up the road — a wild and warlike squad
— hardly more tractable than the redoubtables they
had rounded up and thrown down the valley.
" I think you had better go in/' said Curtis to Elsie.
" Jennie, take her back to the house for a little while."
" No, let us stay/' cried Elsie. " I want to see this
sheriff myself. If we hear the talk we'll be less ner
vous."
Curtis was firm. " This is no place for you. These
cowboys have no respect for God, man, or devil; please
go in/'
220
FEMININE STRATEGY
Jennie started to obey, but Elsie obstinately held
her ground.
"I will not! I have the right to know what is
threatening me! I always hated to go below in a
storm/'
In a cloud of dust — with snorting of excited horses,
the posse, with the sheriff at its head, again pulled up at
the gate. The young men stared at the two daintily
dressed girls with eyes of stupefaction. Here was
an unlooked-for complication. A new element had
entered the controversy. The sheriff slid from his
horse and gave a rude salute with his big brown
fist.
"Howdy, ladies, howdy." It was plain he was
deeply embarrassed by this turn of affairs.
Elsie seized Curtis by the arm and whispered:
" Introduce me to him — quick ! Tell him who I am."
Curtis instantly apprehended her plan. "Sheriff
Winters, this is Miss Brisbane, daughter of ex-Sena
tor Brisbane, of Washington/'
The sheriff awkwardly seized her small hand,
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, miss," he
said. "I know the Senator well."
Curtis turned to Jennie, who came forward — " And
this is my sister."
"I've heard of you," the sheriff said, regaining his
self-possession. " I'm sorry to disturb you, ladies — "
Elsie looked at him and quietly said : " I hope you
will not be hasty, sheriff ; my father will not sanction
violence."
" You're being here makes a difference, miss — of
course— I — "
Jennie spoke up : " You must be hungry, Mr. Sher-
221
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
iff," she said, and smiling up at Calvin, added, "and
so are your men. Why not picket your horses and
have some lunch with us?"
Curtis took advantage of the hesitation. " That's
the reasonable thing, men. We can discuss meas
ures at our ease."
The cowboys looked at each other with signif
icant glances. Several began to dust themselves and
to slyly swab their faces with their gay kerchiefs, and
one or two became noticeably redder about the ears
as they looked down at their horses' bridles.
Calvin broke the silence. " I don't let this chance
slip, boys. Fm powerful keen, myself."
" So 'm I," echoed several others.
The sheriff coughed. "Well — really — I'm agree
able, but I'm af eerd it '11 be a powerful sight o' trouble,
miss."
" Oh no, let us attend to that," cried Jennie. " We
shall expect you in fifteen minutes," and taking
Elsie by the arm, she started across the road.
As the cowboys followed the graceful retreating
figures of the girls, Lawson and Curtis looked at each
other with eyes of amazement; Lawson acknowl
edged a mighty impulse to laugh. "How unmili-
tary," he muttered.
" But how effective," replied Curtis, his lips twitch
ing.
The cowboys muttered among themselves. " Say,
is this a dream?"
"Who said pork-and-beans?"
"Does my necktie kiver my collar-button?" asked
a third.
"Gome, boys!" called Curtis, cheerily. "While
222
FEMININE STRATEGY
the sheriff and I have a little set-to, you water your
ponies and dust off, and be ready for cold potatoes.
You're a little late for a square meal, but I think we
can ease your pangs."
With a patter of jocose remarks the cowboys rode
off down towards the creek, taking the sheriff's horse
along with them.
Curtis turned to Lawson. "I wish you'd bring
that code over to the house, Lawson. I want to show
that special clause to the sheriff."
Turning to Winters, he said: "Come, let's go
across to my library and talk our differences over in
comfort."
The sheriff dusted his trousers with the broad of
his hand. "Well, now, I'm in no condition to sit
down with ladies."
"I'll give you a chance to clean up," replied Cur
tis, who plainly saw that the girls had the rough
bordermen "on the ice and going," as Calvin would
say. A man can brag and swear and bluster out of
doors, or in a bare, tobacco-stained office ; but in a
library, surrounded by books, in the hearing of ladies,
he is more human — more reasonable. Jennie's invi
tation had turned impending defeat to victory.
Curtis took Winters into his own bedroom and put
its toilet articles at his service and left him. As the
sheriff came out into the Captain's library five min
utes later, it was plain he had washed away a large
part of his ferocity ; his hair, plastered down smooth,
represented the change in his mental condition — his
quills were laid. He was, in fact, fairly meek.
Curtis confidentially remarked, in a low voice : " You
see, sheriff, we must manage this thing quietly. We
223
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
mustn't endanger these women, and especially Miss
Brisbane. If the old Senator gets a notion his daugh
ter is in danger — "
Winters blew a whiff. " Great God, he'd tear the
State wide open! No, the boys were too hasty. As
I say, I saw the irregularity, but if I hadn't consented
to lead a posse in here that whole inquest would have
come a-rampin' down on ye. I said to 'em, ' Boys/
I says, 'you can't do that kind of thing,' I says.
' These Tetongs are fighters,' I says, ' and you'll have
a sweet time chasin' 'em over the hills — just go slow
and learn to peddle,' I says — "
Lawson, entering with the code, cut him short in
his shameless exculpation, and Curtis said, suavely :
"Mr. Winters, I think you know Mr. Lawson."
"We've crossed each other's trail once or twice,
I believe," said Lawson. "Here is the clause."
Curtis laid the book before the sheriff, who pushed
a stubby forefinger against the letters and read the
paragraph laboriously. His thick wits wrere moved
by it, and he said: "Seems a clear case, and yet
the reservation is included in the lines of Pinon
County. 'Pears like the county dought 'o have some
rights."
"Well, here comes the posse," said Curtis; "we'll
talk it all over with them after lunch. Come in,
boys!" he called cheerily to the straggling herders,
who came in sheepishly, one by one, their spurs rat
tling, their big, limp hats twisted in their hands.
They had pounded the alkali from each other's shirt,
and their red faces shone with the determined rub
bing they had received. All the wild grace of their
horsemanship was gone, and as they sidled in and
224
FEMININE STRATEGY
squatted down along the wall they were anything
but ferocious in manner or speech.
" Ah, now, this is all right/' each man said, when
Curtis offered chairs. "You take the chair, Jim;
you take it, Joe — this suits me/'
Lawson was interested in their cranial develop
ment, and their alignment along the wall gave a
fine opportunity for comparison. "They were, for
the most part, shapeless and of small capacity/' he
said afterwards — "just country bumpkins, trained
to the horse and the revolver, but each of them arro
gated to himself the judicial mind of the Almighty
Creator/'
The sheriff, leaning far back in the big Morris
chair, wore a smirking smile which seemed to say:
" Boys, I'm onto this luxury all right. Stuffed chair
don't get me no back-ache. Nothing's too rich for
my blood — if I can get it/'
The young fellows were transfixed with awe of
Calvin, for, though the last to enter the house, he
walked calmly past the library door on into the
dining-room, and a moment later could be heard
chatting with the girls, "sassy as a whiskey- jack."
One big, freckled young fellow nudged his neigh
bor and said : " Wouldn't that pull your teeth? That
wall-eyed sorrel has waltzed right into the kitchen
to buzz the women. Say, his neck needs shorten
ing."
" Does he stand in, or is it just gall?"
" It's nerve — nothing else. We ain't onto our job,
that's all."
"Oh, he knows 'em all right. I heered he stands
in with the agent's sister."
is 225
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"The hell he does! Lookin' that way? Well, I
don't think. It's his brass-bound cheek. Wait till
we ketch him alone/'
Cal appeared at the door. "Well, fellers, come
in; grub's all spread out."
" What you got to say about it?" asked Green.
" Think you're the nigger that rings the bell, don't
ye?" remarked Galvin. " We're waitin' for the boss
to say ' when. ' '
Not one of them stirred till Curtis rose, saying to
the sheriff, "Well, we'll take time later to discuss
that; come right out and tame the wolf."
The fact that Curtis accepted Calvin's call impressed
the crowd deeply.
"You'd think he was one o' the fambly," mut
tered Galvin. "Wait till we get a rope 'round his
neck."
The table, looking cool and dainty in its fleckless
linen, was set with plates of cold chicken and ham,
with pots of jelly and white bread at each end of the
cloth, beside big pitchers of cool milk. To the cow
boys, accustomed only to their rude camps and the
crude housekeeping of the settlers round about, this
dainty cleanliness of dining-room was marvellously
subduing. They shuffled into their seats noisily,
with only swift, animal-like glances at the girls, who
were bubbling over with the excitement of feeding
this band of Cossacks.
As they drank their milk and fed great slices of
bread and jelly into their mouths, fighting Indians
seemed less necessary than they had supposed. Whis
key and alkali dust, and the smell of sweating ponies,
were all forgotten in the quiet and sweetness of this
226
FEMININE STRATEGY
pretty home. The soft answer had turned wrath into
shamefaced wonder and awkward courtesy.
Curtis, sitting at the head of the board as host,
plied the sheriff with cold chicken, discussing mean
while the difficulties under wrhich the Tetongs labored,
and drew from that sorely beleaguered officer ad
missions which he afterwards regretted. "That's
so, I don't know as I'd do any better in their places,
but—"
Jennie, with a keen perception of her power over
her guests, went from one to the other, inquiring, in
her sweetest voice: "Won't you have another slice
of bread? Please do!"
Elsie, less secure of manner, followed her with the
pitcher of milk, while the young men bruised each
other's shins beneath the table in their zealous ef
forts to diminish the joy each one took in the allur
ing presence of his cup-bearer.
Calvin sat near the end of the table, and his as
sured manner made the others furious. "Look at
that stoatin' bottle/' growled Green, out of the cor
ner of his mouth; " he needs killin'."
"Ah, we'll fix that tornmy-cod!" replied Galvin.
While the girls were at the upper end of the table
the man on Calvin's right leaned over and said :
" Say, Cal, 'pears like you got the run o' the house
here."
Calvin, big with joy and pride, replied : " Oh, I ride
round and picket here once in a while. It paya."
" Well, I should say yes — carry all your cheek
right with ye, don't ye?"
As the boys began to shove back, Curtis brought
out a box of cigars and passed them along the line.
227
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
" Take hearty, boys ; they don't belong to the gov
ernment; they're mine, and you'll find them good."
As they were all helping themselves, the sheriff
coughed loudly and called out: "Boys, the Major
and me has fixed this thing up. I won't need but
three of you ; the rest can ride back and tell the gang
on the West Fork it's all right. Cal, you and Tom
and Green stay with me. The rest of you can go
as soon as your dinner's settled."
The ones not chosen looked a little disappointed,
but they made no protest. As they rose to go out
they all made powerful effort to do the right thing;
they lifted their eyes to the girls for a last glance and
grumbled :
"Much obliged, ladies!"
And in this humble fashion the ferocious posse of
the sheriff retreated from the house of their enemy.
Once outside, they turned on each other with broad
grins. They straightened — took on grace and se
curity of manner again. They were streaming with
perspiration, and their neckerchiefs were moist with
the drip of it, but they lit their cigars nonchalantly,
flung their hats rakishly on their heads, and turned
to take a last look at the house.
Elsie appeared at the door. "Boys!" she called,
and her clear voice transfixed every soul of them.
"You mustn't do anything reckless. You won't,
will you?"
Galvin alone was able to reply. "No, miss, we
won't. We won't do nothing to hurt you nor the
Major's sister — you needn't be scart."
" You can trust Captain Curtis ; he will do what is
right, I'm sure of that. Good-bye."
228
FEMININE STRATEGY
"Good-bye," they answered, one by one. Noth
ing further was said till they had crossed the road.
Then one of the roughest-looking of the whole gang
turned and said: "Fellers, that promise goes. We
got to keep that mob from goin' to war while these
girls are here. Ain't that right?"
"That's right!"
"Say, fellers, I'll tell you a job that would suit
me—"
"Hain't got any work into it if it does."
"What is it?"
"I'd like to be detailed to guard these 'queens'
from monkeys like you."
The others fell upon this reckless one with their
hats and gloves till he broke into a run, and all dis
appeared down the road in a cloud of dust.
XXI
IN STORMY COUNCILS
MEANWHILE the sentinels on the hills missed
little of the movement in the valley. They
quivered with rage as the horsemen dismounted and
entered the agent's house, for that seemed a defeat
for their friend; but when the strangers remounted
and rode away all were reassured, and Two Horns
said, "I will go down and see what it all means/'
One by one the principal native employes reap
peared. Crane's Voice came out of the barn, where
he had lain with his eyes to a crack in the wall, and
Peter Big- Voice and Robert Wolf stepped cautiously
into view from behind the slaughter-pen. Old Mary,
the cook, suddenly blocked the kitchen door -way,
and, with tremulous lips, asked : " Cowboys gone?"
"Yes, all gone/' replied Jennie, much amused.
"Good, good," replied the old woman.
"Where have you been, Mary?"
Her white teeth shone out in a sudden smile. " Ice
house — heap cold."
"What did you go in there for?"
"Cowboy no good — mebbe so shoot."
"They won't hurt you/' said Jennie, gently. "Go
to work again. The Captain will take care of you."
"Little Father no got gun — cowboy heap gun."
230
IN STORMY COUNCILS
"Little Father don't need gun now; you are all
right/' Jennie said, and the old woman went to her
work again, though nervously alert to every sound.
From nowhere in particular, two sharp-eyed lads
sauntered up the road to play under the office window,
so that if any loud word should be spoken the tribe
might know of it.
Jennie and Elsie discussed the situation while sit
ting at the librarjr window with a view of the agency
front door.
"I can't for the life of me take a serious view of
this episode/' said Jennie. " These cowboys wouldn't
be so foolish as to fire a first shot. They are like
big, country school-boys."
"The Parkers!" cried Elsie, suddenly. "Where
are the Parkers?"
Jennie gasped. "True enough! I had forgotten
all about them. I don't believe they have got back
from their ride."
" They will be scared blue. We must send for them. ' '
"I'll have Crane's Voice go at once," said Jennie.
"I will go with him."
"Don't do that — not without letting the Captain
know. How far is it?"
"Just over the hill — not more than five miles."
But even as she was hurrying across to the corral
to find an angel for this mission of mercy, she saw
the Parkers coming down the hill-side, moving slow
ly, for both were very bad riders. It was plain they
had heard nothing, and as she watched them ap
proach Jennie cried :
"Don't say a word. They won't see anything
suspicious."
231
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP -
There was something irresistibly funny in the calm
stateliness of the blond Parker as he led the way
past the store which was deserted of its patrons, past
the school-house where the students were quivering
with excitement, and close beside the office behind
whose doors Curtis was still in legal battle with the
sheriff.
Jennie met her visitors at the gate, her hands clinch
ed in the effort to control her laughter. "You are
late. Are you hungry?" she asked.
"Famished!" said Parker. "I had to ride slow
on Mrs. Parker's account."
"I like that!" cried Jennie. "As if any one could
be a worse rider than you are."
"How do women get off, anyway?" asked Parker,
as he approached his wife's pony.
"Fall off," suggested Jennie, and this seemed so
funny that she and Elsie went off into simultaneous
hysterical peals of laughter.
"You are easily- amused," remarked Parker, eying
them keenly. "Laugh on; it is good for digestion.
Excuse me from joining ; I haven 'i anything to digest. ' '
Putting his angular shoulder to Mrs. Parker's
waist, he eased her to the ground awkwardly but ten
derly. Upon facing the girls again and discovering
them still in foolish mirth, Parker looked himself all
over carefully, then turned to his wife. "We seem
to be affording these young ladies a great deal of
hearty pleasure, Mrs. Parker."
Mrs. Parker was not so dense. " What is the mat
ter?" she asked, sharply. "What has happened?
This laughter is not natural — you are both hys
terical."
232
IN STORMY COUNCILS
Both girls instantly became as grave as they had
been hilarious a moment before.
"Now I know something is wrong/' said Mrs.
Parker. "Where is the Captain? What made you
laugh that way? Have the savages broken out?"
Jennie met Parker's eyes fairly popping from his
head, and went off into another shout. At last she
paused and said, breathlessly : " Oh, you are funny !
Come into the house. We've been entertaining a
lynching party — all the Indians are in the hills and
the sheriff's in the office throttling the agent."
While the Parkers consumed their crusts of bread
and scraps of cold meat, Jennie told them what had
happened.
Parker rose to the occasion. "We must get out
o' here — every one of us! We should never have
come in here. Your brother is to blame ; he deceived
us."
" He did not ! " replied Jennie. " You shall not hold
him responsible!"
"He knew the situation was critical," Parker hotly
retorted. "He knew an outbreak was likely. It
was criminal on his part."
"Jerome Parker, you are a donkey/' remarked
Elsie, calmly. "Nothing has really happened. If
you're so nervous, go home. You can't sculp an
Indian, anyway — grasshoppers and sheep are in
your line." She had reverted to the plain talk of the
studios. " Your nervousness amused us for a while,
but it bores us now. Please shut up and run away
if you are afraid."
" You're not very nice," said Mrs. Parker, severely.
"I don't think it's very manly of your husband
233
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
when he begins to blame Captain Curtis for an in
vasion of cowboys."
"You admitted you were scared/' pursued Parker.
" Well, suppose we were, we didn't weep and com
plain; we set to work to tide over the crisis."
Jennie put in a word. " If you'd feel safer in the
camp of the enemy, Mr. Parker, we'll set you down
the valley with the settlers. I intend to stay right
here with my brother."
" So do I," added Elsie ; " if there is danger it is
safer here than with the cowboys; but the mob is
gone, and the Captain and Osborne will see that we
are protected."
Meanwhile the office resounded with the furious
argument of the sheriff. "The whole western part
of the State is disgusted with the way in which these
Indians escape arrest. They commit all kinds of
depredations, and not one is punished. This has
got to stop. We intend to learn this tribe it can't
hide thieves and murderers any longer." He ended,
blustering like a northwest wind.
" Produce your warrants and I'll secure the men,"
replied Curtis, patiently. "You shall not punish a
whole tribe on a pure assumption. You must come
to me with a proper warrant for a particular man,
and when you receive him from me you must prove
his guilt in court. As the case now stands, you
haven't the slightest evidence that an Indian killed
this herder, and I will not give over an innocent man
to be lynched by you."
As the sheriff stormed up and down the floor Law-
son said, in a low voice : " Delay — delay."
Curtis, who had been writing a note, slipped it to
234
IN STORMY COUNCILS
Lawson, who rose and went out of the door. Curtis
continued to parley.
" I appreciate your feeling in this matter, Mr. Sher
iff, and I am willing to do what is right. I have called
a council of my head men to-night, and I will ask them
to search for the murderer. An Indian cannot keep
a secret If one of the Tetongs killed your herder he
will tell of it. I again suggest that you go back to
your people and assure them of my willingness to aid
in this affair. Give me three days in which to act."
" That crowd will not be satisfied unless we bring
an Injun with us. We've got to do that or they'll
come rompin' in here and raise hell with you. I pro
pose to take old Crawling Elk himself and hold him
till the tribe— "
" If you attempt such a crime I will put you off the
reservation/' replied Curtis, sharply.
"Put me off! By , I think I see you doing
that! Why, the whole State would rise and wipe
you and your tribe out of existence/' He turned
threateningly and towered over Curtis, who was
seated.
" Be quiet, and keep your distance, or I'll put you
in irons ! Sit down ! ' '
These words were not spoken loudly, but they
caused the sheriff's face to blanch and his knees to
tremble. There was a terrifying, set glare in the
officer's eyes as he went on :
" What do you suppose would be the consequences
of firing upon a captain of the United States army
in the discharge of his duty, by a sheriff acting out
side the law? You have only three men out there,
and one of them is my friend, and you know the qual-
235
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
ity of Calvin Streeter. I am still in command of this
reservation, Mr. Sheriff."
Lawson re-entering at this moment, Curtis said:
" Ask Streeter to come in, will you, Mr. Lawson?"
Calvin entered smilingly. "Well, what's the up
shot?" he asked.
" It is this, Calvin. The sheriff has no warrant for
anybody, not even for a suspect. I have asked him
to go back and wait till I can find some clew to the
murderer. Do you consider that reasonable?"
" It sounds fair," admitted Calvin, growing grave.
" Now the question of whether the State or county
authority covers a federal reservation or not is too
big a question for us to settle. You see that, Calvin?"
Calvin scratched his head. "It sure is too many
fer me."
"Now I'll compromise in this case, Mr. Sheriff.
You discharge the rest of your deputies and send
them away, while you and Calvin remain with me to
attend a council — not to arrest anybody, but to con
vince yourself of my good-will in the matter. I will
not permit you to be armed nor to arrest any of my
Indians until we know what we are doing. When
we secure evidence against any man I will arrest him
myself and turn him over to you. But I insist that
you send away the men in the outer office."
Calvin spoke up. "I reckon the Major's right,
sheriff. How ye goin' to arrest a man if you don't
know who he is? I reckon you better do as he says.
I ain't a-lookin' fer no fuss with the agent, and the
United States army only fifty miles off."
The sheriff growled surlily. " All right, but there
ain't no monkey business about this. I get my man
236
IN STORMY COUNCILS
sooner or later, you bet your heart on that/' As he
went out into the general office and announced the
agent's demand, Green blurted out defiant phrases.
"Fll be damned if I would! No — stick it out!
Do? Why, take old Elk and hold him till the tribe
produces the right man — that's the way we always
done before."
The arguments of Calvin could not be heard, but
at last he prevailed, and the sullen deputies withdrew.
The sheriff scrawled a hasty note to the county at
torney to explain his failure to bring his man, and
the three deputies went out to saddle up. Their
cursing was forceful and varied, but they went.
Parker, seeing them come forth, met them, inquir
ing anxiously :
" Well, what do you think of the situation?"
Green looked at him surlily. "You belong here?"
"No, I'm just a visitor."
" Well, you better get out quick as God 11 let ye."
" Why, what is going to happen?"
" Just this : we're goin' to have the man that killed
Cole or we'll cut this whole tribe into strips. That's
all," and they moved on, cursing afresh.
Parker fell back aghast, and watched them in
silence as they saddled their horses and rode off. He
then hurried to the office. Wilson, after going in to
see his chief, came back to say: "The Major will
see you in a moment. He's sending out his police."
A few moments afterwards six of the Indian police
men came filing out, looking tense and grave, and a
couple of minutes later Curtis appeared.
"What is it, Parker?"
" What is going on, Captain? I am very anxious."
237
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"You need not be. We've reached a compromise.
Wait a moment and I will go over to the house with
you."
When he reappeared, Lawson was with him. Noth
ing was said till they were well in the middle of the
road. Then Curtis remarked, carelessly :
" You attended to that matter, Lawson?"
"Yes, Crane's Voice is ten miles on his way."
"There go two dangerous messengers/' said Cur
tis, lifting his eyes to the hill-side, up which the sullen
deputies were climbing.
Parker was importunate — he wished to understand
the whole matter. Curtis became a little impatient.
"I will explain presently/' he replied, and nothing
more was said till they entered the library, which
was filled with the women of the agency. Jennie
had reassured them as best she could, but they were
eager to see the agent himself. Miss Colson, the
kindergarten teacher, was disposed to rush into his
arms.
Curtis smiled round upon them. " What's all this
—a council of war?"
Miss Colson seized the dramatic moment. "Oh,
Major, are we in danger? Tell us what has hap
pened."
"Nothing much has happened since dinner. I
have persuaded the sheriff to discharge all his depu
ties except Calvin, and they are to remain over. I
have sent for the head man to come in, and we are
going to council to-night. The trouble is practically
over, for the sheriff has given up the attempt to arrest
Elk as a hostage. Now go back to your work, all of
you. You should not have left your children/' he
238
IN STORMY COUNCILS
added, rather sternly, to Miss Colsoa, " They need
you now/'
The women went out at once, and in a few min
utes Curtis was alone with the members of his own
little circle. "Now I have another story for you/'
he said, turning to Elsie. "While I am sure the
worst of the sheriff's work is over, I realize that there
are two hundred armed men over on the Willow, and
that it is better to be on the safe side. Therefore I
have sent to Fort Lincoln for troops. Crane's Voice
will reach there by sundown — the troops should ar
rive here by sunrise to-morrow. Meanwhile I will
talk with Elk—"
"Suppose Elk don't come?" asked Jennie.
Curtis looked grave. "In that case I shall go to
find him."
Elsie cried out, "You wouldn't do that?"
"Yes, it would be my duty — I have promised —
but he will come. He trusts me. I have ordered
him to bring all his people and camp as usual just
above the agency store. Now, of course, no one can
tell the precise outcome of all this, and if you, Miss
Brisbane, and Mr. and Mrs. Parker, want to go down
to the white settlement, I will send you at once. Mr.
Lawson will go with you, or I will ask the sheriff to
take you — "
"The safest place on the reservation is right here!"
said Lawson. "Suppose the ranchers return — they
will take control here, and use the agency as a base
of supplies; the fighting will take place in the hills.
Besides, our going would excite the settlers uselessly,
and put Captain Curtis deeper into trouble. I pro
pose that we stay right here, and convince the em-
239
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
ployes and the Indians that we are not alarmed. I
don't want to assume the responsibility of a panic,
and our going this afternoon might precipitate one/'
Curtis was profoundly grateful to Lawson for this
firm statement. "I think you are right, Mr. Law-
son/' he said, formally. " You see my position clear
ly. I feel sure I can control the sheriff by peaceable
means — and yet my responsibility to you weighs
upon me." Pie looked at Elsie again. " I think you
can trust me. Will you stay?"
"Of course we will stay/' she replied, and Parker
sank into his chair as if resigned to his fate.
Curtis went on: "I am not speaking to reassure
myself. Perhaps I am too positive, but my experi
ence as an officer in the army has given me a con
tempt for these six-shooter heroes. The thing I
really fear is a panic among the settlers. Naturally,
I am disinclined towards the notoriety I would gain in
the press; but the troops will certainly be here to
morrow, and that will settle the turmoil. The sheriff
is less of an embarrassment, now that he has only
Calvin as deputy."
" Send the sheriff over here — we'll entertain him by
showing him the photograph album," called Jennie.
"We helped out this forenoon, and we can do it
again."
" I don't think such heroic methods are necessary ;
an extra good dinner will do quite as well," replied
Curtis, smiling. "I'm sorry, Mr. Parker, that your
expedition for material is coming to this grewsome
end."
Elsie interposed. " It is precisely what he wants ;
he will know from positive knowledge how a Tetong
240
IN STORMY COUNCILS
brave dresses for war. I have always claimed that
no Indian ever wore that absurd war-bonnet/'
Lawson added : " And you will gain valuable in
formation as to the character of white settlers and
'Indian outbreaks/'
" I ought to telegraph papa/'
"I have already done so/' replied Lawson — "in
anticipation of the hullabaloo that will break forth
in the papers of the State to-morrow."
"I shall wire the department a full statement to
night/' said Curtis. " But we must be careful what
we say at this point."
"Isn't it a foolish thing not to have a telegraph
line connecting the fort and the agency?" cried
Jennie. " The troops could have been half-way here
by this time."
" It's the same penny- wise and pound-foolish meth
od by which the Indian service is run/' responded
Lawson.
" Here comes one of my scouts/' said Curtis, as a
young Tetong galloped up to the gate, threw him
self from his reeking pony, and strode into the hall
way without knocking, his spurs clattering, his quirt
dangling from his wrist. As he stood before his
chief, delivering his message with shadowy silence
and swiftness, Elsie thrilled with the dramatic sig
nificance of the scene. The stern, almost haughty
face of the young man was in keeping with his
duties.
Curtis dismissed the boy and translated his mes
sage. " He says the settlers below us have fled tow
ards Pinon City, taking all their goods with them.
White Wolf's band are all in camp except the young
16 241
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
men, who are scouting for the chiefs to see what it
all means. That mob of cowboys took delight, no
doubt, in scattering consternation as they passed.
The settlers are in stampede/'
" Wilson is coming across the street," said Jennie,
" and has an Indian with him."
" Another scout," said Curtis. " Now I will let you'
know all that goes on, but I must ask you all, ex
cept Mr. Lawson, to leave me the library to transact
this business in." As Elsie passed him, she drew
towards him with a little, shrinking movement which
moved him deeply. It wras as though she were
clutched by a force greater than her will.
"It's like being at army headquarters," she said
to Jennie.
" It is a little like a commander's tent in the field.
I wish we dared to throw that old sheriff off the
reservation. He has no right to be snooping round
here."
Parker slumped deep in a big rocker, and Mrs.
Parker sat beside him and put her hand on his arm.
" Don't worry about me, Jerome."
He looked up gloomily. "I got you into this,
dearest, and I must get you out. If the soldiers come
to-morrow I will ask for an escort to the fort, and then
we can reach the railway and get out of the cursed
country. I'd as soon live in a den of hyenas and
rattlesnakes."
Elsie laughed. "Parker, you are too amusing.
You are pathetic . When I think of you as you pranced
about the camp-fire two days ago and look upon you
now, my heart aches for you."
" I don't think it generous of you to make fun of us
242
IN STORMY COUNCILS
at this time, Bee Bee/' Mrs. Parker replied, reproach
fully.
"Oh, let her go on. Her Latin Quarter English
doesn't disturb me," Parker answered, savagely.
Curtis at this moment appeared. "My message
was from the farmer at Willow Spring. He says all
his employes, with one or two exceptions, have dis
appeared ; that the band of Crawling Elk was threat
ened by a mob of white men early this morning, and
that they are all breaking camp in order to flee to the
hills. All the settlers on the Willow are hurrying
their women and children down towards Pinon City.
The whole country has been alarmed by the menace
of the coroner's inquest, which is camped below the
agency at Johnson's ranch, waiting the sheriff's re
turn. The deputies had not reached there when this
letter was written," added Curtis. " The sheriff's
message will disperse the crowds, and I am sending
a note of reassurance to the farmers and to the set
tlers."
"It's getting mighty serious, don't you think so?"
asked Parker. " I wish the troops were here. Can't
we hurry them up?"
"No, all that can be done has been done. I am
telling you all that goes on, and I must request you
not to repeat it. I wish you would all be specially
guarded in the presence of the sheriff. You might
engage him in a game of ' cinch ' after dinner. Any
thing to keep him out of my way."
"We'll absorb him," said Jennie.
One by one Curtis called in his most trusted em
ployes, and, quieting their fears, put them to their
duties. Special policemen were uniformed and sent
243
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
to carry messages to the encampments on the hills,
asking the head men of each band to come at once
to the agency for council, and to order their people
into camp. The tranquillizing effect of the agent's
bearing made itself felt immediately. The threads
of the whole tangle were soon in his hands and
made straight, and when he received the sheriff at
six o'clock he was confident and serene of bearing.
Two Horns came down from the hills, and at the
agent's order gathered his band close around his
own tepee to camp until the trouble was ended. To
gether they made a tour of the village, and Curtis
made it plain that he would protect them, and that
no more armed men would come among them to in
cite violence.
"They have turned back, for fear of the Little
Father and of Washington/' said Two Horns to the
old men, and they were glad of his words.
Curtis was by no means at ease. As he recalled
the threats of the cattlemen, the encroachments of
their flocks, the vicious assaults made on Crow Killer
and Yellow Hand, he divined a growing antagonism
which could go but little further without producing
war. His mind dwelt on the hurrying figure of
Crane's Voice. Much depended on him. He saw
him as he faced the sentry. "If he should fail to
reach the Colonel! But he will not fail, and troops
will be instantly despatched."
From these considerations he turned to the grow
ing trust and confidence which Elsie was displaying.
That movement towards him, slight as it was, and
the softened look in her eyes, quickened his breath
244
IN STORMY COUNCILS
as he allowed his inward self to muse on their mean
ing. She was looking to him for protection, and this
attitude was not only new, it was disturbing ; and the
soldier found it necessary to put away his pipe and
fall savagely upon some work to keep his mind from
ranging too far afield,
xxn
A COUNCIL AT NIGHT
THE sheriff came to dinner rather shamefacedly,
but Calvin, being profoundly pleased, was on
his very best behavior. "This being deputy suits
me to the ground/' said he to Wilson, as he rose in
answer to the call to dinner.
As they were crossing the road he said, confiden
tially: "Now see here, you mustn't talk politics
round the ladies over there, sheriff."
"Politics?"
" You know what I mean. You keep to the weather
and the crops, and let this murder case alone for a
minute or two, or I'll bat you one for luck."
Winters took this threat as a sign of their good
understanding, and remarked, jocosely, "You damn
ed young cub, I'd break you in two for a leather
cent."
"That's all right, but what I say goes," replied
Calvin. And remembering old Joe Streeter's politi
cal pull, the sheriff did not reply.
Jennie kept the talk pleasantly inconsequential
during dinner by a cheery tale of the doings of a
certain Chinaman she had once tried to train into
a cook, and Calvin, laughing heartily, matched her
experience with that of his mother while keeping
246
A COUNCIL AT NIGHT
house in Pinon City one winter. This left Elsie to
a little conversation with Curtis.
"You must let me see this council to-night/' she
said, and her request had the note of a command.
"I know how you feel/' he said, "and I wish I
could do so; but I can't make an exception in your
favor without offending the Parkers/'
"Are you not the general?" she asked, smilingly.
" If you see fit to invite me and leave them out, they
can only complain. I'm going to stay here with
Jennie, anyhow."
"In that case we can manage it"
"Do you know what I think? You've instigated
this whole affair to convert me to your point of view.
Really, the whole thing is like a play. I'm not a
bit frightened — at least, not yet It's precisely like
sitting in a private box and seeing the wolves tear
holes in Davy Crockett's cabin. You are the man
ager of the show."
"Well, why not? When the princess tours the
provinces it is customary to present historical pa
geants in her honor. This drama is your due."
And as he spqke he observed for the first time the
absence of the ring from her significant finger. The
shock threw him into a moment's swift surmise,
and when he looked up at her she was flushed and
uneasy. She recovered herself first, and though
her hand remained on the table it had the tremulous
action of a frightened small animal — observed yet
daring not to seek cover.
"I hope this council to-night will not fail. I am
eager to see what you will do with them," she hast
ened to say.
247
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"They will come!" he replied.
Calvin was relating a story of a mountain-lion he
had once treed for an Eastern artist to photograph.
"Just then the dern brute jumped right plum onto
the feller and knocked him down, machine and all;
for a minute or two it was just a mixture o' man
and lion, then that feller come up top, and the next
thing I seen he batted the lion with his box, and that
kind o' stunted the brute, and he hit him again and
glass began to fly; he was game all right, that feller
was. When the lion stiffened out, he turned to where
I was a-rollin' on the pine-needles, and says, quiet-like,
' Give me your revolver, please. ' I give it to him, and
he put it to the lion's ear and finished him. When
he got up and looked at his machine he says, 'How
much is a mountain - lion skin worth?' "Bout four
dollars, green/ I says. He looked at the inwards of
his box, which was scattered all over the ground.
Says he, 'You wouldn't call that profitable, would
you — a seventy-dollar instrument in exchange for a
four-dollar pelt?"
Everybody laughed at this story, and the dinner
came to an end with the sheriff in excellent temper.
Lawson offered cigars, and tolled him across the road
to the office, leaving Curtis alone in his library.
He resolutely set to work to present the situation
of the sheriff's presence concisely to the department
in a telegram, and was still at work upon this when
Jennie entered the room, closed the curtains, and lit
the lamp.
Elsie came in a little later to say, sympathetically :
"Are you tired, Captain Curtis?"
He pushed his writing away.
248
A COUNCIL AT NIGHT
" Yes, a little. The worst of it is, I keep saying :
// so and so happens, then I must do thus and thus,
and that is the hardest work in the world. I can
deal with actual, well-defined conditions — even riots
and mobs — but fighting suppositions is like grap
pling with ghosts."
"1 know what you mean/' she replied, quickly.
" But I want to ask you — could father be of any help
if I telegraphed him to come?"
He sat up very straight as she spoke, but did not
reply till he turned her suggestion over in his mind.
"No — at least, not now. What troubles me is this:
the local papers will be filled with scare-heads to
morrow morning; your father will see them, and
will be alarmed about you."
"I will wire him that I am all right."
" You must do that. I consider you are perfectly
safe, but at the same time your father will think you
ought not to be here, and blame me for allowing you
to come in; and, worst of all, he will wire you to come
out."
" Suppose I refuse to go, would that be the best of
all?" Her face was distinctly arch of line.
His heart responded to her lure, but his words wrere
measured as he answered : " Sometimes the respon
sibility seems too great; perhaps you would better
go. It will be hard to convince him that you are not
in danger."
She sobered. "There really is danger, then?"
" Oh yes, so long as these settlers are in their pres
ent mood, I suppose there is. Nothing but the life
of an ' Injun ' will satisfy them. Their hate is racial
in its bitterness."
249
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"You think I ought to go, then?"
He looked at her with eyes that were wistful and
searching.
"Yes. It is a sad ending, but perhaps Captain
Maynard will be here to-morrow with a troop of cav
alry, and — I — think I must ask him to escort you to
the railway."
" But the danger will be over then/'
r' To your father it will seem to be intensifying."
"I will not go on that account! I feel that the
safest place will be right here with you, for your
people love you. I am not afraid when I am near
you."
Curtis suddenly realized how dangerously sweet it
was to sit in his own library with Elsie in that mood
seated opposite him. The sound of a tapping on the
window relieved the tension of the moment.
"Another of my faithful bo}^s," he said, rising
quickly. Then, turning to her with a tenderness
almost solemn, he added : " Miss Brisbane, I hope
you feel that if danger really threatened I would think
of you first of all. You will stay with Jennie to
night?"
"If you think best, but we want to know all that
goes on. I can't bear to be battened down like pas
sengers in a storm at sea; there is nothing so try
ing to nerves. I want to be on deck with the captain
if the storm breaks."
"Very well. I promise not to leave you in igno
rance," and, raising the curtain, he signed to the man
without to enter. It was Crow, the captain of the
police, a short man with a good-humored face, now
squared with serious dignity.
250
A COUNCIL AT NIGHT
"Two Dog has just come in from Willow Creek/"
lie reported. " He says the cattlemen are still camped
by Johnson's ranch. They all held a council this
afternoon/'
"Are any of the head men here?"
" Yes, they are all at my tepee. They want to see
you very bad/'
"Tell them to come over at once; the council
will take place here. I want you, but no more
of the police. I want only the head men of each
band/'
After the officer went out Curtis moved the easy-
chairs to the back of the room and set plain ones
in a semicircular row at the front. Hardly was he
settled when Elk, Grayman, and Two Horns entered
the room, and, after formally shaking hands, took
the seats assigned them. Their faces, usually smil
ing, were grave, and Grayman's brow was knotted
with lines of anxiety. He was a small man, with
long, brown hair, braided and adorned with tufts of
the fine feathers which grow under the eagle's wings.
He was handsome and neatly dressed, the direct
antithesis to Crawling Elk, who was tall and slovenly,
with a homely, grandfatherly face deeply seamed
with wrinkles, a face that would be recognized as
typical of his race. He seemed far less concerned
than some of the others.
Two Horns, also quite at his ease, unrolled his pipe
and began filling it, while Curtis resumed his writ
ing.
Jennie, looking in at the door, recognized the chiefs,
and they all rose politely to greet her.
" I'm coming to the council," she said to Two Horns.
251
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
He smiled. " Squaws no come council — no good/'
"No, no, heap good/' she replied. "We come.
Chiefs heap talk — we catchim coffee/'
" Good, good!" he replied. " After council, feast/'
One by one the other chiefs slipped in and took
their places, till all the bands were represented save
that of Red Wolf, who was too far away to be reached.
Curtis then sent for the sheriff and Calvin and Elsie
and Lawson, and when all were seated began his talk
by addressing the chieftains. He spoke in English,
in order that the sheriff could hear all that was said,
and Lawson interpreted it into Sioux.
" You know this young man " — he pointed at Cal
vin. " Some of you know this man " — he touched the
sheriff. "He is the war chief of all the country be
yond where Grayman lives. He comes to tell us that
a herder has been killed over by the Muddy Spring.
He thinks it was done by an Indian. The white peo
ple are very angry, and they say that you must find
the murderer. Do you know of any one who has
threatened to do this thing?"
One by one the chiefs replied : " I do not know who
did this thing. I have heard no one speak of it as a
thing good to be done. We are all sad."
Two Horns added a protest. " I think it hard that
a whole tribe should suffer because the white man
thinks one redman has done a wrong thing."
Grayman spoke sadly: "My people have had
much trouble because the cattlemen want to drive
their herds up the Willow, and we are like men who
guard the door. On us the trouble falls. It is our
duty — the same as you should say to a policeman,
' Do not let anybody come in my house/ Therefore
252
A COUNCIL AT NIGHT
we have been accused of killing the cattle and steal
ing things. But this is not true. I remembered
your words, and I did nothing to make these people
angry; but some of my young men threw stones to
drive the sheep back, and then the herder fired at
them with revolver. This was not our fault/'
"He lies!" said the sheriff, hotly, when this was
interpreted. "No one has fired a gun but his reck
less young devils. His men were riding down the
sheep, and the herder rocked 'em away."
"You admit the sheep were on the reservation,
then?" asked Curtis.
"Well — yes — temporarily. They were being wa-T
tered."
"Well, we won't go into that now," said Curtis/
turning to the chiefs and speaking with great solem
nity, using the sign - language at times. And as
he sat thus fronting the strongly wrought, serious
faces of his head men he was wholly admirable, and
Elsie's blood thrilled with excitement, for she felt
herself to be in the presence of primeval men.
"Now, Grayman, Elk, Two Horns, Standing Elk,
Lone Man, and Crow, listen to me. Among white
men it is the law that when any one has done a wrong
thing — when he steals or murders — he is punished.
If he kills a man he is slain by the chief, not by the
relatives of the man who is slain. As with you, I
am here to apply the white man's rule. If a Tetong
has shot this herder he must suffer for it— he and no
one else. I will not permit the cattlemen to punish
the tribe. If you know who did this, it is your duty
to give him up to the law. It is the command of the
Great Father — he asks you to go back to your people
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THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
and search hard to find who killed this white man.
When you find him bring him to me. Will you do
this?"
No one answered but Two Horns, who said, " Ay,
we will do as you say/' and his solemnity of utterance
attested his sincerity.
" Listen to me/' said Curtis again, fixing their eyes
with his dramatic action. "If my only brother had
clone this thing, I would give him up to be punished.
I would not hesitate, and I expect you to do the same/'
" It is always thus/' Standing Elk broke out. " The
cattlemen wish to punish all redmen for what one
bad young warrior does. We are weary of it."
" I know it has been so, but it shall not be so again,
not while I am your chief," Curtis responded. " Will
you go home and do as I have commanded? Will
you search hard and bring me word what you dis
cover?"
One by one they muttered, "Ay!" and Curtis add
ed, heartily: "That is good — now you may go."
" I want to say a word," said the sheriff.
"Not now," replied Curtis. "These people are in
my charge. Whatever is said to them I will say,"
and at his gesture they rose, and Crow, Standing
Elk, and Lone Man went soberly out into the night.
Grayman approached Curtis and took his hand
in both of his and pressed it to his breast. "Little
Father, I have heard your words; they are not easy
to follow, but they have entered my heart. No
white man has ever spoken to me with your tongue.
You do not lie; your words are soft, but they stand
like rocks — they do not melt away. My words shall
be like yours — they will not vanish like smoke. What
254
A COUNCIL AT NIGHT
I have promised, that I will fulfil." As he spoke
his slight frame trembled with the intensity of his
emotion, and his eyes were dim with tears, and his
deep, sweet voice, accompanying his gestures, thrilled
every soul in the room. At the end he dropped the
agent's hand and hastened from the house like one
afraid of himself.
Curtis turned to Lawson to hide his own emotion.
" Mr. Lawson, I assume the sheriff is as tired as the
rest of us ; will you show him the bed you were kind
enough to offer ?"
"Sheriff Winters, if you will come with me I'll
pilot you to a couch. It isn't downy, but it will rest
a tired man. Calvin, you are to bunk alongside."
"All right, professor." Calvin rose reluctantly,
and as he stood in the door he said, in a low voice, to
Jennie, "Now if you want me any time just send
forme."
" Hold the sheriff level— that's what you do for us."
"I'll see that he don't get gay," he replied, and
his hearty confidence did them all good.
After the sheriff and his deputy went out, Elsie said :
"Oh, it was wonderful! That old man who spoke
last must be the Edwin Booth of the tribe. He was
superbly dramatic."
"He took my words very deeply to heart. That
was Grayman, one of the most intelligent of all my
head men; but he has had a great deal of trouble.
He comprehends all too much of the tragedy of his
situation."
Elsie sat with her elbows on the table, gazing in
silence towards the empty fireplace. She looked
weary and sad.
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THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Curtis checked himself. " I regret very deeply the
worry and discomfort all this brings upon you."
"Oh, I'm not thinking of myself this time, I am
thinking of the hopeless task you have »set yourself.
You can't solve this racial question — it's too big and
too complicated. Men are simply a kind of ferocious
beast. They go to work killing each other the way
chickens eat grasshoppers."
"Your figure is wrong. If our Christian settlers
only killed Indians to fill their stomachs they'd stop
some time; but they kill them because they're like
the boy about his mother — tired of seeing 'em 'round."
There was a time when Elsie's jests were frankly
on the side of the strong against the weak, but she
was becoming oppressed with the suffering involved
in the march of civilization. " What a fine face Gray-
man has; I couldn't help thinking how much more
refined it was than Winters! As for the cowboys,
they were hulking school-boys ; I was not a bit afraid
of them after they were dismounted."
" Unfortunately they are a kind of six-footed beast,
always mounted; there isn't a true frontiersman
among them. It angered me that they had the op
portunity to even look at you."
His intensity of gaze and the bitterness of his voice
took away her breath for an instant, and before she
could reply Jennie and Lawson came in.
Lawson was smiling. "Parker is righteously
incensed. He tried to enter the council an hour ago
and your dusky minions stopped him. He is gen
uinely alarmed now, and only waiting for daylight
to take flight"
"Jerome is a goose," said Elsie.
256
A COUNCIL AT NIGHT
"He's a jackass at times. A man of talent, but
a bore when his yellow streak comes out." Turning
to Curtis he said, very seriously, " Is there anything
I can do for you, Captain?"
" You might wire your version of the disturbance
to the Secretary along with mine. We can safely
look for an avalanche of newspaper criticism, and I
would like to anticipate their outbreak."
"Our telegrams will be at once made public — "
"Undoubtedly, and for that reason we must use
great care in their composition. I have mine written ;
please look it over."
Jennie, who had dropped into a chair, checked a
yawn. " Oh, dear ; I wish it were morning. "
Curtis looked at her and laughed. "I think you
girls would better go to bed. Your eyes are heavy-
lidded with weariness."
"Aren't you going to sleep?" asked Jennie, anx
iously.
" I shall lie down here on the sofa — I must be where
I can hear a tap on the window. Good-night."
Both girls rose at his word, and Elsie said: "It
seems cruel that you cannot go properly to bed —
after such a wearisome day."
"You forget that I am a soldier," he said, and
saluted as they passed. He observed that Lawson
merely bowed when she said " Good-night " politely.
Surely some change had come to their relationship.
Lawson turned. " I think I will turn in, Captain ;
I have endorsed the telegram."
" It must go at once." He tapped on the pane, and
almost instantly a Tetong, sleeping under the window,
rose from his blanket and stood with his face to the
257
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
window, alert and keen-eyed. " Tony, I have a long
ride for you."
"All right/' replied the faithful fellow, cheerfully.
"I want you to take some letters to Pinon City.
Come round to the door."
As he stepped into the light the messenger appeared
to be a boy of twenty, black-eyed and yellow-skinned,
with thin and sensitive lips. "Take the letters to
the post-office," said Curtis, speaking slowly. " You
understand — and these despatches to the telegraph-
office."
"Pay money?"
" No pay. Can you go now?"
"Yes, go now."
" Very well, take the best pony in the corral. You
better keep the trail and avoid the ranches. Good
night."
The young fellow put the letters away in the inside
pocket of his blue coat, buttoned it tightly, and slipped
out into the night, and was swallowed up by the
moonless darkness.
" Aren't you afraid they will do Tony harm if they
meet him?"
" Not in his uniform."
" I wouldn't want that ride. Well, so long, old
man. Call me if I can be of any use."
After Lawson went out Curtis sank back into his
big chair and closed his eyes in deep thought. As
he forecast the enormous and tragic results of the
return of that armed throng of reckless cattlemen
he shuddered. A war would almost destroy the
Tetongs. It would nullify all he had been trying
to do for them, and would array the whole State,
258
A COUNCIL AT NIGHT
the whole Indian-hating population of the nation,
against them. Jennie re-entered softly and stood
by his side. "It's worrisome business being Indian
agent, after all, isn't it, George?" she said, with
her hand in his hair.
He forced himself to a cheerful tone of voice. " Oh,
I don't know ; this is our first worry, and it will soon
be over. It looks bad just now, but it will be — "
A knock at the outer door startled them both.
" That is a white man — probably Barker/' he said,
and called, "Come in/'
Calvin Streeter entered, a little abashed at seeing
Jennie. Meeting Curtis's look of inquiry, he said,
with winning candor, " Major, I been a - studyin' on
this thing a good 'eal, and I've come to the conclusion
that you're right on all these counts, and I've con
cluded to ride over the hill and see if I can't argue
the boys out of their notion to kill somebody."
Jennie clapped her hands. "Good! That is a
splendid resolution. I always knew you meant
right."
Curtis held out his hand. " Shake hands, my boy.
There isn't a moment to be lost. If they are coming
at all, they will start about sunrise. I hope they
have reconsidered the matter and broken camp."
Calvin looked a little uneasy. "Well, I'll tell ye,
Major, I'm afraid them lahees that we sent back home
will egg the rest on ; they sure were bilun mad, but
I'll go and do what I can to head 'em off. If I can't
delay 'em, I'll come along with 'em, but you can
count on me to do any little job that '11 help you
after we get here. Good-night."
"Good-night. Don't take any rest."
259
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
" Oh, I'm all right. Nobody ain't huntin' trouble
with me."
After he went out Jennie said: "I call that the
grace of God working in the soul of man/'
Curtis looked at her keenly. "I call it the love
of woman sanctifying the heart of a cowboy."
She colored a little. " Do we women go on the pay
rolls as assistant agents?"
"Not if we men can prevent it. What kind of a
report would it make if I were forced to say, 'At this
critical moment the charming Miss So-and-so came
to my aid, and, by inviting the men in to dinner with
a sweet smile, completely disarmed their hostility.
Too much honor cannot be given/ etc."
"I guess if history were written by women once
in a while those reports wouldn't be so rare as they
are."
XXIII
THE RETURN OF THE MOB
CURTIS was awakened about four o'clock by Wil-
V-/ son at his window. " Are you awake, Major?"
"Yes; what is it?"
"Two of the scouts have just come in from the
hills. They are sure the ranchers are coming to
make war. Bands of white men are crossing the
county to join the camp. It certainly looks owly,
Major."
Curtis rose and went to the window. " The troops
will be here by nine o'clock at the furthest, and the
mob will not move till sunrise, and can't reach here,
even by hard riding, before eleven."
" Shall I send a courier out to meet the troops and
hurry them on?" asked Wilson, whose voice was
untouched of fear.
"It might be well. Send Two Horns to me if you
can find him. Keep silent as to these reports."
"All right, Major."
Curtis did not underestimate the dangers of the
situation. If the troops did not arrive, and if the
armed posse of the settlers should come and attempt
to arrest Elk, war would follow, that was certain.
Meanwhile he was one day's hard riding from either
the fort or the telegraph line, with the settlers be-
261
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
tween, and no news could reach him for twenty-four
hours.
At that very moment the morning papers were
being distributed bearing a burden of calumny. The
department would open his telegram in a few min
utes, but the Secretary's reply could not reach him
before sunset at the earliest, " and by that time I will
be master of the situation or there will be war. I must
parley — delay them, by any means, till the troops
arrive. Colonel Daggett will forward the men at once
— I hope under Maynard — and Jack is no sluggard.
He will be here if only the Colonel takes action/'
The sun rose as usual in a cloudless sky, but the
wind was again in the northwest, and as he stood
on the little porch looking up the valley he could
see the smoke of the camp-fires in Grayman's camp,
and beyond him the Crawling Elk and his people
occupied a larger circle of shining tepees. The two
villages seemed as peaceful as if the people were
waiting for their rations, but as he lifted his eyes
to the hills he could see the mounted sentinels pa
tiently waiting the coming of the sun, and he knew
that beyond and to the east every butte was similarly
crested with spies. These people of the wide spaces
had their own signal service and were not to be taken
unawares. Each movement of the enemy would
be flashed from hill to hill, miles in advance of the
beat of their horses' hoofs.
As he was returning to his library Elsie met him.
"Good-morning, Captain. Did you sleep?"
"Oh yes, indeed!" He spoke as lightly as he
could. " But my messengers reporting disturbed me
a little during the early morning.'
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THE RETURN OF THE MOB
"With bad news?"
" Oh no, quite the contrary. I think we are well
out of our difficulty/'
" I'm sure I hope so. You look tired/'
" I'm ashamed of it. You must have slept well —
you are radiant. I am sorry I cannot promise you
the Elk for a sitter to-day/'
"I like him better as the leader of his people. Do
we breakfast with the sheriff this morning?"
"That affliction is bearing down upon us/' he
replied. "He is even now moving morosely across
the road. I fear he is in bad temper/'
"I think I will be late to breakfast in that case/'
she said, with a little grimace, and fled.
Curtis greeted his guest pleasantly. "Good-morn
ing, sheriff."
" Good-morning, Major. Have you seen anything
of my deputy?"
"No; has he left you?"
"I didn't miss him till this morning," replied Win
ters, sourly. "But he's gone, horse and all."
"Well, the loss is not serious. Come in and break
an egg with me."
Jennie was distinctly less cordial than before, but
she made her unwelcome guest comfortable, and asked
after his health politely. She was just pouring his
second cup of coffee when the furious clanging of the
office bell made them all start
Curtis looked at his watch. "Good Heavens! It
can't be the eight -o'clock bell. What time have
you?"
"Seven thirty-three."
Curtis sprang up. "It's a signal of fire!"
26.3
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
At the word " fire " Jennie turned white and rose.
Elsie came flying down-stairs, crying :
"The Indians are running \"
A wild shout arose, " Stop that bell 1" and a moment
later Wilson burst in at the door — "Major, the Ind
ians are signalling from the buttes — everybody is
taking to the hills — the mob is coming."
Curtis gave Elsie one piercing look. "I hope you
will trust me ; you are in no danger, even if this alarm
is true. I think it is a mistake. I will return soon
and let you know. I beg you not to be alarmed."
The alarum was true. On the buttes horsemen were
riding to and fro excitedly crossing and recrossing
the same ground — the sign which means an approach
ing enemy. On every hill -side mounted warriors
were gathering and circling. Boys with wild halloos
were bringing in the ponies. The women busy,
swarming like bees, were dropping the tepees; even
as the agent mounted the steps to the office and looked
up the valley, the white canvases sank to the ground
one by one as though melted by the hot sun. War
times were come again, and the chanting cries of the
old women came pulsing by on the soft west wind.
A grim smile settled on the agent's lips as he com
prehended these preparations. He knew the history
of these people and admired them for their skill and
their bravery. War times were come again!
"Our cowboy friends have set themselves a mem
orable task in trying to wipe out this tribe. The
ranchers never fight their own battles ; they always
call upon the federal government; and that is their
purpose now, to stir up strife and leave the troops to
bear the burden of the war."
264
THE RETURN OF THE MOB
"I don't see our fellers/' said the sheriff, who vas
deeply excited. /'I'll ride to meet them."
" They are a long way off yet/' said Curtis. " The
Tetong sentinels have only signalled their start. I
hope the troops are on the way/' he said to the two
girls who had followed and now stood close beside
him as if for protection. Then he called to the sheriff,
who had started for his horse: "I depend on you to
keep off this invasion, sheriff. I warn you and your
men that this entrance here at this time is a crime
against Washington."
Winters did not reply, and Curtis knew that he
would join the majority; being a candidate for re
election, he could not afford to run counter to the
wishes of his constituents. Hastily mounting his
horse, he galloped furiously away.
Curtis strained his eyes down the valley, hoping
for a sight of the guidons of the — th.
"What can you do?" asked Elsie.
"Nothing but await the issue," he replied. "I
have sent another courier to hasten the troops; it is
now a race between the forces of law and of order. If
the mob arrives first, I must delay them — prevent their
advance if possible. There is nothing else to be done. "
"Can we help?"
"I'm afraid not. There will be two or three hun
dred of the invaders this time, if the sheriff is to be
believed. I am afraid to have you meet them. I
think it better for you all to keep within doors."
"I wish my father knew — he could stop this!"
wailed Elsie, in sudden realization of her helplessness.
" He could wire the authorities in Pinon City. I know
they would listen to him."
265
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
•'Here come the Parkers!" said Jennie. "Now
look out for squalls/'
"I had forgotten them/' said Curtis, with a comic
xook of dismay.
Parker was running, half dragging his poor, breath-
k s wife, while in their rear Lawson appeared, walk-
i g calmly, quite irreproachable in a gray morning
jit, and the sight of him was a comfort to Curtis,
for his forces were practically reduced to Wilson and
four or five clerks.
"Now, Captain, what are you going to do?" called
Parker. " You let us into this—"
Being in no mood for squalls, Curtis cut Parker
short. "Be quiet; don't be uselessly foolish. Try
and conduct yourself like a reasonable human being.
Jennie, go into the house, and take the ladies with
you. You'll have all the women of the agency to
look after in a few minutes. Lawson, I can depend
on you — will you go over to the office with me?"
When they reached the office Lawson threw back
his coat and displayed two wicked-looking revolvers.
"I've been known to fight when pushed too far," he
said, smilingly.
In the space of an hour the panic had become prep
aration. On a low butte to the southwest a dark
mass of armed and resolute warriors waited on their
swift ponies ready for whatever came, while behind
them on a higher ridge a smaller group of dismounted
chieftains sat in council. Up the slopes below and
to the right the women and old men were leading
the ponies, laden with their tepees, children, and sup
plies, precisely as in the olden times. The wagons of
the white men were of no use where they were now
266
THE RETURN OF THE MOB
climbing. The ways of the wheel were no longer
desirable. They sought the shelter of the trail.
"I am confident that the troops will arrive first/*
said Curtis.
" If the powers of evil have found a leader, it will
be hard to control them even with a troop of cavalry/'
Lawson replied, soberly. "The sheriff will go with
the mob when it comes to a show down."
" Oh, of course. I do not count on him ; but Calvin
is loyal."
Before the office stood two or three of the white
employes of the agency with their wives and children
about them. Two policemen alone remained of all
the throng of red employe's usually to be seen about
the yards ; the rest were out on duty or had joined
their people in the hills.
"What shall we do?" cried Miss Colson, a look of
mortal terror on her face. She crowded close to Cur
tis and laid her hands on his arm. "Let us stay
near you."
"You are in no danger," he replied. " Those poor
devils on the hill-side are the ones who will suffer.
Where are your children?" he asked, sharply.
"They all disappeared like rabbits at sound of
the bell; only the kindergarten class remains."
"Go and help take care of them," he commanded.
" Sing to them — amuse them. Wolf Robe," he called
to one of the policemen — he of the bow -legs — "go
to the people on the hill and say to them to fear
nothing, Washington protects them. Tell them they
must not fight. Say to the mothers of the little ones
that nothing shall hurt them. Go quick!"
Wolf Robe handed his sombrero, his coat, and his
267
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
revolver to his friend, Beaver Kill, and ran away
towards the corral, agile as a boy.
" What did he do that for?" asked Jennie.
Curtis smiled. "He is Indian now; he doesn't
want to be mistaken for a cowboy."
When he reappeared on his pony, his long, dark
hair streaming, a red handkerchief bound about his
head, he looked like a warrior stripped for battle.
"There isn't a faithfuler man in the world/' said
Curtis, and a lump rose in his throat. " He has been
riding half the night for me, but he charges that hill
as if he were playing a game."
"I don't understand how you can trust them to
do such things," said Elsie. "Perhaps he will not
come back. How do you know he will do as you
commanded?"
"Because that ugly little bow-legged Tetong is
a man!" replied Curtis. "He would die in perform
ance of his duty." And something in his voice made
the tears start to Elsie's eyes.
The sentinels on the hills were quiet now — facing
the northeast, motionless as weather-vanes. The
camps had disappeared as if by magic; nothing re
mained but a few wagons. Wolf Robe, diminishing
to the value of a coyote, was riding straight towards
the retreating women. Even as Curtis watched, the
chieftains on the higher hill rose, and one of them
started downward towards the warriors on the
rounded hill -top. Then a small squad detached
itself from the main command and slid down the
grassy slope to meet the women. As they rode slow
ly on, the moving figures of those leading the camp
horses gathered round them. Curtis understood some
268
THE RETURN OF THE MOB
command was being shouted by the descending
squad.
Separating themselves from the led ponies, these
scouts swept on down the hill directly upon the soli
tary and minute figure of Wolf Robe, whose pony
climbed slowly and in zigzag course.
"They will kill him/' said a woman.
Wolf Robe halted and waited till the skirmishers
rode up to him. They massed round him closely,
listening while he delivered his message.
"When he returns we will know all that his peo
ple have learned of the invaders/* said Curtis. " They
will tell him what they have seen."
"It is strange/' exclaimed Elsie, in a low voice,
standing close beside him. "But I'm not afraid.
It is like a story — a dream. That I should stand
here watching Indians preparing for war and wait
ing for United States troops is incredible."
" I wish it were not true/' he replied. " But it is.
I have no fear of my people, only of the rash act of
a vicious white man."
" Which way will the cattlemen come from?" asked
Jennie.
"Probably down that trail." He pointed to the
northeast. "Part of them may come up the valley
road. Wolf Robe has started on his return."
The little squad of warriors returned to the group
of chieftains, while the loyal Wolf Robe came racing
down the slope, his hair streaming, his elbows Rap
ping. In a few minutes he dropped rein at the gate
and re-entered the yard. Standing before his chief,
he delivered his message.
"Their hearts are very glad at your good words,
269
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
but the women are crying for their babies. They
ask that you send them away before the bad white
men come. Send them out towards the hills and
they will come down and get them — this they said/'
" What did the scouts say?"
" They said that the sentinels on the hills saw the
white men break camp and come this way — many of
them — so they say."
" Where are they now?'
" They are hidden in the pines of the valley. They
will soon be here — so they say."
" Take a fresh pony and ride back and tell all who
have children here to come down and talk with me.
Tell them I will turn the white men away. No one
shall be harmed. The children are safe. There
will be no war. I will meet them in the old camp. I
keep repeating there is no danger because I believe
it," he said to the silent group around him, after Wolf
Robe rode away. " There is nothing to be done but
wait. So go about your duties," he added, with a
note of command.
One by one the employe's dropped away till only
Wilson remained. His only sign of nervousness
was a quiver of the muscles of one cheek, where he
held his quid of tobacco. His bright blue eyes were
fixed on the sentinels, while he leaned negligently
against the fence. Lawson, smoking a German
pipe, was watching the warriors on the hills, a rapt
expression on his face, as if he were working out
some problem in ethics which demanded complete
concentration and absorption of thought. The two
girls had drawn close together as if for comfort, their
nerves a-quiver with the strain.
270
THE RETURN OF THE MOB
"Are you waiting for something to go off?" sud
denly asked Curtis.
Each one started a little, and all laughed together.
"I think I was/' confessed Elsie.
"You seemed to be holding your breath. I wish
you'd both go in and rest/' he pleaded. "It is no
use—"
"They're coming!" interrupted Lawson.
"Where? Where?"
"The sentinels are signalling again."
All turned to the east, but nothing could be seen —
no smoke, no dust, no sign of horsemen — yet the
swift circling of the sentinels and the turmoil among
the warriors on the butte indicated the menace of
an approaching army. Another little band detached
itself from the huddle of the camp and came down
the hill, slowly and in single file.
"The squaws are coming for their children, even
before Wolf Robe reaches them," said Lawson.
"And there's the mob!" said Curtis, arid at his
words a keen thrill of fear ran through the hearts of
the women. With set, pale faces they looked away
beneath levelled finger.
"That's right," said Wilson, "and two hundred
strong."
The sad -colored horsemen were pouring over a
high, pine-clad ridge some two miles to the east, and
streaming down into a narrow valley behind a sharp
intervening butte.
"Now, girls, you must go in!" commanded Curtis,
sharply. "You can do no good — "
"George, let us stay!" pleaded Jennie. "We
saved you yesterday, and we may help to-day."
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THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
" What is the use of shutting us in the house? I'm
not afraid/' added Elsie. "These men will do us no
harm/'
"I beg you will not interfere/' he said, looking at
Jennie, but Elsie knew he included her as well. " It
isn't a bit impressive to have an agent flanked with
women — in a council of war/'
"Hang the looks! they're mighty effective some
times/' remarked Lawson.
"That's right!" chimed in Wilson. "By the
Lord! they look sassy/' he added, referring back to
the cowboys.
They formed a sinister cavalcade as they came
streaming down the rough road, two and two, like
a monstrous swift serpent, parti - colored, sinuous,
silent, save for the muffled clatter of their horses'
hoofs. Curtis nerved himself for the shock, and,
though weakened and embarrassed by the presence
of Elsie and Jennie, he presented a soldierly breast
to the mob. Had it been a question of protecting the
women* the case would have been different, but to
argue a point of law with them at his elbow exposed
him to ridicule and to interruption.
As the horsemen debouched upon the valley road,
a prodigious cloud of dust arose and sailed away on
the wind, completely hiding the rear ranks so that
they could not be numbered. As they drew near,
the sheriff could be seen riding at the head of the
column side by side with a big man in a blue shirt.
They approached at a shacking trot, which was more
menacing than a gallop would have been — it was
steady, inexorable, self-contained as a charge of
cavalry.
272
THE RETURN OF THE MOB
As they reached the issue-house, Curtis opened the
gate and stepped out into the road and faced them
alone, and Elsie grew cold with fear as the sheriff
and his formidable following rode steadily up. When
almost upon the agent the leader turned, and, push
ing his limp hat away from his eyes, shouted :
"Halt!" As the men pulled in their horses he
added," Keep back there!"
The mob had found a leader, and was organized
for violence. Curtis, with folded arms, seemed small
and weak as the army of invasion came to a stand,
filling the lane between the office and the agency house
with trampling horses and cursing men.
"Good -morning/' growled the leader, surlily.
"We're come for old Elk, and I want to say we get
him this time. No monkey business goes with old
Bill Yarpe. Women can't fool me."
Calvin Streeter rode out of the throng and pushed
his way to the front.
Yarpe yelled : " H'yar I Keep in line there 1 "
"Go to helll" replied Calvin, as he rode past him.
" I'm no nigger. I want to hear what goes on, and I
tell ye right now you treat these people fair or you'll
hear from me."
" I'll shoot you up a few if you ain't keerf ul, young
feller," replied the old ruffian.
"That's right, General, he's too fresh/' called some
one.
Calvin spurred his horse alongside Yarpe's and
looked him in the eye with a glare which made the
older man wince. "You be decent before these
women or I'll cut the heart out o' ye. You hear
me!"
18 273
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Curtis stepped forward. " Careful, Streeter — don't
provoke trouble; well protect the women."
The sheriff rode between the two men. "Cal, git
away — you're my deputy, remember."
As Cal reined his horse away, Curtis went to him
and said, in a low voice : " I appreciate your chivalry,
Calvin, but be careful; don't excite them/'
As he looked into the big, red, whiskey-bloated
face of Yarpe, Curtis was frankly dismayed. The
old ruffian was not only inflamed with liquor, he was
intoxicated with a subtler elixir — the pride of com
mand. As he looked back over his followers he visi
bly expanded and a savage glare lit up his eyes.
" Keep quiet, boys ; I'll settle this thing."
Curtis again stepped towards the sheriff. " What
do you propose to do, Mr. Sheriff?"
Yarpe broke in boisterously. " We want old Elk.
Bring him out or we go after him." A chorus of ap
plause followed.
"On what authority do you make this demand?"
asked Curtis, facing Yarpe.
"On the authority of the sheriff of Pinon City/'
replied Yarpe, "and we come along to see he does
his duty."
"The sheriff is present and can speak for himself.
He was my guest last night and made an agreement
with me, which, as an honorable man, he is disposed
to keep."
The sheriff avoided Curtis's eye, but Yarpe replied :
"He showed the white feather. He let you fool
him, but you can't fool this crowd. Bring on your
Injun, or we go get him."
" Have you a warrant?"
274
THE RETURN OF THE MOB
"Oh, damn the warrant!"
The sheriff cleared his throat. "Yes, I have a
warrant for Crawling Elk and Grayman/' he said,
and began seaching his pockets. The decisive mo
ment had arrived.
XXIV
THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
minutely studied the crowd, which was
made up very largely of reckless young men
— cowboys from all over the range, together with
the loafers and gamblers of the cow-towns. The
sheriff's deputies wrere all well to the front, but were
quiet ; they seemed to be a little abashed by the gaze
of the women to whom they were indebted for their
dinner of yesterday. Each member of the gang was
burdened with ammunition and carried both rifle and
revolver.
The sheriff dismounted and handed a paper to Cur
tis, who took plenty of time to read it. It was mani
festly bogus, manufactured for use as a bluff, and
had not been properly sworn out; but to dispute it
would be to anger the cattlemen. There was only
one chance for delay.
" Very well/' he said, at last. " This warrant calls
for two of the head men among the Tetongs. Of
course, I understand your motives. You do not in
tend to charge these chiefs with the crime, you only
wish to force the tribe to yield some one else to your
vengeance. In face of such a force as this of yours,
Mr. Sheriff, I can only yield, though I deny your
right to lay hand on one of my charges. I do all this
276
THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
under pressure. If your men will retire a little I will
call a messenger and communicate with the chiefs
named, and ask — "
Yarpe glared. "Communicate hell! Sheriff, say
the word and we'll go and get 'em."
Curtis fixed a calm gaze upon him. "You are a
brave man, Mr. Yarpe, but you'll need all your reso
lution when you charge up that hill in the face of
those desperate warriors." As he swept his arm out
towards the west all eyes were turned on the swarming
mass of mounted Tetongs. The women had moved
higher, and were halted just on the eastern brow of
the high ridge, behind and to the right of the fighting
men. "Now what will you do, Mr. Sheriff?" pur
sued Curtis ; " act with me through the head men, or
make your demand of the whole tribe?"
A dispute arose among the crowd. A few shouted,
noisily, "Say the word and we'll sweep the greasy
devils off the earth." But the larger number, like
the sheriff's posse of the day before, found it not easy
to overawe this quiet soldier.
Calvin harangued the leader. " No, I will not but
ton my lip," he shouted again, confronting Yarpe,
" for you nor no other man. You let the sheriff and
the Captain fix this thing up. What are you in this
thing for, anyhow? You don't own a foot of land
nor a head o' stock. You're nothing but a bum!
You can't get trusted for a pound of tobacco. Nice
man to lead a mob — "
" Shut him up, Bill/' shouted one fellow.
"Cal's right," called another.
"Don't let 'em fool ye, Bill; we come fer a red
skin, and we'll have him or burn the town."
277
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Calvin had a revolver in each hand, and on his
face was a look that meant war.
Curtis called to Lawson. "Take the women in,
quick \" He feared shooting among the leaders of
the mob. "Don't shoot, Calvin. Keep the peace/'
With tears of impotent rage filling her eyes, Elsie
retreated towards the office under Lawson's care.
Curtis stepped to the side of the leader. "Silence
your gang/' he said.
Yarpe raised his bellowing voice. "Keep quiet,
there! I'll settle this thing in a minute/'
"Keep back!" commanded the sheriff.
The crowd fell back a little, with Calvin crowding
them hard, revolver in hand. " No more funny busi
ness with me," he said, and death blazed from his
eyes. "Get back!"
Quiet having been restored, the sheriff, Curtis, and
Yarpe were revealed in animated argument. Cur
tis was talking against time — every moment was
precious.
"If you give in, your chances for re-election ain't
worth a leatherette," Yarpe said to the sheriff.
" You crazy fool ! You wouldn't charge that hill?"
asked the sheriff.
"That's what I would, and that's what the boys
come for."
" But what good would it do?"
"It would learn these red devils a lesson they
wouldn't forget, and it would make you an' me the
most popular men in the county. If you don't do it,
you're dead as the hinges of hell."
"If you charge that hill, some of you will stay
there," put in Curtis.
278
THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Yarpe turned and roared: "Boys, the sheriff has
weakened. Will you follow me?"
"We will!" shouted the reckless majority.
At this precise moment, while looking over the
sheriff's head towards the pinon-spotted hill to the
west, Curtis caught the gleam of something white
bobbing down the hill. It disappeared, but came
into sight lower down, a white globe based in a splash
of blue. It was a white helmet, topping the uniform
of a cavalry officer. A sudden emotion seized Cur
tis by the throat — his heart warmed, swelled big in
his bosom. Oh, the good old color! Now he could
see the gauntleted gloves, the broad shoulders, the
easy seat of blessed old Jack Maynard as he ambled
peacefully across the flat.
"Look there!" he cried, turning to the group inside
the gate, his finger pointing like a pistol. His voice
rang out joyous as a morning bugle, and the girls
thrilled with joy.
Yarpe looked. "Hell! The cavalry! We're eu
chred — clean."
Over the hill behind the officer appeared a squadron
of gray horse, marching in single file, winding down
the trail like a long serpent, spotted with blue and
buff, the sun sparkling fitfully from their polished
brass and steel. When Curtis turned to the sheriff
his face was pale with excitement for the first time,
quivering, exultant. " You'll have the federal troops
to deal with now," he said. " At last we are on equal
terms."
A deep silence fell on the mob. Every ruffian
of them seemed suddenly frozen into immobility,
and each sat with head turned and eyes wide-star-
279
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
ing, watching the coming of the blue-shirted horse
men.
As the officer approached he was distinguishable
as a powerful, smooth-faced young man in a cap
tain's uniform. As his eyes rested on Curtis his
plump, red face broke into a broad smile. It was
plain that he was Irish, and not averse to a bit of a
shindy.
Riding straight up to the agent, he formally sa
luted, and in a deep, dry, military voice, said :
"Colonel Daggett presents his compliments to
Captain Curtis and tenders Squadron B, at your ser
vice. Captain Maynard in command."
With equally impersonal decorum Curtis acknowl
edged the courtesy.
"Captain Curtis returns the compliment, and
thanks Captain Maynard for his prompt and most
opportune arrival — Jack, I'm mighty glad to see
you."
Maynard dismounted and they shook hands. " Same
to you, old man. What's all the row?"
A clear, distant, boyish voice cried, " By columns of
four into line!" and the bugle, breaking voice, caused
the hair of the agent's head to stand ; turning, he saw
the squadron taking form as it crossed the stream.
It required his most heroic effort to keep the tears
from his eyes as his ear heard the dull rattle of scab
bards and he watched the splendid play of the gray
horses' legs and broad chests as they came on, weary
but full of spirit yet. There was something inex
orable in their advance. In their order, their clean
glitter, their impersonal grace, was expressed the
power of the general government.
280
THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Turning to the sheriff, he said : " Sheriff Winters,
this warrant is bogus — forged this morning by some
one of your lynching-party ; the ink is hardly dry.
I decline to serve it/' and he tore it into strips and
flung it on the ground.
"Halt!" cried the on-coming commander, and
with creak of saddle and diminishing thunder of
hoofs the Gray Squadron stopped within fifty feet
of the agency gate, and out of the dust a young lieu
tenant rode forward and saluted.
" Hold your position, Mr. Payne/' commanded May-
nard.
"I just love Captain MaynardP* said Jennie, fer
vently.
"Til tell him/' said Lawson.
"Now," said Maynard, "what's it all about?
Nice gang, this!"
The mob that had been so loud of mouth now sat
in silence as profound as if each man had been smit
ten dumb. It was easy to threaten and flourish
pistols in the face of an Indian agent with a dozen
women to protect, but this wall of Uncle Sam's blue
was a different barrier — not to be lightly overleaped.
The cowboys were not accustomed to facing such
men as these when they shot up towns and raced the
Tetongs across the hills.
"Now what is it all about?" repeated Maynard,
composing his comedy face into a look of military
sternness.
Curtis explained swiftly in a low voice, and ended
by saying : " This is, in effect, a lynching-party on
federal territory. What would you do in such a
case?"
281
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Order them off, instanter!"
"Precisely. I have done so, but they refuse to
go."
"Do they?" Maynard turned and remounted his
horse. Saluting, he said:
" Captain Curtis, I am ready to execute any order
you may choose to give."
Curtis saluted. " You will see that these citizens,
unlawfully assembled, leave the reservation at once.
Sheriff Winters, with all due respect to your office,
I request you to withdraw. Captain Maynard will
escort you to the borders of the reservation. When
you have a warrant properly executed, send or bring
it to me and I will use every effort to serve it. Good-
morning, sir."
Captain Maynard drew his sword. "'Tention,
squadron 1" The tired horses lifted their heads as
the dusty troopers forced them into line.
Maynard's voice rang out: "Left wheel, into line
— march 1"
"You'll hear from this!" said the sheriff. " You'll
find the State won't stand any such foolishness,"
Yarpe's ferocity had entirely evaporated. "'Bout
face, boys ; we're not fightin' the United States army
— I had enough o' that in '63. Clear out! Our
bluff don't go."
The cowboys, cursing under breath, whirled their
ponies and followed Yarpe, the redoubtable. The
sheriff brought up the rear, still contending for the
rights of the county, but he retreated. Small as the
dusty squadron looked, it was too formidable, both
because of its commanders and because of the ma
jestic idea it embodied.
282
THE GRAY -HORSE TROOP
Calvin was the last to leave. "I done my best,
Major/' he said, loudly, in order that Jennie might
hear.
" I know it, Calvin ; come and see us again in your
civil capacity/' replied Curtis, and waved a cordial
salute.
As the squadron fell in behind and was hidden by
the dust of the passing cattlemen, Curtis turned to
where Elsie still stood. He was smiling, but his
limbs were stiffened and inert by reason of the ri
gidity of his long position before the posse.
"We are saved!" he said, in mock-heroic phrase.
" Oh, wasn't it glorious to see the good old blue-and-
buff!" cried Jennie, the tears of her joy still on her
cheeks. " I could have hugged Captain Maynard."
" There is chance yet/' said Curtis. " He's coming
back."
Elsie did not speak for a moment. "What would
you have done if they had not come?" she asked,
soberly.
" I could have delayed them a little longer by send
ing couriers to Elk and Grayman ; but let's not think
of that. Let's all go into the house; you look com
pletely tired out."
Elsie fairly reeled with weakness, and Curtis took
her arm. "You are trembling," he said, tenderly.
"I haven't stirred for a half-hour," she said. "I
was so tense with the excitement. I feared you would
be shot, and the tribe isn't worth the sacrifice/' she
added, with a touch of her old spirit.
" I was in no physical danger," he replied. " But
I should have felt disgraced had the mob had its
way."
283
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP '
"The people are coming back/' said Lawson.
''They have seen the soldiers/'
"So they are'/' exclaimed Curtis. "They are
shouting with joy. Can't you hear them? The
chiefs are riding this way already; the}7 know the
army will protect them."
The thick mass of horsemen was breaking up,
some of them were riding towards the women with
the camp stuff, others were crossing the valley, while
a dozen head men, riding straight towards the agency,
began to sing a song of deliverance and victory. Joy
ous shouts could be heard as the young men signalled
the good news.
"The cattlemen are going — the soldiers have cornel"
XXV
AFTER THE STRUGGLE
UPON reaching the library each member of the
party sank into easy-chairs with sighs of deep
relief, relaxed and nerveless. The storm was over.
Jennie voiced the feeling as she said, " Thank the
Lord and Colonel Daggett." Elsie was physically
weary to the point of drowsiness, but her mind was
active. Mrs. Parker was bewildered and silent.
Even Parker was subdued by the grave face of the
agent.
Lawson, with a curious half-smile, broke the silence.
" There are times when I wish I owned a Gatling
gun and knew how to use it."
Curtis started up. "Well, it's all over but the
shouting. I must return to the office and set things
in order once more."
"You ought to rest a little," said Elsie. "You
must feel the strain."
"I am a little inert at the moment," he confessed,
"but I'm Hamlet in the play, you know, and must
be at my post. Fll meet you all at lunch. You need
have no further worry."
The employes responded bravely to his orders.
The cheerful clink of the anvil broke forth with
tranquillizing effect. The school-bell called the chil-
285
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
dren together, the tepees began to rise from the sod
as before, and the sluggish life of the agency resumed
its unhurried flow, though beneath the surface still
lurked vague forms of fear. Parker returned to his
studio, Lawson sought his den, and there stretched
out to smoke and muse upon the leadings of the event,
while Jennie planned a mid-day dinner for a round
dozen. "It will be a sort of love-feast to Captain
Maynard," she said, roguishly.
" Will he return so soon?" asked Elsie.
"Oh yes, he'll only go a little way. Jack May-
nard can smell a good dinner across a range of foot
hills. Didn't he look beautiful as he smiled? I used
to think he grinned, but to-day — well, he looked like
a heavenly cherub in the helmet of an archangel as
he rode up."
Elsie was genuinely amused. " What is the mean
ing of this fervor. Has there been something between
you and Captain Maynard in the past?"
" Not a thing ! Oh, I always liked him — he 's so good-
natured — and so comical. Can you peel potatoes?"
"I never did such a thing in my life, but I'll try."
About one o'clock Maynard came jogging back,
accompanied by a sergeant and a squad of men,
dusty, tired, and hungry.
Curtis met him at the gate. "Send your horses
down to the corral, Captain. You're to take pot-
luck with us."
Maynard dismounted, slowly, painfully. "I've
been wondering about those girls," he said, after the
horses were led away. "One is your sister Jennie,
of course; but who is the other? She's what the
boys would call a ' queen. ' '
286
AFTER THE STRUGGLE
"You've heard of Andrew J. Brisbane?"
" You mean the erstwhile Senator?"
"Yes; this is his daughter/'
"Great Himmel! What is she doing here?"
"She's an artist and is making some studies of
Indians/'
"I didn't suppose a man of Brisbane's blood and
brawn could have a girl as fine as she looks to be."
"Oh, Brisbane has his good points — But come
over to the house. Of course the mob gave no fur
ther trouble?"
"Not a bit, only the trouble of keeping them in
sight; they rode like Jehu. I left the chase to Payne
— it was what Cooper used to call a ' stern chase and
a long chase/ Your quarters aren't so bad/' he
added, as they entered the library.
Jennie came in wearing an apron and looking as
tasty as a dumpling. "How do you do, Colonel
Maynard?" she cried out, most cordially.
He gave his head a comical flirt on one side. "I
beg pardon! Why Colonel?"
" I've promoted you for the brave deed of this morn
ing."
He recovered himself . "Oh!— oh— yes!— Hah!
had forgotten. You saw me put 'em to flight? I
was a little late, but I gave service, don't you think?"
"You were wonderful, but I know you're hungry;
we're to have dinner soon — a real dinner, not a lunch."
He looked a little self-conscious. "Well — I — shall
be delighted. You see, I was awake most of the night,
and in riding one gets hungry — and, besides, break
fast was a little hurried. In fact, I don't remember
that I had any/'
287
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOF
"Why, you poor thing! I'll hurry it forward.
Cheer up/' and she whisked out of the room.
Maynard flecked a little dust from his sleeve and
inquired, carelessly : " Your sister isn't married?"
" No, she sticks to me still. She's a blessed, good
girl, and I don't know what I should do without her."
" You mustn't be selfish," remarked Maynard, re
flectively. " But see here, I must knock off some
dust, or I will lose the good impression I made on
the ladies."
" Make yourself at home here and we'll have some
thing to eat soon," said Curtis at the door
The dinner was unexpectedly merry. Every one
felt like celebrating the army, and Maynard, as the
representative of the cavalry arm, came near blush
ing at the praise which floated his way on toasts
which were drunk from a bottle of sherry, a liquor
Jennie had smuggled in for cooking purposes.
"I admit I did it," he rose to say, "but I hold it
not meet to have it so set down."
Parker was extravagantly gay. "I'm going to
do a statue of Maynard on his horse rushing to our
rescue," he said. " It will be a tinted piece like the
ancients used to do. That white helmet shall flash
like snow. Sheridan will no longer be the great
equestrian."
"Leave off the broad smile," interrupted Law-
son. "Captain Maynard's smile made light of our
tragic situation."
"I don't think so; it was the smile of combat,"
exclaimed Elsie. "It was thrilling."
Maynard bowed. " Thank you, Miss Brisbane."
"It was Jack Maynard's murderin' grin," said
288
AFTER THE STRUGGLE
Curtis ; " it was the look the boys used to edge away
from at the Academy. I must tell you, Jack nearly
got shunted into the ways of glory. He could whip
any man in West Point in his day, and a New York
sporting man offered to back him for a career. There
upon Jack wrestled with the tempter and 'thrun
'im/ He now sees his mistake. He might have
been 'Happy Jack, the Holy Terror/ by this time,
earning two hundred thousand a year like the great
O'Neill/'
Maynard sighed. "Instead of which, here I am
rescuing beleaguered damsels, like the hero of a dime
novel, on two thousand a year/'
Jennie spoke up sharply. "I will not have Cap
tain Maynard made fun of any more. It was a noble
deed, and he deserves better treatment for it/'
Maynard bowed. " I have one defender/' he said,
soberly.
"Here's another," cried Elsie.
"With two such faithful defenders I defy the
world!" he shouted, valorously. Thereupon they
left off joking him.
As they rose from the table, Curtis turned to Elsie :
"Would you like to go with me to make a tour of
the camp?"
Her eyes lighted up. "I should like it exceed
ingly."
" Very well, about three o'clock we will go. You
will have time for a siesta. You must be tired."
"Oh no, I am quite rested and ready to go any
time," and her bright eyes and warm color confirmed
her words.
With military promptness the horses were brought
'9 289
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
round, and, accompanied by Maynard and Jennie,
Curtis, with Elsie by his side, led the way to the
camp. She was a confident horsewoman and rode
a fine brown pony, and Curtis, who had never rid
den with her before, glowed with pleasure in her
grace and skill.
As they galloped off up the road a keen twinge
of remorseful pity for Lawson touched Elsie's heart.
He was grown suddenly older, it seemed to her, as
though he had definitely given up the attempt to
remain young, and this thought made her rather
sober. He was being left out of her plans now al
most unconsciously, while the other —
" One of the real heroes in this affair," Curtis was
saying, " is Crane's Voice. He has been in saddle
nearly thirty-six hours, and is willing to start again
to Pinon City if I ask it/'
"Of course you will not?"
"No. I will send a white man. The settlers
might do even Crane's Voice an injury."
All was quiet in the camps, with little sign of the
precipitate flight of the morning, either in the faces
of the men or in the disposal of the tepees. The
old men and some of the women came out to greet
their Little Father and the soldier of the good heart,
and Curtis gave out a tranquillizing message and
asked, "Have you called the council?"
"Ay, for sunrise to-morrow/' answered Elk and
Two Horns.
"That is good," he replied. "Where are your
young men?"
"Some are in the hills, some are gone as messen
gers, others are watching the ponies."
290
AFTER THE STRUGGLE
" Call them all in. I don't want them riding about
to-night. Keep them in camp, close by the soldiers
— then no harm wrft come to them."
So, scattering greetings and commands, he rode
through the two circles of tepees. The redmen were
all eager to shake hands with Maynard, in whom
they recognized a valiant friend as well as an old-
time enemy.
They found the camp of Grayman less tranquil,
for the stragglers were still coming in from the hills,
and scores of women were busy resetting their tepees.
Grayman himself came forth, nervous and eager.
" Ho, Little Father, my heart is glad that the soldiers
have come."
"We are all glad," replied Curtis. "Where is
your son?"
Grayman looked troubled. "I do not know. He
is away with Cut Finger, my sister's son."
" Cut Finger is bad company for your son/'
"I know it; but they are blood-brothers, as is
the way of young men. Where one is, there the
other is also."
Maynard and Jennie were not as deeply interested
in the camp as they had given out to be at starting.
He was recalling to her mind some of the parties they
had attended together at Fort Sibley. "Really,
Captain Maynard," she was saying, as they rode up,
" you would have it appear that we saw a great deal
of each other in those days/'
"That's my contention entirely," he replied, "and
it is my intention to continue this Indian out
break indefinitely in order to go into cantonment
here."
291
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"You always were susceptible to good dinners,
Captain Maynard."
" Say good company, and you'll be right entirely/'
Curtis, having caught Maynard's last remark,
called out in the biting tone of the upper classman
at West Point.
"Are you on special duty, Captain Maynard, or
riding in the park?"
He saluted imperturbably. "By good luck I am
doing both, at your service/'
"Merely cast your eye around so that you can re
port the Tetongs peaceful and in camp, then you
may ride where you please/'
Maynard swept his eyes over the village. "It is
done! Now, Miss Curtis, let's try for the top of that
hill?"
" No, no, you have been riding all night/'
" Why, so I have 1 In the charm of your presence
I'd forgotten it. I'm supposed to be fagged/'
"You don't look it," remarked Curtis, humorously,
running his eyes over the burly figure before him.
" At the same time, I think you'd better return. Your
commissariat wagons will be rumbling in soon."
Maynard again saluted. " Very well, ' Major/ it
shall be so," and, wheeling his horse in such wise as
to turn Jennie's pony, they galloped off together,
leaving Curtis and Elsie to follow.
"It's hard to realize that disaster came so near to
us/' he said, musingly, and Elsie shaded her eyes
with her hand and looked up at the hills.
" There is a wonderful charm in this dry country !
I have never seen such blinding sunshine. But life
must be difficult here."
292
AFTER THE STRUGGLE
"You begin to feel that? I expect to stay here at
least five years, providing I am not removed/'
She shuddered perceptibly. " Five years is a long
time to give out of one's life — with so little to show
for it."
He hesitated a moment, then said, with deep feel
ing, " It's hard, it's lonely, but, after all, it has its
compensations. I can see results. The worst side of
it all is — I can never ask any woman to share such
a life with me. I feel guilty when I consider Jennie
— she ought to have a home of her own ; she has no
outlook here."
She looked straight ahead as she replied. "You
would find life here intolerable without her."
"I know it; but in my best moments I realize how
selfish it is in me to keep her."
"Suppose you were to resign, what would you
do?"
" I would try to secure a chance at some field-work
for the Ethnologic Bureau. It doesn't pay very well,
but it would be congenial, and my proficiency in the
sign language would, I think, make me valuable. I
have determined never to go back to garrison life
without some special duty to occupy my mind."
" Life isn't a bit simple when you are grown up, is
it?"
"Life is always simple, if one does one's duty."
" That is a soldier's answer ; it is not easy for me
to enter into that spirit. I have my art, and no sense
of duty at all."
" Your position is equally strange to me ; but duties
will discover themselves — later. A life without duties
is impossible."
293
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"I know what you mean, but I do not intend to
allow any duty to circumscribe my art." This she
uttered defiantly.
" I don't like to hear you say that. Life is greater
than art/'
She laughed. "How different our points of view!
You are Anglo-Saxon, I am French. Art counts far
more with us."
" Was your mother French? I did not know that/'
" Yes — a Canadian. I have her nature rather than
that of my father/'
" Sometimes I think you are your father's daughter.
Did your mother live to enjoy her husband's suc
cess?"
"Not to the full. Still, she had a nice home in
Alta, where I was born. She died before he was
elected Senator." They had nearly reached the
agency now, and she shook off her sober mood. " Shall
we go in with a dash?"
"I'm agreed."
She put quirt to her horse and they entered the lane
at a flying gallop. As he assisted her to alight at
the studio door he said :
"I hope your father will not require you to join
him in the East. It is a great pleasure to have you
here." His voice touched something vibrant in her
heart.
"Oh, I don't think he will when he fully under
stands the situation. I'm sure I don't want to go.
I shall write him so."
Curtis rode away elate as a boy. Something
which he did not care to define had come to him from
her, subtle as a perfume, intangible as light, and
294
AFTER THE STRUGGLE
yet it had entered into his blood with most trans
forming effect. He put aside its analysis, and went
about his duties content with the feeling that life
was growing richer day by day.
Wilson, seeing his shining face, sighed and said
to himself : " I guess the Major has found his girl.
He's a lucky dog. I wish I could pick up even a piece
of plain calico, I'd be satisfied/' And he ran through
a list of the unmarried women within reach, to no
result, as usual.
Meanwhile the supply - wagons had arrived, and
Captain Maynard was overseeing the laying -out of
the camp just below the agency. Lieutenant Payne
and his command returned at five o'clock, and in a
short time the little village of white tents was in order.
Curtis came over to insist that the officers take dinner
with them at " the parsonage," and, as Captain May
nard had already spoken of the good company and
the excellent dinner he had enjoyed in the middle of
the day, Lieutenant Payne was quite ready to com
ply, especially as his lunch had been as light as his
breakfast.
The meal was as enjoyable as the mid-day dinner,
and the Parkers derived much comfort from the pres
ence of the soldiers.
" I guess I'm not fitted to be a pioneer artist/' Par
ker confessed, and the hearty agreement he met with
quite disconcerted him.
Mrs. Parker was indignant at the covert ridicule
of her husband, and was silent all through the meal ;
indeed, the burden of the conversation fell upon Jen
nie and Maynard, but they were entirely willing to
bear it, and were not lacking for words >
295
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"It is good to hear the bugles again/' Jennie re
marked, as one of the calls rang out on the still air,
sweet and sad and as far removed from war as a love
song.
"They're not so pleasant when they call to the
same monotonous round of daily duties/' said Mr.
Payne.
Curtis smiled. "Here's another disgruntled offi
cer. What would you do — kill off the Indians and
move into the city?"
" To kill off a few measly whites might insure com-
pleter peace and tranquillity/' replied Maynard.
"You fellows couldn't be more righteously em
ployed/' put in Lawson. "You might begin on the
political whoopers round about."
" What blasphemy 1" cried Jennie. " These ' noble
pioneers ! ' '
"Founding a mighty State/' added Curtis.
"Founding a state of anarchy!" retorted Lawson.
" They never did have any regard for law, except a
law that worked in their favor."
Parker got in a word. " Lawson, do you know
what you are? You're what Norman Bass used to
call ' a blame a-riss-to-crat.' ' This provoked a laugh
at Lawson's expense.
" I admit it," said Lawson, calmly. " I am in
terested in the cowboy and the miner — as wild an
imals — as much as any of you, but as founders of an
empire! The hard and unlovely truth is, they are
representatives of every worst form of American vice ;
they are ignorant, filthy, and cruel. Their value as
couriers of the Christian army has never been great
me."
296
AFTER THE STRUGGLE
Maynard was unusually reflective as he stared at
Lawson.
"That's mighty plain talk/' he observed, in the
pause that followed. " You couldn't run for office on
speeches like that."
"Lawson's living doesn't depend on prevarica
tion/' remarked Curtis. "If it did—"
" If it did I'd lie like the best—I mean the worst of
you/' replied Lawson.
" In a few years there will not be an Indian left,"
Parker remarked.
" The world will be the poorer."
" They will all be submerged," continued Parker.
"Why submerge them? Is the Anglo-Saxon type
so adorable in the sight of God that He desires all the
races of the earth to be like unto it? If the proselytiz
ing zeal of the missionaries and functionaries of the
English-speaking race could work out, the world
would lose all its color, all its piquancy. Hungary
would be like Scotland, Scotland would be Cornwall,
Cornwall would duplicate London, and London re
flect New York. Beautiful scheme for tailors, shoe
makers, and preachers, but depressing to artists."
" You must be one of those chaps the missionaries
tell about, who would keep men savage just to please
your sense of the picturesque."
"Savage! There's a fine word. What is a sav
age?"
" A man who needs converting to our faith," said
Jennie.
"A man to exercise the army on," said Maynard.
"A man to rob in the name of the Lord," said
Parker.
297
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
" You're stealing all my oratorical thunder/' com
plained Lawson. " When a speaker asks a question
like that he doesn't want a detailed answer — he is
pausing for effect. Speaking seriously — "
" Oh!" said Maynard, "then you were not serious."
Lawson went his oratorical way. "My conviction
is that savagery held more of true happiness than we
have yet realized; and civilization, as you begin to
see, does not, by any construction, advance the sum
of human happiness as it should do."
"What an advantage it is to have an indepen
dent income!" mused Maynard, looking about the
table. "There's a man who not only has opinions,
but utters them in a firm tone of voice."
"I am being instructed," remarked Elsie. "I
used to think no one took the Indian's side; now
every one seems opposed to the cattlemen."
"When we are civilized enough to understand
this redman, he will have disappeared," said Cur
tis, very soberly.
"Judging from the temper of this State at pres
ent, I reckon you're about right," replied Maynard.
"Well, it's out o' my hands, as the fellah says; I'm
not the Almighty; if I were I'd arrange things on a
different basis."
"We are all transition types," remarked Curtis,
harking back to a remark of Lawson 's making.
"Even these settlers are immortal souls," said
Parker.
"Consider!" exclaimed Lawson. "How could we
live without the Indian question? Maynard would
be like Othello — occupation gone. Curtis would
cease to be a philanthropist. Elsie Bee Bee would
208
AFTER THE STRUGGLE
go sadly back to painting ' old hats ' and dead ducks. I
alone of all this company would be busy and well paid.
I would continue to study the remains of the race."
Jennie rose. "Put a period there/' said she, "till
we escape, and, remember, if we hear any loud talk
we'll come out and fetch you away," and she hur
ried out into the sitting-room, where Elsie and Mrs.
Parker yielded up valuable suggestions about dress.
As the Parkers rose to go, Lawson approached
Elsie and asked in a low voice : "Are you going home
to the mess-house to-night? If you are, I want to
go with you."
"Til be ready in a moment/' she replied, but her
eyes wavered. As they stepped out together quite
in the old way, he abruptly but gently began :
"It is significant of our changed relations when
I say that this is the first time I've had an oppor
tunity for a private word since our camping trip.
There is no need of this constraint, Elsie. I w^ant
you to be your good, frank self with me. I'll not
misunderstand it. I am not charging anything up
against you. In fact, I can see that you are right
in your decision, but it hurts me to have you avoid
me as you have done lately."
There was something in his voice which brought
the hot tears to her eyes and she replied, gently : " I'm
very sorry, Osborne. I hoped you wouldn't care — •
so much, and I didn't mean — "
"I've tried not to show my hurt, for my own sake
as well as yours, but the fact is I didn't realize how
deeply you'd taken root in my thoughts till I tried
to put you away. It is said that no two lovers are
299
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
ever equal sharers in affection — one always gives
more than the other — or one expects more than the
other. I was perfectly sincere when I made that
bargain with you, and I know you were; but you
are younger than I, and that has changed the con
ditions for you. I am older than you thought, and
I find myself naturally demanding more and more.
I think I understand better than I did two days ago
why you gave me back the ring, and I do not com-
pkdii of it. I shall never again refer to it, but we
can at least be friends. This cold silence — "
She put out her hand. "Don't, please don't."
"I can't bear your being stiff and uncomfortable
in my presence, Bee Bee! You even called me Mis
ter Lawson." There was a pathetic sort of humor
in his voice which touched her. "Let us be good
comrades again."
She gave him her hand. "Very well, Osborne.
But you are mistaken if you think — "
"Time will tell!" he interrupted, and his voice
was strenuously cheerful. "Anyhow, we are on a
sound footing again. Good-night."
The presence of Maynard and the troop was a
greater relief to Curtis than he realized. He laid
down for a moment's rest on his couch and fell into
a dreamless sleep at once, and Jennie, deciding not
to arouse him, spread a light shawl over him and
withdrew softly. Maynard 's coming brought a deep
er sense of security than a stranger could have
given with twice the number of troops. "Jack May
nard is so dependable," she said, and a distinct note
of tenderness trembled in her voice.
300
XXVI
THE WARRIOR PROCLAIMS HIMSELF
THE messengers from both Riddell and Pinon
reported to Curtis about daylight, laden with
papers and telegrams. The telegrams naturally
received first reading. There was one filled with
"instructions from the Secretary of the Interior, and
one from the Commissioner, bidding him stand firm.
Several anxious ones from various cities, all of this
tenor: "Is there any danger? my niece is one of
your teachers/' etc. In the midst of the others, Cur
tis came upon a fat one for Elsie, plainly from her
father. This he put aside till after breakfast, when
he permitted himself the pleasure of carrying it to the
studio. He found her at work, painting a little brown
tot of a girl in the arms of her smiling mother.
" I have a telegram for you — from your father, no
doubt/'
She rose quickly and opened the envelope. As
she read she laughed. " Poor papa ; he is genuinely
alarmed. Read it."
He took it with more interest than he cared to show,
and found it most peremptory in tone.
"Reports from Fort Smith most alarming. Come
out at once. Have wired the agent to furnish es
cort and conveyance. Shall expect you to reply im-
301
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
mediately, giving news that you have left agency.
You should not have gone there. I will meet you
at Pinon City if possible ; if I do not, take train for
Alta. Wire me your plans. Country is much
alarmed. I must hear from you at once or shall
be worried/'
Curtis looked up with an amused light in his eyes.
"He's a little incoherent, but sufficiently manda
tory. When will you start?"
" I will send a telegram out at once that I am safe,
and all danger over. He will not want me to leave
now."
" Very well. A messenger will start at once with
all our letters and messages. Anything you wish
to send can go at the same time."
"What news have you?"
"I only had time to glance at my mail, but the
papers are all that Lawson has predicted. If you
would know how important a criminal I am, read
these " — he pointed at a bundle on a chair. " I must
go back to the office now, but I will wait for your
letters and telegrams before despatching a messen
ger. If you think it better to go than to stay, I will
ask Captain Maynard to escort you to the station."
" I will stay," she replied.
She wrote a brief telegram to her father, saying:
" I am quite safe and hard at work. All quiet ;
don't worry," and also composed a letter giving vital
details of the situation and taking strong ground
against the way in which the cattlemen had invaded
the reservation. In conclusion she added : " I have
a fine studio, plenty of models, and am in fine health ;
I cannot think of giving up my work because of this
302
THE WARRIOR PROCLAIMS HIMSELF
foolish panic. Don't let these settlers influence you
against Captain Curtis; he's right this time."
As she ran through the papers and caught the
full significance of their precipitate attack on the
agent, her teeth clinched in hot indignation. At
the first breath, before they were sure of a single
item of news, they leaped upon an honorable man,
accusing him of concealing stolen cattle and of har
boring murderers and thieves. " As for the Indians,
it is time to exterminate these vermin ! Let the State
wipe out this tribe and its agency, and send this fel
low Curtis back to his regiment where he belongs/'
was the burden of their song.
As she read on, tingling with wrath at these vul
garly written and utterly un-Christian editorials, the
girl caught an amazing side-glimpse of herself and
the views she once held. She remembered reading
just such reports once before, and joining with her fa
ther in his desire to punish the redmen. Was Lawson
right? Had her notions of the " brave and noble pio
neers fighting the wild beast and the savage " arisen
from ignorance of their true nature? Had they al
ways been as narrow, as bigoted, as relentless, and
as greedy as these articles hinted at? Some of Law-
son's clean-cut, relentless phrases came back to her
at the moment, and she began to believe that he was
nearer right than she had been. And her father?
Would he sanction such libels as these? At last
the essential grandeur of the position held in com
mon by both Curtis and Lawson — of the right of the
small people to their place on the planet — came to
her, and in opposition to their grave, sweet eyes she
saw again the brutal, leering faces of the mob, and
303
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
comprehended the feelings of a chief like Grayman,
as he confronts the oncoming hordes of a destroy
ing race.
Meanwhile, in the grassy hollow between two
round-top hills the bands of Elk and Grayman were
gathered in extraordinary council. No one was in
gala-dress, no one was painted, all were serious or
sad or morose. Upon their folded blankets the head
men sat in a small circle on the smooth sod, exposed
to the blazing sun. Behind them stood or knelt a
larger circle, the men and boys on one side, the wom
en on the other, while in the rear, mounted on their
fleetest ponies, some two hundred of the young men
were ranked, enthralled listeners to the impassioned
speeches of the old men.
Crawling Elk made the first address, repeating the
story which the agent had told and calling upon all
those who sat before him to search for the guilty one
and report to him if they found him. His words
were received in silence.
Then Grayman rose, and, stepping into the circle,
began to speak in a low and sorrowful voice. Some
thing in his manner as well as in his words enlisted
the almost breathless interest of the crowd. There
was a tragic pathos in his voice as he called out:
" You see how it is, brothers ; we are like a nest of ants
in a white man's field, which he is ploughing. We
are only a few and weak, while all around us our
enemies press in upon us. We have only one friend
• — our Little Father. We must do as he says. We
must give up a man to the war chief of the cow
boys. They will never believe that any one else
304
THE WARRIOR PROCLAIMS HIMSELF
killed the sheepman. The cattlemen and sheepmen
are always quarrelling, but they readily join hands
to do the Tetongs harm."
"It is death to us to fight the white man; I know
it. Unless we all wish to be shot, we must not be
come angry this time ; we must do as the Little Father
says, and if we cannot find the man who did this
thing, I will go and give myself into the hands of
the white war chief." A murmur of protest and anger
ran round the circle. "It is better for one to suffer
than many/1 he said, in answer to the protest, "and
I am old. My wife is dead. I have but one son, and
he is estranged from me. I say, if we cannot find
who did this thing, then I am willing to go and be
killed of the white people in order to keep the peace.
I have said it."
Standing Elk leaped to his feet, tall, gaunt, ex
citable. "We will not do this/' he said. "We will
fight first." And among the young warriors there
was applause. " The Tetongs are not dogs to be al
ways kicked in the ribs. I have fought the white
man. I have met "Long Hair' and 'Bear Robe' in
battle. I am not afraid of the cattlemen. I am
old, but my heart is yet big. Let us do battle and
die like brave men."
Then Crawling Elk rose, and his broad, good-hu
mored face shone in the sun like polished bronze as
he turned his cheek to the wind.
"The words of my brother are loud and quick," he
said, slowly. "In the ancient time it was always
so. He was always ready to fight. I was always
opposed to fighting. We must not talk of fighting
now; all that is put away. It belongs to the suns
305
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
that have gone over our heads. We must now talk
of cattle-herding and ploughing. We must strive al
ways to be at peace with the cowboys. I, too, am old.
I have not many years to live; but you young men
have a long time to live, and you cannot be always
quarrelling with the settlers ; you must be wise and
patient. Our Little Father, Swift Eagle, is our friend ;
you can trust him. You can put your hand in his
and find it strong and warm. His heart is good and
his words are wise. If we can find the man who did
this evil deed, we must give him up. It is not right
that all of us should suffer for the wickedness of one
man. No, it is not right that we who are old should
die for one whose hands are red."
This speech was also received in silence, but plainly
produced a powerful effect. Then one of the men
who found the body rose and told what he knew of
the case. "I do not think a Tetong killed the man/'
he said, in conclusion.
In this wise the talk proceeded for nearly two hours,
and then the council rose to meet again at sunset, and
word of what had been said was carried to Curtis by
Crawling Elk and Grayman.
To them Curtis said : " I am pleased with you. Go
over the names of all your reckless young men, and
when you reach one you think might do such a deed,
question him and his people closely. The shells
of the rifle were the largest size — that may help
you. Your old men would not do this thing — their
heads are cool; but some of your young men have
hot hearts and may have quarrelled with this
herder."
The old men went away very sorrowful. Gray-
306
THE WARRIOR PROCLAIMS HIMSELF
man was especially troubled, because he could not
help thinking all the time of Cut Finger, his nephew.
Running Fox, or " Cut Finger/' as the white people
called him, he knew to be a morose and reckless young
man, and probably possessed of some evil spirit, for
at times he was quite crazy. Once he had forced his
pony into the cooking-lodge of Bear Paw for no rea
son at all, and Bear Paw, in a rage, had snatched up
his rifle and fired, putting a bullet through the bridle
hand of Running Fox, who lost two fingers and
gained a new name. At another time the mad fool
had tried to force his horse to leap a cliff; and once
he had attempted to drown himself ; and yet, between
these obsessions, he could be very winning, and there
were many among Elk's band who pitied him. He was
comely withal, and had married a handsome girl, the
daughter of Standing Wolf. It was easy to imagine
that Cut Finger was the guilty one, and yet to think
of him was to think of his son's intimate friend.
When he reached his tepee Grayman lit his pipe
and sat down alone and remained in deep thought
for hours. He feared to find Cut Finger guilty, for
his own son was Cut Finger's friend, or fellow, and
that means the closest intimacy. There are no secrets
between a Tetong and his chum. "If Cut Finger is
guilty, then my son knows of it. That I fear."
When any one came to the door he motioned them
away ; even his daughter dared not enter, for she saw
him in meditation. As he smoked he made offering to
the Great Spirit, and prayed that he might be shown
the right way, and his heart was greatly troubled.
Crawling Elk, with a half-dozen of his head men,
was seated in his tepee, calmly discussing the same
307
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
question. The canvas of his lodge was raised, as
much to insure privacy as to let the wind sweep
through. It was not easy to accuse any man of this
crime, or even to suggest the name of any one as capa
ble of such a foolish deed of blood. For relationships
were close ; therefore it was that he, too, narrowed the
investigation down to Cut Finger. It is easier to ac
cuse the son of a neighbor than your own son, es
pecially if that other is already a marked man among
reckless youths.
At five o'clock Grayman called his daughter and
said, "Send my sister, Standing Cloud, to me."
Standing Cloud came and took a seat on the out
side of the tepee — on the side where the canvas was
fastened up — and there sat with bent head, her fingers
busy with blades of grass, while her brother questioned
her. She was a large and comely woman of middle
age. Her expression was still youthful, and her voice
had girlish lightness. She was at once deeply moved
by her brother's questions. She did not know where
her son was ; he had not been to see her for several
days. She understood whereto the questioning tend
ed, and stoutly denied that her son would do so evil a
deed. Nevertheless, Grayman was compelled to say :
"You know he has a bad head/' and he made the
confused, wavering sign of the hand which signifies
crazy or foolish, and the mother rose and went away
sobbing.
Then Grayman recalled the words of the Little
Father. " If my own brother should do wrong, I would
give him up to the war chief," he therefore said. " If
my son and my sister's son are guilty, I will give them
up," and he rose and sought out Crawling Elk and
308
THE WARRIOR PROCLAIMS HIMSELF
told him of his fears, and repeated his resolution as
they sat together while the sun was going down and
the crier was calling the second council.
"It is right/' said Elk. "Those who are guilty
must be punished ; but we do not know who fired the
shot."
The people were slow in coming together this sec
ond time, and darkness was falling as the head men
again took their seats. A small fire was being built
in the centre of the circle, and towards this at last,
like nocturnal insects, the larger number of the peo
ple in the two camps slowly concentrated.
The wind had gone down and the night was dark
and still and warm. The people gathered in com
parative silence, though the laugh of a girl occasion
ally broke from the clustering masses of the women,
to be followed by a mutter of jests from the young men
who stood close packed behind the older members of
the bands. Excitement had deepened since the morn
ing, for in some way the news had passed from lip to
lip that Grayman had discovered the evil-doer.
On their part the chieftains were slow to begin
their painful task. They smoked in silence till the
fire was twice replenished, then began talking in
low tones among themselves. At last Crawling Elk
arose and made a speech similar to that of the morning.
He recounted the tale of the murdered white man, and
the details of finding the body, and ended by saying :
" We are commanded by the agent to find the ones
who have done this evil deed. If any one knows
anything about this, let him come forward and speak.
It is not right that we should all suffer for the wrong
doing of some reckless young warriors/'
309
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Come forth and speak, any one who knows/*
called the head men, looking round the circle. " He
who remains silent does wrong."
Two Horns rose. "We mean you, young men —
you too/' he said, turning to the women. "If any
of you have heard anything of this matter, speak!"
Then the silence fell again on the circle of old men,
and they bent their heads in meditation. Crawling
Elk was just handing the pipe to Grayman, in order
to rise, when a low mutter and a jostling caused
every glance to centre upon one side of the circle,
and then, decked in war-paint, gay with beads and
feathers, and carrying a rifle, Cut Finger stepped
silently and haughtily into the circle and stood mo
tionless as a statue, his tall figure erect and rigid as
an oak.
A moaning sound swept over the assembly, and
every eye was fixed on the young man. "Ahee!
Ahee!" the women wailed, in astonishment and fear;
two or three began a low, sad chant, and death seem
ed to stretch a black wing over the council. By his
weapons, by his war-paint, by his bared head decked
with eagle-plumes, and by the haughty lift of his face,
Cut Finger proclaimed louder than words :
" I am the man who killed the herder/'
Standing so, he began to sing a stern song :
"I alone killed him — the white man.
He was a thief and I killed him.
No one helped me; I alone fired the shot.
He will drive his sheep no more on Tetong lands.
This dog of a herder.
He lies there in the short grass.
It was I, Cut Finger, who did it."
310
THE WARRIOR PROCLAIMS HIMSELF
As his chant died away he turned : " I go to the
hills to fight and die like a man/' And before the
old men could stay him he had vanished among the
young horsemen of the outer circle, and a moment
later the loud drumming of his pony's hoofs could
be heard as he rode away.
Curtis was sitting alone in the library when a tap
at his window announced the presence of Gray-
rnan.
Following a gesture, the chieftain came in, and,
with a look on his face which expressed high resolu
tion and keen sorrow, he said :
" The man who killed the herder is found. He has
proclaimed himself at our council, and he has ridden
away into the hills/'
"Who was he?"
"Cut Finger."
"Ah! So? Well, you have done your duty. I
will not ask you to arrest him. Crow will do that.
I hope" — he hesitated — "I hope your son was not
with him?"
"I alone did it/ he says. My son is innocent."
"I am very glad," replied Curtis, looking into the
old man's tremulous face. "Go home and sleep in
peace."
With a clasp of the hand Grayman said good-night
and vanished.
There was nothing to be done till morning, and
Curtis knew the habits of the Indians too well to be
anxious about the criminal. Calling his faithful
Crane's Voice, he said :
" Crane, will you go to Pinon City?"
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Crane's Voice straightened. " To-night?"
"Yes, tonight."
" If you will let me wear a blue coat I will go."
Curtis smiled. " You are a brave boy. I will give
you a coat. That will protect you if you are caught
by the white men. Saddle your pony."
With a smile he turned on his heel and went out
as cheerfully as though he were going on an errand
to the issue-house.
In his letter to the sheriff Curtis said : " I have found
the murderer. He is a half-crazy boy called Cut
Finger. Make out a warrant for him and I will de
liver him to you. You will need no deputies. No
one but yourself will be permitted to cross the line
for the present."
After Crane had galloped off, Curtis laid down his
pen and sat for a long time recalling the events of the
evening. He remembered that Lawson and Elsie
went away together, and a pang of jealous pain
took hold upon him. "I never had the privilege of
taking her arm," he thought, unreasonably.
XXVII
BRISBANE COMES FOR ELSIE
AV10NG other perplexities which now assailed the
agent was the question of how to secure Cut
Finger without inciting further violence. He con
fidently expected the police to locate the fugitive dur
ing the day, probably in the camp of Red Wolf, on
the head-waters of the Elk.
"He cannot escape. There is no place for him to-
go."
"He may have committed suicide/' said Wilson,
discussing the matter with his chief the following
morning.
" He may, but his death will not satisfy the ranch
ers unless they are made the instrument of ven
geance. They would feel cheated and bitterer than
ever/' replied Curtis, sombrely. " He must be taken
and delivered up to the law."
On his return to the office after breakfast Curtis
stopped at the door of Elsie's studio, his brain yet
tingling with the consciousness that no other man's
claim stood between them now.
She greeted him joyously. "I am starting a big
canvas this morning/' she said. "Come in and see
it/1
He stepped inside to see, but the canvas only had
313
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
a few rude, reddish lines upon it, and Elsie laughed
at his blank look as he faced the easel.
" This thing here/' she pointed with her brush, " is
a beautiful purple butte; this yellow circle is the
sun; these little crumbly looking boxes are trees;
this streak is a river. This jack-in-the-box here is
Crow Wing on his horse."
Her joking helped to clear his brain, though his
blood was throbbing in his ears.
"Ah! I'm glad to know all that Will you tag
each anomalous hump?"
"Certainly. You will recognize everything by
number or otherwise/' She turned a suddenly seri
ous face upon him. "I am determined to get back
to work. These last few days have been so excit
ing. Is there any news?"
"Yes. The murderer proclaimed himself at a big
council last night."
" He did ! Oh, tell me about it ! When?"
"I don't know exactly the hour, but the chief
tains came to me about nine o'clock. I know him
well; he is a reckless, handsome, half-crazy young
man — " He broke off suddenly as Heavybreast, one
of the policemen, profoundly excited, darkened the
door- way. "Cut Finger is on the hill," he signed,
and pointed away with trembling finger to a height
which rose like a monstrous bee-hive just behind the
school-house. On the rounded top, looking like a
small monument on a colossal pedestal, sat a mount
ed warrior.
"What is he there for?" asked Curtis.
"He wants to die like Raven Face. He wants to
fight the cowboys, he says. He don't want to hurt
314
BRISBANE COMES FOR ELSIE
any one else, he says; only the cowboys and their
war chief, so he says."
"Where is Crow? I want this man arrested and
brought to me."
"Now he will shoot any one who goes up the hill;
he has said so. All the people are watching."
Curtis mused a moment. "Can you send word
to him?"
"Yes; his wife is here."
"Then tell him I will not let him fight. Tell him
that shooting will do no good, and that I want him to
come down and see me."
The officer trotted away.
"What did he say?" asked Elsie. "What is that
man on the hill for?"
"That is Cut Finger, the guilty man. He pro
claimed himself the murderer last night and now he
is willing to die, but wants to die on his horse."
The whole agency was again tremulous with ex
citement. The teachers, the scholars, the native
employe's were all gathered into chattering groups
with eyes fixed on the motionless figure of the des
perate horseman, and in the camps above the agency
an almost frenzied excitement was spreading. The
stark bravery of the boy's attitude had kindled anew
the flame of war, and behind Cut Finger on the hills
two groups of mounted warriors had gathered sud
denly. Several of the more excitable old women
broke into a war-song, whose wail came faintly to
the ears of the agent.
"Two Horns, silence those singers," said Curtis,
sternly.
Elsie and Jennie and the Parkers joined the group
315
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
around the agent, and Miss Colson, the missionary,
came flying for refuge at the side of her hero.
"What are you going to do?" asked Parker. " If
the fellow really means to shoot, of course no man
can go up to him. You might send some soldiers/'
"Silence in the ranks!" commanded Maynard,
and, though he smiled as he said it, Parker realized
his mistake. He turned to Elsie and his wife. "I
tell you, we'd better get out of here. I feel just like
a man sitting on a powder-mine. There's no telling
what's going to happen next."
Lawson turned towards him with a sarcastic grin.
"I wish I'd realized the state of your nerves, Parker;
I should have invited you to Asbury Beach instead
of the Indian country."
Maynard brought his field-glasses to bear on the
desperado. "He has dismounted," he said. "He
is squatted beside his horse, the bridle-rein on his
arm, a rifle across his knees, and is faced this way.
His attitude is resolute and ' sassy. ' '
Curtis quietly said: "Now, friends, I wish you
would all go in and pay no further attention to this
man. Miss Colson, go back to your work. So long
as he sees us looking at him he will maintain his
defiant attitude. He will grow weary of his bravado
if ignored. "
"Quite right, Captain," replied Lawson, and the
little knot of visitors broke up and dispersed to shel
tered points of observation.
Under the same gentle pressure the employes went
back to work, and the self - convicted warrior was
left to defy the wind and the sky. Even the Te-
tongs themselves grew tired of looking when noth-
316
BRISBANE COMES FOR ELSIE
ing seemed likely to happen, and the forenoon wore
away as usual, well filled with duties. Maynard's
men got out for drill an hour later, and their bugle's
voice pulsed upward to the silent and motionless
watcher on the hill like mocking laughter. The
clink of the anvil also rose to him on the hot, dry
air, and just beneath him the children came forth
at recess to play. He became tired of sitting on the
ground at last, and again mounted his horse, but
no one at the agency seemed to know or to care.
The sun beat remorselessly upon his head, and his
throat became parched with thirst. Slowly but sure
ly the exaltation of the morning ebbed away and a
tremulous weakness seized upon him, so that, when
his wife came bringing meat and water, he who had
never expected to eat or drink again seized upon
the food and ate greedily.
Then, while she sat on the ground and repeated
the agent's message, he stood beside his horse, sul
len and wordless. The bell rang for noon, and as
the children came rushing out they pointed up at
him again, and the teachers also stood in a group
for a moment, with faces turned upward, but only
for a moment, then went carelessly away to their
meals.
An hour passed, the work-bell rang, the clerks re
turned to their duties, and the agent walked slowly
across the road towards the office. Cut Finger lifted
his rifle and pointed it. "I could shoot him now/'
he muttered. " But he is a good man ; I do not want
to kill him." Then the heat and silence settled over
hill and valley, and no sound but the buzzing of flies
and the clatter of grasshoppers broke the hot, brood-
317
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
ing hush of the mid-day. The wind was from the
plain and brought no coolness on its wings.
But he was not entirely forgotten. Elsie, from her
studio door, kept close watch upon him. " There's
something fine about him after all/' she said to
Curtis.
" It's like the old Mosaic times — an eye for an eye.
He knows he must die for this, but he prefers to die
gloriously, as a warrior dies/'
A dust down the road caught Curtis's attention.
"The mail will soon be in and then we will see how
all this affects the press of the State; the Chicago
dailies will not reach us for a couple of days yet/'
"Send the papers over here, please!" cried Elsie,
"I'm wild to see them."
" Why not all assemble at ' the parsonage ' and I'll
bring them there?"
" Very well ; that will do as well," she replied. " It
will be such a joy to read our obituaries."
As he entered the library with his armful of papers
a half -hour later Curtis exclaimed : " Well, now, here
is a feast! The commotion on the outside is prodig
ious. Here are the Copper City and Alta papers, and
a dozen lesser 'lights and signals of progress' in
the State. Help yourselves." He took out a handful
of letters and telegrams. " And here are the prayers
of anxious relatives. A telegram for you, Miss Bris
bane; and two for you, Lawson."
Elsie's message from her father was brief. " Have
no word from you ; am en route for Pinon City. Not
finding you there will cross to agency at once. Why
do you not come out?"
Looking at the date she said: "Papa is coming;
318
BRISBANE COMES FOR ELSIE
he is probably on his way to the agency at this mo
ment/'
Curtis looked a little troubled. "I hope not; the
roads are dusty and the sun is hot."
"By George! this is fierce stuff/' said Parker, look
ing up from his paper.
"Cut Finger has left the hill/' announced Jennie
from the door- way; "he is nowhere to be seen/'
"Now he will submit to arrest/' exclaimed Curtis.
"His fine frenzy is gone/'
"I'm sorry/' Elsie soberly exclaimed. "Must you
give him up to that stupid sheriff?"
"Yes, it must be done/' replied Curtis. "My only
claim to consideration lies in executing the law. I
fought lawlessness with the promise that when the
sheriff came with proper warrant I wTould act."
As the young officer went back to his duties the
head-lines of the papers he had but glanced at be
gan to burn into his brain. Hitherto his name had
been most inconspicuous; only once or twice had it
achieved a long-primer setting ; mainly it had kept
to the security and dignity of brevier notices in the
Army and Navy Journal. Now here it stood, bla
zoned in ill-smelling ink on wood-pulp paper, in let
ters half an inch in height :
CURTIS CULPABLE
THE AGENT SHIELDS HIS PETS
while in the editorial columns of the Copper City
papers similar accusations, though adroitly veiled,
were none the less apparent. He had smiled at all
this in the presence of his friends, but inwardly he
319
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
shrank from it just as he would have done had some
tramp in the street flung a handful of gutter slime
across the breast of his uniform. A gust of rage made
his teeth clinch and his face burn hot, and he entered
his office with lowering brows.
Wilson looked up with a grin. " Well, Major, the
politicians are getting in their work on us."
"This is only the beginning. W^e may expect an
army of reporters to complete the work of misrepre
sentation/'
" The wonder is they haven't got here before. They
must be really nervous. Crane says the people in
town have very bad hearts. As near as I can make
out they faced him up and threatened his life. He
says the mob is hanging round the edge of the reser
vation crazy for blood. He got shy and took to the
hills."
"Did he see the sheriff?"
" Yes, the sheriff is on the way."
"Is Crane still asleep?"
"Yes. He didn't wait for grub; he dropped like a
log and is dead to the world."
"Poor chap! I shouldn't have sent him on this
last trip. Where is Tony?"
" Tony's out in the hills to keep an eye on Cut Fin
ger. Will you go after him to-night?"
"No, not till morning. The police will locate him
and stay with him to-night, and to-morrow morning
I will go out and get him myself. I don't want any
shooting, if it can be avoided. W^hat is it, Heavy-
breast?" he asked of a large Tetong wrho entered at
the moment, his eyes bright with information.
" White man coming," signed the redman.
320
BRISBANE COMES FOR ELSIE
Curtis rose and went to the door and looked down
the road.
Three carriages were passing the issue -house —
one a rather pretentious family surrey, the others
ordinary mountain wagons. In the hinder seat of the
surrey, and beside the sheriff, sat a gray-haired man.
"It is Senator Brisbane!" said Curtis to Wilson,
and a keen pang of anticipated loss came to him, for
he knew that Brisbane had come to take his daugh
ter away. But his face was calm as he went down
to the gate to meet his distinguished and powerful
enemy.
The ex-Senator was hot, weary, and angry. He
had arrived in Pinon City on the early train, just as
the county attorney and the sheriff were about to set
forth. A few words with these officials assuaged his
anxiety for his daughter but increased his irritation
towards Curtis. Leaving orders for another team to
follow, he had taken passage with the sheriff, an
action he regretted at once. The seats were too low
and too narrow for his vast bulk, and his knees grew
weary. The wind came from the plain hot and in
solent, bringing no relief to the lungs ; on the con
trary, it filled his eyes and ears with dust and parched
the skin like a furnace blast. Altogether the con
ditions of his ride had been torturing to the great
man, and he had ridden the latter part of it in grim
silence, mentally execrating both Lawson and Curtis
for luring his daughter so far from civilization.
No one spoke till the agent, pacing calmly down to
the gate, stepped into the road and said :
"Good-evening, gentlemen, will you get out and
come in?"
321
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Even then Brisbane made no reply, but the sheriff
spoke up : "I suppose we'll have to. This is Senator
Brisbane, Major. He was very anxious about his
daughter and so came in with me. This is Mr. Gris-
more, our county attorney/'
Curtis bowed slightly. "Mr. Grismore I have
seen. Senator Brisbane I have met. Send your
horses down to the corral, sheriff, and come in; you
can't return to-night."
As the sheriff got out he said : " This second team
is the Senator's, and the reporter for the Associated
Press is in there with Streeter."
Brisbane got out slowly arid painfully, and a yel
low-gray pallor came into his face as he stood be
side the carriage steadying himself by resting his
hand on the wheel. The young county attorney,
eager to serve the great politician, sprang out and
offered a hand, and Curtis, with sudden pity in his
heart, made a step forward, but Brisbane put them
both aside harshly.
"No, no! I'm all right now. My legs were
cramped — that's all. They'll limber up in a minute.
The seats were too low for a man of my height. I
should have stayed in the other carriage."
After all he was Elsie's father, and Curtis re
lented: "Senator, if you'll take a seat in my office,
I'll go fetch your daughter."
"I prefer to go to her myself," Brisbane replied,
menacingly formal. "Where is she?"
"I will show you if you will permit," Curtis coldly
replied, and set out to cross the road.
The old man hobbled painfully at first, but soon
recovered enough of his habitual power to follow
322
BRISBANE COMES FOR ELSIE
Curtis, who did not wait, for he wished to have a pri
vate word with Elsie before her father came. She
was lying down as he knocked, resting, waiting for
the dinner call.
" Your father is here/' he said, as she opened the
door.
Her face expressed surprise, not pleasure.
" Here ! Here at the agency?"
"Yes, and on his way to the studio. Moreover,
he is very dirty, very disgusted, very crusty, and
not at all well."
"Poor old father! Now he'll make it uncom
fortable for us all. He has come for me, of course.
Who is with him?"
"The sheriff, the county attorney, and some re
porters."
She smiled. " Then he is ' after you/ too. "
"It looks that way. But you must not go away
without giving me another chance to talk with
you. Will you promise that?" he demanded, ab
ruptly, passionately. "I have something to say to
you."
"I dare not promise," she responded, and her words
chilled him even more than her action as she turned
away to the door. " How slowly he walks ! Poor old
papa! You shouldn't have done this, popsey," she
cried, as she met him with a kiss on his cheek.
Curtis walked away, leaving them alone, a hand
of ice at his heart.
Brisbane took her kiss without changing to
lighter mood.
"Why didn't you follow out my orders?" he de
manded, harshly. "You see what I've had to go
323
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
through just because you are so foolishly obstinate.
That ride is enough to kill a man."
Her throat swelled with anger, but she choked it
down and replied very gently. "Come into the
studio and let me clean off the dust. I'm sorry."
He followed her in and sank heavily upon a chair.
"I wouldn't take that journey again for ten thou
sand dollars. Why didn't you come to the railway
as I ordered?"
"Because I saw no good reason for it. I knew
what I was doing. Captain Curtis assured me — "
"Captain Curtis!" he sneered. "You'd take his
word against mine, would you?"
"Yes, I would, for he is on the ground and knows
all the conditions. He has the outbreak well in hand.
You have seen only the outside exaggeration of it.
He has acted with honor and good judgment — "
" Oh, he has, has he? Well, we'll see about that !"
His mind had taken a new turn. "He won't have
anything in his hand six months from now. No
West Point dude like him can set himself up against
the power of this State and live."
"Now, papa, don't start in to abuse Captain Cur
tis; he is our host, and it isn't seemly."
"Oh, it isn't! Well, I don't care whether it is or
is not; I shall speak my mind. His whole attitude
has been hostile to the best interests of the State,
and he must get off his high horse."
As he growled and sneered his way through a
long diatribe, she brought water and bathed his face
and hands and brushed his hair, her anger melting
into pity as she comprehended how weak and broken
he was. She had observed it before in times of great
324
BRISBANE COMES FOR ELSIE
fatigue, but the heat and dust and discomfort of the
drive had reduced the big body, debilitated by lack
of exercise, to a nerveless lump, his brain to a mass
of incoherent and savage impulses. No matter what
he said thereafter, she realized his pitiable weakness
and felt no anger.
As he rested he grew calmer, and at last con
sented to lie down while she made a little tea on an
alcohol lamp. After sipping the tea he fell asleep,
and she sat by his side, her mind filled with the fun
damental conception of a daughter's obligation to
her sire. To her he was no longer a great politician,
no longer a powerful, aggressive business man — he
was only her poor, old, dying father, to whom she
owed her every comfort, her education, her jewels,
her art. He had never been a companion to her —
his had been the rule absolute — and yet a hundred
indulgences, a hundred really kind and considerate
acts came thronging to her mind as she fanned his
flushed face.
"I must go with him/' she said; "it is my duty."
Curtis came to the door again and tapped. She
put her finger to her lips, and so he stood silent,
looking in at her. His eyes called her and she rose
and tiptoed to the door.
"I came to ask you both to dinner/' he whispered.
Her eyes filled with quick tears. "That's good
of you," she returned, in a low voice. " But he would
not come. He's only a poor, old, broken man, after
all." Her voice was apologetic in tone. "I hope
you will not be angry." They both stood looking
down at him. "He has failed terribly in the last
few weeks. His campaigning will kill him. I wish
325
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
he would give it up. He needs rest and quiet. What
can I do?"
Curtis, looking upon the livid old man, inert and
lumpish, yet venerable because of his white hairs —
and because he was the sire of his love — experienced
a sudden melting of his own resolution. His throat
choked, but he said :
" Go with him. He needs you. "
At the moment words were unnecessary.- She
understood his deeper meaning, and lifted her hand
to him. He took it in both his. " It may be a long
time before I shall see you again. I — I ought not — "
he struggled with himself and ceased to speak.
Her eyes wavered and she withdrew her hand.
"My duty is with him now; perhap*2 I can carry him
through his campaign, or dissuade him altogether.
Don't you see that I am right?"
He drew himself up as though his general-in-chief
were passing. "Duty is a word I can understand/7
he said, and turned away.
XXVIII
A WALK IN THE STARLIGHT
HAVING no further pretext for calling upon her,
Curtis thought of Elsie as of a strain of music
which had passed. He was rather silent at dinner,
but not noticeably so, for Maynard absorbed most of
the time and attention of those present. At the first
opportunity he returned to his papers, and was deep
in work when Jennie came in to tell him that Elsie
was coming over to stay the night.
"She has given up her bed to her father, and so
she will sleep here. Go over about nine and get her."
If she knew how deeply this command moved him,
she was considerate enough to make no comment.
" Very well, sis," he replied, quietly. " As soon as I
finish this letter."
But he did not finish the letter — did not even com
plete the sentence with which his pen was engaged
when Jennie interrupted him. After she went out
he sat in silence and in complete immobility for
nearly an hour. At last he rose and went out into
the warm and windless night.
When he entered the studio he found her seated
upon one trunk and surveying another.
"This looks like flight," he said.
"Yes; papa insists on our going early to-morrow
327
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
morning. Isn't it preposterous! I can only pack
my clothing. He says the trouble is only beginning,
and that I must not remain here another day/'
"I have come to fetch you to Jennie/'
" I will be ready presently. I am just looking round
to decide on what to take. Rs seated, please, while I
look over this pile of sketches/'
He took a seat and looked at her sombrely. " You'll
leave a great big empty place here when you go."
"Do you mean this studio?"
"I mean in my daily life."
She became reflective. "I hate to go, and that's
the truth of it. I am just beginning to feel my grip
tighten on this material. I know I could do some
good work here, but really I was frightened at papa's
condition this afternoon. He is better now, but I can
see that he is failing. If he insists on campaigning
I must go with him — but, oh, how I hate it ! Think of
standing up and shaking hands with all these queer
people for months 1 I oughtn't to feel so, of course,
but I can't help it. I've no patience with people who
are half-baked, neither bread nor dough. I believe I
like old Mary and Two Horns better."
" I fear you are voicing a mood, not a conviction.
We ought not to condemn any one;" he paused a mo
ment, then added : " I don't like you to even say cruel
things. It hurts me. As I look round this room I
see nothing which has to do with duty or conviction
or war or politics. There is peace and beauty here.
You belong in this atmosphere ; you are fitted to your
environment. I admit that I was fired at first with
a desire to convert you to my ways of thought ; now%
when a sense of duty troubles you, takes you away
328
A WALK IN THE STARLIGHT
from the joy of your art, I question myself. You are
too beautiful to wear yourself out in problems. I
now say, remain an artist. There is something idyl
lic about your artist life as I now understand it. It
is simple and childlike. In that respect it seems to
have less troublesome questions of right or wrong
to decide than science. Its one care seems to be,
'What will produce and preserve beauty, and so as
suage the pain of the world?' No question of money
or religion or politics — just the pursuit of an ideal in
a sheltered nook."
"You have gone too far the other way, I fear/' she
said, sadly. "Our lives, even at the best, are far
from being the ideal you present. It seems very
strange to me to hear you say those things — "
"I have given the matter much thought/' he re
plied. " If I have made you think of the woes of the
world, so you have shown me glimpses of a life where
men and women are almost free from care. We are
mutually instructed. " He rose at this point and, after
hesitation, said: "When you go I wish you would
leave this room just as it is, and when I am tired and
irritable and lonely I'll come here and imagine my
self a part of your world of harmonious colors, with
no race questions to settle and no harsh duties to per
form. Will you do this? These few hangings and
lamps and easels are unimportant to you — you won't
miss them ; to me they will be priceless, and, besides,
you may come back again some time. Say you will.
It will comfort me."
There was a light in his eyes and an intensity
in his voice which startled her. She stammered a
little.
329
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Why, of course, if it will give you the slightest
pleasure; there is nothing here of any particular
value. Fll be glad to leave them."
" Thank you. So long as I have this room as it is
I shall be able to persuade myself that you have not
passed utterly out of my life."
She was a little alarmed now, and hastened to say :
" I do not see why we should not meet again. I shall
expect you to call when you come to Washington — "
she checked herself. "I'm afraid my sense of duty
to the Tetongs is not strong. Don't think too hardly
of me because of it."
He seemed intent on another thought. "Do you
know, you've given me a dim notion of a new phi
losophy. I haven't organized it yet, but it's some
thing like this : Beauty is a sense of fitness, harmony.
This sense of beauty — call it taste — demands posi
tively a readjustment of the external facts of life, so
that all angles, all suffering and violence, shall cease.
If all men were lovers of the beautiful, the gentle,
then the world would needs be suave and genial,
and life harmoniously colored, like your own studio,
and we would campaign only against ugliness. To
civilize would mean a totally different thing. I'm
not quite clear on my theory yet, but perhaps you
can help me out."
"I think I see what you mean. But my world,"
she hastened to say, "is nothing like so blameless
as you think it. Don't think artists are actually
what they should be. They are very human, eager to
succeed, to outstrip each other; and they are sordid,
too. No, you are too kind to us. We are a poor lot
when you take us as a whole, and the worst of it is
330
A WALK IN THE STARLIGHT
the cleverest makers of the beautiful are often the
least inspiring in their lives. I mean they're igno
rant and spiteful, and often dishonorable." She
stopped abruptly.
"I'm sorry to hear you say that. It certainly
shatters a beautiful theory I had built up out of what
you and other artists have said to me." After a
little silence he resumed: "It comes down to this,
then : that all arts and professions are a part of life,
and life is a compromise between desire and duty.
There are certain things I want to do to-day, but my
duties for to-morrow forbid. You are right in going
away with your father — I'm not one to keep you
from doing that — but I must tell you how great has
been the pleasure of having you here, and I hope you
will come again. If you go to-morrow morning I
shall not see you again/'
"Why not?"
" I start at dawn to arrest Cut Finger."
"Alone?"
"No. The captain of the police goes with me."
Her face paled a little. "Oh! I wish you wouldn't!
Why don't you take the soldiers?"
" They are not necessary. I shall leave here about
four o'clock and surprise the guilty man in his bed.
He will not fight me." He rose. "Are you ready
to go now?"
"In a moment," she said, and softly crossed the
floor to peep into the bedroom. " Poor papa, he looks
almost bloodless as he sleeps."
As they stepped out into the darkness Curtis realized
that this was their last walk together, and the thought
was both sweet and sad.
331
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Will you take my arm?" he asked. "It is very
dark, though there should be a new moon."
" It has gone down ; I saw it/' she replied, as she
slipped her hand through his elbow. " How peaceful
it all is! It doesn't seem possible that to-morrow
you will risk your life in the performance of duty,
and that I will leave here, never to return. I have a
curious feeling about this place now. It seems as
though I were settled here, and that I am to go on
living here forever."
" I wish it were true. Women like you — you know
what I mean ; there are no women like you, of course
— come into my life too seldom. I dread the empty
futility of to-morrow. As an Indian agent, I must
expect to live without companionship with such as
you. I have a premonition that Jennie is going to
leave me — as she ought."
"You will be very lonely then ; what will you do?"
"Work harder; do more good, and so. cheat myself
into forgetfulness that time is flying."
"You are bitter to-night."
"Why shouldn't I be when you are going away?
It wouldn't be decent of me to be gay."
"Your methods of flattery are always effective.
At one moment you discuss the weightiest matters
with me — which argues I have brains — and then you
grow gloomy over my going and would seem to mean
that I am charming, which I don't think is quite true."
" If I weren't a poor devil of an army officer I'd con
vince you of my sincerity by asking you not to go
away at all."
"That would be convincing, "she said, laughingly.
"Please don't do it!"
332
A WALK IN THE STARLIGHT
His tone became suddenly serious. " You are right,
I can't ask you to share a life like mine. It is too
uncertain. I may be ordered back to my regiment
next winter, and then nothing remains but garrison
duty. I think I will then resign. But I am un
fitted for business, or for any money-getting, and so
I've decided that as an honorable man I must not
imperil the happiness of a woman. I claim to be a
person of taste, and the girl I admired would have
other chances in life. I can't afford to say to her,
'Give up all your comfort and security and come
with me to the frontier/ She would be foolish to
listen — no woman of the stamp I have in mind could
do it." They were nearing "the parsonage" gate,
and he ended in a low voice : " Don't you think I
am right?"
"The theory is that nothing really counts in a
woman's life but love," she replied, enigmatically.
"Yes, but theory aside—"
" Well, then, I can conceive of a girl — a very young
girl — leaving wealth and friends, and even her art,
for the man she loved, but — "
He waited a moment as a culprit listens to his judge.
" But then— but in case—"
"If the girl were grown up and loved luxurious
living, and shared an enthusiasm — say for art —
then — " She broke off and said, wearily, "Then
she might palter and measure values and weigh
chances, and take account of the future and end
by not marrying at all."
They had reached the gate and he spoke with per
ceivable effort: "I've no right to ask it, of course,
but if you take pity on my loneliness at any time
333
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
and write to me, your letters will be more welcome
than it is seemly in me to say, and I'll promise not
to bore you with further details of my 'Injines.'
Will you be kind to me?"
"I will be glad to write/' she replied, but in her
voice was something he did not understand. As
they entered the house Elsie said : " Captain May-
nard, Captain Curtis is going out to-morrow morn
ing to arrest that crazy Indian. Do you think he
ought to go alone?"
"Certainly not! It would be too dangerous. He
shall have an escort," replied Maynard, emphat
ically.
"No, no!" said Curtis, decisively. "I am safer to
go unarmed and alone."
"George!" protested Jennie, "you shall not go out
there alone. Why don't you send the police?"
Maynard here interposed. " Don't take on worry ;
I'll go with him myself."
This last hour in Elsie's company was a mingled
pain and pleasure to Curtis, for she was most charm
ing. She laid aside all hauteur, all perversity, and
gave herself unreservedly to her good friends. They
were all at high tension, and the talk leaped from jest
to protest, and back to laughter again, agile and in
consequent. The time and the place, the past and
the future, counted for little to these four, for they
were young and they were lovers.
At last Jennie rose. "If you people are to rise
at dawn you must go to sleep now. Good -night!
Come, Elsie Bee Bee."
Maynard followed Jennie into the hall with some
jest, and Curtis seized the opportunity to delay Elsie.
334
A WALK IN THE STARLIGHT
He offered his hand, and she laid hers therein with
a motion of half-surrender.
"Good-night, Captain. I appreciate your kind
ness more than I can say/'
"Don't try. I feel now that I have done nothing
— nothing of what I should have done; but I didn't
think you were to leave so soon. If I had known — "
"You have done more than you realize. Once
more, good-night!"
" Good-night!" he said, in an unsteady voice ; " and
remember, you promised to write!"
"I will keep my promise." She turned at the
door. "Don't try to write around your red people.
I believe I'd like to hear how you get on with them."
"Defend me from mine enemies within the gates,
and I'll work out my problem."
" I'll do my best. Good-bye!"
"No, not good-bye — just good-night!"
For a moment he stood meditating a further word,
then stepped into the hall. Elsie, midway on the
stairs, had turned and was looking down at him with
a face wherein the eyes were wistful and brows per
plexed. She guiltily lowered her lashes and turned
away, but that momentary pause — that subtle in
terplay of doubt and dream — had given the soldier
a pleasure deeper than words.
Jennie was waiting at the door of the tiny room
in which Elsie was to sleep, her face glowing with
admiration and love. "Oh, you queenly girl!" she
cried, with a convulsive clasp of her strong arms.
" I can't get over the wonder of your being here in
our little house. You ought to live always in a castle. "
335
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Elsie smiled, but with tears in her eyes. " You're
a dear, good girl. I never had a truer friend/'
"I wish you were poor!" said Jennie, as they en
tered the plain little room; "then you could come
here as a missionary or something, and we could have
you with us all the time. I hate to think of your
going away to-morrow."
"You must come and see me in Washington."
"Oh no! That wouldn't do!" said Jennie, half
alarmed. " It might spoil me for life out here. You
must visit us again."
There was a note of honest, almost boyish suffer
ing in Jennie's entreaties which moved the daughter
of wealth very deeply, and she went to her bed with
a feeling of loss, as though she were taking leave of
something very sweet and elementally comforting.
She thought of her first lover, and her cheeks
burned with disgust of her folly. She thought of
two or three good, manly suitors whose protesta
tions of love had left her cold and humorously criti
cal. On Lawson's suit she lingered, for he was still
a possibility should she decide to put her soldier-
lover away. " But I have done so — definitely," she
said to some pleading within herself. "I can't
marry him ; our lives are ordered on divergent lines.
I can't come here to live."
" Happiness is not dependent on material things,"
argued her newly awakened self. "He loves you —
he is handsome and true and good."
"But I don't love him."
"Yes, you do. When you returned Osborne Law-
son's ring you quite plainly said so."
She burned with a new flame with this confes-
336
A WALK IN THE STARLIGHT
sion; but she protested, "Let us be sensible! Let us
argue!"
"You cannot argue with love."
" I am not a child to be carried away by a momentary
gust of emotion. See how impossible it is for me to
share his work — his austere life."
And here entered the far-reaching question of the
life and death of a race. In a most disturbing meas
ure this obscure young soldier represented a view of
life — of civilization antagonistic to her faith, and in
stern opposition to the teachings of her father. In
a subtle fashion he had warped the word duty from
its martial significance to a place in a lofty philoso
phy whose tenets were only just beginning to unfold
their inner meaning to her.
Was it not true that she was less sympathetic with
the poor brown peoples of the earth than with the
animals? "How can you be contemptuous of God's
children,whom the physical universe has colored brown
or black or yellow — you, who are indignant when a
beast is overburdened? If we repudiate and condemn
to death those who do not please us, who will live?"
She felt in herself some singular commotion. Con
ceptions, hitherto mere shells of thought, became in
filled with passion ; and pity, hitherto a feeble senti
ment with her, expanded into an emotion which shook
her, filled her throat with sobs, discrediting her old
self with her new self till the thought of her mean
and selfish art brought shame. How small it all was,
how trivial, beside the consciousness of duty well
done, measured against a life of self-sacrifice, such
as that suggested by this man, whose eyes sought
her in worship !
337
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Could there be any greater happiness than to stand
by his side, helping to render a dying, captive race
happier — healthier? Could her great wealth be put
to better use than this of teaching two hundred thou
sand red people how to meet and adjust themselves
to the white man's way of life? Their rags, their
squalor, their ignorance were more deeply depressing
to her lover than the poverty of the slums, for the
Tetongs had been free and joyous hunters. Their
condition was a tragic debasement. She began to
feel the arguments of the Indian helpers. Their words
were no longer dead things ; they had become electric
nodes; they moved her, set her blood aflame, and
she clinched her hands and said: "I will help him
do this great work!"
XXIX
ELSIE WARNS CURTIS
T3RISBANE was early awake, abrupt and harsh
I) in command. " Come! we must get out o' here/'
he said. " I don't want to be under the slightest obli
gation to this young crank. I intend to break him."
She flamed into wrath — a white radiance. " When
you break him you break me/' she said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I've changed my mind. I think he's
right and you are wrong."
The entrance of the sheriff prevented a full account
ing at the moment, but it was merely deferred. Once
in the carriage, Brisbane began to discredit her lover.
" Don't tell me Curtis is disinterested ; he is scheming
for some fat job. His altruistic plea is too thin."
"You are ill-fitted to understand the motives of a
man like Captain Curtis/' Elsie replied, and every
word cut. " What have you — or I — ever done that was
not selfish?"
" I've given a thousand dollars to charity for every
cent of his."
"Yes, and that's the spirit in which you gave —
never to help, only to exalt yourself, just as I have
done. Captain Curtis is giving himself. He and
his sister have made me see myself as I am, and I
339
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
am not happy over it. But I wish you would not
talk to me any more about them ; they are my friends,
and I will not listen to your abuse of them."
It was a most fatiguing ride. Brisbane complained
of the heat and the dust, and of a mysterious pain in
his head; and Elsie, alarmed by his flushed face,
softened. " Poor papa, I'm so sorry you had to come
on this long ride !" Lawson was also genuinely
concerned over the Senator's growing incoherency,
and privately told the driver to push hard on the reins.
When they rounded the sharp point of the Black
Bear Mesa, and came in sight of the long, low, half
way house, Lawson sat up with a jerk. "There is
the mob — camped and waiting for the sheriff/'
As Elsie looked at the swarming figures of the cow
boys her mind forecasted tragic events. The des
peradoes were waiting to lynch Cut Finger — that was
plain. Curtis had said he would not surrender his
prisoner to be lynched. He was coming; he would
be met by this mob.
She clutched Lawson by the arm. "We must
warn him!"
He merely nodded ; but a look in his eyes gave her
to understand that he would do his duty.
The cattlemen, seeing the wagon whirling round
the mesa, mounted and massed in stern array, be
lieving that the carriage contained the sheriff and
his prisoner. They were disappointed and a little
uneasy when they recognized Brisbane, the great
political boss; but with ready wit Johnson rode
along in front of the gang, saying, with a wink:
"Put up your guns, boys. This is a meeting in
honor of Senator Brisbane/' Then, as a mutter of
340
ELSIE WARNS CURTIS
laughter ran down the line, he took off his hat and
lifted his voice :
"Boys, three cheers for Senator Brisbane — hip,
hip, hurrah!"
After the cheers were given the horsemen closed
round the carriage with cries for a speech.
Brisbane, practised orator and shrewd manipulator,
rose as the carriage stopped, and removed his hat.
His eyes were dim and the blood seemed about to
burst through his cheeks, but he was not without
self-possession.
"Gentlemen, I thank you for this demonstration,
but I must ask you to wait till I have rested and re
freshed myself. With your permission I will then
address you/'
"Right— right!"
"We can wait!" they heartily responded, and
opened a way for the carriage.
Elsie shuddered as she looked into the rude and
cruel faces of the leaders of this lynching party.
They no longer amused her. She saw them now from
the stand-point of Captain Curtis and his wards, and
realized how little of mercy they would show to their
enemies. On Lawson's lips lay a subtly contemptu
ous smile, and he uttered no word — did not lift a hand
till the carriage was at the door.
Streeter helped the Senator out, and with unex
pected grace presented his hand to Elsie. " I do not
need help," she said, coldly, and brushed past him
into the little sitting-room, which swarmed with ex
cited, scrawny, tired, and tearful women.
"What is goin' on out there? Have the soldiers
put down the pizen critters?" asked one.
341
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"You're Miss Brisbane — we heerd you was all
killed at the agency. Weren't you scared?"
Almost contemptuously Elsie calmed their fears,
and by a few questions learned that this house had
been made a rallying-point for the settlers and that
the women were just beginning to feel the depressing
effects of being so long away from their homes with
out rest and proper food.
" Do you think we can go home now?"
"Certainly. Captain Curtis will see that you are
not harmed/' she replied, and she spoke with all a
wife's sense of joy and pride in her husband.
" We've been camping here for most a week, seems
like, an' we're all wore out," wailed one little woman
who had three small children to herd and watch over.
Brisbane, inspirited by an egg-nog and a sand
wich, mounted a wash-tub on the low porch and be
gan a speech — a suave, diplomatic utterance, wherein
he counselled moderation in all things. "We can't
afford at this time to do a rash thing," he said, and
winked jovially at Johnson. "The election coming
on is, after all, the best chance for us to get back at
these fool Injun apologists. So go slow, boys — go
slow!"
As these smooth words flowed from his lips Elsie
burned with shame and anger. Some newly ac
quired inward light enabled her to read in the half
hearted dissuasion of her father's speech a subtle,
heartless encouragement to violence after election.
While the cheers were still ringing in her ears, at the
close of the address, Elsie felt a touch on her shoulder
and turned to face Calvin, standing close beside her,
timid and flushed.
342
ELSIE WARNS CURTIS
She held out her hand with a swift rush of confi
dence.
" Why, how do you do, Mr. Streeter?"
"I'm pretty well/' he said, loudly, and added, in
a low voice, "I want to see you alone." He looked
about the room. The corner least crowded was oc
cupied by a woman nursing a wailing baby. " Come
this way; she's Norwegian; she can't understand
us."
Elsie followed him, and when he spoke it was in a
rapid, low mutter. " Is the Major goin' to come with
Cut Finger?"
"I'm afraid so."
" He mustn't. You know what this gang's here for?"
"What can we do? Can't we warn him?"
"Well, I'm goin' to take a sneak and try it. It's
all my neck is worth to play it on the boys; but
it's got to be done, for the Major is a fighter, and
if this mob meets him there will be blood on the
moon. Now don't worry. I'm going to slide right
out through the first gate I see and head him off;
mebbe you'd like to write a word or two."
"You are a real hero," she said, as she put a little
slip of paper into his hand, and pressed it there with
both of hers.
"Don't do that," he said, hurriedly; "they'll think
something's up. I'm doin' it for the Major; he's
treated me white all the way along, and I'll be derned
if I let this gang do him."
A pain shot through her heart. Putting her hand
to her bosom, she said : " It means everything to me,
Calvin. Good-bye. I am trusting you — it's life or
death to me. Good-bye!"
343
XXX
THE CAPTURE OF THE MAN
THE east was saffron and pale-blue as Crow and
the agent drove out of the corral and up the
road to the south. Two Horns was the driver. Crow
alone was armed, and he wore but his official revolver.
Maynard had been purposely left out of the expedition,
for Curtis did not wish to seem to question in the slight
est degree the obedience of his people. He preferred
to go unarmed and without handcuffs or rope, as a
friend and adviser, not as an officer of the law.
The morning was deliciously cool, with a gentle
wind sliding down from the high peaks, which were
already glowing with the morning's pink and yellow.
From some of the tepees in Grayman's camp smoke
was already rising, and a few old women could be
seen pottering about the cooking lodges, while the
morning chorus of the dogs and coyotes thickened.
There was an elemental charm in it all which helped
the young soldier to shake off his depression.
Passing rapidly through the two villages, Two
Horns turned to the left and entered upon a road
which climbed diagonally up the side of a long, low
ridge. This involved plodding, and by the time they
reached the summit the sun met them f ull - fronted.
In the smaller valley, which lay between this ridgs
344
THE CAPTURE OF THE MAN
and the foot-hills, a rough trail led towards the moun
tains. This way Two Horns took, driving rapidly
and silently, and soon entered the pines and pinons
which form the lower fringe of the vast and splendid
robe of green which covers the middle heights of the
Rocky Mountains.
After an hour of sharp driving, with scarcely a word
or gesture, Crow turned and said : " Cut Finger there.
Black Wolf, his tepee/'
The trail here took a sharp curve to the left to avoid
a piece of stony ground, and from a little transverse
ridge Curtis could look down on a small, temporary
village, the band of Black Wolf, who had located
here to cut hay on the marsh.
"We must surprise him if we can," said Curtis to
Crow. "WTe must not shoot. I will talk to him..
If he cocks his gun kill him ; but I don't think he
will want to fight."
The lads could be heard singing their plaintive
songs as they climbed the hills for their ponies. Smoke
was rising from each lodge, and children, dogs, and
hens were outdoing each other in cheerful uproar as
Two Horns drove up to where Black Wolf stood, an
old man with thin, gray hair, shielding his eyes with
the scant shadow of his bony wrist.
" Ho, agent!" he cried. "Why do you come to see
us so early?"
"Is Cut Finger here?"
"Yes; he is in there." He pointed to a tepee near.
"Be silent!" commanded Curtis, as he alighted
swiftly, but without apparent haste or excitement.
Crow instantly followed him, alert and resolute. As
they entered the tepee Cut Finger, still half asleep on
345
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
his willow hammock, instinctively reached for his
rifle, which lay beneath him on the ground, danger
ous as a half-awakened rattlesnake.
Curtis put his foot on the weapon, and said, pleas
antly ; " Good-morning, Cut Finger; you sleep late/'
The young man sat up and blinked stupidly, while
Crow took the gun from beneath the agent's foot.
Curtis signed to Black Wolf. " This boy has killed
a herder and I have come for him. You knew of his
deed."
"I have heard of it," the old man replied, with a
gesture.
"It is such men who bring trouble on the tribe/'
pursued Curtis. "They must be punished. Cut
Finger must go with me down to the agency. He
must not make more trouble/'
The news of the agent's mission brought every
soul hurrying to the tent, for Cut Finger had said, " I
will fight the soldiers if they come."
Curtis heard them coming and said : " Crow, tell all
these people outside that Cut Finger has done a bad
thing and must be punished. That unless such men
are cast out by the Tetongs they will always be in
trouble."
Crow lifted up his big, resounding voice and re
counted what the agent had said, and added: "You
shall see we will take this man. I, Crow, have said
it. It will be foolish for any one to resist."
The agent, sitting before Cut Finger, addressed
him in signs. " I am your friend, I am sorry for you.
I am sorry for any man who does wrong and suffers
punishment; but you have injured your people, you
made the white man very angry; he came ready to
346
THE CAPTURE OF THE MAN
shoot — you saw how I turned him away. I said:
' I will find the man who shot the herder. I will bring
him — I do not want any one else to suffer/ Then
you proclaimed yourself. You said: 'I alone did
this thing/ Then you went on the hill to fight — I
cannot allow that. No more blood will be shed. I
will not lie; I have come to take you. You will be
punished ; you must go with me to the white man's
strong-house/'
A whimpering cry arose, a cry which ended in a
sighing moan of heart-piercing, uncontrollable agony,
and Curtis, turning his face, saw the wife of Cut Fin
ger looking at him from her blanket on the opposite
side of the tepee. A shout of warning from Crow
made him leap to his feet and turn.
Cut Finger confronted him, his eyes glowing with
desperate resolution.
"Sit down!" commanded the Captain, using his
fist in the sign, with a powerful gesture. The fugi
tive could not endure his chief's eyes; he sank back
on his couch and sat trembling.
"If you touch the Little Father I will kill you/'
said Crow, gruffly, as he stood with drawn revolver
in his hand. " I, Crow, have said it!"
Black Wolf was looking on with lowering brow.
"He says the white man was driving his sheep on
our land. "
"So he was/' replied Curtis, "but it is bad for the
Tetongs when a white man is killed. It is better to
come and tell me. When a redman kills a white
man the white men say : ' Let us kill all the Tetongs —
spare no one/ Cut Finger said he was ready to die.
Well, then, let him go with me, and I will make his
347
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
punishment as light as I can. I am his friend — a
friend to every Tetong. I will tell the war chief at
Pinon City how it was, and he will say Cut Finger
was not alone to blame — the white man was also to
blame. Thus the punishment will not be so heavy.
Cut Finger is a young man ; he has many years to live
if he will do as I tell him. He will come back to his
tribe by-and-by and be a good man/'
So, by putting forth all his skill in gesture he con
veyed to Cut Finger's mind a new idea — the idea of
sacrificing himself for the good of the tribe. He also
convinced the members of Black Wolf's band that
their peace and safety lay in giving him up to their
agent, and so at last the young desperado rose and
followed his chief to the wagon wherein Two Horns
still sat, impassive and unafraid.
As he put his hand on the carriage-seat a convul
sive shudder swept over Cut Finger. He folded his
arms and, lifting his eyes to the hills, burst forth in
a death-song, a chant so sad, so passionate, and so
searching, that the agent's heart was wrenched. An
swering sobs and wails broke from the women, and
the young wife of the singer came and crouched at
his feet, her little babe in her arms, and this was his
song:
" I am going away.
I go to my death.
The white man has said it —
I am to die in a prison.
I am young, but I must go —
1 have a wife, but I must go
To die among the white men
In the dark.
So says the soldier chief."
348
THE CAPTURE OF THE MAN
Curtis, looking into the eyes of Black Wolf, perceived
that the old man wavered. The wailing of the women,
the young man's song, had roused his racial hatred —
what to him was the killing of a "white robber"?
" Be quiet ! " commanded Curtis, and the song ceased.
" Get in, quick! No more singing/'
The ending of the song left the prisoner in a mood
of gloomy yet passive exaltation. He took the place
indicated and sat with bowed head, his hands limply
crossed.
"Go on!" commanded Curtis, and Two Horns
brought the whip down on the horses. As they sprang
forward a wail of agony burst from the lips of the
bereaved young wife. At this cry Cut Finger again
turned upon the agent with hands opened like the
claws of a bear — his face contorted with despair.
Curtis seized him in a grip whose crunching power
made itself felt to the marrow of the Tetong's bones,
and his eyes, piercing with terrible determination,
shrivelled the resolution of the half-crazed man. He
sank back into his seat, a hopeless lump of swaying
flesh, his face a tragic mask, and uttered no further
word till the sound of a galloping horse made them
all turn to see who followed.
"My wife!" the prisoner said. "She carries my
baby."
This was indeed true The sad little wife was gal
loping after, riding a strong bay pony, the reins flap
ping loose, while across the pommel of her saddle she
held her small pappoose, whose faint wailing told of
his discomfort and terror.
"Wait — me take pappoose," the prisoner said, in
English, with a note of command.
349
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Curtis was deeply touched. He ordered Two Horns
to halt, and Crow got out and took the babe and handed
it to Cut Finger, who received it carefully in his long
arms. No woman could have been tenderer.
As they drove on, a big lump rose in the soldier's
throat. It seemed a treacherous and sinful thing
to hand this man over to a savage throng of white
men, perhaps to be lynched on the road. " I will not
do it/' he said ; " I will take him to Pinon City myself.
He shall have trial as if he were white. I will yield
him to the law, but not to vengeance/'
Cut Finger thereafter spoke no word, did not even
look back, though Curtis detected him turning his
head whenever the sound of the galloping horse
grew faint or died away for a few moments. The
baby ceased to wail, and on the rough ground, when
the wagon jarred, the father held the little one high
as in a sling.
Upon entering the camp of Crawling Elk they
found all the people massed, waiting, listening, and
their presence excited the prisoner greatly, and he
began again to sing his death -chant, which now
seemed infinitely more touching by reason of the
small creature he cradled so lovingly in his arms.
"Be silent!" commanded Curtis. "You must not
sing. Drive fast, Two Horns!"
Answering wails and fragments of chanting broke
from the women; one or two cried out, "Take him
from the agent!" But the men shook their heads
and sadly watched them pass. " He has done a foolish
thing ; he must now suffer for it," said Crawling Elk.
As they drew up before the door of the parsonage
Curtis sprang out and said to Cut Finger :
350
THE CAPTURE OF THE MAN
" Give me the baby ; he shall be well cared for."
The father gave up the child passively, and Curtis
called to Jennie:
" Here is a babe that is tired and hungry — be good
to it."
" Where is the mother?" asked Jennie, as she ten
derly received the little brown boy.
"She is coming," he said, and the mother gal
loped up in a few moments and fairly tumbled off
her horse. "See!" Curtis said to her and to the fa
ther: "My sister will give the baby milk, and its
mother shall also be fed. You need not fear; both
will be taken care of. We are your friends."
Cut Finger watched Jennie as she carefully carried
the baby into the house, and as he turned away, a
look of apathetic misery, more moving than any cry,
settled on his face.
Maynard, who had been standing in the door, said,
in a tone of astonishment, " Did that wild Injun carry
his pappoose all the way down?"
" Yes, and was as tender of it as a woman, too."
"Well, Til be hanged! There's a whole lot for
me to learn about Injuns yet. Want a guard?"
"Yes; I think it safer. There is a good deal of
sympathy for this poor chap."
"I don't blame 'em very much," said Maynard.
"Take him right down to our guard-house, and I'll
have Payne detail a squad of men to take care of
him."
"I intend taking him to Pinon myself. I can't
find it in my heart to give him over into the hands of
these whites — they'd lynch him, sure."
" I believe it," replied Maynard, with conviction.
351
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
As they passed the agency gate, Winters and the
county attorney stepped out as if they expected to
receive the prisoner; but the savage grin on the
sheriff's face died out as Curtis nodded coldly and
drove past.
" That fellow is a wolf. Did you have any trouble ?"
asked Maynard.
" Not a bit. We surprised him in bed, as I planned
to do."
"Nice thing, your leaving me out in this way!"
"Have the Brisbanes gone?"
"Yes. Got away about eight o'clock. Lawson
went with them, though he's coming back to see you
clear of this war. He's a crackerjack, is Lawson;
but the old man has you marked for slaughter."
It was good to be able to turn his prisoner over to
the blue-coats and feel that he would not be taken
away except properly and in order. Lynching does
not flourish under the eyes of a commander like May
nard. As Curtis led his man into the guard-house
and motioned him to a seat, he said, in signs :
" You are safe now from the cattlemen. I am your
friend, remember that. I myself will take you to the
white chief's big village. I will not let the war chief
have you. I will turn you over to the wise man — the
man who will judge your case. I will let your wife
and your little son go with you. So you see I am
still your Little Father. I am very sorry you have
shot this man, but you must be punished. I cannot
prevent that."
As he met the sheriff he said, quietly, " I have de
cided to accompany you to Pinon City."
The sheriff was not greatly surprised.
352
THE CAPTURE OF THE MAN
" Oh, very well. But I don't see the need of it."
"I do!" replied Curtis, and his tone silenced oppo
sition.
Going immediately to the house, Curtis flung him
self down in his chair and submitted to Jennie's anx
ious care. She brought him some coffee and biscuit,
and stood with her hand on his shoulder while he ate.
"Well, they're gone — Lawson and all. I never saw
a greater change in any one than in that girl. Do
you remember how she was last fall? I never sup
posed I should come to love her. I hated her for the
treatment of you then, but — I think she has a different
feeling towards us now — not excepting you. I think
— she was crying because she was — going — away —
from — you."
He looked up at her and smiled incredulously.
"Your loyalty to me, sis, is more than I deserve 1"
Curtis seized a moment to cross the square to El
sie's studio, eager to see whether she had regarded
his wishes or not. It was an absurd thing to ask of
her, and yet he did not regret having done so. It
would serve as a sort of test of her regard, her sym
pathy. Now as he stood at the door he hesitated —
if it should be bare !
He turned the knob and entered. The effect of the
first impression was exalting, satisfying. All was in
order, and the air was deliciously cool and fragrant,
infilled with some rare and delicate odor. Each arti
cle was in its place — she had taken nothing but
the finished pictures and some sketches which she
specially needed. Scraps of canvas covered with
splashes of color were pinned about on the walls, the
easel stood in the centre of the room, and her palette
»s 353
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
and brushes were on the table. The young soldier
closed the door behind him and took a seat in deep
emotion. At that moment he realized to the full his
need of her, and his irreparable loss. All he had
suffered before was forgotten — swallowed up in the
empty, hungry ache of his heart. The curtains and
draperies were almost as much a part of her as her
dress, and he could not have touched them at the
moment, so intimately personal did they seem.
It appeared that he had not fully understood him
self, after all. This empty temple, where she had
lived and worked, these reminders of her beautiful
self, were not to be a solace and a comfort, after all,
but a torture. He felt broken and unmanned, and
the aching in his throat grew to an intolerable pain,
and with a reaction to disdain -of himself he rose and
went out, closing and locking the door.
XXXI
OUTWITTING THE SHERIFF
MAYNARD came over just as the wagon was
being brought round, and with a look of con
cern on his big, red face, began: "Now see here,
Curtis, you'd better take an escort. Those devils
may be hanging round the edge of the reservation.
Say the word and I'll send Payne and a squad of men."
"I don't think it at all necessary, Maynard. I
don't want to excite the settlers, and, besides, the
troops are all needed here. I have no fear of the
mob while daylight lasts. They will not attempt to
take the man from me. I leave you in command.
Wilson will keep the police out on the hills and re
port any movement of the mob."
Maynard saluted. "Very well, Major; when may
I look for you to return?"
"Not before to-morrow night. I shall get in by
sundown to-day, for it is all the way down hill ; the
return will be slower."
"I don't like to see you go away with that cut
throat sheriff."
" I am not alone," said Curtis. " I have two of the
f aithf ulest men in the world — Two Horns and Crow —
both armed and watchful. Don't worry about me,
Jack; keep yourself alert to-night."
355
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
The wagon was now standing before the guard
house, and the prisoner was being brought forth by
Crow. Cut Finger, blinking around him in the noon
day glare, saw his wife already in the wagon, and
went resignedly towards the agent, who beckoned to
him.
"You may sit beside her," Curtis signed, and the
youth climbed submissively to his seat. " Mr. Sheriff,
you are to take a place beside the driver."
Winters, swollen with rebellion because of the sec
ondary part he had to play, surlily consented to sit
with Two Horns.
"Crow, you camp here," called Curtis, and the
trusted Tetong scrambled to his seat. "Drive on,
Two Horns."
For an hour and more no one spoke but Two Horns,
gently urging the horses to their best pace. Curtis
welcomed this silence, for it gave him time to take
account of many things, chief of which was Bris
bane's violent antagonism. "He overestimates my
importance," he thought. "But that is the way
such men succeed. They are as thorough-going in
destroying the opposition as they are in building up
their own side."
He thought, too, of that last intimate hour with
Elsie, and wished he had spoken plainer with her.
"It would have been definite if I had secured an an
swer. It would have been a negative, of course, and
yet such is my folly, I still hope, and so long as
there is the slightest uncertainty I shall waste my
time in dreaming." His mind then turned to the
question of the mob. There came into his mind again
the conviction that they were waiting to intercept the
356
OUTWITTING THE SHERIFF
sheriff at the boundary of the reservation; but he
was perfectly certain that they would relinquish their
designs when they found the sheriff reinforced by
three determined men — one of them an army officer
and the agent. He had no fear on that score ; he only
felt a little uneasy at leaving the agency.
A sharp exclamation from Crow brought his dream
ing to an end, and, looking up, he saw a horseman
approaching swiftly, his reins held high, his elbows
napping. " That's young Streeter," he said, on the
impulse.
"So it is," replied Winters, hot with instant ex
citement. "I wonder what's his hurry?"
Calvin came up with a rush, and when opposite
set his horse on his haunches with a wrench of his
powerful wrist, calling, in lazy drawl : " Howdy, folks,
howdy. Well, I see you've got 'im," he remarked
to Curtis.
"You've been ridin' hard," said Winters; "what's
your rush? Anything doin'?"
Calvin looked down at his panting, reeking horse,
and carelessly replied: "Oh no. I'm just takin' it
out o' this watch -eyed bronco." He exchanged a
look with the sheriff. " I thought I'd ketch ye 'fore
ye left the agency. I'd like a word with you, sheriff ;
tumble out here for a minute. You'll wait a second,
won't you, Major?"
Curtis looked up at the sun. " Yes; but be quick."
Calvin slid from his horse, and while the sheriff
was climbing stiffly down on the opposite side slipped
a note into Curtis's hand.
As the sheriff listened to Calvin's low-voiced re
port Curtis glanced at the paper. It was in pencil,
357
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
and from Elsie. "The mob is waiting at the half
way house, cruel as wolves — turn back — for my
sake."
Curtis crumpled the paper in his hand and called
out imperatively: "Come, Sheriff Winters, I cannot
wait/'
Winters turned away smilingly. " That's all right,
Cal. I didn't understand, that's all. I'm glad the
boys went home. Of course the troops settled every
thing."
Curtis caught Calvin's eye, and a nod, almost im
perceptible, passed between them, and the cowboy
was aware that the soldier understood the situation.
" Where did you leave the Senator?"
"At the half-way house."
"How was he?""
"Feeling well enough to make a speech," replied
Calvin.
The other team, containing Grismore and the re
porters, was by this time but a few rods away, and,
watching his opportunity, Curtis signalled : " Stop
that wagon — hold them here." Calvin again nodded.
" Drive on," called Curtis. And Winters smiled with
rare satisfaction.
Some miles before reaching the border of the reser
vation, Two Horns, at a sign from Curtis, left the
main road and began to climb a low ridge to the east.
The sheriff turned and called sharply: "Where is
he going?"
"He has his orders, Mr. Sheriff."
"He's taking the wrong road. It is five miles
farther that way."
"He is following my orders."
358
OUTWITTING THE SHERIFF
* But I don't see the sense of it."
" You are only a passenger. If you don't care to
ride with us you can walk/' replied Curtis, and the
sheriff settled back into his seat with a curse. The
second wagon had been left far behind, and would
undoubtedly keep the main road, a mishap Curtis had
calculated upon.
An hour or two of extra travel would not matter,
especially as the mob was being left safely on the
left.
The warning from Elsie had a singular effect upon
the soldier. He grew almost gay at the thought of
her care of him. In some occult way the little card
meant a great deal more than its few words. If they
were delayed at the half-way house they might not
reach Pinon in time for the afternoon train, and so —
" I may see her again."
As he neared the boundary of the reservation the
sheriff gained in resolution. Looking backward, he
saw his own team following, outlined like a rock
against the sky, just topping a ridge, and reaching
over he laid his hand on the reins and pulled the
horses to a stand.
"Right here I take charge!" he growled. "I'm
on my own ground. Get out o' there!" he said to
the prisoner, and as he spoke he drew his revolver
and leaped to the ground.
Cut Finger turned towards Curtis, whose face was
set and stern. "Sit still!" he commanded, with a
gesture. "Put up your gun!" he said to Crow, who
had drawn his revolver, ready to defend his prisoner.
Winters flew into bluster. "Do you defy my
authority now? I'm sheriff of this county!" he
359
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
shouted. "Your control ends right here! This is
State territory."
Curtis eyed him calmly. " I started out to give
this man safe convoy to the prison, and I'm going to
do it! Not only that — he is a ward of the govern
ment, even when lodged in the county jail, and it is
my duty to see that he has fair trial; then, and not
till then, will I abandon him to the ferocity of your
mob. I know your plan, and I have defeated it-
Do you intend to ride with us?"
The sheriff's courage again failed him as he looked
up into the direct, unwavering eagle gaze of the
young officer. He began to curse. "We'll have
your hide for this! YouVe gone too far! YouVe
defied the laws of the county!"
"Drive on," said Curtis, and Two Horns touched
his ponies with the whip.
"Halt, or I fire!" shouted Winters.
"Drive on!" commanded Curtis, and Two Horns
laid the whip hard on the back of his off horse.
Winters fired, but the bullet went wide; he dared
not aim to kill. Cut Finger rose as if to leap from
the wagon, but Crow seized him with one great brown
paw and thrust his shining gun against his breast.
"Sit down, brother!" he said, grimly. "Well care
for you."
The prisoner sank back into his seat trembling
with excitement, while the wife began to cry pite-
ously.
Curtis, looking back, saw the sheriff waving his
revolver maniacally, but his curses fainted on the
way. A sudden reaction to humor set in, and the
agent laughed a hearty chuckle which made
360
OUTWITTING THE SHERIFF
his faithful Tetong aids break into sympathetic
grins.
Nevertheless, the case was not entirely humor
ous. In a certain sense he had cut athwart the law
in this last transaction, though in doing so he had
prevented an act of violence which would have still
further embittered the tribe. " I am right/' he said,
and put away all further doubt.
The drive now settled into a race for the jail. " The
sheriff, after being picked up by his own party, will
undertake to overhaul us/' reasoned Curtis, but that
did not trouble him so much as the thought of what
lay before him.
The road ran along Willow Creek, winding as
the stream itself, and Curtis could not avoid the
thought of an ambuscade. On the right were
clumps of tall willows capable of concealing horse
men, while on the left the hot, treeless banks rose a
hundred feet above the wagon, and the loopings of
the track prevented a view of what was coming. If
the mob should get impatient, or if they should sus
pect his trick, it would be easy to send a detachment
across the hills and intercept him. "Push hard!"
he signed to Two Horns.
The road was smooth and dusty and descended
rapidly, so that the horses had little to do but
guide the tongue. As the wagon rocked and reeled
past the ranch houses, the settlers had hardly
time to discern what manner of man was driving,
but they were thrown into fierce panic by the clatter
of fleeing horses and the cloud of prophetic dust.
The sheriff was not in sight, and no sound of him
could be detected in the whiz of their own wheels,
361
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
At last Two Horns, with his moccasined foot on
the brake, broke through the hills out upon the val
ley land, with Pinon City in sight. The mob and
the sheriff were alike left behind. Ambush was
now impossible.
" Easy now, Two Horns," called Curtis, with a smile
and an explanatory gesture. " We're safe now ; the
angry white men are behind," and the reeking, dusty,
begrimed horses fell into a walk.
The hour for their arrival in Pinon City was fort
unate. The town was still at supper, and in the
dusk Curtis and prisoner escaped notice. They
hurried across the main street and on towards the
jail, which stood on a little knoll just outside the town.
As they drew up before the door a young man
came out and stared with inquiring gaze.
Curtis spoke first. "Are you the turnkey?"
"Fro. in. charge here; yes, sir."
"I am Captain Curtis, the agent. This is Cut
Finger, charged with the murder of a white man. I
have brought him in. The sheriff is just behind."
He turned to the prisoner and signed. "Get down!
Here is the strong-house where you are to stay!"
Cut Finger clambered slowly down, his face rigid,
his limbs tremulous with emotion. To go to the dark
room of the strong-house was the worst fate that
could overtake a free man of the hills, and his heart
fluttered like a scared bird.
" It would be a good plan to let his wife go in with
kim," suggested Curtis. "It will save trouble."
The poor, whimpering girl-wife followed her culprit
husband up the steps and into the cold and gloomy
hall to which they were admitted, her eyes on the
362
OUTWITTING THE SHERIFF
floor, her sleeping child held tightly in her arms.
When the gate shut behind him Curtis signed to the
prisoner this advice :
"Now be good. Do not make any trouble. Do
what these people tell you. Eat your food. I will
ask the sheriff to let your wife see you in the morning,
and then she will go home again. She can come
once each month to see you." He touched the wife
on the arm, and when she comprehended his gesture
she uttered again that whimpering moan, and as
she bent her head in dumb agony above her babe,
Curtis gently led her to the door, leaving Cut Finger
to the rigor of the white man's law.
XXXII
AN EVENTFUL NIGHT
AT the railway station Curtis alighted. "Go to
Paul Ladue V he said to Two Horns. " Put the
horses in his corral and feed them well. Sit down
with Paul, and to-morrow morning at sunrise come
for me at the big hotel. Be careful. Don't go on
the street to-night. The white men have evil hearts. "
"We know/' said Crow, with a clip of his forefinger.
"We will sleep like the wolf, with one eye open."
As they drove away, Curtis hurried into the station,
and calling for a blank, dashed away at a brief tele
gram to the Commissioner. While revising it he
overheard the clerk say, in answer to a question over
the telephone: "No, Senator Brisbane did not get
away on 'sixteen/ He is still at the Sherman
House/'
Curtis straightened and his heart leaped. " Then I
can see Elsie again!" he thought. Hastily pencilling
two or three shorter messages, he handed them in and
hurried up the street towards the hotel, eager to re
lieve her anxiety.
By this time the violet dusk of a peaceful night
covered the town. The moon, low down in the west,
was dim, but the stars were beginning to loom large
in the wonderful deep blue to the east. The air was
364
AN EVENTFUL NIGHT
windless. No cloud was to be seen, and yet the sol
dier had a touch of uneasiness. "I wish I had
brought my faithful men with me to the Sherman
House. However, there is no real cause to worry.
Paul is more Tetong than borderman — and will pro
tect them — if only they keep off the street/'
He began to meet men in close-packed groups on
the sidewalk — roughly clad citizens who seemed
absorbed in the discussion of some important event.
A few of them recognized him as he passed, and one
called, in a bitter tone, "There goes the cur him
self!" Curtis did not turn, though the tone, more
insulting than the words, made his heart hot with
battle. It was plain that the sheriff and his party
had already entered and reported their defeat. A
saloon emptied a mob of loud-voiced men upon the
sidewalk before him, and though he feared trouble
he pushed steadily forward. The ruffians gave way
before his resolute feet, but he felt their hate beat
ing like flame upon his face. He dared not turn a
hair's-breadth to the right nor to the left; nothing
was better than to walk straight on. " They will not
shoot me in the back/' he reasoned, and beyond a
volley of curses he remained unassaulted.
The rotunda of the hotel was filled with a different
but not less dangerous throng of excited politicians
and leading citizens, who had assembled to escort
Brisbane to the opera-house. The talk, though less
profane than that of the saloon loafers, was hardly
less bitter against the agent. Mingled with these dis
trict bosses were a half-dozen newspaper men, who
instantly rushed upon Curtis in frank and boyish
rivalry. "Captain, what is the news?" they breath-
365
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
lessly asked, with pads and pencils ready for his un
doing.
"All quiet!" was his curt reply.
" But— but— how about—"
" All lies!" he interrupted to say, and pushed on to
the desk. " Is Senator Brisbane and party still here?"
he asked, as he signed his name in the book.
The clerk applied the blotter. "Yes; he is still at
supper."
The young soldier took time to wash the dust from
his face and hands and smooth his hair before enter
ing the dining-room. At the threshold he paused and
took account of his enemies. Brisbane and three of
his most trusted supporters, still sitting at coffee,
were holding a low-voiced consultation at a corner
table, while Lawson and Elsie sat waiting some dis
tance away and near an open window. The Parkers
were not in view.
Elsie, at sight of her lover, rose impulsively, and
her face, tired and pale, flushed to a beautiful pink.
Her lips formed the words "Why, there is Captain
Curtis!" but her voice was inaudible.
He hastened forward with eyes only for her, and she
met him with both hands outstretched — eager, joyous !
" Oh, how good it is to see you ! We were so alarmed
— Calvin warned you?"
" Yes. He met me just before I left the reserva
tion."
" But I expected you to bring soldiers : how did you
escape? Did you find the cattlemen gone?"
"I flanked them." His face relaxed into humor.
" Discretion is a sort of valor sometimes. I took the
Willow road."
366
AN EVENTFUL NIGHT
Lawson now joined them, and in his hand-clasp
was a brother's regard for the soldier. His smile
was exultant. "Good work! I knew Calvin could
be trusted. It looked bad for Cut Finger when we
reached the half-way house."
"You must be hungry!'' exclaimed Elsie. "Sit
here and I will order something for you."
"I was hungry an hour ago/' he said, meaningly,
"but now I am not. But I am tired/' he added.
" Where are the Parkers?"
Elsie laughed. "On their way to civilization.
They fled on the up-train/'
"The town is aflame," said Lawson. "You and
your Tetongs are an issue here to-night. A big
meeting is called, and the Senator is to speak. He
has just discovered you/' he added, glancing towards
Brisbane, who had risen and was glaring at Curtis,
his small eyes hot as those of an angry bear.
"Excuse me, won't you?" pleaded Elsie, rising
hastily. " I must go to himl"
Curtis also rose and looked soberly into her eyes.
"May I not see you again?"
She hesitated. " Yes. I'm not going to the meet
ing. Come to our parlor when you are finished sup-
per."
He remained standing till she joined her father
and passed from the room, then he turned towards
Lawson, who said :
" Seriously, my dear Curtis, you are in danger here.
I hope you will not go out this evening. Even Uncle
Sam's blue might not prove a protection in the
dark of a night like this. Where did you house your
men?"
367
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"At Ladue's, with orders not to leave the corral/'
"Quite right. Where is the sheriff?"
This question brought a humorous light into the
young soldier's eyes. " When I saw him last he was
on Sage-hen Flat swinging his revolver and cursing
me," and he told the story.
Lawson grew grave. "I'm sorry you had to do
that; it will give your enemies another grip on you.
It's a mere technicality, of course, but they'll use it.
You must watch every one of your clerks from this
on ; they'll trump up a charge against you if they can,
and secure a court-martial. This election is really
the last dying struggle of the political banditti of the
State, and they will be defeated. Take to-night as
an example. The reckless devils, the loud of mouth
are alone in evidence, the better class of citizens dare
not protest — dare not appear on the streets. But
don't be deceived, you have your supporters even here,
in the midst of this saturnalia of hate. You are an
issue."
Curtis grimly smiled. "I accept the challenge !
They can only order me back to my regiment."
"As for Brisbane, he is on the point of collapse.
He has lost his self-control. He has attained a fixed
notion that you are his most dangerous enemy; the
mention of your name throws him into fury. I lost
patience with him to-day, and opened fire. 'You are
doomed to defeat!' I said to him. 'You represent
the ignoble, greedy, conscienceless hustler and spec
ulator, not the peaceful, justice-loving citizen of this
State. Your dominion is gone; the reign of order
and peace is about to begin.' If it were not for Elsie
I would publicly denounce him, for his election would
AN EVENTFUL NIGHT
work incalculable injury to the West. But he can't
fill the legislature with his men as he did twelve years
ago. He will fail of election by fifty votes."
"I hope so," responded Curtis, with a sigh, as Law-
son rose. " But I have no faith in the courage of the
better element; virtue is so timid and evil is always
so fully organized/'
After Lawson left him Curtis hurriedly finished
his supper and went his way to his room for a mo
ment's rest. Through the open windows he could
hear the cheering which greeted Brisbane's entrance
into the opera-house, which faced upon the little
square before the hotel. The street was thronging
with noisy boys, and at intervals a band of young
herders clattered into the square. Their horses thick
ened along the hitching-poles, and the saloons swarm
ed with men already inflamed with drink. The air
seemed heavy, oppressive, electrical, and the shrill
cheers which rose above the dull rumble of pound
ing boot-heels in the hall possessed a savage animal
vehemence. Again a sense of impending disaster
swept over the young officer. "I am tired and ner
vous," he thought. "Surely law and order rules in
a civilized community like this."
He put away all thoughts of war as he followed
the boy up the stair-way to the Brisbane private par
lor, and became the lover, palpitant with the hope
that he was about to see Elsie alone.
She met him at the door, her face a-quiver with
feeling, a note of alarm in her voice. "Have you
heard the cheering? They are denouncing you
over there!"
"I suppose so. But let's not talk of such unim.-
'* 369
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
portant matters; this is our last evening together,
and I want to forget the storm outside. Since I left
you last night I have had a most remarkable ex
perience, and I — "
"Oh, you mean catching the murderer; tell me
about it!"
"No. Oh no; that is not worth telling. T mean
something more intimately personal." Shrill yells
from across the way interrupted him, and Elsie rose
and shut the window. " I hate them ; they are worse
than savages/' rhe sale1:. " Please don't mind them/'
He went on : "I was about to say I had a deal of
time to think on my lon£ ride this morning, and I
reached some conclusions which I want to tell you
about. When my prisoner was safe in the guard
house, I went over to see how my little temple of art
looked — I mean your studio, of course. I closed the
door and dropped into one of the big chairs, hoping
to gain rest and serenity in the beauty and quiet
of the place. But I didn't; I was painfully de
pressed."
She opened her eyes very wide at this. "Why?'*
"Because everything I saw there emphasized the
irrevocable loss 1 had suffered. I couldn't endure
the thought of it, and I fled. I could not remain with
out weeping, and you know a man is ashamed of his
tears ; but when I got your note of warning I flung
conscience to the winds! 'It is not a crime to love a
woman/ I said. 'I will write to her and say to her
"I love you, no matter what happens ;" ' and, now I
find you here, I tell it to you instead of writing it."
She was facing him with a look of perplexity and
alarm. One hand laid upon her throat seemed to
370
AN EVENTFUL NIGHT
express suffering. When she spoke her voice was
very low.
"What do you expect me to say; you make it so
hard for me! Why do you tell me this?"
"Because I could not rest till I had spoken. For
a long time I thought you were bound to Lawson,
and since then I've tried to keep silent because of
my poverty and — no one knows better than I the
unreason of it all — I do not ask you to speak except
to say, ' I am sorry. ' When I found you were still
within reach, the desire to let you know my feeling
overcame every other consideration. I can't even do
the customary thing and ask you to wait, for my fut
ure is as uncertain as my present, but if you could
say you loved me — a little — " he paused abruptly, as
though choked into silence by a merciless hand.
Elsie remained silent, with her eyes turned towards
the window, her hands in her lap, and at last he
went on :
" If your father is a true prophet, I shall be ordered
back to my regiment. That will hurt me, but it
won't ruin me exactly. It would be a shameful
thing if the department sacrificed me to expediency;
but politicians are wonderful people ! If you were
not so much an artist and Andrew Brisbane's daugh
ter, I would ask you to come to me and help me do my
work, but I can't quite do that — yet; I can only say
you are more to me now than any other soul in the
world. I do this because I can't keep from it/' he
repeated, in poor ending.
"I've heard that the best way to make a woman
love a man is to persecute the man," she replied,
smiling a little, though her eyes were wet. "When
371
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
i
you were apparently triumphant I hated you — now — "
she hesitated and a sudden timidity shook her.
He sprang up. " Can you carry out the figure? I
dare you to finish the sentence. Do you care for me
a little?" His face, suddenly illuminated, moved
her powerfully.
"I'm afraid I do — wait, please!" She stopped
him with a gesture. "You mustn't think I mean
more than I do. My mind is all in a whirl now; it
isn't fair to hurry me ; I must take time to consider.
Your being poor and an Indian agent wouldn't make
any difference to me if I — But I must be sure. I
respect you — I admire you very much — and last
night when I said good-bye I felt a sharp pain here."
She put her hand to her throat. " But I must be sure.
There are so many things against it," she ended,
covering her eyes with her hand in piteous perplexity.
His eyes were alight, his voice eager. "It would
be such a glorious thing if you could join me in my
work"
The mention of his work stung her. "Oh no! It
is impossible. I should die here! I have no sense of
duty towards these poor vagabonds. I'm sorry for
them — but to live here — no, no! You must not
ask it. You must go your way and I will go mine.
You are only torturing me needlessly."
"Forgive me," he pleaded. "I did not mean to do
so."
She continued, wildly : " Can't you see how crazy,
how impossible, it is? I admire you — I believe in
your work — it is magnificent; but I can't live your
life. My friends, my art, mean too much to me."
There was a tremulous, passionate pleading whick
372
AN EVENTFUL NIGHT
failed of finality: it perplexed her lover; it did not
convince him.
"You are right; of course you are right/' he said
again; "but that does not help me to bear the pain
of your loss. I can't let you go out of my life — ut
terly—I can't do it— I will not— Hark! What is
that?"
A faint, far-off, thundering sound interrupted him.
A rushing roar, as of many horsemen rapidly ap
proaching. Hastening to the window, Curtis bent
his head to listen. " It sounds like a cavalry charge.
Here they come! Cowboys — a mob of them! Can
it be Yarpe's gang? Yes; that is precisely what it
is. Yarpe leading them into some further deviltry."
Whooping and cursing, and urging their tired
horses with quirt and spur, the desperadoes, some
what thinned of ranks, pouring by in clattering,
pounding rush — as orderless as a charging squad of
Sioux warriors — turned up a side street and disap
peared almost before any one but Curtis was aware
of them.
"They are bent on mischief," said the soldier as
he turned upon the girl, all personal feeling swept
away by the passing mob. "They have followed
me in to force the jail and hang Cut Finger." He
caught up his cap. "I must prevent it!"
"No! No!" cried Elsie, seizing his arm. "You
must not go out in the street to-night — they will kill
you — please don't go — you have done your duty.
Now let the mayor act, I beg of you!"
"Dear girl, I must thwart this lynching party. I
would be disgraced! Don't you see? They have
seized the moment when the citizens are all in the
373
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP .
hall away from the jail to do this thing. I must
alarm the town and prevent them."
Even as he pleaded with her the tumult in the hall
broke forth again, roared for a moment in wild cres
cendo, and then ceased instantly, strangely. A
moment's silence followed, and a confused murmur
arose, quite different from any sound which had hither
to emanated from the hall. A powerful voice dom
inated all others, and through the open windows the
words of command could be distinctly heard. " Keep
back there I Keep your seats I"
"The meeting is breaking up!" exclaimed Curtis.
" Some one has alarmed them. See, they are pouring
out to prevent this crazy mob from carrying out its
plan."
The shouting ceased, but the trample of feet and
the murmur of voices thickened to a clamor, and
Elsie turned white with a new fear. " They are rush
ing across the square! Perhaps they are coming
for you!"
"I don't think so; they would not dare to attack
me — they hate me, but — "
Her over- wrought nerves gave way. A panic seized
her. "Hide! Hide! They will kill you!" she cried
out, hoarsely.
" No ; I am going to help them defend the jail. "
"For my sake!" she pleaded, "don't leave me!
Listen! they are coming!" she whispered. The
sound of many feet could be heard in the lobby be
low, the roar of a hundred voices came up the stair
way, but even the excited girl could now detect some
thing hushed and solemn in the sound — something
mournful in the measured footsteps up the stairs.
374
AN EVENTFUL NIGHT
"It is father!" she cried, with a flash of divination.
"Something has happened to him!" And with this
new terror in her face she hurried out into the hall.
Curtis reached her side just as the head of the pro
cession topped the stair-way.
Brisbane, up -borne by Lawson and a tall young
stranger, first appeared, followed by a dozen men,
who walked two and two with bared heads and seri
ous faces, as if following a hearse. The stricken
man's face was flushed and knobby, and his eyelids
drooped laxly like those of a drunkard. He saw
nothing, and his breathing was labored.
" Father, what has happened ?" called Elsie. " Tell
me — quick!"
"A touch of vertigo," answered Lawson, sooth
ingly. " The doctor says nothing serious. "
" Are you the doctor?" she turned to the young man.
"Yes. Don't be alarmed. The Senator has over
taxed himself a little, that is all, and needs rest.
Show me his bed, and we will make him comfortable. "
Elsie led the way to the bedroom, while Curtis
stood helplessly facing the crowd in the hall. Law-
son relieved the situation by coming out a few mo
ments later to say :
"Gentlemen, the doctor thanks you, and requests
you to leave the Senator to rest as quietly as possi
ble.".
After this dismissal had dispersed the on-lookers,
Lawson turned to Curtis. "The old man's work as
a speaker is done. Rather tragic business, don't
you think? He was assailing you with the utmost
bitterness. His big, right fist was in the air like a
hammer when he fell; but it was his last effort."
375
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Curtis seized his hand and said : " I envy you your
chance to go with her and serve her/' His voice
changed. "The mob! Did you hear Yarpe and his
men pass?"
"No; when?"
"Not ten minutes ago. I fear some mischief."
The doctor appeared. "Mr. Lawson, a moment."
As Lawson hurried into the sick-room a far-off,
faint volley of pistol-shots broke the hush that had
settled over the square. Distant yells succeeded,
accompanied by a sound as of some giant hammer
ing. The young soldier lifted his head like a young
lion listening to a battle-call. " They are beating in
the gates!" he said. For a moment he hesitated, but
only for a moment. "She is safe!" he thought, with
a glance towards Elsie's door. "My man and the
poor little wife are not," and he rushed down the
stair-way and out into the street with intent to find
and defend his faithful men.
XXXIII
ELSIE CONFESSES HER LOVE
A 5 he paused on the steps to the hotel, a gust of
bitter rage swept over him. "What can I do
against this implacable town? Oh, for a squad of
the boys in blue!"
The street and square were filled with men all run
ning, as to a fire, from left to right — a laughing, jest
ing throng. Along the hitching-poles excited and
jocular cowboys were loosing their ponies and leap
ing to their saddles. Some excitable citizen had be
gun to ring the fire-bell, and women, bareheaded and
white with fear, were lining the sidewalks and lean
ing from windows. The town resembled an ant-hill
into which a fleeing bison has planted a foot.
"Oh, sir!" cried one young mother as she caught
sight of Curtis, "are the Injuns coming?"
"No," he replied, bitterly, "these marauders are
not Indians; they are noble citizens," and set off at
a run towards the corral in which Two Horns and
Crow were camped. The tumult behind him grew
fainter, and at last died to a murmur, and only
one or two houses showed a light.
Ladue's was an old ranch on the river, around
which the town of Pinon had for twenty years been
slowly growing. The cabin was of stone, low and
377
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
strong, and two sides of it formed the corner of a low
corral of cottonwood logs. In this enclosure team
sters (for two bits) were allowed to camp and feed
their horses. A rickety gate some fifty feet south
of the house stood ajar, and Curtis entered the yard,
calling sharply for Crow Wing and Two Horns. No
one replied. Searching the stalls, he found the
blankets wherein they had lain, but the tumult had
undoubtedly called them forth into danger.
Hurrying to the house, he knocked most vigorously
at the door — to no effect. The shack was also empty.
Closing the door with a slam, the young officer, now
thoroughly alarmed, turned back towards the ho
tel. A vast, confused clamor, growing each moment
louder, added edge to his apprehension. The crowd
was evidently returning from the jail, jubilant and
remorseless. Upon reaching the corner of the square
Curtis turnec1. to the left with the design of encircling
it, hoping to find the two redmen looking on from
a door-way on the outskirts of the throng.
He had crossed but one side of the plaza, when a
band of cowboys dashed in from the opposite corner
with swinging lariats, whooping shrilly, in close
pursuit of a flying footman. A moment later a rope
looped, the fugitive fell, and the horsemen closed
round him in joyous clamor, like dogs around a fox.
With a fear that this was one of his men, Curtis
raised a great shout, but his voice was lost in the
rush and roar of the throng pouring in towards the fu
gitive. In fierce tage he rushed straight towards the
whirling mass of horsemen, but before he had passed
half the intervening space a horseman circled the
pavilion, and the popping of a revolver, swift yet
373
ELSIE CONFESSES HER LOVE
with deliberate pauses, began. Wild yells broke
forth, the pursuers scattered, other revolvers began
to crack, and as the press of horsemen reeled back,
Curtis perceived Calvin, dismounted and bareheaded,
with his back against the wall of the little wooden
band-stand, defiant, a revolver in each hand, hold
ing the mob at bay, while over his head a light sput
tered and sizzled.
A lane seemed to open for Curtis as he ran swift
ly in towards the writhing, ensnared captive on the
ground. It was Two Horns, struggling with the
ropes which bound him, and just as his Little Father
bent over him the big Tetong freed himself, and, with
a sliding rush, entered the shadow by Calvin's side.
Instantly his revolver began to speak.
Curtis, left alone in the full light of the lamp on
the pavilion, raised his arms and shouted: "Hold!
Cease firing!" The crowd recognized him and fell
silent. The army blue subdued them, and those who
had done the shooting began to edge away.
For a moment the young soldier could not speak,
so furious was he, but at last he found words : " Cow
ards! Is this your way of fighting — a hundred to
one? Where is your mayor? Have you no law in
this town?" He turned to Calvin, who stood still,
leaning against the pavilion. "Are you hurt?"
Calvin lifted one dripping hand. "I reckon Fm
punched a few. My right arm feels numb, and the
blood is fillin' my left boot. But I'm all here, sure
thing." But even as he spoke he reeled. Curtis
caught him ; he smiled apologetically : " That left leg
o' mine, sure feels like a hitchin'-post ; reckon some
one must o* clipped a nerve somewhere."
379
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Two Horns seized him by the other arm, just as
Winters blustered into the circle. " What's going on
here; who's doin' this shootin'?"
"This is a good time to ask that/' remarked Cur
tis. " Where were you twenty minutes ago?"
Calvin struggled to get his right hand free. "Let
me have a crack at the beast!" he pleaded. "I saw
you/' he said to Winters: "you were in the lynch
ing crowd, you sneak! You hung round in the
shadow like a coyote."
Curtis tried to calm him. "Come, this won't do,
Calvin ; you are losing blood and must have a doctor ;
come to the hotel."
As they half-carried him away the young rancher
snarled back, like a wounded wolf : "I disown the
whole cowardly pack of ye; I put my mark on some
of ye, too."
The crowd was now so completely with Calvin
that Winters hastened to explain : " Cal is my deputy ;
he was acting inside his duty ! He was trying to keep
the peace and you had no business fightin'," and
proceeded to arrest some fairly innocent by-standers,
while the wounded desperadoes were being swiftly
hidden away by their friends, and the remaining citi
zens of the town talked of what should have been
done.
Calvin continued to explain as they hurried him
through the excited throng. "I tried to stand 'em
off at the jail," he said, "but I couldn't get near
enough; my cayuse was used up. Oh, you was
there!" he called to a tall man with a new sombrero.
"I saw you, Bill Vawney, and I'll get you for it; I've
spotted you!"
380
ELSIE CONFESSES HER LOVE
He was enraged through every fibre of his strong,
young body, and only the iron grip of the persistent
men kept him from doing battle.
As they neared the hotel, Curtis, looking up,
glimpsed Elsie's white face at the window and
waved his cap at her. She clapped her hands in
joy of his return, but did not smile. The hotel
lobby was packed with a silent mass of men, but
the landlord, with authoritative voice, called out:
"Clear the way, gentlemen!" and a lane opened for
them. "Right in here/' he added, and led the way
to the parlor bedroom. The Captain and Calvin
were now most distinguished of citizens; nothing
was too good for them.
"Bring a physician/' said Curtis.
"Right here/' replied a cool, clear voice, and Doc
tor Philipps stepped to Calvin's side and relieved Two
Horns.
The young rancher sank down on the bed limply,
but smiled as he explained : "I'm only singed a little,
doc. They had me foul. You see, I was in the light,
but I handed one or two of them something they
didn't like. I left a keepsake with 'em. They won't
forget me soon."
The physician pressed him back upon the bed and
began to strip his clothes from him. "Be quiet for
five minutes and I'll have you in shape. We must
close up your gashes."
Curtis, relieved of part of his anxiety, then asked :
" How is the Senator?"
"Pretty comfortable; no danger."
"Don't leave me, Major," called Calvin, as Curtis
turned away to seek Elsie. "Don't let this chap
381
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
cut me up. I'm no centipede. I need all my
legs."
There was genuine pleading in the boy's voice,
and Curtis came back and took a chair near him
while the doctor probed the wounds and dressed them.
The officer's heart was very tender towards the reck
less, warm-hearted young rancher as he watched
his face whiten and the lips stiffen in the effort to
conceal his pain. "Calvin, you've been loyal all
through/' he said, "and we won't forget it."
At last, when the wounds were bandaged and the
worst of the pain over, Curtis turned to Two Horns
and signed:
"Where is Crow and the wife of Cut Finger?"
"I do not know."
" I will go find him ; you remain here. Do not fear ;
you are safe now. Sit down by Calvin's bed. You
will sleep here to-night."
As he made his way through the close-packed
mass of excited men in the Iobb3^ and before the hotel,
Curtis met no hostile face. It seemed that all men
were become his friends, and eager to disclaim any
share in the mob's action. He put their proffered
hands aside and hurried back to Ladue's, which he
found close-barred and dark.
"Who's there?" called a shaking voice as he
knocked.
" Captain Curtis. Where is Crow?"
"In here!" was the answer, in joyful voice. As
he opened the door, Ladue reached his hand to the
agent. "My God, I'm glad it is you! I was afraid
you'd been wiped out. Where is Two Horns?"
Crow, with his revolver still gripped in his hand,
382
ELSIE CONFESSES HER LOVE
stepped forward, his face quivering with emotion.
" Little Father, it is good to see you ; you are not hurt?
Where is Two Horns?"
"Safe in the big house with me. The evil white
men are gone; you will camp here, you and the wife
of Cut Finger/' he signed as he saw the cowering
form of the little wife.
Ladue, a big, hulking, pock-marked half-breed,
began to grin. " I was a-scared ; I sure was. I
thought we was all goin' to hang. Old Bill Yarpe
was out for game."
"The better citizens are in control now," replied
Curtis. "You are safe, but you'd better remain in
the house till morning."
As Curtis made his way through the crowd some one
raised a cheer for " Major Curtis," and the cry was taken
up by a hundred voices. Indignant citizens shouted :
" We'll stand by you, Major. We'll see justice done."
Curtis, as he reached the stair-way, turned and
coldly said : " Make your words good. For four
days a mob of two hundred armed men have men
aced the lives of my employes and my wards, and
you did nothing to prevent them. I am glad to see
you appreciate the horror and the disgrace of this
night's doings. If you mean what you say, let no
guilty man escape. Make this night the memorable
end of lawlessness in your country."
"We will!" roared a big, broad-faced,, black-bearded
man, and the crowd broke into another roar of ap
proval.
Elsie was waiting at the top of the stairs, tense
and white. Her eyes burned down into his with a
singular flame as she cried out :
383
A
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Why didn't you come to me sooner? Why do
you walk so slowly? Are you hurt? Tell me the
truth!"
"No, only tired/' he answered, as he reached her
side.
She put out her hand and touched his breast. " You
are ; you are all bloody. Take off your coat ; let me
see!"
"No, it's not mine; it is poor Calvin's; he was
badly wounded; he leaned against me."
" But I saw you standing in the pistol-fire ; take it
off, I say!" Her voice was almost frenziedly insist
ent.
He removed his coat in a daze of astonishment,
and she cried out, triumphantly: "See! I was right;
your shirt is soaked. You are wounded!"
"True enough!" he replied, looking down in sur
prise at a big stain on his shoulder. "I've been
'singed,' as Calvin calls it. It can't be serious, for
I have not felt it."
A sudden faintness seized upon Elsie as she gazed
fixedly upon the tell-tale stain. A gray whiteness
passed over her face. "Oh, Godl suppose you had
been killed!" she whispered.
In that shuddering whisper was the expression
of the girl's complete and final surrender, and Cur
tis did not question, did not speak; he took her in his
arms to comfort her.
"My sweetheart, you do love me! I doubt no
more. My poverty, your wealth, what do they mat
ter?"
She suddenly started away. "Oh, your wound I
Where is the doctor? Go to him!"
3*4
ELSIE CONFESSES HER LOVE
"The touch of your lips has healed me/' he pro
tested, but she insisted.
"Go! You are bleeding!" she commanded; and
so, reluctantly, lingeringly, with most unmilitary
sloth, he turned away, made numb to any physical
pain by the tenderness in her voice.
As the young surgeon was dressing the gash, he
said: "Well, Captain, things happen in the West."
" Yes, the kind of things which ought not to hap
pen anywhere. I suppose they lynched poor Cut
Finger?"
" No ; they merely shot him and dragged him to
death, as near as I can learn."
Curtis clinched his fists. " Ah, the devils! Where
is the body?"
" Back in the corridor of the jail."
Curtis pondered the effect of this news on the tribe.
"It's a little difficult to eliminate violence from an
inferior race when such cruelty is manifested in those
we call their teachers."
He sent for Ladue, who was deep in discussion of
the evening's events with Crow and Two Horns, and
said to him: "Do not tell the wife of Cut Finger of
the death of her husband ; wait till morning. What
the sheriff will do with the body I do not know. To
morrow say to her, ' All is over ; go with the agent/
It will do her no good to remain here. Good-night 1"
It was hard to realize in the peaceful light of the
following morning that the little square had been the
scene of so much cruelty and riot. The townspeople
came forth yawning and lax, and went about their
duties mechanically. Crow Wing and Two Horns.
•* 385
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
who would camp nowhere but on the floor of Curtis's
room, were awake at dawn, conversing in signs, in
order not to disturb the Little Father.
He, waking a little later, called to them in greet
ing and said : " Now all is quiet. The white men are
sorry. You are safe. Go to Paul's, eat and get
ready. We must start at once for the agency. Cut
Finger did an ill deed, and brought trouble on us all.
Now he is dead, but good may come out of it. Go,
tell the little wife; be gentle with her; say to her I
wish her to go home with us."
Silently, soberly, the two redmen left the room,
and Curtis dressed and went at once to find Calvin.
The boy looked up as Curtis entered and cheerily
called: "Hello, Major, IVe had a lively dream. I
dreamed there was some gun-play goin' on out in
the square and you and I were in it. Was that right ?"
"IVe a sore place here on my shoulder that says
you are. How do you feel? Can you travel? If
you can, I'll take you home in my buckboard."
" I can travel all right, but I haven't any home to
go to. The old man and I haven't hitched very well
for a year, and this will just about turn me out on
the range."
" Well, come home with me, then ; Jennie will soon
have you all right again ; she's a famous nurse, and
will look out for you till your mother comes over, as
she will. Mothers don't go back on their boys,"
A curious dimness came into the bold, keen eyes
of the wounded youth. " Major, that '11 suit me bet
ter than anything else I know."
" Very well, if the doctor says you can travel, we'll
go along together," replied Curtis.
386
ELSIE CONFESSES HER LOVE
He was eager to see Elsie and was pacing impa-
tiently up and down the hall when Lawson met him,
smiling, imperturbable. "Well, Captain, how are
you this morning?"
" Have you seen Miss Brisbane?"
"No; she is still asleep, I hope. The Senator is
conscious, but in a curious state ; seems not to know
or care where he is ; his troubles are over."
Even as he spoke a maid came from Elsie's room
to say that her mistress would breakfast in her own
parlor, and wished both Mr. Lawson and Captain
Curtis to join her in half an hour.
Lawson, in discussing the events of the night, was
decidedly optimistic. "This outbreak will bring
about a reaction," he said, with conviction. "You
will find every decent man on your side to-day."
"I hope so/' responded Curtis. "But last night's
mob made me long for my Gray-Horse Troop."
When they entered the little parlor Elsie rose and
passed straight to Curtis without coquetry or con
cealment. "How is your wound? Did you sleep?"
He assured her that he was almost as well as ever,
and not till she had convinced herself of the truth did
she turn to Lawson. "Osborne, I can never thank
you enough for your good, kind help."
Osborne protested that he had done nothing worth
considering, and they took seats at the table — a sub
dued and quiet group, for Lawson was still suffering
from his loss, and the lovers could not conceal from
themselves the knowledge that this was their last meet
ing for many long months. Elsie was a being trans
formed, so tender, so wilful, so strangely sweet and
womanly was she in every smile and in every gesture,
38?
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
They dwelt upon impersonal topics so long as Law-
son remained; but he, being ill at ease, hastened
with his coffee, and soon made excuse to withdraw,
leaving them alone. For a moment they faced each
other, and then, with a wistful cadence in his voice,
Curtis said: "Dear girl, it's hard to say good-bye
now, just when I have found you, but I must return
at once."
"Oh, must you? Can't you wait till we go — this
afternoon?"
" No ; I must be the first to carry this dreadful news
to my people."
" You are right, of course ; but I'll miss you so, and
you need me. Say you need me !"
"Need you! Of course I do; but you cannot stay
with me and I cannot go with you."
"I know, I know!" she sighed, resignedly. "But
it hurts all the same."
" This tumult will die out soon," he went on, in the
effort to comfort her, "and then I can come on to
Washington for a visit. I warn you I've lost all my
scruples ; seventeen hundred million dollars are as
straws in my path, now that I know you really care
for me."
"I don't feel rich now; I feel very poor. You
must come to Washington soon."
"I warn you that when I come I will ask hard
things of you!" He rose and his face darkened.
"But my duty calls!"
She came to him and yielded herself to his embrace.
" My queenly, beautiful girl ! It is sweet to have you
here in my arms; but I must say good-bye — good
bye."
388
ELSIE CONFESSES HER LOVE
In spite of his words he held her till she, with an
instinctive movement, pushed from his arms. "Go
— go quick!" she exclaimed, in a low, imperative
voice.
Not staying to wonder at the meaning of her strange
dismissal, he turned and left the room without look
ing back.
Only after he had helped Calvin into the wagon,
and had taken his seat beside him, did the young sol
dier lift his eyes in search of her face at the window.
She was looking down upon him, tears were on her
cheeks, but she blew a kiss from her finger-tips, not
caring if all the world were there to see.
XXXIV
SEED-TIME
A 5 Lawson predicted, the very violence of this out
burst of racial hatred was its cure. A reaction
set in. The leaders of Brisbane's party, with loud
shouts, ordered their harriers back to their lairs, while
the great leader himself, oblivious to daylight or to
darkness, was hurried home to Washington. The
Tetongs returned to their camps and hay-making,
the troops drilled peacefully each afternoon in the
broiling heat, while Curtis bent to his work again
with a desperate sort of energy, as if by so doing he
could shorten the long, hot days, which seemed well-
nigh interminable after the passing of Elsie and her
friends.
In a letter announcing their safe arrival in Wash
ington, Elsie said:
" I am going to see the President about you, as soon as
he returns from the mountains. Papa is gaining, bnt takes
no interest in anything. He is pitifully weak, but the
doctor thinks he will recover if he will only rest His brain
is worn out and needs complete freedom from care. Con
gress has adjourned finally. I am told that your enemies
expect to secure a court-martial on the charge of usurping
the authority of the sheriff. Osborne says not to worry,
for nothing will be done now till the President returns, and
he is confident that the department will sustain you — the
390
SEED-TIME
fact that the violence you feared did actually take place has
robbed your enemies of their power."
Nevertheless, the fight against the Tetongs and
himself went on with ever-increasing rancor during
July and August, and each Congressional candidate
was sharply interrogated as to his attitude towards
the removal bill. The anti-administration papers
boldly said: "If we win (and we will) we'll cut the
comb of this bantam. Well break his sabre over
his back"
To this the opposition made answer: "We're no
lovers of the redman, but Captain Curtis is an honor
able soldier, doing his duty, and it will not be easy for
you, even if victorious, to order a court-martial/'
This half-hearted defence gave courage to those
who took the high ground that the time for lynch
ing had gone by. " The Tetongs have rights which
every decent man is bound to respect, no matter how
much he personally dislikes the redskin."
During the last days of August a letter came from
Elsie, full of comforting assurances, both public and
private, being more intimate and tender in tone than
any that had preceded it, and full of sprightly hu
mor too. It began:
" MY DEAR SOLDIER,— I've been so busy fighting your
enemies I couldn't write a letter. I've met both the Secre
tary and the commissioner — their desks are said to be full
of screeds against you — and I've been to see the President !
He wasn't a bit gallant, but he listened. He glowered at
me (not unkindly) while I told your story. I'm afraid I
didn't phrase it very well, but he listened. I brought out
all the good points I could think of. I said : ' Mr. President,
391
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
Captain Curtis is the most disinterested man in the Indian
service. He is sacrificing everything for his plans.' ' What
are his plans?' he asked, so abruptly that I jumped. I then
spoke learnedly of irrigating ditches and gardens; you
would have laughed had you heard me, and I said : ' If he
is ordered back to his regiment, Mr. President, these poor
people will be robbed again/ ' Does Mr. Blank, of New
York, endorse Captain Curtis?' he asked. I didn't see what
this led to, but I answered that I did not know. ' He's a
friend of yours, isn't he?' he asked. ' Whom do you mean?'
I said, and my cheeks burned. Then he smiled. ' You
needn't worry,' he said, banging the table with his fist.
' I'll keep Captain Curtis where he is if every politician in
the State petitions for his removal.' I liked his wooden
cuss-word, and I thanked him and jumped up and hurried
home to write this letter. The Secretary told Osborne that
the bill for buying out the settlers would certainly go through
next winter, and that your plans were approved by the
whole department. So, you see, you are master of the situa
tion, and can plan as grandly as you wish — the entire res
ervation is yours.
" It is still hot here, and now that my ' lobbying ' is done,
I am going to the sea-shore, where papa is, and I know I
shall wish you were with me to enjoy it. I am so sorry for
you and Jennie, my heart aches for you. Think of it!
The cool, beautiful ocean will be singing me to sleep to-night.
I wish I could send you some fruit and some ices ; I know
you are longing for them.
" I wonder how it will all turn out? Will you be East this
winter? Perhaps Til help you celebrate the opening of
your new gardens, next spring. Wouldn't you like me to
come out and break a bottle of wine over the first plough
or water-gate or something? If you do, maybe I'll come.
If you write, address me at the Brunswick, Crescent Beach.
I wish you could come and see me here — you look so hand
some in your uniform."
392
SEED-TIME
The soldier's answer was not a letter, it was a
packet! He began by writing sorrowfully:
" DEAREST GIRL,— I fear I shall not be able to get away
this winter. There is so much here that requires my care.
If the bill passes, the people will be stirred up ; if it doesn't
pass, the settlers will be uneasy, and I shall be most im
peratively necessary here. Nothing would be sweeter to
me than a visit to you at the beach. As r boy I knew the
sea-shore intimately, and to walK the sands with you would
be to revive those sweet, careless boy memories and unite
them with the deepest emotions of my life — my love for you,
dear one. It almost makes me willing to resign. In a
sense it would be worth it. I would resign only I know I
am not losing the delight forever — I am only postponing
it a year.
" I have thought pretty deeply on my problem, dearest,
and I've come to this conclusion : When two people love each
other as we do, neither poverty nor riches — nothing but duty,
should separate them. Your wealth troubled me at first.
I knew I could not give you the comforts — not to say luxuries
— you were accustomed to, and I knew that my life as a sol
dier would always make even a barrack a place of uncertain
residence. I must stand to my guns here till I have won
my fight ; then I may ask for a transfer to some field where
life would not be so hard. If only there were ways to use
your great wealth in helping these people I would rejoice
to be your agent in the matter.
" I am a penniless suitor, but a good soldier. I can say
that without egotism. I think I could have acquired money
had I started out that way; of course I cannot do it now.
Perhaps my knowledge and training will come to supplement
and give power to your wealth. I must work. I am not
one to be idle. If I go on working — devising — in my own
way, then my self-respect would not be daunted, even though
you were worth ten millions instead of one. I am fitted to
393
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
be the head of a department — like that of Forestry, or Civil
Engineering. After my work here is finished I may ask
for something of that kind, but I am resolved to do my duty
here first. I like your suggestion about the water-gate.
I hold you to that word, my lady. One year from now,
when my gardens are ready for the*sickle, I will have the
criers announce a harvest-home festival, and you must come
and dance with me among my people, and then, perhaps,
I will take a little vacation, and return with you to the East,
and be happy with you among the joyous of the earth for a
little season. Beyond that I dare not plan."
The administration was sustained, and Brisbane's
forces were beaten back. The better elements of the
State, long scattered, disintegrated, and without voice,
spoke, and with majesty, rebuking the cruelty, the
barbarism, and the blatant assertion of men like Mus-
grove and Streeter, who had made the State odious.
Even Winters, the sheriff, was defeated, and a fairly
humane and decent citizen put in his place, and this
change, close down to the people, was most signif
icant of all. "Now I have hope of the courts/' said
Curtis to Maynard.
If the Tetongs did not at once apprehend the peace
and comfort which the defeat of Brisbane's gang and
the passage of the purchase bill assured to them, they
deeply appreciated the significance of the immediate
withdrawal of the settlers. They rejoiced in full-
toned song as their implacable and sleepless enemies
drove their heavily laden wagons across the line,
leaving their farms, sheds, and houses to the gov
ernment for the use of the needy tribe.
The urgency of the case being fully pleaded, the
whole readjustment was permitted to be made the
394
SEED-TIME
following spring, and the powers of the agent and his
employes were taxed to the uttermost. When the
order actually came to hand, Curtis mounted his
horse and rode from camp to camp, carrying the
good news ; calling the members of each band around
him, he told the story of their victory.
"Your days of hunger and cold will soon be over/'
he said. " The white man has gone from the reser
vation. The water of the streams, the ploughed fields,
are all yours. Now we must set to work. Every
one will have good ground ; all will share alike, and
every one must work. We must show the Great
Father at Washington that we are glad of his kind
ness. Our friends will not be ashamed when they
come to see us, and look upon our corn and wheat."
Every man, woman, and child did as they had
promised. They laid hands to the duties appointed
them, and did so merrily. They moved at once to
the places designated. A mighty shifting of dwell
ings took place first of all, and when this was finished
they set to work. They built fences, they dug ditches,
they ploughed and they planted, cheery as robins.
Even the gaunt old women lifted their morose faces
to the sun and muttered unaccustomed thanks. The
old men no longer sat in complaining council, but
talked of the wonderful things about to be.
"Ho! have you heard?" cried one. " Grayman lives
in the house the white man has left ; Elk too. Two
Horns sleeps in the house above Grayman, and is not
afraid. Ah, it is wonderful!"
The more thoughtful dwelt in imagination on the
reservation completely fenced, and saw the hills
swarming with cattle as in the olden time it swarmed
395
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
with the wild, black buffalo. They helped at the gar
dens, these old men, and as they rested on their hoes
and listened to the laughter of the women and chil
dren, they said one to the other : " Our camp is as it
was in the days when game was plenty. Every one
is smiling. Our worst days are over. The white
man's road is very long, and runs into a strange
country, but while Swift Eagle leads we follow."
There was commotion in every corral, where long
haired men in leggings and with feathered ornaments
in their hats, were awkwardly breaking fiery ponies
to drive, for teams were in sharp demand. The young
men who formerly raced horses, for lack of other
things to do, and in order not to die of inertness, now
became the hilarious teamsters of each valley. Ev
ery person, white or red, who could give instruc
tion in ditching and planting, was employed each
hour of the day. The various camps were as busy
as ant-hills, and as full of cheer as a flock of mag
pies.
Curtis was everywhere, superintending the moving
of barns, the building of cabins, and the laying out
of lands. Each night he returned to his bed so tired
he could not lie flat enough, but happy in the knowl
edge that some needed and permanent improvement
had that day been made. Lawson, faithful to his
post, came on from Washington, and was a comfort
in ways less material than wielding a hoe. He went
about encouraging the people at their work, and his
words had the quality of a poem.
"You see how it is!" he said. "You need not
despair. It is not true that the redmen are to vanish
from the earth. They are now to be happy and have
396
SEED-TIME
plenty of food. The white people, at last, have found
out the way to help you."
Maynard got a short leave of absence, and came
over to see " the hustle," as he called it, and to visit
Jennie, who still refused to leave her post, though
she had practically consented to his proposal. "We
will see," she had said. "If George marries, then I
will feel free to go with you; but not now."
Maynard expressed the same astonishment as
ever. "A man may fight a people a lifetime and
never really know 'em. Now I consider it marvel
lous the way these devils work. "
Calvin, after his recovery, came seldom to the
agency. He recognized the power and the fitness of
Captain Maynard's successful courtship, and though
Jennie wrote twice inviting him to call, he did not
come, and did not even reply till she had almost for
gotten her own letters. In a very erratic and laborious
screed he conveyed his regrets. "I'm powfle bizzy
just now. The old man is gone East, an' that thros
all the work of the ranch onto me. Ime just as
mutch obliged." Jennie did not laugh at this letter;
she put it away with a sigh — "Poor boy!"
XXXV
THE BATTLE WITH THE WEEDS
TDETWEEN the planting and the reaping lay the
JL) sun -smitten summer-time and a battle with
the weeds! It was a period demanding patience and
understanding in Curtis, for as the first flush of en
thusiasm over the sowing died away, apathy and
indifference sprang up naturally as thistles. These
childlike souls said : " Behold we have done our part,
now let Mother Earth and the Father Sun bring forth
the harvest. We cannot ripen the grain ; we can only
wait. Besides, we are weary."
To them harvest should follow seeding without
further effort. They were like boys wearied with
waiting for the trees to grow. The seed and the ap
ple were too far apart. Curtis, understanding this
lack of training in their lives, did not allow himself
to express the impatience he sometimes felt. He
told them that the new life they were to lead in
volved constant care, but care would bring a reward.
" In the old days when you hunted, these things were
not so." He also made honorable examples of men
like Two Horns and Crane's Voice, who kept their
gardens clean of all noxious plants.
He organized mimic war-parties. " To-day," he
said, " the warriors of Elk will go forth with me against
398
THE BATTLE WITH THE WEEDS
these evil ones, the weeds. Each man will be armed
with a bright hoe. Elk, old as he is, will lead, and I
will go by his side. We will work busily till the sun
has climbed half-way to his hill ; then we will smoke/'
His knowledge of their needs, their habits, their
modes of thinking, made all that he did successful.
He allowed the women to bring cool drinks, flavored
with herbs, and to build little bowers to shade their
sons and husbands from the fierce sun while they
rested. There was grumbling, there was envy, natu
rally, but less than he expected.
On the first day of July he was confident of a big
crop, and wrote to Elsie, saying : " The potatoes are
in bloom, the wheat is waving in the wind like a
green sea. I am waiting. "
To this she replied: "Papa's mind turns to the
mountains these hot days, and so we are coming ;
also my heart yearns for a certain soldier in the West
—a commander of shining hoes and a leader of de
structive red ploughmen. I ought, for my own peace
and comfort, to forget this singular creature; but,
alasl I cannot. My perplexity grows daily. I long
to see him, yet I am afraid!"
These words made him tireless and of Job-like
patience. "You need not wait till the harvest is
ended/' he wrote, in reply. " Come and watch the
grain ripen, so that you will be garmented duly and
ready for the feast. Moreover, we will snatch so
many more days of joy out of the maw of devour
ing time."
To this she answered : " Your expressed reasons
are not overwhelming, but as the sun is scorching
now, we leave soon. We will reach Pinon City in
399
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
about ten days. Father is quite well, but restless
with the heat. I am well, but restless, for other rea
sons. I don't see that the problem of our lives is any
nearer solution, do you? What can I do? What
can you do? Is there any common ground?"
" There are no problems now that you are coming/'
he replied.
It was with a deep surprise and joy that she found
herself trembling before each of his letters. All the
old-time ecstasy and breathless passion of her girl
hood came back to her, but enlarged, and based
deeper, a woman's care and introspection giving it
greater significance and power.
The next day after Elsie's definite promise Curtis
rode over to the first camp and called the people round
him and said :
"Next week we will hold our feast to give thanks
for the good things the earth has given to us, and
after we have councilled together we will feast and
have a dance. Let everything be in order. Come
in your finest dress. Let every garment be as it was
of old. Let the young girls be very beautiful in
whitened buckskin and beads. I do not despise
your old-time dress; I like it. Hereafter, when you
work you will need to wear white man's clothes, for
they are more comfortable ; but when you wish to have
a good time, then your old dress will be pleasant. I
do not ask you to forget the old time. It is past, but
it is sweet to you. I want you to be happy, for I
am happy."
XXXVI
THE HARVEST-HOME
THE hay-harvest was still going on when Cur
tis and Jennie drove down the valley to meet
Elsie and Lawson at Pinon City. " Father is much
changed/' Elsie had written. "You will hardly
know him now. He has forgotten all about his
campaign; he remembers you only momentarily, so
that you need not feel any resentment. He will
probably meet you as if he had never seen you be
fore. Please do not show any surprise, no matter
what he says."
Curtis expected to find Brisbane a poor shambling
wreck of a man, morose and sorrowful to look upon,
and his astonishment was correspondingly profound
as the ex-Senator descended from the train. His
step was vigorous, and his face was placid and of
good color ; thus much the young soldier took in at
a glance, then he forgot all the world in the radiant
face of his heart's beloved.
As she put up her lips to be kissed, Elsie's eyes
were dim with tears, and she hurried to Jennie as if
for relief from her emotion. When she turned, her
father was shaking hands urbanely with Curtis.
"Glad to meet you, sir/' he said, in the tone of the
suave man of position. "I didn't catch the name/'
* 401
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
A spasm of pain crossed Elsie's face. "This is
Mr. Curtis, papa. Don't you remember Captain
Curtis?"
"Ah, yes, so it is," he replied. "I remember you
spoke of him once before. I am very glad to make
your acquaintance — very glad indeed, sir."
To meet this calm politeness in a man who, in his
right mind, would have refused to shake hands, was
deeply moving to the young officer. To all outward
appearance the great promoter was the same, and on
all matters concerning his first campaign and first
term, and especially on the events of his early life,
he spoke with freedom, even with humor, but of the
incidents of the later campaign he had no recollec
tion. That he had been defeated and humbled seem
ed also to have left no lasting mark upon his mind.
"The fact is, my memory has grown very bad,"
he explained. " I can remember faces in a dim way,
but anything that is said to me I forget instantly."
For a time the thought of Brisbane's mental decay
threw a gloom over the party, but Elsie said : " Please
don't mind him. I have reached a certain philo
sophic calm in the matter. I can do him no good by
sorrowing. I have, therefore, determined to be as
happy as 1 can."
Curtis cheerfully called : " We must start at once.
Will your father go with us?"
"Oh nol I am afraid to have him undertake that.
He will go on to Copper City with his secretary."
"Of course, that is best," replied Curtis, vastly re
lieved.
Brisbane parted with Elsie quite matter-of-factly,
and his urbanity remained unbroken as he shook
402
THE HARVEST-HOME
hands with Curtis. "Pleased to have met you, sir/'
he said, and, in spite of her resolution, the tears filled
the daughter's eyes. The old warrior's smiling for-
getfulness of feuds was tragic.
As they rode homeward, Curtis and Elsie sat as
before on the forward seat, and he detailed what had
taken place at the agency, and she listened, genuinely
absorbed. She laughed and she wept a little as his
story touched on the pathetic incidents of the year.
" You are like a father confessor/' she said. " You
hold in your hands the most intimate secrets of your
people. I don't understand your patience with them.
Do you feel that you have made your demonstration?"
" What I have done is written in lines of gold and
green on the earth. The sky is too bright to remem
ber my gray days/' he replied, most exultantly.
She looked at him quizzically. " You are develop
ing new and singular powers."
"I have a new and singular teacher/'
"New?" she queried.
" New to me," he answered, and in such enigmatic
way they expressed their emotion while Lawson and
Jennie chatted gayly and in clear prose behind. Part
of the time Elsie drove, and that gave Curtis an ex
cuse to lay his hand on her wrist when he wished her
to drive slow. At the half-way house she shuddered
and made a mouth of disgust. "Let's hurry past
here ; I have a bad heart when I think of those horri
ble men."
"They are thinning out, and this ranch has
'changed hands' as they say on restaurant signs
in Chicago. Here's our north line of fence," he said,
as they came to a big, new gate. "I hastened to
403
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
build this at once before anything happened to pre
vent. This keeps the stock of the white man out,
and has stopped all friction."
As they came in sight of the flag-pole, Elsie cried
out : " Just think ! This is the third time I have driven
up this road in this way. Twice with you."
" I know it is wonderful. I don't intend you to go
away without me."
She was ignoring every one of his suggestions
now, but the flush of her cheek and a certain soft
ness in her eyes encouraged him to go on.
As they alighted at the door, Jennie remained to
look after her bundles, and Curtis and Elsie entered
the library together. He who had waited so eagerly
for this moment turned and folded her close in his
arms. "I need you, sweetest! Ill never let you go
again. Never!"
This was her moment to protest ; but she was silent,
with her face against his shoulder.
Jennie bounced into the hall with a great deal of
premonitory clatter and hurried Elsie to her room to
rest.
"And now you're to be my really truly sister,"
she said, closing the door behind her.
" I think — George," she hesitated a little, and
blushed before speaking his name, "expects it —
rather confidently."
" Then give me a good hug, you glorious thing!"
XXXVII
THE MINGLING OF THE OLD AND THE NEW
EARLY on the morning of the great day — before
the dawn, in truth — the Tetongs came riding in
over the hills from every quarter of the earth, bring
ing their finest clothing, their newest blankets, and
their whitest tepees, all lashed on long poles between
which the patient ponies walked as in the olden time.
Every man, woman, and child able to sit a horse was
mounted. No one wore a white man's hat or shoes or
vest; all were in leggings and moccasins, fringed
and painted, and they carried their summer blankets
as they once carried their robes of the buffalo-skin.
Even the boys of six and seven wore suits cunningly
fashioned and decorated like those of their elders.
The young warriors, painted, and with fluttering
feathers, rode their fleetest ponies, with shoulders
bare and gleaming like bronze in the sun.
With all due form, without hurry or jostling, the
whole tribe camped in a wide ellipse, each clan in its
place, each family having a fixed position in the cir
cle. The tepees rose like magic, and their threads
of smoke began to creep up into the clear sky like
mysterious plants, slender and wavering.
Greetings passed from camp to camp, the head
men met in council, and, as the sun rose higher,
405
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
swarms of the young men galloped to and fro, laying
out a racing-course and making up for a procession
under Wilson's direction.
Curtis said : " I am not interdicting any of their
customs merely because they belong to their old life,
but because some of them are coarse or hurtful. Their
dance is not harmful unless protracted to the point
of interfering with their work. That they are all
living somewhat in the past, to-day, is true ; but they
will put away this finery and go to work with me to
morrow. To cut them off from all amusement is
cruel fanaticism. No people can endure without
amusement."
"How appropriate their gay colors seem in this
hot, dun land!" remarked Elsie. "They would look
gaudy in a studio ; but out here they are grateful to
the sense."
In the centre of the wide circle of tepees a huge
bower of pines was being erected for the dance, and
pulsing through the air the voice of the criers could
be heard, as they rode slowly round the circle pub
lishing the programme of the day.
" Looking over the camp towards the hills it is not
difficult to imagine one's self back in the old days,"
said Maynard. "I saw Sitting Bull camped like
this. See, here is the ' Soldier Lodge ' or chief's head
quarters," and he pointed to a large, handsome tepee
set in one of the foci of the big ellipse.
Everywhere they went Curtis and his friends
met with hearty greeting. " Hoh — hoh ! The Little
Father!" the old men cried, and came to shake hands,
and the women smiled, looking up from their work.
The little children, though they ran away at first,
406
THE MINGLING OF THE OLD AND THE NEW
came out again when they knew that it was the Cap
tain who called. Jennie gave hints about the cook
ing, and praised the neat tepees and the pretty dresses,
while Elsie, looking upon it all with reflective eyes,
could not help thinking, "Such will be my work if I
do my duty as a wife/'
Once she looked at the firm, bold, facial outlines
of the man she had learned to love, and snuggled a
little closer into his shelter; he would toil to make
every hardship light, that was certain; but, oh! the
dreary winters! There were moments when she took
to herself a part of the love and obedience this people
showed Curtis. Here was a little kingdom over which
Curtis reigned, a despotic monarch, and she, if she did
her duty, would reign by his side. It had, at least,
the virtue of being an unconventional self-sacrifice.
And then, again, she smiled to think that Elsie Bee
Bee should feel a touch of pride in being the wife of an
Indian agent!
Driving his guests back to the agency, Curtis re
turned to the camp and moved about on foot among
his people. Wherever he went he seemed to give zest
to the sports, and knowing this he remained with
them till noon, and only came in to rest his weary feet
and aching eyes for half an hour before lunch.
It was unutterably sweet to stretch out in his big,
battered easy -chair, in the shaded coolness of the
library, and feel Elsie's smooth, light hand in his
hair.
" And you are never to leave me/' he said, dream
ily. "I can't realize it yet." After a pause he add
ed: "I am demanding too much of you, sweetheart."
" You are demanding nothing, sir ; if you did you
407
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
wouldn't get it. If I choose to give you anything, you
are to be grateful and discreetly silent/'
" Can't I say, ' Thank you ' ?"
"Not a word."
"I am content/' he said, and closed his eyes again
to express it, and she, being unasked, bent and
kissed his forehead.
Rousing up a few minutes later, he said, " I have a
present in keeping for you/'
"Have you? What is it? Is it from you? Why
didn't you let me see it before?"
He rose and opened a closet door. "Because the
proper time had not come. Before I show it to you
I want you to promise to wear it."
"I promise," she instantly replied.
"Don't be so ready; I intend it to be a symbol of
your change of heart."
"Well, then, I don't promise," she said, backing
away.
"I don't mean your change of heart towards me;
I have a ring to express that ; this is to express your
change of heart towards — "
"Towards Injuns?"
"No; towards all 'the small peoples of the earth/"
"Well, then, I can't wear it; I haven't changed.
Down with them!" she shouted, in smiling bravado.
He closed the door. "Very well, then, you shall
not even see the present; you are not worthy of it."
"Oh, please! please! I'll forgive all the heathens
of Africa, if you will only let me see. "
" I don't believe I like that, either," he replied. " You
are now too flippant. However, I'll hold you to the
word. If you don't mean it now you will by-and-by."
408
THE MINGLING OF THE OLD AND THE NEW
Elsie clapped her hands with girlish delight as
he held up a fine buckskin dress, beautifully adorned
with beads and quills. It was exquisitely tanned,
as soft as silk, and a deep cream color.
"Isn't it lovely! I'll wear it whether my heart is
changed or not."
"Here are the leggings and moccasins to match/'
She gathered them all up at a swoop. " I'm going
to put them on at once/'
"Wait!" he commanded. "Small Bird, who made
these garments, is out in the kitchen. I want to call
her; she can be your maid for this time/'
As Small Bird sidled bashfully into the hall Elsie
cried out in delight of her. She was dressed in the
old-time Tetong dress, and was exceedingly comely.
Her face was carefully painted and her hair shone
with much brushing and oil. Her teeth were white
and even.
"Can she speak English?" asked Elsie.
"Not very well; but she understands. Small
Bird, the lady says, thank you. She thinks they are
very fine. Her heart is glad. Go help her dress."
"Come!" cried Elsie, eagerly, and fairly ran up
the stairs in her haste to be transformed into a woman
of the red people.
When she returned she was a sister to Small Bird.
Her dark hair was braided in the Tetong fashion,
her face was browned, and her little feet were clothed
in glittering, beaded moccasins.
" You look exactly like some of the old engravings
of Mohawk princesses/' cried Curtis. "Now you are
ready to sit by my side and review the procession."
"Are we to have a procession?"
409
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
"Indeed we are, as significant as any mediaeval
tournament. I am the resident duke before whom
the review takes place, and I shall be in my best dress
and you are to sit by my side — my bride-elect."
"Oh no!"
"Oh yes. It is decided." He drew himself up
haughtily. "I have said it, and I am chief to-day.
It is good, Small Bird," he said, as the Tetong girl
started to go. "My wife likes it very much."
Elsie ran towards the girl and took her by the
shoulders as if to make her understand the better.
"Thank you; thank you!"
Small Bird smiled, but surrendered to her timidity,
and, turning, ran swiftly out of the room.
Curtis hooked Elsie in his right arm. " Now all is
decreed. You have put on the garb of my people,"
and his kiss stopped the protest she struggled to
utter.
Surely the day was a day strangely apart. Every
thing that could be done to make it symbolic, to make
it idyllic, was done. Curtis appeared after lunch in
a fine costume of buckskin, trimmed with green por
cupine quills and beads, and for a hat he wore a
fillet of beaver-skin with a single feather on the back.
Across his shoulder he carried the sash of a finely
beaded tobacco pouch, and in his hand a long fringed
bag, very ancient, containing a peace-pipe, which had
been transmitted to Crawling Elk by his father's fa
ther, a very precious thing, worn only by chieftains.
" Oh, I shall paint you in that dress," cried Elsie.
So accoutred, he led the way to the canopied plat
form under the flag-pole, where the reviewing party
were to sit. In order that no invidious distinctions
410
THE MINGLING OF THE OLD AND THE NEW
might be drawn, two or three of the old chiefs and
their wives had been given seats thereon, and they
were already in place. Not many strangers were
present, for Curtis had purposely refrained from set
ting a day too long ahead, but Lawson's friends and
some relatives of the employes, and several of the
young officers from the fort made up the outside
representation. Maynard was in his brightest uni
form, and Jennie, looking very nice in a muslin
gown, and a broad, white hat, sat by his side.
From the seats in the stand, the camp, swarming
with horsemen, could be seen. Wilson, as grand
marshal, was riding to and fro, assisted by Lawson,
who had entered into the game with the self-sacri
ficing devotion of a drum-major. His make-up was
superb, and when at last he approached, leading the
cavalcade, Elsie did not recognize him. His lean
face, dark with paint, was indistinguishably Tetong,
seen from a distance, and he sat his horse in perfect
simulation of his red brethren. He was but re-en
acting scenes of his early life. His hunting - shirt
was dark with use, and his splendid war-bonnet
trailed grandly down his back. He rode by, looking
neither to the right nor the left, singing a new
song.
"We are passing.
See us passing by.
We are leaving the old behind us.
The new we seek to find. We are passing, passing by/'
Crawling Elk followed, holding aloft a spear with
a green plume ; it was a turnip thrust through with a
sharp-pointed, blackened stick, and behind him, two
411
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
and two, came fifty of his young warriors carrying
shining hoes upright, as of old they carried their
lances, while at their shoulders, where quivers of ar
rows should have swung, dangled trim sheaves of
green wheat and golden barley. The free fluttering of
their feather-ornamented hair, the barbaric painting
on their faces and hands, symbolized the old life, as
the green arrows of the grain prefigured the new.
Behind them rode their women, each bearing in her
left hand a bunch of flowers. Those who could read
wore on their bosoms a small, shining medal, and in
their hair an eagle feather. No Tetong woman had
ever worn a plume before.
Standing Elk, quaint and bent, rode by, singing
a war-song, magnificent in his dress as war chief,
leading some twenty young men. His hands were
empty of the signs of peace, and his face was rapt
with dreams of the past, but his young men carried
long-handled forks which flamed in the sun, and
bracelets of green grass encircled their firm, brown
arms. They, too, were painted to signify their clan
and their ancestry, and the " medicine " they affected
was on their breasts. Their wives were close behind,
each bearing a stalk of corn in bloom; their beaded
saddles and gay blankets were pleasant to see. Every
weapon bespoke warfare against weeds. Every or
nament represented the better nature, the striving,
the aspiration of its wearer.
Then came the school-children, adding a final note
of pathos, poor little brown men and women trudg
ing on foot to symbolize that they must go through
life, plodding in the dust of the white man's chariot
wheel — their toes imprisoned in a shapeless box of
412
THE MINGLING OF THE OLD AND THE NEW
leather, their hair closely clipped, their clothing hot
and restrictive. Each carried a book and a slate,
and their faces were very intent and serious as they
paced by on their way from the old to the new. They
were followed by the school-band playing " The Star-
Spangled Banner/7 with splendid disregard of the
broken faith of the government whose song it was.
And so they streamed by, these folk, accounted the
most warlike of all red men, genially carrying out the
wishes of their chief, illustrating, without knowing
it, the wondrous change which had come to them;
the old men still clinging to the past, the young men
careless of the future, the children already trans
formed, and, as they glanced up, some smiling, some
grave and dreaming, Elsie shuddered with a species
of awe; it seemed as if a people were being disin
tegrated before her eyes ; that the evolution of a race
having proceeded for countless ages by almost im
perceptible degrees was now and here rushing, as by
mighty bounds, from war to peace, from hunting to
harvesting, from primitive indolence to ordered thrift.
They were, indeed, passing, as the plains and the wild
spaces were passing; as the buffalo had passed; as
every wild thing must pass before the ever-thick
ening flood of white ploughmen pressing upon the
land.
Twice they circled, and then, as they all massed
before him, Curtis rose to sign to them.
"I am very proud of you. All my friends are
pleased. My heart is big with emotion and my head
is full of thoughts. This is a great day for you and
also for me. Some of you are sad, for you long for
the old things — the big, broad plain, the elk, and the
413
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GRAY-HORSE TROOP
buffalo. So do I. I loved those things also. But you
have seen how it is. The water of the stream never
turns back to the spring, the old man never grows
young, the tree that falls does not rise up again. So
the old things come never again. We have always
to look ahead. Perhaps, in the happy hunting-ground
all will be different, but here now we must do our best
to live upon the earth. It is the law that, now the
game being gone, we must plough and sow and reap
the fruit of the soil. That is the meaning of all we
have done to-day. We have put away the rifle ; we
here take up the hoe.
" I am glad ; my heart is like a bird ; it sings when
I see you happy. Listen — I will tell you a great se
cret. You see this young woman," he touched Elsie.
" You see she wears the Tetong dress, the same as I ;
that means much. It signifies two things: Last
year her heart was hard towards the Tetongs ; now it
is soft. She is proud of what you have done. She
wears this dress for another reason; she is going to
be my wife, and help me show you the good way/'
At this moment a chorus of pleased outcries broke
forth. " Now, go to your feast, Let everything be
orderly. To-night we will come to see you dance."
With an outburst of jocular whooping, the young
men wheeled their horses and vanished under cover
of a cloud of dust, while the old men and the women
and the children moved sedately back to camp; the
women chattering gayly over the day's exciting shows,
and in anticipation of the dance which was to come.
There were tears in Elsie*s eyes as she looked up
at Curtis. "They have so far to go, poor things!
414
THE MINGLING OF THE OLD AND THE NEW
They can't realize how long the road to civilization
is."
"I do not care whether they reach what you call
civilization or not ; the road to happiness and peace
is not long, it is short ; they are even now entering
upon it. They can be happy right here, and so can
we," he ended, looking at her with a tender wistful-
ness. "Can't you understand?"
"You have conquered," she said, with deep feel
ing. "Under the spell of this day, I feel your work
to be the only thing in the world worth doing." Her
words, her voice, so moved him that he bent and laid
a kiss upon her lips. When he could speak, he said :
"Now I want to ask something of you. I have a
leave of absence for six months. Show me the Old
World."
She sprang up. "Ah! Can you go?"
" When the crops are garnered and sifted, and my
people clothed and sheltered."
"I'd rather show you Paris than anything else in
the world!" she cried. "I'd almost marry you to do
that."
" Very well, marry me ; we will spend our honey
moon there ; perhaps then you will be willing to spend
one more year here with me, and then — well — Never
cross the range till you get to it is a maxim of the
trail/'
THE END
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW
AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS
WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN
THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY
WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH
DAY AND TO $I.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY
OVERDUE.
SEP 221939
17 1943
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31JLS2GO
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R^C'
APR 281969 I
MAY 4 1970 2
LD21-20m-5,'39 (9269s)
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