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Issued TCCEB By SUbecristion. $2. a year. Entered as Second Class Matter ac New York Post + Office by SUREET & SMITH, 278 Welicam St. N. Y.

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AS BUFFALO BILL LET DRIVE WITH HIS REPEATER, THE REDSKIN IN THE PROW OF THE WAR CANOE THREW HIS ARMS WILDLY IN THE AIR.

*

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

A WEE

 

  

DEVOTED TO BORDER HISTORY

 

 

KLY PUBLI CATI ON

 

 

Issued Weekly. By Subscription $2.50 per year. Entered xs Second Class Matter at the N. ¥. Post Office, bv STREET & SMITH, 278 William bs Vee
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1993, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, MR ASL Die:

 

NEW YORK,

February 28, 1903.

Price Five Cents.

 

No. 94,

 

 

n’s Talisman.
| MILLER,

 

By the author of “BUFFALO BILL.”

DEALER 1 CIGARS & TOBACCOS
We Sell and Exchange Books,
320 Hast 18th St. Kansas City, Mo.

 

ee

CHARTER. 1.
BUFFALO BILL AND WILD BILL ON THE TRAIL,

It was hard work paddling the small Indian birch-bark
canoe against the swift current of the narrow stream,
and one fae the two occupants unshipped his paddle with
a cry of disgust.

“Guess we locate right here, Buffler; I’m dog-tired,” he
said. —

“As you like, Bill. We've pulled twenty miles since
sunrise. . That's satisfactory. And now for dinner.”

So saying, Buffalo Bill, by a dexterous movement, sent
the little craft skimming over the stream into a tiny

creek, sheltered from the direct rays of the sun by dense
evergreen foliage.

His companion climbed on to the bank, and brought
the prow of the canoe up a small, grassy ledge, fastening
it by a tough strip of green hide to a portion of the
gnarled root of a gigantic redwood tree.

‘The two scouts—William Cody and J. B. Hikok, better

known as Wild Bill—were in the heart of that mysterious
and little-known region, the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Their reason for being there on that particular June day

was strange enough to merit something more than pass-

ing notice,
They were in quest of a lost party of miners, who had

set forth, some six months before, ostensibly to locate
the much-talked-of “Wall of Gold Mine,” a fabulously
rich mine, but which had previously exacted the toll of
scores of human lives. Some of the best and bravest.
had left their bones to whiten on the mysterious Sierras,
in a bold, but fruitless, search for that. golden treasure—
the Eldorado of every miner in the West.

The Wall of the Gold Mine was said to be situated in
a gloomy valley filled with mysterious ruins, relics of a
vanished race, which history and tradition alike had
failed to take account of.

Nothing was known concerning those ene peo-
ple, who had Been succeeded in turn by Toltecs and Az-
tecs, until these had succumbed before the fierce and
relentless red man.

Until this day, the red man held the heart of the Sierras,
contesting inch by inch the possession of his magnificent
hanting-grounds,. rich in game of every description, from
the unconquerable grizzly and fierce buffalo, to the noisy
coyote and agile squirrel. es

Timber in abundance and every variety of fruit were
at his disposal; gold in astounding quantities he enjoyed,
and had lately ‘come to value it in proportion to His yy
amount of “fire-water” it secured for him.

But even “fire-water” had failed to tempt the red man
so his mountain calle: ste would barter and ex-

Pe

 
 

 

 

2 THE BUFVALO

chang
him quit those hunting-grounds.

On this aecount, the heart of the Sierras had remained
as a closed book to all but a few lucky pioneers, who, hav-
ing penetrated their mysterious depths, had returned
laden with a rich golden spoil.

The tales they told of encounters with an unknown
race of Indians, of gold in such abundance that “washing”
was tutnecessary—indeed, a waste of time—coupled with
the actual production of immense nuggets, yielding a
percentage higher than any others in the richest fields of
California, fired the gambling instinct of their hearers,
and produced a “rush” for this wondrous Eldorado.

From that day dated the fierce hostility of the Shoshone
Indians. Separate parties of miners were massacred,
others were forced to return, having lost all they pos-
sessed, broken in health and spirits.

One man only succeeded, and et back to tell the tale,
and by hin the mine had received its name—the Wall of
Gold:

The: settlers of Long Pine appropriately dubbed him
“Lueky Jack.

‘They did more, for thirty of the most influential miners
in the settlement put their earnings together, and, procur-
ing the finest and most complete. outfit that money could
buy, they placed themselves under “Lucky Jack’s’’ leader-
ship, and took the trail with the avowed peo of estab-

lishing a settlement in the vicinity of the Wall of Gold

Mine.

Being men of substance, and good citizens, they pre-

vailed on the military authorities to afford them the pro-
tection of a small mounted troop.
_ Thus, numbering nearly fifty souls, the band, adequately
equipped for all the dangers and difficul ties of the trail,
had ridden hopefully out from Long Pine one bright De-
cember day.

Since then, more than six months had elapsed, bringing
no tidings from either citizens or soldiers.

Nothing could be gleaned irom the grimly taciturn In-
dians, and the authorities, becoming anxious, had attacked
the Shoshone Indians, with disastrous results.

The force dispatched suffered defeat, and the red man,

emboldened by success, swooped down upon the settle-

ments, massacring and pillaging whenever the opportu-
nity occurred,

The timely arrival of several eae of infantry,
however, taught them a severe lesson, and forced them
back into their own hunting-grounds, Nevertheless,
they remained practically unassailable here, and, in con-
sequence, it was deemed advisable at headquarters to
adopt other‘ tactics to discover the fate of the aay
band of pioneers.

This change took shape in giving. Colonel Cody and his
companion scout, J.-B. ‘Hikok,-¢ generally: enya as W ild
Bill, a tree hand.

Their long and thrilling experience with indians 3 in
every part of the ereat Far ‘West, rendered them peculiarly
fit for the present enterprise, and when, true to their

principles of working with the. least possible incum-_

brance, they decided to make the trail by themselves, the
authorities wisely refrained from offering any objection
on the score of paucity of ntunbers.

heir preparations consisted in getting together a eke

e, but no inducement was strong enough to make

‘of keeping clear -of. the Indians.

BILL STORIES.

but suitable, equipment of arms and ammunition, retain-
ing for their own contfort merely one blanket apiece and

as ‘serviceable shotgun, for bringing down small winged

game. | These articles, packed in a small birch-bark canoe,
completed their outfit, and were ample, so they judged,
to insure the success of theif project.

A fortnight had elapsed since their start. As aay had
resolved to make the trail by water, and since success de-
pended in large measure upon their capacity for eluding
the Indians, “especially during the initial stage of the
journey, their rate of progress was necessarily ‘slow.

So far their efforts to escape notice had been crowned
with success.

Agreeably fatigued after the stiff morning’ s pull, Buf-
falo “Bill, having ‘ascertained that they were in no danger
of an immediate surprise, indulged in the luxury. of a
pipe, while his companion proceeded to make a small fire.

“Here goes ther last bit o’ meat from ther larder. We
air cleaned dry arter this, pard,” said Wild Bill, with a
laugh, placing in a row of heated stones a tenderloin
steak taken from a fine fat buck, which had fallen to his

rifle on the previous day..

The meat was soon cooked, and, being washed down
with some well-sugared black coffee, made a very ap-
petizing and substantial meal.

For an hour or more the two scouts remained in the
secluded creck, smoking hard, and exchanging occa-
sionally a few remarks.

The wild erandeur of their eureeun ties impressed
them, and neither was in the mood to be communicative.

‘hrough a break in the timber upon the opposite bank
of the swift stream, there opened up a vista of forest,
stream and canyon, intermingling in a oa eculioe
only to that district.

Gigantic redwood trees raised their dark ane lofty
crests from the steep side of a gloomy canyon.

‘These trees, the monarchs of the forest, attain thein
grandest proportions in the Sierras,

where the average
measurement is ninety feet in girth, and Over three | Nun
dred feet in height.

Hard by, one of these giants of the ae towered up
above the small creek occupied by the two scéuts,.

Its massive trunk rose upward sheer two handre -d feet
before throwing out a single branch.

The rays of the sun fell aslant its shaeey crest, but
failed to penetrate to the resting men.

They were grateful for the “shelter, and might have.

enjoyed it longer, had not their empty larder called for”

speedy replenishment. It wanted some hours till sun-
down, and in the interval they would have to procure suf-
ficient meat to last them a week, since the less they
were compelled to hunt, the better would be their chances
Nevertheless, it was

patent to both that they would soon have to strike one of °

the Indian trails, in- oa to. attain ho ‘ohieet of their
journeys: ; a
Wild Bill was Jie Ft to move.
“1 guess I'll take a scout around, ard he. said.
“Bunch an’ buffler-grass are rare plentiful back 0” this.
erik, an’ if we don’t light into a bunch o’ _Prong- -horns
some soon, I ain’t no hunter, nor never was,’
‘Good! Then Vl overhaul the guns,
panion,

” agreed bis. com- .

 

 
ip -

 

word,

 

 

&

* (He BUPPALO BILL STORIES. 3

Left to himself, Buffalo Bill proved | as good as his
and long before Wild Bill returned, the rifles had
been cleaned ‘and reloaded. Moreover, the supplies in
tlie little craft were so placed that everything was in
readiness for an immediate start when the time arrived.

In order that no keen-sighted Indian should discover
the canoe in their absence, “Buffalo Bill drew it well up
under the shelter of the evergreen foliage, rearranging
the grass in such a manner that their recent presetice on
the little bank would never so much as be suspected.

Then, since an hour had elapsed, and Wild Bill had not
returned, he pushed cautiously through the thick under
brush, and, picking up his companion’s trail, i eded
with great care to obliterate tt.

The towering redwood, rising like a giant above, the
post-oaks, pines and walnuts, would afford them an in-
fallible landmark for regaining the canoe.

He was still busy hiding Wild Bill’s tracks, when the
latter glided into view at the end of an oak glade, some
two hundred yards to the right.

Stopping short, Wild Bill signed to Buffalo Bill to
come quickly up.

“Buller,” he whispered, when Cody joined him; “we've
got ter look sort o’ lively. Behind this yere timber I’ve
nosed a bunch O° prong-horns, jest prime; but there’s sa
fresh trail.o’ red varmin its, and I calculate they ar’ giving
up the game theirselves.”

Vo Buffalo Bill this was ominous of failure, since it
meant their rifles would be useless, for a single shet would
set the redskins on the alert, and that was a contingency
not to be risked. ©

Very few of the Shoshone Indians possessed firearms;
yet it was possible, if the pioneers, whose fate the scouts
were seeking to ascertain, had really been destfoyed, the
present band of redskins might possess guns.

Quickly, yet with absolute stealth, the two scouts moved

». from the cover of the timber into the long, thick bunch-

grass growing to the top-of a slight acclivity, from the

summit of which Wild Bill had made his observation.
The climb, though by no means tedious, was much

longer than it looked, and considerably more than half an

hour elapsed ere they gained the summit.

From this point of vantage the scene changed with
bewildering suddenness.

On all sides the timber-clad mountains ae tO Te.
cede into the far distance, giving place to a wide, billowy

valley, rich with bunch and buffalo-grass, yet strangely.

broken up by steep-sided canyons here and there, shim-
mering patches of water, and mottes of post-oak, walnut
and pine.

Right ahead, in the very eyes of the sun, and at a dis- .

tance of two miles from their vantage point, the scouts
beheld a group of ten or twelve antelopes feeding in the
midst.of a small, well-sheltered hollow.

-The wind, blowing at right angles across the valley,
would necessitate a pretty considerable detour in order

. to approachjthe animals unnoticed.

If the redskins, whose trail was distinctly visible across

the top of the acclivity, were bent on the chase, they |

would be found somewhere to the right, between a dis-
tant wall of timber and the browsing game:
 Instinctively, both scouts scanned the valley in that
direction.

%

®

Yet the most careful scrutiny failed to disclose the
smallest sien of a human fee.

Nevertheless, the trail hard by showed that a band of |
Shoshones, seme fifty strong, had passed the spot not
more than three hours before; and, in view of their fond-
ness for the chase, only some very strong counter-attrac-
tion could keep them off.
¢ Its deid cert ther varmints ar: nosing around that
hollow, Buffer,” whispered Wild Bill, bringing his eyes
slowly over the intervening space between the distant
timber and the antelopes.

“You won't find them in that manner,’
reply.

“Better watch the prong-horns; they'll be quick enough
to scent the redskins when the latter get close enough.

“Look! look! What do you make out now?”

An arrow had suddenly shot into the midst of the deer,
and one of the animals fell. eee

Instantly the rest broke away in one uniform bound,
coining in the direction of the watchful scouts. ~

With necks craned forth, and legs seemingly doubled
up, the animals raced along at lightning speed.

-At one and the same moment, there broke from the
cover of the tall bunch-grass, to the right of the scouts
and closer than either had suspected, a small band of
Shoshone Indians, each warrior being armed with a long
war-lance and bew and arrows.

With the agility of practiced huntsmen, the redskins
let fly a dozen flint- tipped arrows.

The foremost antelope bounded into e air and dr opped
back in its tracks.
Two others rolled over, one of them TaN wounded,

was Cody’s

but the other merely disabled, for, bounding up, it made

a plucky effort to regain the flying herd.
All this passed before the scouts in swift succession.
The excitement of the chase ahead made their pulses
throb, and their fingers itched to pull trigger on the flying
game, but since the act would undoubtedly have proven
fatal to themselves, they were forced to lie still and in-
active. ;
On came the racing herd of antelopes, followed by the ,

* fleet-footed human foe.

They were making almost in a bee line le the spot
occupied by the watching scouts.

“Say, pard, if we. cant ‘pull,’ I guess We orter scoot.
We ain't aiming ter let them red varmints drop slap inter
us,” whispered “Wild Bill, edging quietly and impercepti-
bly backward.

“Too late,” returned Buffalo Bill.

“We'll have to make tracks along the Shoshones’ tpail,
and make them very quickly, too.”

So saying, he commenced to wriggle backward along
the trail running parallel to the top of the acclivity.

Nor was his companion slow to adopt this modified
arrangement.

Holding their rifles in such a manner that they could
be used at a moment’s notice, the two scouts made rapid
progress backward.

Being hidden by the tall graSs, they were unable to nove
the swift approach of the flying herd.

‘Notwithstanding, as the sounds of the chase became
more audible, they were able to time their own move-
ments in order to secure some degree of safety. |

 
  

A SHE BUFFALO

Quitting the trail, they wormed themselves into a thick
tussock of tall, rank grass, where detection would be ex-
ceedingly difficult,

This shelter, however, was not cae a second too
soon, for they had not settled themselves, when the leader
of the herd—a magnificent bull—came plunging over the
crest, barely a dozen yards from their place of conceal-
ment.

He Offered a splendid mark, and it was hard to let the
opportunity slip, and with something like a sigh of regret,
the watchers beheld the animal go racing down the slope
toward the water.

He was followed by another and another, and then by
the whole herd, bunched close together.

“Simultaneously a storm of arrows swept the acclivity,
and' three more animals rolled over.

One of the flint-tipped missiles struck the middle of the
grass tussock and ies the ground to a depth of
several inches.

“Them varmints ain’t fur off, Buffer, I engage to bet,”
said Wild Bill, nosing his rifie gently throu eh ‘the grass,
and keeping his eyes fixed on the long crest line ahead.

Meanwhile, Buffalo Bill, seeing that his companion
was ready for any contingency, directed his efforts to re-
moving the arrow, lest the upstanding feathered shaft
should attract one of the warriors to the spot.

Finding it impossible, however, to remove the barbed
head, he broke the shaft in. two, and quickly rearranged
the top of the grass.

All at once a faintly-muttered exclamation from Wild
Bill caused him to desist.

‘The position he occupied in the tussock was not so good
for observation as his companion’s, and it was not till
seven or eight panting redskins had gained the top of
the acclivity that any of them became visible to him,

A. glance showed them to be warriors of note, each
being decked out in full warpamt and feathers, while
each wore a wampum of scalps, freshly taken.

The long, lank, black hair of Apache Indians, mingled
horribly with various shades of shorter hair, speaking
grimly and unmistakably of white victims.

Their long, glittering war-lances were, near the keen-
pointed tops, also decorated in grewsome fashion with the
scalps of their human victims.

Buffalo Bill eyed these gory trophies with more than
passing interest, being anxious to discover some clew to
the fate of the Wall of Gold pioneers.

The fact, however, that none of the savage warriors
carried any but native weapons tended to puzzle him.
Nor did they remain long enough within his range of
vision for him to discover whether the scalps of “their
white victims were of comparatively recent acquisition. —

Those of the Apaches were unmistakably fresh.

From this circumstance, he was inclined to think that
the present band were returning to their head village
after a successful encounter with their hereditary foe.

Waiting till several minutes had elapsed from the time.
of their disappearance, he whispered to Wild Pall

But the latter made no response.

Again he essayed to attract his companion’s attention,
and again failed.

It occurred to him, all at once, that Wild Bill might
have followed the enenty.

 

down the valley where the chase had first begun.

“eance clean out of mind. Can it be one of th

Bill had come by his narrow escape, “the exigencies of the.

 

BILL STORIES. °° *

In a moment a thousand and one possibilities flashed
upon him.

Worming cautiously through the tough, strong grass,
he found Wild Bili’s place of concealment empty.

But it was not difficult to note the latter’s trail through
the crushed and broken grass beyond.

Foilowing it up, he was surprised to find his companion
lying prone, and to all appearance lifeless, since an arrow
had pierced | his jacket and pinned him down.

The thought that their presence was known for the
moment stunned Cody. He cast a swift glance around.
‘The seven or eight warriors whom he had first observed =
were at the bottom of the slope pecan the oak glade-
Jeading down to the stream. a

The arrow piercing his motionless: contpai
fired from that direction, as the veriest’ “ty (
serve by the angle form ed by its feathered eS .

With a sense of heavy foreboding, he turned™

  
 
 
   
    

 

Two or three dozen braves were moving up in an .ex-
tended line, doubtless to dress the meat which the war-
riots had secured. In ten, or fifteen minutes, at
most, they would gain the top of the acclivity. be tas

He had scarcely made this discovery when tite” kent
report of firearms drew his, gaze once more toward the
vicinity of the oak glade.

* Buffler, did yew hear that?’

The hurried whisper came from Wild Bill

“Thank Heaven you live!’ ejaculated Cody, y
snakewise Ae to his companion.

   

Li

G
es

= %

 
 
   
  
   
 

incisive tones.
“Yes; but the fact that you ee ino

“No, Buffler; yew kin bet on it them plot é
meat, long ago. It’s ther varmint who. pinnéds #
ere Jest examine the arrer—it ain ta hunting:

a pizoned arrer, or I ain’t na jedge.”

Very carefully, yet deftly, Cody removed they
missile, whose fine-tipped barb had escaped his compan-
ion’s body by considerably less than an inch. “
_ Its make differed from any he had beheld, and might |
by the most seasoned backwoodsman have been mistaken
for a hunting-arrow till the barb was examined, when the

difference at once became patent, and the deadly on
was seen,

“This means we have been discovered.”
“T calculate thet’s about ther size of it, Buffler. But
this ain't no time for powwowing. Them varmints ‘is
due back here some soon. I guess we strike along the
red’s trail, and werk round to the crick.”

And this plan was successfully adopted.

_ By the time the two scouts had regained the shelter Ob.

 

‘the oak glade the Shoshone braves had removed the

choicest bits from the fallen prong-horns and departed
with the warriors.
Though Buffalo Bill was thirsting to know how Wild

   
 

moment allowed his companion no opportunity to explaing:
Helping themselves to the best of such portions of the >
game as the Indians had left behind, they were apie to re-

   
  

  
  

 

aes

he 4
re
+
we

A

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Mh
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midst

  
 

redskin cares to make light of his particular c

plenish their larder with a stock sufficient for several
days.
One thing was s certain—their canoe had not been espied.

 

CHAPTER II.
ON THE TRAIL OF WILD BILL'S ASSAILANT.
“See here, pard, I guess these ar’ the varmint’s tracks,”
Wild Bill explained, with suppressed excitement, as,

pushing back the undergrowth, he exposed the impression
of a pair of moceasins on the moist ground.

Buffalo Bill examined them eagerly ; for, judging by the:
mature of the impréssion, the moccasins were of a size and
pattern unknown to him, there being several curious in-
-dentations which attracted his notice and baffled all his at-

tempts to explain. | Nor was Wild Bill a whit less puzzled,
“T only knows, pard, thet ther varmint what ade them

tracks warn't much darker than yew or me.

‘Ther first time I fixed a glim on him, he war nosing

around ther top of yonder bluff, jest back 0’ ther oak

glade. He war standin’ slick out in ther sunlight, a-seem-
ing mighty interested in them hunting warriors. These
varmints were powerful busy slittin’ ther throats of their
game down the bottom of ther slope.

“Tween watchin’ ther two, I guess I got fixed; any-
ways, ther red fiend kinder marked me fer dead meat.”

“He must have seen us enter the tussock,’ mused Cody,
noting particular ly the direction taken by the mysterious
tracks,

In that case, possibly: he sent the first arrow into our

 

im open to gamble on it,” agreed Wild Bill.

ogether they climbed the steep side of the small bluff
here the mysterious Indian had first been seen.

This bluff stood at the southern extremity of the oak
glade, in the middle of a natural clearing, but so well

sheltered by the surrounding foliage as to be unnoticeable
until ene

was actually wpon it.

Steep, rocky sides, tufted here and there with erass and
some creeping v ine, were succeeded by a smooth, moss-
covered surface of oval s shape, containing a small hollow
in the center, where further signs of the mvsterious Indian
were evident.

However, nothing of any (snaidensie importance was
leaned, and since it wanted but an hour to sundown,
Buffalo Bill decided to follow up the strange redskin’s
trail as rapidly as possible,

It was a risky enterprise, for, whoever the redskin
might be, he would of a surety inform the Shoshone In-
diane of the discovery he had made, and the whole band

of braves and warriors might be expected to swarm down
to the stream, seeking for the daring paleface intruders.

Nevertheless, there was method in this seemingly mad
enterprise, since Cody’s experience went to show that no
qualities.

‘Le present one might be a medicine-man, or some
chief, in which case he. would be most likely to acquaint
the rest with his discovery when all weve around the

camp-fire.

LCuftalo Bill was, in this instance, both right and wrong;
for, after follawing the trail till ‘darkness closed down,

the two scouts found themeelves i in i the mee icod: of

the Shoshones’ camp.

‘THE BUFFALO

the tw

 

 

BILL STORIES.

vio

That something unusual was proceeding, there needed
no second glance t to divine.

‘The camp- -fire blazed up merrily on the edge of the
timber-ridge, which the scouts had observed carly in the
afternoon.

‘The spoil of the chase \was roasting, throwing off an
odor so savory that it made the two friends’ mouths water.

The camp, however, was held by less than half a dozen
braves. And the question immediately occurred to the
two scouts—what of the others?

Had they been informed of the presence of the white
men, and were they already Se a iia to steal a march
upon the fatter?

It looked so,

Yet the roasting meat was sufficient testimony that the
band could not be far away.

Suddenly Wild Bil nudged his companion, and drew
his attention to a faint glow flickering through the trees.

Almost at the same moment there broke upon the ears
of the two scouts the muffled tones of a weird shout.

It was followed by several sharp. yells, which, in turn,
were sticceeded by silence most profound.

Then, with uncanny swiftness, a deep red glow leaped
up from the depths of the timber.

The transition from dark to light, though but momen-
tary, had enabled the two scouts to. perceive in the deep
gloom of the timber a crowd of befeathered redskins.

Some darned medicine-man is foolin’ them Injuns,”’
whispered Wild Bill, motioning his companion into the
pitehy darkness af the t timber-ridge.

“The fooling may come presently,” returned Buffalo

Bill; “but | rather fancy they’re making arrow-poison.”
He ne tight; for, as they stole noiselessly forward,
they we able to dist inguish a triple circle of Indians -

seated ae a, smoldering peat fire, supporting’ in its

midst a large earthenware vessel, affixed to a’ Hripod ot
war-lances.

From the under part of the vessel there siicuaied at
lurid glow, showing that the vessel itself had recently
been brought to a ‘white heat, being now in pieces af.
cooling. aa

An Indian of hereulean size was moving slowly and
deliberately around the inner ring of seated braves,

It was only oceasionally that the two watchers could
obtain a glimpse of him, but the little they saw led them

to conclude that he was the medicine-man in the act of -

performing some incantation for the edification and be-
wilderment of the superstitious braves, — te

By degrees his movements became more rapid, bee
since they were absolutely noiseless, it was impossible to

follow them with anything like accuracy.

The scene was weird in the extreme; and when, at last,
in obedience to a Signal from the medicine- -man, the squat-
ting braves sprang “suddenly to'their feet and commenced
to circle around and around the dimly-glowing peat fire,
ro seouts’ shrank further back into the timber.

‘It was well for them that they adopted this precaution,

‘since barely a minute elapsed ere-a sudden, lurid glare

illumined the timber glade,
The earthen vessel had been removed, and the fire
stirred into a blaze. .
Over fifty cruel faces‘were exposed to tha mee light.
Among them, Buttalo Bill recognized the four warriors

  
  

   
THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES.

he had seen for a brief space in the afternoon. He was
pointing out the latter to Wild Bill, when their united at-
tention was once more directed to the central figure.

“That’s ther varmint, Buffler, who tried mighty hard
to pass in my checks,” whispered Wild Bill, with a con-
vulsive grip on his companion’s arm. “I could size him
up inside a hull crowd of Injuns. He ain’t neither Sho-
shone nor ’Pache, nor a Piuva red, Durn me, ef I’ve
ever comed across his tribe afore.”

The same ee had assailed Buffalo Bill, for the
redskin was of finer physique than even a Comanche,

~ while his complexion was considerably lighter than that
of any tribe Cody had*ever come in contact wi

To what tribe did he belong?

As-the puzzling question forced itself upon Buffalo
Bill’s attention, he was conscious of one of those wonder-
ful flashes of memory which comes to one’s aid occa-
sionally at the most critical times.

He recalled a rumor to the effect that the heart of the
Sierras was inhabited by a mysterious tribe of Indians,
who had never yet come into direct touch with the white
pioneers.

Possibly the present medicine-man was a member of
this mysterious tribe.

In a few hurried words, Buffalo Bill explained his the-
ory to his companion. .

“Anyways, ther varmint carries a shootin’™-iron,”
the latter’s significant comment.

This circumstance had not hitherto forced itself upon
Cody’ s attention; but now, since he had both the oppor-
tunity and time to examine the mysterious Indian, he. per-
ceived that the latter carried a rifle slung across his
shoulders, while something very much like a revolver was
stuck into his bearskin belt.

He had scarcely made this discovery, when the object
of his scrutiny raised two powerful arms aloft. Instantly
the circling Shoshone braves fell to the ground in an at-
titude expressive of submission and reverence.

was

The powerful Indian addressed them in the Shoshone

tongue :
. ‘Wartiors oe braves of the Shoshone nation, hearken

éto the words of the servant of the Great Snake, who rules

~Yhe. thunder, the sky, and the mountains. The Great

Snake has made the ‘Shoshones a mighty nation, and yet”

mightier shall they become.

"The white man has cast his eyes toward the hunting-
grounds of the Shoshone nation. It is well, for many
© sealps*Shall fall to warriors and braves. Let High Lance
‘stand, forth, and the Mystery Man will speak further.”

—Ti® obedience, there rose from the circle of groveling
_yedskins the semi-nude figure of the warrior named. It
was not difficult for the scouts to recognize in the latter
the warrior in command of the prong-horn hunters.
“High Lance is a mighty warrior; he has rubbed out

the Apaches, and carries many scalps to the village of the —

Great Snake. Once, many moons ago, he was a prisoner
in the camp of the Comanches. The Comanches would
have slain him, but they held another prisoner, the Great

Paleface Tracker of the Indians, whom they meant to slay

first. Dees High Lance remember ?”

“Wanich |. “Hich Lance remembers his captivity,”
the warrior, gruffly, as though he did not altogether relish
the other’s drift,

haska.

“said

93

“High:-Lance never forgets,” remarked the self-styled
“Mystery Man,” significantly. “He will remember how
the Great Paleface Tracker escaped the Comanches, and

how the Comanches mourned two full moons because their —

warriors had failed to spill his bloed. If High Lance
would stand first in the heart of his queen, Sour Tongue,
he must bring the scalp of the Great Paleface Tracker to
the lodge of the Great Snake.”

“The Mystery Man speaks well, but let him say how.
High Lance is to go forth into. the plains of the paleface
and fetch the scalp of the great Buffalo Chief, Pah-e-
High Lance would need a powerful totem.

“No warrior nor medicine-man has yet been strong
enough to take the scalp of the Great Paleface Tracker.
“Hoh Lance cannot do so unless the Mystery Man will
give him a fresh totem.”

There was a subdued note of daa about the manner
of the warrior’s utterance, from which Buffalo Bill made |
a few skillful deductions.

He perceived that there was no love lost ee High
Lance a the Mystery Man.

The latter's reply, however, gave both scouts some-
thing else to think about.

age he totem which High Lance seeks shall be his to-
night,’ he said. “Let High Lance take the warpath,

for this day the Mystery Man set eyes upon the Great _
He has come with another paletaee as

Paleface Tracker.
into the Shoshone hunting-grounds.”’

“Waugh! the Mystery Man’s medicine is strong,” "said
High Lance, half contemptuously.

eT he Mystery Man has spoken. He goes now to talle
with the Great Spirit ; for the heart of High Lance doubts.
Let the warriors;and braves dip their. arrows and lance-
tips into the poison which the Mystery. Man has made.
Let them wait till he comes back with the totem which the
Great Spirit has sent to High Lance.”

The speaker, winding up with some unintelligible jar-
gon, stepped lightly and rapidly from the circle ‘of kneel-
ing braves. He was coming | in Wild Bill and Eales,
Bills direction.

“Quick !” whispered the lat ter,
hazards. . It is his life or. ours.’ :

Eh, pard, 1 guess it’s time ter get in he fust blow,

“we must trap him at all

an’ ter knock ther tarnation Injun inter the middle o’ —

next moon. I jedge we hed better let him nose past.”
Wathout another ,
about his middle several coils of seasoned hide.

CHAPTER TI.
TRACKING THE TRAILER,

With light, brisk and noiseless tread, the re edskin moved ..
toward the spot occupied. by Buffalo Bill and his com-—
panion.

The scouts kept. well in ‘the deep shadow of a great
cypress ; they scarcely breathed lest the sound should ac-
quaint their alert foes. with the secret of their presence.

The moments seemed like hours, the suspense being all
the greater on account of the profound stillness brooding:
ever the timber.

It was hard to believe that over: fifty. Indians were
within beck and call, and that another was rapidly Hepring

- their place of concealment,

 

 

word, Buffalo Bill unwound fon | :
 

 

 

  

 

 

report of a rifle.

: OY ;
In a few moments the Mystery Man passed unsuspect-

ingly by.

He appeared to be making for the further end of the
timber line, and the two scouts were not slow to follow
in his tracks.

Tiptoeing noiselessly bei tree to tree, with eyes fixed
on the dimly-outlined figure moving on ahead, they fol-
lowed their quarry into ‘the furthermost limit of the tim-
ber, from which neither the gathering of redskins within
nor ’ their camp without was visible.

Up to this point they had, despite the darkness, con-

trived to keep their foe in sight, but all at once they be-

came conscious of failure. 4G

The redskin had eluded them!

Of this there could be no doubt, for, moving forward,
they stepped out upon the rolling plain, where the pale
stars overhead presented a striking contrast to the pitchy
darkness of the forest.

Wild Bill uttered an exclamation of annoyance, which,
however, was immediately checked by his friend.

“Have a care, Bill,” whispered Cody.
red devil has sighted us, and is somewhere behind.”

“Curse him! he must have the eyes of a ’possum.”

Wild Bill had scarcely relieved his feelings, when Buf-
falo a gave him a drive which sent him clean off his

_ feet.

At the sane: moment thers was a flash and the loud
Simultaneously, Cody struck out with
the lasso he had made, and next moment the noose flew
whistling over the head of the man who had fired. Ina
moment Wild Bill had regained his feet, and darted to his
friend’s assistance.

“Ouick! quick! bring him down!” urged Cody, strain-
ing at the fightenea rope.

“Tf that shot should alarm the Shoshones, they'll swarm
like bees in a few minutes.”

Wild Bill, however, needed no urging.
>» He caught a glimpse of the herculean savage, who was
striving in vain to remove the tightened noose from his
neck.

The Mysterv Man had dropped his rifle.

In a flash Wild Bill whipped out his hrnting- atic |

and at one bound was upon the struggling redskin.
The knife clove the air with a hiss, and true to the
scout’s aim, struck the savage to the heart.
‘Springing back in time to avoid the redskin’s heavy

lurch forward, he ran back to the timber and listened,
While Buffalo Bill, still keeping the lasso tight, — be-

side the stricken Indian.

The latter’s frantic struggles were soon over; finally,
a convulsive shudder shook his gigantic frame, and then,
certain that the end had come oe let. the ae

--hide run loose.

He passed his hand rapidly over ite redskin till.

came fo the bearskin belt, and his f fingers touched the Sa
end of a Colt’s six-shooter.

The redskin’s possession of
such a weapon was only too horribly plain.
It must have belonged to one of the ill-fated pioneers.
Apparently, the very worst had happened to the party
of gold-seekers, and these mysterious dwellers in the
sierra Nevada Mountains had secured the white man’s

: troplies,
‘the discovery was elcid to stifle any cortitiens of.

THE BUFFALO

which were destined to attend its ‘reproduction.

“1 believe the

   

  

BILL STORIES. 7

  

‘pity which the scout might otherwise have rans

tor the dead savage.

Quickly and deftly he removed the revolver and ae
his hand into a kind of pouch in the Mystery Man’s belt.

At the bottom he came upon something hard, about
the size of a filbert, but seemingly all angles. He drew
it forth, and could scarcely. restrain a cry of wonder at
what he beheld.

The little object emitted a pale blue, phosphorescent
light, sufficiently strong to enable him to distinguish some
of the lines in his own ‘palm. To all intents “the object

as a solid crystal, beautifully polished.

Doubtless it was the Mystery Man’s one peculiar totem,
and regarding it as such, Cody slipped it into his own
pocket.

Little could he foresee the tragic sequence of events
Had. he
done so, he would have prized it above every other pos-
session.

Jt did not take him long to remove the lasso and secure
the. mysterious Indian’s rifle, but, quick as he was, vile
Bul returned ere he had quite finished,

“Buffler,” he whispered, hoarsely, “ther. varmints ‘das
took ther trail, 1 gives ‘em ten minutes ter nose out this
yere dead meat, an’ then there'll be a big show o’ war-
paint. We ain’t got much time ter ae our tracks.”

CHARTER IN.
RUNNING THE RIVER GANTLET.

For two days and nights the two friends pressed fever-
ishly ahead by the water highway, conscious that the suc-
cess of their mission—nay, their very lives—depended

upon the amount of progress they made at this stage.

They had, he the memorable occasion of their first
encoutiter with the Shoshone Indians, eluded the vigilance
of High Lance and his warriors by making a considerable -
detour, and striking the stream many miles below the
point where their canoe lay hidden.

By this means they. hoped to give the Indians the im-
pression that they were endeavoring to make their way
out of the Sierras instead of penetrating deeper into their
iny sterious recesses. ;

Whether they nad succeeded i#/ tricking the astute red
men they had no means of 2 ascertaining, for the two suc-
ceeding days and nights passed without incident. Though
thev kept a watchful eye for Indian signs, they failed
altogether to note any. Moreover, judging by the abun-
dance of big game—bears, panther, and deer—in the
glooiny, vet luxuriant wilderness that opened out suc-
cessively before them, the presence of any consider able

  

body of Indians asbraca the one thing most unlikely.

‘The little stream which they had traversed so long’ was
succeeded by a rapid and ever-widening river, seeming
to flow through the very heart of the great | ean
chain.

The sun was nearing the zenith on the third day, ieee
in the distance ahead, they caught sight of the three silow-
capped mountain peaks. o

This was the landmark they had sought SO long aid SO
diligently, for somewhere in the neighborhood ‘of those

snow peaks the Wall of Gold Mine “hid its Le

te.

 

     

   
        
  

8

 
      
  
  
   
  
 
 
   
  
 
   
    
  
   
   
 
   
  
   
   
  
  
  
  
   
   
  
  
  
   
  
   
   
  
  
   
     
   
     
     
     
 
    
   

So much they had gleaned at the settlement.of Long
Pine.

A little further on they made yet another discovery.
The river branched, the main portion swirling around in
a stiff current to the right, taking a direct easterly course,
doubtless finding its level somewhere in the backwoods of
Nevada. a

Here, also, looking’ down from their point of vantage,
they could distinguish a vast opening in the mountains.
The probabilities were that. from this direction the pio-
neers had struck the heart of tlié Sierras.

‘There lies our way of retreat, .? said Buffalo Bill, point-
ing to the swift current, where it plunged between the
walls of a gigantic canyon. “The stream ahead looks
like a tributary, and possibly, if we follow it, we shall
come across some sign of the luckless pioneers. Yonder
must lie the Gateway of the Mountains, which the Piuva
Indians hold to be fatal to every white man who attempts
to enter it.

“T should imagine that our people met their fate some-
where between’ the opening of this tributary and the Gate-
way. The mountain sides are densely timbered, while the
undulating ground near the stream is adapted for every
kind of Indian ambush.”

trail,” Wild Bill commented.
With the practiced eye ar an old trapper, he had dis-

utary, a difficult cascade, which meant, if they kept to the
water, that they would have to carry their load up the
steep bank, a tedious and difficult process.

Cody was not slow to follow his old friend’s reasoning.
Presently a solution of the difficulty occurred to him.

“There’s a break in the bank a little way to the right.
Suppose we cache some of the things there? They'll come
in handy, too, if we should lose everything and have to
beat a hasty retreat,” he suggested.

“Them words, Buffler, yer hes took clean out of my
mouth,” said Wild Bill, steering the canoe carefully tow-
ard the spot.

found it required their united efforts to make any per-
ceptible headway. At last, having breasted the main

bank at the spot indicated.

_.Upon one side of the spot rose a wall of rock perpen-
cular ly for over a hundred feet, surmounted by clusters
f mesquites, but sloping eradually backward to meet

“other side, some two or three hundred yards from the

wild vines and creepers, and some quite bare, the space
between consisting of a fertile, rolling grass valley, rising
gradually to meet the higher eround beyond.

By the water’s edge grew a thicket of red willows and
acacias in full bloom.

The scene was bewildering in its fairy-like beauty, a
this the two scouts hardly noticed, their gaze being riv-
eted upon a dark, ugly patch in the very middle of the
clearing, and not far ‘tt om the water’s edge.

_ THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES.

patch of ground.

“We ain't going up-stream some longer with this lead.
aboard—not a we means ter run ag’inst time in this yere

covered, about a couple of miles off, higher up the trib- .

The current ran so strong, however, that they soon

river, they entered the smaller tributary and gained the<

he lower ground some quarter of a mile inland; upon the ©

perpendicular wall, the ground was broken up, consisting
of innumerable bluffs, some timbered, some covered with

Neithe? spoke, as, bringing the canoe to land, they |

intent on examining the fire-blackened

Indeed, they were only too conscious
that their worst fears were likely to be confirmed.

A few recent bear tracks was all the grass disclosed, till
they came to the barren patch, where a quantity of
twisted, rusty iron, a few charred embers, and the partly-
consumed stocks of four guns told their own grim tale
of surprise and defeat.

A little further on, hard by one of the steepest pints
lay a huddled heap of bleached bones.

In silence the two scouts climbed to the top of the bluff.

Signs were not lacking to show that here the fight had
waged hottest.

Broken arrow-heads and several shattered lances lay
scattered amid the short, thick scrub which grew up in
patches at the side of the bluff.

The top was gained at last. It formed a commanding
position, but it had evidently been carried by assault.
One thing was plain—the pioneers, notwithstanding the.
presence of the military escort, had perished in their bold
attempt to reach the Eldorado of the mountains.

Seemingly, they had not even succeeded in reaching |
the ill-omened Gateway of the Mountains.

Wild Bill was first to break the silence that held the two
friends spellbound.

“See here, pard, them fool pilgrims have left a message
behind. It war a thousand chances ter one them reds
didn’t light on it. Anyways, here it ar’,” and so saying,
he drew from the soft ground the broken ‘blade of a bowie.

Scratched on its surface was the following message:

moved forward,

 

 

 

 
 
   
  

“We are lost. The reds—Great Snake—Puna
lage. Whoever reads this, send help! send: help! iy

“Tf it costs us our lives, we'll strike that village,” sal |
Buffalo Bill, grimly.

‘Depressed by their discovery, they made their. way “bie
to the tributary and lightened the canoe of every ard
that could be dispensed with. :

These they proceeded to hide in a small cave at the fot
of one of the bluffs.

Then, after a hurried meal, they pushed off up the
tributary. >

Just by the cascade they landed on the further bank,
and carried their little craft up the steep side.

Night was closing down when they launched forth . .
once more.

By moonrise they must have covered between eight and
ten miles, for, as they proceeded, the stream widened
considerably, Wie the current. slowed.

They were proceeding leisurely along, when the faint- .
est of faint ripples behind catised them to gaze share A
around. -

They were electrified to boiold two large war- _canoes, o
crowded with warriors, bearing rapidly down upon them.

a We are in for a warm time, Bill.

 
  
 

 

TS
Ee

     
  

ipygihe
are swarming the ne S 5 ~ keep to the midi Soft
and paddle for all you’re worth!”

The redskins pared a shout of defia

  

two scouts kept a a lead, but at ‘last, ‘numbers es
against oS The pursuers were surely ae neare

  
 

 

 

 

  

jest past ther bend, pard,” said Wild Bill, plying his pad-
dle withr fresh vigor, and sending the frail birch-bark
canoe far out into “midstream.

Buffalo Bill did not speak; kneeling behind his com-
panion, he dropped his paddle and picked up his Win-
chester repeater.

The Shoshone warriers meant to bring matters to a
. climax,

The two canoes, filled with over a score of warriors
in full chase behind, were well within rifle range, but he
did not fire, for every shot was precious. [

- Nearer and yet nearer drew the pursuing red men.
The bucks were paddling like demons, ever and anon
giving loud yells of anticipated triumph.
Full well they knew that hard by the bend in the stream
- another and larger canoe, manned by a dozen @per-be-
decked Shoshone braves, each with his war- lance upraised
to strike, was waiting to flash out across the bright, moon-
lit water.

Buffalo Bill, with his glance directed toward the pur-
suers behind, did not observe the danger lurking ahead
until an exclamation of surprise and dismay burst from
his comrade.

“Trapped like varmints, Peewee
wrathfully.

And, indeed, as the canoe Sha: out from the 7 of
the dark foliage, lining the left-hand bank of the stream,
the possibility of escape for the two scouts seemed ae
indeed. os

The leading redskin uttered a fierce yell, and all the
others, dropping their paddles and springing upright,
poised their glittering lances, ready to launch at the dar-
ing paleface scouts.

But the latter had braved many a similar danger, and,
following the momentary confusion, came a grim oe
mination to baffle their savage enemies yet.

Without losing scarcely a foot of headway, the two
friends pulled their paddles hard over, swinging about
some eight or. ten points, and then rushed off at a wide
angle for the opposite bank.

The redskins instantly Be their ‘scheme, and set
about to defeat it. :

Half their number, dropping their weapons, seized the
paddles and sent the canoe leaping through the water. At
the same moment a couple of lances came flashing across
the moonlit space. .

Wild Bill turned the canoe sharply to avoid the deadly
missiles, while Cody, sighting the foremost Indian, let
drive with his repeater.

His shot was greeted by a yell of defiance, but the gro-
tesquely-painted redskin standing in the very prow of the
swiftly-approaching canoe threw his arms wildly in the
air, and uttering a yell, fell headlong into the water.

A moment later the Shoshone canoe struck the frail
craft containing the scouts. 2

urn me!” he gasped,

  

af

They were flung out backward as ‘falf a dozen spears

were hurled at them, to the accompaniment ae a deafening
fe ‘of triumph.

THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES.

CHAPTER V.
A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER BENEATH THE RIVER.

With that fierce yell still ringing in their ears, Buffalo
Bill and his companion went under, being powerless to
save themselves; yet, despite the gravity of the situation,
they clung to their weapons, since these were their last
hope in the coming hand-to-hand encounter.

The vengeful braves, however, had no intention of al-
lowing the bold explorers to escape.

Not congent with the havoc they had already wrought,
quite half the number of braves dived headlong to “the
bottom of the stream.

Their lances had been cast aside, and with their long
scalping-knives they sought the scouts.

Buffalo Bill, as he arose toward the surface, felt his
throat suddenly gripped by one of the fierce braves.

Bringing his rifle up with a jerk, he struck his assailant
full in the chest with such force that the recoil sent him
downward, when the half-dazed redskin relaxed his hold.

_By a tremendous effort he retained his breath, and struck

rapidly out with his free hand, going with the current,
and, as well as he could judge, moving toward the left-

‘hand bank, where the shadow cast by “the timber would

be. deepest.

He had not miscalculated, as was made patent when he
finally arose, gasping, to the surface.

Swinging rapidly around, he perceived several strug-
gling ficures around the | jarge canoe, about twenty yards
distant.

He fancied he could\make out Wild Bill among fen
and was about to strike out to his friend’s assistance, when
the dangers attending his own position were recalled :
sharply to mind.

An arrow flew hissing into the water, but a few inches
from his head.

Another and another followed, and one pierced the
collar of his jacket.

He.had been noticed by the occupants of the two canoes
in the rear.

Indeed, the leading craft was almost upon him, when
he realized. the full gravity of the situation.

With a rapid downward move, he ducked as the canoe et
shot over the spot which, less than a moment before, he —

had occupied. :

He rose again, somewhat nearer midstream, and a Toe
yards behind the last canoe. e

His reappearance was greeted by a fresh stain of ar- —
rows. ~
To his fierce assailants it must have seemed that he
bore a charmed life, since none of the deadly missiles
touched him. “

Then, to the accompaniment of a veritable pandemo-
nium of war- -whoops,.the braves in the last canoe leaped
into the stream with the object of swarming around him.

They were speedily reinforced by their comrades in the
first craft.

‘Buffalo Bill waited till the first Indian got within strik-
ing distance, then, as the latter made a furious cut at him
with a tomahawk, he took a swift side- strolk
by the luckless brave,

‘Next instant he séized the latter around the
and with the purchase thus obtained, was abl
his clubbed rifle to some effect. 3

   
 
  

  

 
if

tO

THE BUFFALO

A crashing blow stunned his assailant, who sank like
a stone.

This Cody had foreseen.
skin, he was dragged down some distance, and by this
sunple method he “sueceeded in eluding the rest of the
braves who were thirsting for his blood,

Their fierce cries still rang in his ears as the current’
swirled him around and around, bearing him sometimes
against the leaden body of his inanimate foe.

Struggling. hard against the well-nigh overpowering
desire to rise and breathe, he was borne onward for what
—=to him—seemed an interminable distance, but what in
reality. was little more than a score of yards.

But there is a limit to the strongest powers of endur-
ance, and that limit Cody had now reached.

It was impossible to remain under another second, so,
releasing his grip on the stunned redskin, he shot up to
the surface, “To his amazement, no redskin was in sight.

Not trusting to the evidence of his eyes, he took a few
quick ¢
surface.

This time he was conscious of a greater difficulty in re-
maining below. There seemed no current to help him
alone, and he was constrained at last to make the surface.

Though the yells of his would-be captors fell upon his
ears, uot one of the redskins was visible.

Instantly Cody grasped the truth.

He had been partly carried by the current, partly by his
own exertions, beneath one of the floating islands of water
plants of various kinds, which are frequently encountered
on the rivers draining the eastern slope of the Sierra Ne-
-vada Mountains.

The possibility of such shelter had not occurred to him
before; it came to him now with something like a tinge of
bitterness.

His own fate and Wild Bill’s might have been vastly
different had they steered their little ‘craft toward what at
the time they had supposed to be the right-hand bank.
‘The moonlight revealed it now—a long, bush-covered,
floating strip.
serie struck out for it with what streneth remained in his
OT ifened and exhausted limbs. Its edge, composed of a
mingling of timber, clay and sand, supported bv a thick
mat of floating bark, enabled him to clamber speedily up.
The surface was covered thickly with huge bunches of
Spanish moss, enabling him to move noiselessly to. the
further ec

Flere; oa behind a graceful acacia bush, he caught a
glimpse of his late foes.

Many of the braves were still swimming to and fro ina.

fruitless attempt to make out his whereabouts,

The majority, however, had climbed back into their
canoe, which had been joined by the remaining craft.

Suddenly Cody’s lips tightened, and his heart gave a
leap, for, as the canoe which had been first to attack them
glided past, he beheld the body of his companion drag-
ging in the water, being attached to the stern of the canoe
by a looped green-hide line, passed beneath his arms,
and affixed in such a manner as to render the prisoner.
quite helpless.
High Lance, the Shoshone watrior.

The redskin presented an inviting target, and almost
mechanically Buffalo Bill raised his Tifle.

Clinging to the stunned red- _

gasps for breath, and again plunged beneath the

Standing over the helpless scout was

BILL STORIES.

Next inatant. however, he lowered it with a sich, only :

too conscious oe the instant fate which must befall Wild
Bill if he fired, ' ~

It was patent that he would have to wait another oppor-

tunity to avenge his friend’s captivity.

To attempt a rescue under the circumstances was alike
unpossible, since the recent struggle, coming after a day
ot arduous toil, had completely exhausted him.

Yet, with that wonderful tenacity of purpose, w hich hag

been the secret of the gallant sccut’s amazing success, he
instantly formed a plan for saving Wild Bill from the
horrible tortures which. were doubtless i in store for him.

Briefly, it consisted in following the canoe to which:
friend was secured in such a cruel manner,

By this means, if the luck favored him, he might fi
an opfbrtunity to rescue Wild Bill before High ¥
cane bring him to the Punnak village.

. The plan, in the first place, meant reverting to the
water and following the canoe down stream as far as was
possible under, cover. « elas

Wasting no time over preliminaries, Cody
rifle over his shoulder,
immer side of the floating snag, he lowered himself down
and struck out, hugging the bank as closely as possible,

The precaution was a wise one, for, presently, ovér-
come by fatigue, he was seized by a horrible nunibness,
and had just time to craw! up the bank when conscious-
ness for ae him.

He lay for hours ina heavy stupor, and when at last
he awoke, it was to find himself still surrounded by
darkness, but wonderfully refreshed in body and mind.

This circumstance, coupled avith the pitchy darkness—
for the moon had set—puzzled him not a little.

Could it be possible that he had slept through a suc-
ceeding day and night? ©

It was hardly likely he could have recovered ae present
degree of strength in a few short hours.

Tndeed, the probal bilities all pointed to his first con-_
jecture being the correct one.

He sprang to his feet, alarmed and dismayed; his limbs
were uncommonly stiff, causing ae movements at first to.
be awkward and slow.

By degrees, however, his denice agility rene eC
feeling his way cautiously, he proceeded whee x 2
edge of the great “snag.

slung the

and treading softly back to the

“,

AS well as he could recollect, it was little more than a
uN

score of feet across.

And, having covered this distance, he felt ee ee the
edge, but in vain. It was not to be found.

Something like a thrill of fear assailed him.

What had happened?

Whither had the snag drifted?

A thousand wild conjectures filled his mind and ee
him transfixed to the spot. _

He could, however, do nothing till daybreak, and ae

_ perforce, to make the best of a baffling situation.

Yet, with mind and body alert, the oon seemed inter

minable.

Gradually the distant mountain crests bo the east

showed dimly against a leaden sky.
A little later “they were ao with ‘the beams - the.
rising sun. a

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The crisp morning air rendered Buffalo Bill suscepti-
ble to the wants of the inner man.

The pangs of thirst were easily and quickly satisfied.

To lessen in some degree the gnawings of hunger, he
tightened his belt, and set about resolutely to discover his

ther eabouts.

   

“upc -

He found, as he had already begun to suspect, ‘that the
snag had become lodged against a jutting portion of the
bank, but how far it “had drifted he. was quite unable to
decide.

Neither Indians nor canoes were in sight, while there
was no particular landmark to arrest his attention.

Stepping from the snag to the solid bank, he proceeded

cautiously to climb the higher ground in the hope of being

able to make a survey from the top of a great bare bluff,

_ which, rising” abruptly some fifty feet < above a sea of dark
“fronds, commanded nS the whole of the timbered

valley.

ise gained this point of vantage an hour a er sunrise,
when the valley was bathed in a glorious sheen of light,
and the towering, snow-capped peaks of the Sierras were
aglow with all the colors of the rainbow.

With semething akin to magic, the forest seemed to at-
tune itself to the dawn of another day; its somber depths,
pierced by the rays of the morning sun, became alive with
the lumining of insects, the song of virdsSand the several
cries of big and small game.

Yet Buffalo Bill heeded none of this.

With anxious gaze he scanned the valley up and down,
- Ming in the distance, to the north, the dark, forbidding
Gateway of the Mountains.

A seenungly impenetrable forest hid most of the valley,
the opposite side of the stream, but looking south-
west, he descried beyond the timber belting the tributary,
open space several miles in extent, stretching from the
ey to the crest of the mighty canyon which for ned the
Gateway of the Mountains.

Seemingly on the verge of | this clearing had been
pitched an Indian camp.

That the red men were astir the wreaths of smoke curl-

_ing up from their several fires showed.

Their numbers could not be very considerable, and it
flashed upon the watchful scout that they were probably a
portion of High Lance’s band, bound for the village with

their captive.

Probably they had disembarked close by the cascade,
lower down the tributary. *

If so, Cody felt confident that by striking across the
stream and penetrating the timber, he could come up with
their present encampment before nightfall,

Deciding to act at once, he descended me bluff and de-
scribed a bee line for the water. —

Wild’ peaches, plums and damsons grew in luxuriant
profusion, and some of these, tempered with the edible
pods ofthe mesquite, formed a very welcome, if some-
what unstigstantial meal.

He passed several bear tracks and sighted one or two

 

_ wild turkeys and some prairie hens, but he was loath to

expend a shot unnecessarily, since his ammunition was

sadly diminished, and must needs be held i in reserve for.

grinm er ends.

THE BUFFALO

Crossing the stream, he selected a convenient spot on.

BILL STORIES.

the edge of the forest and preceeded to thoroughly over-
haul and clean his weapons.

The process was a tedious one, but he felt well repaid
when, by the end of a couple of hours, his rifle and re-
volvers were in fit Wo aae trim.

He smiled grimly when, having replaced the revolvers
in his belt and the rifle over his shoulder, he set forth, pre-
pared to surprise Wild Bill’s fierce captors

CHAPTER VL.
A DESPERATE CHASE AND A DESPERATE CHANCE.

Bv midday Buffalo Bull had reached the further edge of
the forest, while stretching away for miles lay the clear-
ing, a jumble of rocks, sand and water, relieved by

patches of chaparral, as ‘well as by small, ee grass
prairies.

‘Timber was not plentiful, though here and there a
fringe of cottonwoodssor a coppice of live oaks marked
the locality of either a miniature lake or stream.

' Directly west, upon the very limit of the horizon, tow-
ered the backbone of the Sierras, clad with dark pines al-
most to the region of eternal snow.

Cody was not a little surprised to find that the redskins
he had observed at daybreak had net moved forward.

Their camp, being pitched rather less than two miles
from the edge of the forest, upon a slight rise, made any
movement upon his own part impossible till nightfall.

‘Casting about for a suitable place of concealment, he
lighted upon a little sun-dried gully, where he could ob-
serve the movements of Hish Lance’s: braves without
drawing upon himself their unwelcome attention.

The place was admirably suited for his purpose, being
sheltered from the direct rays of the sun by a mushroom-
like bowlder supporting a straggling growth of chap-
arral, its under part hee scarred and ‘pierced by many

II.

a fissure, affording him both the means of shelter. and

eee

For some time he watched the distant camp, striving to —

discover the whereabouts of his companion, but the heat.

of neontide made him drowsy, and presently he began to
nod.

Curled up beneath the shelter of the bowlder, and hid-
den from any passing redskin by the overspreading oa
arral, he regarded the risk of. discovery as remote,

deed. With his rifle ready to hand, he decided to ae

brace the opportunity, and so gradually he fell fast asleep.
The afternoon was wearing to a close, when he awoke

with a start, roused by a distinct movement hard by.

Mechanically he seized the rifle, taking at the same
moment a brief, sweeping glance around; but his foe was
no human one. :

With a thrill of horror he perceived a rattler not a
dozen paces off, preparing to strike.

The reptile belonged to a particularly horrible and
deadly species, being. the huge double-fanged rattlesnake,
whose bite means certain death—a great, yellowish- brown
monster, whose body was as thick as a man’s arm, its coils
quivering slightly as its flat, venomous-looking head
moved stealthily to and fro, and its forked tongue darted
out with fearful precision.

its small, beady eyes shone with a baleful light.

For a moment the discovery paralyzed Buffalo Bill;

   
 

   

  

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aaa THE BUFFALO

 

reused from a sound sleep, te be confronted by a ee
stich as this, was sufficient te uanerve the hardies
Moreever, he was taken at a fearful disadvantage, since

the reptiie, being well within striking distance, had ranged ;

itself in a line with his weapon.

One swift stroke, and these cruel, eine fangs naust

pierce his face.

‘The very slightest movement would precipitate the rep-
tile’s attack,

To shoot was his ae chance,

It was an awful position, for at any moment the huge
rattler night strike,

Its rattles were working with angry vehemence, while _
its tongue seemed attuned to those awiul sounds, darting

in and out at lightning speed.

Buftalo Bill watched it stretch its coils preparatory to
making the fatal stroke.

‘The monster’s horrible little eyes met his own with a
gleam of hideous comprehension.

‘There was something uneanny iri that baleful look.

At last, impatient with himself, and determined to put
an end to the fearful suspense, Buffalo Bill jerked the rifle
up aninch or two. The challenge was instantly accepted
by the rattlesnake, which, with lightning speed, moved

into line with the weapon.

‘This circumstance was not lost upon its would-be vic-
tim, for, in a flash, there occurred to him a means of es-
cape.

He recalled how the Comanche Indians had a peculiar
manner of killing this particular species of rattlesnake,
which, . they averred, was wont always to keep its head
and body im line with any gun or weapon aimed at it.

Of one thing he was certain—the Comanches were re-
garded by all'the neighboring tribes as experts in the art
of killing the double-fanged rattler.

He decided to try the Comanche method.

Again he moved the rifle slightly, elevating the muzzle
to a “convenient point.

The great, vellowish-brown monster glided almost im-
perceptibly into line, and seemed to look straight down
the barrel.

Satisfied with the experiment, Buffalo Bill rapidly
sighted his horrible foe, and as | the rattlesnake swung for-
ward, he fired.

The shot was an avilcwate one, owing to his confined

position, and the recoil sent him hard against the side of

the bowlder.

Nevertheless. it proved fatal to the reptile. The mon-
ster’s ugly head was blown clean off, yet the muscular

contractions of its huge body gave it a horrible semblance —

of life, as, thrashing the ground, its coils rose and fell in
ghastly agitation.

Buffalo Bill sprang to his feet, uncertain whether the
reptile was killed outright or merely disabled, but a rapid
scrutiny relieved him of any further dread on that score.

He was roused quickly, however, to a sense of further,
danger by an arrow striking the top of the bowlder upon
a level with his shoulder.

Dropping instinctively behind cover, he peered through
one of the crevices near the base of the rock, and per-
ceived a party of some ten or twelve Shoshone braves ra-
pidly approaching, dodging from cover to cover as they
drew near, ce

were speeding over the intervening space.

BILL STORIES,

with the object of rendering escape thither impossible.
The shot he had been compelled to fre in: self-defense
had doubtless acquainted them with his presence.

All this he divined in a moment, as, with caution bern.
of long practice, he slipped. another cartridge into the

empty chamber of his Winchester repeater.

He had no choice but to retreat, and make for. the cover

of the timber.

Delay meant certain capture. eee
In an instant he was up, and, bending double, started :

at a run for the forest.
His enemies raised a hoarse yell of defiance, while, an
instant later, half a dozen arrows whistled by.

One of the deadly missiles actually cut lengthwise
across his belt, but, striking the butt of one of his revol-
vers, its poisoned tip was turned aside.

He had no time to dwell, however, upon the almost

miraculous escape, for the two leading braves, with that

fleetness of foot characteristic of their tribe, \ were almost
upon hin.

The distance he had yet to cover to gain the timber
was greater than the distance separating him from the
two foremost redskins.

The situation was desperate. It wold be impossible
to reach the shelter of the forest in time.

Wheeling suddenly about, he let drive ap oné of his
assailants.
he saw that the brave had fallen; but at the same mo-
ment the other sprang at him with spear upraised. With

a yell of triumph, the redskin struck his spear forward, _
its keen point catching the scout’s jacket just below the |
Simultaneously, Buffalo Bill discharged his sec-.”.

armpit.
ond shot and leaped aside as the redskin sprang high in
the air, giving utterance to a fearful death-scream.

Tearing the spear from his side and reloading at light-
ning speed, Buffalo Bill aimed at one of his would-be
captors who was close upon the edge of the forest. His
shot told true, and the Shoshone brave toppled over with
a bullet through his spine.

A swift elance around shéwed that his remaining assail-

ants were taking aim at him with their arrows.

‘A moment later the feathered messengers of death
‘Cody dropped
pes with the result that the arrows flew over him;
then. springing up, he again essayed to reach the cover ae
the timber. ;

By this time the other braves were issuing from the
camp, and judging by the fierce yells echoing and re~—
echoing around, the number of his assailants was con=
siderable.

He never faltered, but kept steadily on, and at last, |
with a sigh of intense tse he darted in between the dark
pines.

Being unable to cover his tracks, his one chance de-
pended on his ability to get well ahead of those braves
who were trying to intercept him at a point some two hun-
dred yards to the left.

To do this, he must needs run at an angle to thelr SPO

of approach.

Anxious and breathless, straining every nerye and
muscle, he raced along with fully a score of braves in hot —

They were spreading out toward the edge of the forest, .
evidently anticipating his flight in that direction, and

As the smoke from the rifle cleared away,.

      

 

    
    
  
    
  
   
  
  
  
  
   
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
  
  
  
  
    
   
  
  
   
 
  

   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    
 

  

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

   
 

 

pursuit behind. They were steadily gaining, since they
carried no weight whatever. If only he could keep them
at bay till night set in, his prospect of escape would im-
measurably improve.

‘With this ebject uppermost in his mind, he plunged
into a clump of underbrush, and, kneeling down, prepared
to deal with his assailants separately as they came up.

The redskins, however, instantly divined his object,
and accommedated themselves with amazing promptitude
to his ‘change of tactics; for the moment he disappeared
in the underbrush; they, too, took to cover.

In vain he strove to sight the nearest. The timber
might have been empty of copper-skinned foes, so far as
any display on their part was concerned; yet he was con-
scious that some of them were stealthily working around

‘to his rear.

He strained his ears to catch the very faintest sound
in vain.

In truth, Buffalo Bill’s fierce foes were in their element.

Practiced in every art of woodcraft, accustomed to
stalk the foe into the very’ depths of the forest, each
brave enjoyed the fierce anticipation of triumph.

The great Paleface ‘Tracker was at their mercy—they

had trapped him at last.

Buffalo Bill was quick to comprehend his mistake, yet
equally quick to rectify it; and it was just this marvel-
lous adaptability to circumstances that was destined to
confound the Shoshones. | A

Iinding that his place of a would speedily
be converted) into a trap, he proceeded without a mo-

. ment’s delay to get out of it.

To advance or retreat would, however, merely draw
upon him the attention of his enemies. He adopted an-
other plan, and one such as the cunning redskins did not
anticipate. : »

~The undergrowth embraced the trunks of several
Scarred pines, varying considerably in size, but all grow-
ing closely together, and well screened by their mass of
dark foliage. |

With the utmost caution and absolute stealth, he pro-
ceeded to climb one of the smallest, and, working his
way along its stoutest limb, he, by this means, gained the
giant of the group. — ; feo

By working his way along one of its tapering branches
he was able to swing himself on to another tree bevond
the clump of underbrush. ee :

Thus, by using the interlocking branches, Buffalo Bill

' stealthily worked away from his place of concealment.

The labor involved, however, was immense, and, having
covered a space of something like one hundred paces,
he lowered himself to the ground.

Hard by his place of descent lurked a Shoshone brave,
lying flat upon the ground, with his gaze fixed intently
upon the clump of underbrush; his trail, where he had
wormed himself over the carpet of pine-nieedles, being dis-
tinctly visible. ae

It was characteristic of Buffalo Bill's stealthy move-
pan that the redskin had neither heard nor observed
aim.

Tiptoeing noiselessly from tree to tree, the daring
scout at length regained the edge of the timber.

In the distance, by the camp, a few braves were moving

to and iro, while others were busy striking the wigwams

NY

  

THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES, — ee.

and making preparations for a speedy mave, doubtless
anticipating the early presence of another prisoner.
_ By crawling into.a small eully, Buffalo Bill was able
to make good headway without attracting their atten-
tion.

All at once a burst of savage war-wheops behind
warned him that his flight had become known...

Less than a quarter ef a mile ahead there was a break

in the ground, and beyond he distinguished the gleam of

water fringed with willows and cottonwodds. ©
Since his actual whereabouts had not yet been discoy-
ered, he resolved to make with all haste for the water.
The pursuing red men would have little difficulty in
picking up his trail and running him down to the water’s
edge, but as he moved on, the possibility of successfully

eluding them presented itself, the surface of the water

being covered with patches of rotting driftwood.
Crashing through the thicket of red willows, he low-
ered himseli into the water, and made for the nearest drift
heap. ,
The savage yells of the approaching Indians spurred
him on, and in feverish haste he gained the pile of dere-
lict tunber. >
Simultaneously he took a plunge beneath the surface,

-and two or three seconds later rose with a nasty thud

against the bottom of the drift pile.

Turning on his back, he pushed his rifle into ‘the
yielding mass, and winding both arms about one of the
heaviest logs, contrived to support himself in such a man-
ner that his head, though buried amid the loose pile, was
above the water surface, while his body was admirably
screened from even the closest scrutiny of his savage
foes.

Their war-whoops grew louder. and louder, being pres-
ently followed by the splashing of several bodies inthe
water.

CHAPTER VILL. |
IN THE GRIP OF THE WATER MONSTER.

In a state of fearful suspense, Buffalo Bill remained
erfectly motionless while his enemies swarmed around.

They were being urged on by High Lance, who was
personally conducting the search, and whose rapid orders
were issued in a tone of fierce impatience.

The Shoshone chief shrewdly suspected his enemy was
lurking somewhere under cover of the driftwood; so with
grim determination he set about examining each pile of
rotting timber. .

The one concealing Buffalo Bill, being the closest to
hand, was the first to receive the fierce chieftain’s at-
tention. Ae

Clambering on to the tangle of wood, High Lance
rapidly and narrowly examined its surface, thrusting his
spear into’ every cranny where he thought there was a
possibility of the fugitive lurking.

Upon one of these occasions the spearhead actually
pierced the log to which Buffalo Bill was clinging.

In a moment it flashed upon him that he had been dis-
covered, and with his right hand he reached down to his
belt for one of the revolvers. For an instant his ene-

my's life trembled in the balance, for of a surety had

  
    

THE BUFFALO

14

ah Lance struck further, a bullet would have sped oP
ward, and brought him crashing down.

But the spear was withdrawn, and, with an angry
grunt, the Shoshone chief plunged into the water to as-
sist further in the seemingly fruitless search. .

Buffalo Bill breathed freely again, since the risk of
discovery was momentarily decreasing with the near ap-
proach of night, for, with the setting of the sun, dark-
ness closed in quickly, there being: little twilight and no
moon till nearly midnight.

With eager vigilance he watched the little gleams of
daylight through the tangle of wood overhead grow dim-
mer and dimmer, till at‘length they faded out, leaving all
dark, and grim, ‘and cold.

“Now and again a distant splash warned him that his
foes had not all departed.

Possibly some of them had been stationed among
the willows with the object of renewing the search with
the coming of day, in which case it behooved | him to make
‘good his escape before moonrise.

Yet to venture forth so close to the willows would be to
invite instant discovery.

It was patent to the daring scout that some other plan
must needs be devised. For. some time he cast about
in his mind for a possible solution of the difficulty, till at
last a plan, as daring as it was novel, occurred to him.

It was nothing less than propelling with his own
strength the timber-drift to the further bank.

As well as he could judge from-the brief glimpse he
had obtained of the extent of the water, the further bank
was neither distant nor difficult to negotiate. No sooner
did the plan occur to him, than he put it to a practical
test.

Fortunately, a perceptible current moved in the direc-
tion he wished to take.

The driftwood had evidently come down from some
stream or lake higher up. -

By turning off his back and planting his head against
the lower portion of the log which had so long sup-
ported him, he was able to strike out with both arms.

Nevertheless, it took both time and patience to get the
tangle of driftwood into motion, but after several minutes
of exhausting effort, he could tell by the wash of water
against the under part of the logs that the attempt had
not been made in vain.

With little more effort on his part the driftwood glided ~

on, impelled by its own momentum.

Nevertheless, Buffalo Bill continued to ply his strokes
with undiminished vigor.

Elated at the prospect of escape, and the possibility
of yet saving Wild Bull from his remorseless captors, he
exerted himself to the utmost.

For nearly half an hour he worked thus, ever and
anon sounding the depth with his legs in the HORS of
finding he was close by the bank.

He | “had just repeated this operation, when the tim-
ber gave an ugly lurch downward.

Simultaneously Buffalo Bill found himself forced be-
neath the surface.

With a quick back-stroke he ehoevared to recover the
gap where breathing was possible, but his body striking

the pile beneath the surface, was forced by the shock |

further down,’

 

  

BILL STORIES.

Instantly he seized the advantage of freeing himself
entirely, from the timber by giving a quick twist to his
body as he struck outward and upward.

lt seemed to him as he passed to the surface as though
a-number of arms were stretched forth to drag him
down.

A moment later a gasp of sweet, fe air infused fresh.
life into him. He struck out; but, simultaneously he be-
came aware of something detaining him behind.

Surprised and alarmed, he turned swiftly on to his side,
dreading the exultant yell which would assuredly break
from his enemies the very moment they discovered that
their presence had become known.

No such sound, however, broke the deathly stillness;
only the faint ripple of the water against the driftwood
reached him.
_ Pitchy darkness enveloped him, not so much as a star
gleamed from the heavens above. He was unable to dis-
tinguish the bank, yet the fact that one of his legs had
become entangled in a mass of weeds argued that it must
be close by. .

Again he struck out, this time with considerable force,
making a desperate effort to free his foot from the en-

. tangled growth; but, to his horror, he was seized around

‘ie. waist by something which ee like cold steel rope,
and, despite ‘the most desperate struggles, he was dragged

Benesth the surface.

Down and yet down the horrible something fofced him.

His very struggles seemed to increase the tenacity of
that awful grip, for his arms were next seized in the same
hidesus vice.

Alone, gasping for breath, enveloped in darkness, he
realized the awful truth—he was helpless in the loathsome _
grip of some water monster!

To struggle with a foe whose very form and nattre

are unknown, is a very different thing from facing a

horde of yelling redskins; different, too, from staking
one’s chance against the most deadly of reptiles.

But when, in addition to such a struggle, the victim
has no possible chance of getting to know what his
erewsome assailant is ‘like; something more than mere
physical courage is required.

In this critical moment of his life’s history, Buffalo Bill
displayed the very highest form of bravery.

He retained his presence of mind, and with grim de-
termination grappled with the unknown horror.

Since his struggles only increased the tenacity of that
fearful grip, he relaxed them; then, with every nerve
throbbing, the blood hammering at his temples under the
awful strain of being so long confined beneath the sur-
face, he remained, by a tremendous effort of his will, for —
several moments absolutely passive.

The steel-like ropes encasing his limbs became less agi-
tated, but their tenacious grasp showed no sign of abating,
since the slightest effort on his part was immediately at-
tended by the addition of further streamers. 4

With despair in his heart, yet determined to struggle
to the bitter end, Buffalo Bill adopted a ae of tac-
tics.

Very gently, almost imperceptibly, he nOved his right
hand to his belt. Then, swift as a lightning flash, “he.
snatched away his bowie, as once more the bv ae
he him otiened its meshes,

 

  
 

 

a

 

 

   
 

 

  

A desperate life-struggle? ensued. Buffalo Bill, with
long, sweeping strokes, cut through the meshes ‘envel-
oping his right side, only ‘to find the rest tighten con-
vulsively arid drag him further and yet further down.

At last his feet touched the bottom, and, making one
supreme effort, he drew: the ribbon-like attachments
taut; then, with two quick, strong strokes of the knife
he severed most of them, and with all his strength pulled
against the few streamers still enveloping him.

' They parted, and, at a rush, his body shot to the sur-
face, : :

Atterward he had a vague recollection of drinking: in

the sweet, cool air, and str ageling fiercely up a reed- lined

bank, pie all was a freee ple till he found himself
lying amid a tangle of crushed reeds under a silvery
sheen of moonlight.

He tried to move, but he was too weak to craw! to th
top of the bank; every limb and muscle throbbed a
pain; even the upraising of an arm was attended by an
agonizing twinge.

For several ‘hours he een in a state of painful
helplessness, till slumber closed his weary lids.

The day was some hours old when he awoke finally,
feeling stiff and bruised, but able to move with something
like his wonted vigor.

His first act was to crawl to the top of the bank and
take a searching look around. As far as the eye could
carry he fancied he could observe moving specks, showing
that his foes were still in the neighborhood, although
not in the actual vicinity. Upon the far side of the
water patch, something tike half a mile away, ran thared
willow thicket through which he had taken his first des-
perate plunge Being on a somewhat higher eminence,
he could sidice out ‘the chain of small lakes,. whose
presence the current had led him to suspect.

They described an irregular course through the bar-
ren valley.

bis next act was to recover his rifle.- This was not
dificult, since the driftwood had turned bottom upward,
exposing the butt of the weapon and enabling Buffalo
Bil to secure the same by reaching forward.

A horrible fascination impelled him to examine the s spot
where he had engaged in such a fearful struggle for fe.

“The surface was covered with a greenish “slime that
made him shudder; but this was not all, since the pile of
ariftwood, being caught in the meshes of the water hor-
ror, was slowly but “surely being sucked below.

Buffalo Bill cut one of the long, ribbon-like attach-
ments in half, and watched the severed portion fall away
from the timbers, while from the raw edge there oozed
a glutinous fluid of a greenish tinge.

Tt was a vegetable horror, after all, being, as he a er-

ae ascertained, a river weed. peculiar to the Sierras.

As well as he could make out, the weed grew in pro-
fusion along the bank, which Piptver on was. strewn
with derelict timber, overgrown by a mass of greenish-
brown climbers.

The redskins were doubtless aware of the horrible and
peculiar properties of the weed, since they had avoided
that portion of the bank, it. being doubtless due to this
circumstance that he had escaped. their notice aiter day-
br eak,

‘Having onvemied himself in. a sheltered nook on the

THE BUFFALO

 

  

BILL STORIES,

15

bank, Buffalo Bill next proceeded to overhaul his weap- .
ons, and presently, by means of an old trapper’s ruse, he
snared a prairie rabbit, and set about preparing a well-
earned meal.

It wanted a couple of hours till nightfall, when, having
satisfied the cravings of the inner man, cleaned his wea-

@

pons, and overhauled his sadlv-depleted stock of amuui-

nition, Buffalo Bill sallied forth, resolved to pick up
the trail of High Lanee, :
He had proceeded perhaps a mile, and had:no practical

reason-to fear a surprise since no redskin was in sight,
when he was assailed by a strange preinonition of danger.

Another man might have put it down to idle faney, and
thus have passed it by unheeded.

Not so Buffalo Bill: he was too old a hand to ignore
anything in the shape of a warning, while this very feel-
ing, wna Sat though it might be, had saved him
from being surprised on more than one occasion.

He turned abruptly from the trail and made for a small
rocky bluff to the Lete ed by a a great peaked
bowlder.

Gaining the top, he took care to ae the shadow side,
and crawling forward in the full glare of the sun, he
peered over the summit.

He had reason to felicitate himself upon the npeeeeian
he had adopted, for low down in a small detile, ad-
vancing directly upon him, were a small band of Shoshone
warriors Vis

One circumstance struck him forcibly, They carried
neither lances nor bows and arrows, being armed with
rifles ef the latest paigern.

Evidently they did not belong to the band he had so
recently eluded, although judging by their stealthy move-
ments, they were aware of his presence in their hunting -
grounds, and were evidently bent on picking.up his trail.

There being no time to lose, Buffalo Bill crept noise-
lessly and oe from his point of vantage, making in
all haste for the only possible cover, a small circular
mesquite bush,

CHAPTER Viti.
HAILSTORM’S TRIUMPH.

ve

For two whole days Buffalo Bill was compelled to lurk
in the midst of the mesquite bush.

His enemies had managed to pick up his trail and track
him to the top of the very “bluff whence he had first See
them,

But by rare good luck, they failed’ to light upon his
hiding -place.

Fortune for once had favored the brave scout, who
found beneath the clump of mesquite a-coyote’s burrow
which, by slightly enlarging, he converted into an ene
ual place of concealment.

The pods on the bush supplied him with food, and for
drink he had perforce to suck the dew-laden foliage.

His watchful foes bad “ordi their camp perilously
close to his hiding-place; a circumstance, however, that
was not wholly detrimental, since, by overhearing all that
passed, he gleaned some important news.

He discovered, among other things, that. Great Bake
was the head Mystery. "Man of the Punriak Indians, a
tribe distantly related to the Shoshone family, its mem-

  

  
  

  

iS THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES,

bers, however, instead of taking the warpath, were dedi-
cated to the mystic rites of a mysterious temple situated
somewhere in the fastness of the inountains.

They numbered less than three hundred souls, each be-
ing a Mystery Man, as the medicine-men ate called
aniong the Shoshones, in his own right,

They seemed to be held in considerable awe by the
fighting warriors.

“These latter, although united under one queen, who
bore the ominous name of Sour Tongue, really embraced
two fivai: bands, the larger being led by High Lance;
the other consisting of a “small, picked band of dog sol-
diers,* the especial “followers of a chief called Hailstorm.

It needed no great amount of discernment on Buffalo
Bil’s part to discover that between the two chiefs, High
Lance and Hailstorm, there existed a state of rivalry,
each aspiring for the hand of the queen in marriage.

Since Iligh Lance had scored heavily by the capture

of Wild Bill, Hailstorm was especially anxious to take
Buftaio Bill alive. .

Ihis was news, indeed, and the daring scout felt thank-
ful for the chance that had put him in possession of it.

Moreover, he learned enough to convince him that the
whole of the Wall of Gold Mine pioneers had_ perished
in their foolhardly attempt to effect o a settlement in the
very heart of the fierce red man’s hunting-grounds. —

The most important item he gleaned related to Wild
Bill, who, it seemed, was destined to be handed over to
the tender mercies of the Great Snake by nightfall on
the morrow.

It was toward evening on the second day that Buffalo
Bill became acquainted with this piece of news, which
inade it plain to him that his old friend and companion
was doomed, unless within four-and-twenty hours he
could in some manner effect his rescue.

To Buffalo Bill, the one thing needful was to get out
of his present trap. If he could do that, he might, with
the information he had gleaned concerning High Lance’s
whereabouts and intentions, effect his friend’s s rescue,

The suspense was becoming unbearable, when, as night
closed down, Buffalo Bill cautiously raised himself from
his place of concealment and peered into the warriors’
camp.

Pully fitty dog soldiers were gathered bround tee camp-
fire, awaiting t the evening meal, :

Their leader and three of his chief warriors had not
yet returned from a careful search through the distant
forest, whither they, had departed early in ‘the afternoon.

The warriors were speculating on Wild Bill’s probable
fate. and the horrible tortures which Buffalo Bill heard
enumerated made his blood run cold, and increased his
anxiety to save his friend: from the merciless clutches
of the chief Mystery Man.

Tt occurred ito him to venture forth at once, accepting
the risk, since the night gave promise of favoring such
all _cuterprise.

Beyond the glow of the fire all was inclosed in pitchy
darkness; rain. was beginning to fall, and a strong wind
was oe up.

*Vhis mame. is ‘univ ersalty applied by the Red ae £0 Hoe
warriors of the several tribes who adopt a stricter. code of rules
than the general body, he title is much covered.— kd,

aoe

   

If once beyond earshot, he felt Sd to eluding the
whole of the now feasting band.

In order to test the vigilance of his foes, he ieved the.

stock of his rifle through the cluster of mesquite, making
as much sound as he judged would be attended by the
passage of his body.

Two or three of these in the circle nearest to his place
of concealment caught the sound and, glanced sharply
around, but putting it down to the increased violence of
the wind, they soon relaxed their vigilance, and returned
to the savory haunch of venison’ which the rest were
dispatching with avidity. as

Deeming the opportunity ripe, Buffalo Bill Slowly
emerged from his coiled-up position in the coyote’s bur-
row, “and stealthily wormed his way beneath the cluster
of mesquite furthest from the camp-fire.

then, having gained the open, he reached back for Hic

‘rifle, and sgcuring the needful weapon, he commenced a

noiseless retreat.
Ever and anon he glanced back at the fire-lit faces of
his deadly foes.

The slightest movement on | their part brought him to
a stop. as

His own movements were conducted with absolute ~

stealth, but they were necessarily slow, a circumstance
fraught with grave danger, since now that he was clear
of the mesquite, there was no possible means of cover

till he gained the outer ring of darkness, while even there
the piercing eyes of the redskins might pick him out.

ayy he wormed his way over the fitfully-illumined
circle of ground, creeping gradually into the surrounding
darkness.

Not till he was well beyond the fireglow did ie breathe

freely.

At this point he quickened his pace, making for the ae
of lakes where he had previously eluded the vigilance of
High Lance.

: His object was to skirt the edge of the distant forest

and thus reach the Gateway of the Mountains, through

which he must needs pass to gain the Punnak village.
During his two days’ inactivity he had taken his bear-
ings, and these served him in good stead. now, enabling
him to ford the water and strike the forest quite half a
mile from its southern termination.
Cautiously as any Indian on the trail he. crept forward,

cautiously yet swiftly, creeping from tree to tree, peering

farward whenever he came to an open glade, and with
the sense of hearing alert, darting across at racing speed.

Sometimes he fancied he was “being tracked stealthily
down, and as he crouched in the brushwood, listening
to the moaning of the wind overhead, and the shrill
sweeping of the rain, the fancy grew like a horrible Men
mare.

Presently, when again he pressed on, the storm be-
came so furious that it threatened to impede his progress.

By this time the fancy that he was being tracked down
had become a certainty, sounds which his experienced

ear detected could proceed from no other cause than
moceasined feet moving oe . over: = ed
ground, .
eis: enemies apparent were numerous, ane. close iat

hand.

    

 

 

 
 

 

  
     
   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
THE BUFFALO BILL. STORIES, 17

All at once the trees thinned, and he darted forward
into an open glade.

Ahead the swirl of a river sounded like music to his
ears, since it offered the possibility of escape.

The rain was sweeping down in torrents when he
gained the river, and securing his rifle to his back, plunged
in. : ue
- There was little fear that his splash would be heard;
the fury of the storm forbade it..

But danger of another kind, and such as he had not
allowed for, confronted him. oo ;

The current was swirling like a mill-race, and in spite
of every effort, bore’ him steadily back.

Incumbered with rifle and belongings, he was pow-
erless to stem it, ;

To most men the difficulty would have spelt defeat;
not so to Buffalo Bill, who, finding it impossible to
struggle forward, made once more for the bank and
essayed to pull himself out.

Next moment from the depths of the glade the light of
a torch blazed forth.

He was discovered! |

A group of Hailstorm’s fierce deg soldiers wére racing
toward him. es ees

The wind bore their fierce vell past, and simultaneously
a warrior, whom he had not befere observed, sprang out
from the shelter ef a great pine, and aimed a crushing
blow at him with clubbed rifle. : ee

Leaping aside, the hard-pressed scout drew his revol-
ver, and fired point-blank at his assailant.

The Shoshone dropped at his very feet; but this mo-
mentary victory was dearly bought. :

As Buffalo bill simultaneously sprang back into the
swirling stream, a dozen rifle-shots whistled past his
head, and splashed into the water around.

He was struck by two—in arm and shoulder.

With dogged pluck he struck out for mid-stream as a
second volley was discharged at him. ;

Choking and struggling he was borne along by the
swift current, as other torehlights flashed and gleamed
alone the timber-covered bank.

The forest seemed alive with his fierce redskin foes.

Some of them, dropping their weapons, plunged into
the swirling waters, and with powerful strekes made for
him through the storm of wind and rain.

He grappled bravely with the first to come up, and
sank beneath the agitated surface in a life-and-death
wrestle... :

But the fierce redskin was quickly joined by others.

Seized by the throat and helpless in the grip of three
powertul dog soldiers, Buff o Bill was dragged to the
bank, and flung fainting on the sodden ground.

A vengeful yell greeted Hailstorm’s triumph.

The great Paleface Tracker had been captured at last!

CHAP PIER IX:
FACE TO FACE WITH THE SHOSHONE QUEEN.
_ How many hours or days elapsed from the time of his
capture to his triumphant production before the queen of
the Shoshone nation in Punnak village Buffalo Bill never
WOW oe he ae
Indeed, he had no means of ascertaining, since he was

x

placed at the bottom of a canoe and jealously covered
up, being fed at long intervals, but always under cover
of dark. : a

_it was might, and the storm had not quite spent its
violence, when he was suddenly uncovered and dragged
forth, to be exposed before the blaze of a mighty fire, the
cynosure of nundreds of fierce eyes. _ :

Instinctively he guessed the truth—this was the Pun-
nak village. oe

Yonder, beyond the great fire, where other though
smaller fires sent their smoke-rings curling up into the
darkened heavens, rose countless wigwams and lodges.

They rose tier upon tier up the sides of a tremendous
hollow, dark and rugged, crowned by immense redwoods,
being here and there broken by a leaping cascade, whose
dashing waters and clouds of foam sparkled and scintil-
lated in the glow of the great central fire.

The thunder of the falling waters echoed from crag
to crag through that mighty hollow. _ ee

The scene was weird in its startling contrasts, f=
Buffalo Bill swept his glance around, he espied i.
distance, beyond a dark, pine-clad ridge, portions of i.
mense walls, flanked by pinnacles of astounding size,
whieh gleamed like burnished brass. _ ae

Further still, there loomed indistinctly a mighty mass
whieh was neither forest nor mountaih.

All this he teek in at a glance, for his speculations
were quickly directed into another channel.

In his immediate vicinity, grouped about the mighty
fire, and forming a semi-circle around the upper portion
of a circular lake, were many hundred Shoshone warriors
and braves in all the glory of war-paint and feathers.
They were armed to the teeth, while the majority carried
the scalp-decked, keen-pointed lances.

These were the members of High Lance’s band.

Those nearest to the water, and but few in number
relatively, were armed with rifles and tomahawks; some,
indeed, carried revolvers—a grim but sure testimony to
the massacre of the pioneer gold-seekers. . oe

The moment Buffalo Bill was dragged forth they
closed around him, while a yell burst from the crowd
such as in all his experience he had never heard equaled.
It was deafening, ear-splitting, and calculated to try
the most iron-nerved. It sent a cold shiver down his
spine.
That some extraordinary event was impending) he
guessed from the manner of his captors, but its especial
nature was hard to divine, since there were no indica-
tions of a coming scalp or war dance. Next, his limbs
were liberated, and held in the powerful grasp of four
dog soldiers, he was led through a double line of High
Lance’s braves. .

Every eye was upon him, while a fresh burst of sav-
age war-whocps greeted his progress toward the fire-
lit village. :

Hailstorm had disappeared, but presently Buffalo Bill
espied him standing just outside one of the largest te-
pees in the village. oo me
- Nor was he alone, for hard by stood High Lance.

Neither of the two chiefs seemed on the best of terms,
a circumstance that was hardly surprising, seeing they

were both bent on proving their superior claims for the
hand of the queen. ay

ie

 
  

18 THE BUFFALO

- High Lance was scarcely inclined to give his rival the
full credit for the capture of Buffalo Bill. —

Hailstorm, being fully alive to the importance of the
capture, .was quick to resent his rival’s slurs.

Led forward by the four dog soldiers, Putele Bill
was ushered into the tepee,  ~

A group of fantastically-earbed Punnak Mystery Men
were assembled, each bearing aloft alighted pine-torch.

By a simultaneous flourish th 1ey swept : a blaze of li; ght
Full upon the important captive.

At the-same moment a flap was turned up at the fur-
ther end of the tepee, and a handsome maiden, tall and
supple, clothed in a robe of beaver-skins, and wearing a
boon atl of gold about her waist, moved softly in.

> Behind. her. towered'a weirdly horrible figure.

Buffalo Bill divined at a glance that this was Great

Snake, the chief Mystery Man.
_.. He wore a mask shaped like the head of a gigantic,
rattler, his medicine dress being strung with Sans of de-
formed animals, reptiles, and birds—the. hoofs of ie
with the claws and toe-nails of birds.

He carried no weapons, but a wand, ae in rude
resemblance to a snake, whose extended fangs contained
near the fork a small, oddly-shaped crystal, “seintill ating
with all the colors of the rainbow, as it caught the re-
flection of the torches.

This latter object recalled nde to Buffalo Bill's
rod the queerly-shaped crystal he had removed from the
person of the Mystery Man whom he had slain.

He still possessed it, and he felt a certain amount of
curiosity to learn its properties.

Seemingly, it was an emblem peculiar to the Mystery
Men, for he observed nothing of the kind in the possession
of either the warriors or dog soldiers.

The Great Snake, as Buffalo Bill had already gleaned,
was the father of the Shoshone queen.

Yet no greater contrast was possible than Berw een the
handsome, graceful maiden and her hideously-disguised
parent.

As the newcomers stepped forward, the Mystery Men
soe their torches and made a kind of obeisance—an

example which ‘the dag soils and Hailstorm, their
leader, were not slow to. follow. »

Buffalo Bill, who for the moment was released by his
captors, remained stolidly upright.

Both po Tongue. and. the Great ‘Snake eyed him
curiously. ©

His fame had preceded him, and the te that the great
Paleface Tracker was a prisoner in the Punnak fastness
added immeasurably to Hailstorm’s importance.

His less fortunate rival had not been admitted to the
tepee.

Springing to his feet, the chief of the dog soldiers ad-
dressed the queen: ©
“Behold, Sour Tongue, queen of the Ste shoue nation,
Hailstorm has succeeded where. all. other. Mate: have
failed!” he cried, proudly,

the great Buffalo Chief is his prisoner.

“Hailstorm might have borne. is. scalp into the vile,
po of the ‘Mystery Chieti sy

“He has-brought the great Basialo Chet. alive,. he
delivers him into “the Hands of ihe Auecn of the e Shoshone
_ nation. ee o a aa,

   

   

BILL STORIES.

“Ha baoan me spoken let Sour Tongue say whether
his speech finds favor in her ears.’

By way of response, the maiden turned a look, half a
fant, half-entreating upon the chief of the dog soldiers,

Buffalo Bill concluded that, while her heart favored
Haitstorm’s policy, some other motive equally powerful

' made her anxious to conciliate High Lance,

The last-named chief was Gehered in by one of the
assembled Mystery Men.

“The tongue of the dog chief sce eee he eried,
addressing i self more ‘particularly to the Great Snake,
although "he adopted, in some measure the form of his
rival by. addressing. the girl- “quéen by name, ° _

Let Sour Tongue hearken to the words of ae
Lance, and judge “between the two warrior chiefs of
the Shoshones.

“Two. moons ago, High Lance. fell upon the enemies
of the Punnak Mystery. “Men, the dogs of Apaches, who
call themselves Men of the W cod, |

“Full fifty scalps High Lance took, and not-one of the
Apache watriors. escaped.

“He was returning to the village of his fathers, when
he found two paleface chiefs in the hunting-grounds of

bis mane.

“They slew the Mystery Man, the servant - the Great
Snake, and High Lance vowed their destruction.”

A murmur of approval broke from the grotesquely-
clad torch-bearers, while-their chief, the Great Snake,
struck his lance, or wand, thrice sharply on the ground.

Sour Tongue and Hailstorm exchanged a furtive look,
which, to Buffalo Bill, told eloquently of a mutual un-
derstanding.

‘It was clear to him that Ha ilstorm was no favorite of
the Great Snake, the virtual ruler of these fierce redskins.

High Lance, with all an Indian’s cunning, had long
divined this; and now he was doing his utmost to gain
the Great Snake over to his side.

‘High Lance mourned two days for the slain Mystery
Man, whose body he committed to the water; then, di-
viding his band into two parties, he followed the palefaces
into the: mountains,

“He came upon them at the head of Ghost Valley. ne

“One he captured, but the medicine of the Great Pale-
face. Tracker was strong, and he escaped.

“The Great Spirit, in the watches of the night, ae
pered to High Lance that the Paleface Tracker would pick
up his trail in the hope of saving his paleface friend from
the great power of the Mystery “Chief.

“Then High Lance pitched, his tepee near Miya,
Lake. fy

“he Paleface Tracker followed him, but again his
medicine was too strong.

“By what means the “paleface Poaeed from Mystery
Lake, High ‘Lance knows not, for neither red nor white
man has ever escaped from. Mystery Lake ‘before.

“High Lance felt that the time had come to deliver
hiis prisoner to the great Mystery Chief. =

“He has done so, and now he seeks the aid of the
Great Snake: He claims the Paleface Tracker.

“Let Sour Tongue judge between her two chiefs.”

As the wily chief finished, the maiden stepped quickly
forward. and placed © bet, right . Pang on - - Hailstorm's
shoulder. ee
 

 
  

   

the paleface is strong.
tery Man to guard the paleface closely.”

THE BUFFALO

“Phe queen of the Shoshones | is content with the words
spoken by the Dog Chief,” she said. ‘The heart of
High Lance is bitter. He has appealed to the Great
Snake. Let the Great Snake answer him.”

She had barely time to finish, ere the Mystery Chief

stepped forward.

He was clearly beside himself with rage. His inten-
tion was unmistakable; favoring High Lance, he thrust
the uncanny wand into the latter’s eager grasp.

“This morn the heart of Great Snake is grieved by the
words of Sour Tongue; she loves the Dog Chief, and she
has judged foolishly.

“Tt is the will of the.Great Spirit that henceforward

the Shoshone nation be united under one supreme chief.

“As Sour Tongue cannot choose wisely, let the two
warriors settle their dispute here.

“One must fall, and the victor shall claim the toad
of the Shoshone queen. The Great Snake has spoken
Ae 99

Simultaneously the assembled Vey Men fell back,
and Buffalo Bill, still in the powerful grasp of the four
dog soldiers, was dragged to the opening of the tepee.

The rival warriors lost no time over preliminaries.
Both discarded their weapons, and with only their scalp-

-ing-knives, met midway in a fierce wrestle.

‘A yell of bitter defiance burst from their lips as they
grappled in that fierce embrace, which ‘meant certain

death to one of them.
The struggle was sharp and deadly, and was | brought.

to a speedy issue.

Hailstorm, being the cooler, prevailed.

One well-directed stroke tobbed his rival ef life, and
made him undisputed chief of the Shoshone nation.

Buffalo. Bill’s four guards raised a triumphant war-
whoop, while Sour Tongue directed an anxious look
toward the Mystery Chief, who ape oo not an-

ticipated the issue.

He recoiled with a grunt of anger.

Quick to follow up the advantage be had gained, Hail-
storm addressed Great Snake:

“Behold Great Father of Mysteries, the Dog Chief has
prevailed, and the hand ef Sour Tongue is his. To
Great Snake she gives his prisoner, but ‘the medicine of
Hailstorm would warn the Mys-

“Hailstorm has spoken wisely,” said the Mystery Chief,
making a sign to one er two of the torch-bearers, who
instantly stepped to Buffalo Bill’s side, while the dog
soldiers retreated.

Their fierce eyes seemed cared upon him in a hungry

‘manner—evidently they anticipated what followed.

The chief of the Mystery Men moved to the opening
ef the tepee with Sour Tongue and Hailstorm on each
side; then, in a deep, sonorous voice, he announced to
the assembled village that the Great Spirit, being angry
with High Lance for his failure to capture the Buffalo
Chief, had destroyed him, and made Hailstorm undis-
puted chief of the Shoshone nation.

A deep silence. broken at last by a few ominous mut-
terings, greeted this announcement. :

he | cunning Mystery Man saw that eaneuas was.

needed to appease the warriors, who had regarded High
Lance as head chief.

BILL STORIES.

    

y

He called the leading warriors together, and for. some
minutes held an animated discussion with them.

Subsequently Buffalo Bill learned that the warriors
disputed the power of his medicine, and demanded a sat-
istactory trial of the same before the assembled nation.

This Great Snake agreed to, and preparations were at
once made to settle the point of dispute by putting the
daring, scout to a test of skill and courage such as rarely
falis to the lot of any mortal.

The exact nature of this trial Buffalo Bill had no
Nae of ascertaining until it was actually thrust upon
um

Kept a close prisoner in the tepee, carefully guarded
by the Mystery Men, he was not led forth till something
like a coupie Gf hours had elapsed; then, surrounded by
a score of Mystery Men, he was being finally brought to
the open space near the head of the circular lake.

A striking alteration had been made. The immense
fire blazed up in the very middle of an inclosed square,
several hundred feet in extent.

The sides of the square were composed of pine branches
closely packed together, reaching to a height of some
four feet from the ground.

Behind these barriers were grouped warriors, braves,
squaws, afid pappooses, waiting in eager silence for the
coming trial, which was to decide the quality of the
Buffalo Chief's “medicine.”

Buffale Bill was led toward the fire by his captors.

His weapons had long since been removed, conse-
quently his feelings of surprise may be imagined when
the hideously-disguised medicine chief stepped forward
and thrust a very long, Rech: edged scalping-knife into
his hand... 5

The silence was profound, when the Great Snake ad-
dressed the surprised, yet helpless prisoner :

“The warriors of the Shoshone nation have heard the
fame of the Paleface Tracker, whose medicine is stronger
than the medicine of the bravest warriors.

“But their hearts are sad, and the words of the Great
Snake have failed to reach ‘their hearts.

“They would try the medicine of the Paleface
Tracker.’

“Tt is well, for the Mystery Chief, who can read the
secrets of the Great Spirit, knows that the Paleface
Tracker will prevail.

“His medicine is strong,
Snake is stronger.

“Now listen, warriors of the Sheshone nation: it is
the will of the Great Snake that when the Paleface
Tracker shall prevail, he shall pass through the village un-
harmed, and go where he will till the sun rise; then, if
he be seen by a warrior, let the warrior slay him if he
ean
“But, hear ea all, the Paleface Tracker is doomed.
“Before another moon shall come and go, his scalp
shall be fastened in the temple of the Great Spirit. The

but the medicine of Great

‘Mystery Chief has spoken; his words are good.”

Buffalo Bill listened to this harangue with a curious
sense of helplessness, being unable to divine the wily red-
skin’s motive for making those few hours of grace a con-
dition in the event of his successful issue through the
coming ordeal.

What this ordeal might be, . had, as yet, no means of

 
20 ‘THE BUFFALO
judging; for, contrary to atl expectation, his guards fol-
lowed their feader from the inclosure, leaving “him alone,
unbound, and armed with the naked scalping- -knife.:

As the Mystery Men withdrew, a deafening yell burst
from the watching throng, to be instantly followed by a
shrift chant, which jarred on the bewildered scout’'s nerves
most horribly.

The whole Shoshone Hanon was watching hime with
cruel, eager eyes, and, by a supreme effort of “the will, he
retained his composure.

Presently the warriors lining the inclosure began to
move around in zw circle, with short, measured steps.

Simultaneously, those beyond, including the whole of
the vast concourse, took up the uncanny refrain, while
small parties of the Mystery Men began to fill in the open
spaces in three of the four corners of the inclosure.

The scene was horrible in the extreme.

The hideous faces of the warriors, streaked in war-
paint, the fantastic dress of the Mystery Men, together
with the frightful din, which, grew louder and louder as
the warriors danced faster yet faster, their forms flash-
ing in the red glow of the great f fhe is

All at once ‘Buffalo Bill -caught sight of Hailstorm,
who, surrounded by his principal dog soldiers, was
making for the only means of ingress.

At the same moment he started back, literally staggered
by the horrible nature of his surroundings. A thread
of flame shot from corner to corner all along the in-
closure; then, as the inflammable substance kindled, rib-
bons of flames streaked mpw ard. He was hemmed in by
walls of living fire!

Yet no sooner had he become alive to this danger, than
he was confronted by another, while the true nature of
the ordeal was made plain to him.

His enemies had let loose a mountain-lion, and the
great, tawny beast, maddened by the proximity of the
flames, and catching sight of the human victim, sprang
forward, uttering a thunderous growl.

In a moment Buffalo Bill had nerved himself for the
encounter, while the. cougar stopped short in an atti-
tude not unlike that of a cat when about to leap.

At close quarters the brute looked twice his real size.

His mask and: forepaws were stained with blood, and
a3 he watched Buffalo Bill, he licked ‘his lips with a
relish that sent a cold shiver down the scotit’s back.

Fortunately, Buffale Bill was sufficiently versed in the

brute’s habits to know what tactics to adopt at the onset.

He knew that the cougar always strikes with its fore-
paws, like a cat, lacerating its victim with its sharp claws,
drawing with its muscular forearm until the fatal bite may
be inflicted, the brute invariably striving to bite its victim
in the head,

Quick as thought” he snatched off his jacket, and,
holding it before him with his left hand, advanced toward
the cr ouching monster,
cougar’s leap.

Simultaneously, Buffalo Bill sprang toes and the mon-
ster, with a howl of rage and fear, landed hard by the
great central fire. Wheeling sharply about, he rushed
at the daring scout, allowing the latter no time to execute
a similar maneuver.

With rare presence of mind, Buffalo Bill hurled his

coat into the monster’s ee

This movement precipitated the |

 

BILL STORIES.

Blinded by the garment, and taken at a disadvantage, —
the animal sprang into the air, and, by good fortune,
missed the scout.

. Then, leaping back a pace, Bafiatn Bill waited his op-
Decale and as soon as it arrived, thrust forward at the

beast’s side with all the strength at his command.

The blow took the brute behind the shoulder and be-
tween the ribs,

With a growl of pain es sioretier stumbled and rolled
upon its side.

For a brief space there followed a fearful struggle, il
lumined by the sea of fire, and watched by the savage
crawd with bated breath. To Buffalo Bill aH was vague.
‘The great foam-fiecked face and gleaming teeth of “the
tut came perilously near his shoulder,

Deeper and deeper he drove the scalping-knife into
the cougar’s body, and by swerving to one side, he es-
caped the monster's great paws..

At last, after what seemed an eternity ‘of suspense, he
felt the slackening of the great body, the movement of the
legs became gradually less, then the monster’s head
fell back with a groan, and he knew that the victory was
his.

He staggered to his feet, and as he. did so, a yell went
up irom the Mystery Men. The medicine of the Pale-

fac. Tracker had proved equal to the occasion, a hap- M

pening which none forgot had been foretold by the
Great Snake.
_ ‘The circumstance was recalled to Batlle Bill’s mind
by the grim silence which followed.

He was free till break of day!

Could he, in that interval, effect Wild Bill’s release?

That was the thought uppermost in his mind, as with
the blood-stained scalping- -knife in one hand, and the rem-_
nant of his jacket in the other, he tioved boldly and con-

- fidently through the narrow aperture at the further end
af that vast square of fire.

Warriors, braves, and squaws:all fell back at his ap-.
proach, regarding him with looks akin to awe. He had
astounded them, but at no little cost to himself, for the.
wound he had received in his shoulder, when. captured

. by Hailstorm’s dog soldiers, was bleeding afresh, while

the tremendous exertion bait taxed his. “strength more

than he cared to show.

“He made his way to a avout consisting of Hailstorm,.
the Mystery Chief, Sour Tongue, a several dog sol-
Ceti

‘Does the Great Snake suppose his ediome | is stronger
than the medicine of the paleface?” he demanded, boldly, |
narrowly scanning the group for some sign of relenting.

“The Great Snake has spoken ; let the paleface escape
from the Punnak village if he can,’ was the Mystery
Chief’s grim rejoinder. _ :

Buffalo Bill adopted a bald course.

Going up to the disguised savage, he said, sternly :

“The paleface seeks to escape, bit not alone. He
would see his paleface brother. Let the Great Snake be-

ware how he harms his paleface prisoner; for. every tree
in the red man’s hunting- grounds the pale nation can
count a warrior.
_ “Tf harm befalls the Great Snake's prisoner, not all the oe

_ Shoshone wartiors can save the Punnak village from the.
-paleface soldiers.” :

 

 

 
    

%

 

  

 

  

 

Thespeech was. not without ae The Mystery Chief
started slightly; nevertheless, his retort was equally hos-
tile.

“The words of the paleface are empty,’ he said,

“This night the Great Spirit has appointed the paleface

prisoner to die.
death of his brother ?
“But let him remember that the medicine of the Mystery

Man is strong, stronger than the strongest medicine of the
paléface warriors.

“These are the words of the Great Snake.

“The Buffalo Chief is warned,’ and so saying, he
glided away.

Buffalo Bill gazed from one to. another of the Bere
crowd.

His position was certainly novel, being free to move

where he chose till break of day, and then at the mérey .

of the first redskin who cared te make a bid for his scalp.
A wild thought oceurred to him te spring upen Hail-
storm and avenge Wild Bill’s end upon him; but by so
doing he would only precipitate matters, and he dismissed
the plan as unpracticable. -
He turned aside to hide alike his chagrin as well as a
feeling of faintness that was stealing éver him.

Leaving the hideous crowd behind, he directed his steps .

to the higher ground where the village stood.
His wh ole thoughts were centered upon Wild Bill’
danger; yet, try as “he might, it was impossible to cae

at any plan which gave even the slightest promise of suc-

cess.
Judging roughly, the village numbered Lonel leraby
over a thousand souls, while its commanding position

in that wild mountain: fastness rendered futile any hope

of escape. a
Yet he was not ietaed to remain iftactive, a ‘Passive
spectator of Wild Bill's fate.
Buffalo Bill, in all his vast and varied. experiences,
failed to recall anything e¢: xactly like the present.

Nevertheless he was not the sort of man to give way.

to despair.
The first thing needful was to ane to his imme-

diate wants, consisting of food, suitable weapons, and an,

effectual disguise.

Clearly he could do nothing in his present state.

By the time he came to this decision he was well in-
side the village, and seemingly unobserved.

The tepees rose tier after tier upon the mountain-side.
Sinall fires gleamed in all directions through the timber,
ana these twinkled and flashed like danger: signals,

Below, the scene resembled a horrible. nightmare,

By the immense camp-fire he could see the hideously-
bedecked crowd vag around and around in a fierce
ecstasy.

Most of the tiysaae Men were brandishing, lighted —

torches, which sent forth streams of flame and smoke.
A hey were performing the niysterious ehost-dance, al-
ways a prelude to the death of an important captive. .

For a while Buffalo’ Bill watched the ghastly scene,

stunned and bewildered ,by his own helplessness.
Then, like a flash of hope, a plan occurred to him.
With es eagerness, he scanned the vast amphi-

theatre of rocks, taking particular note of the lake and

the tremendous cascade which evidently fed tt.

PRM IN Nis Husbatinan <a resid A POS ae ake ibaa a eae Ate cate a Ra Meal

4

THE BUFFALO.

 

Would the Buttalo Chief behold the

head backwa

BULL STORIES, _ os

: The fireglow. dimly iNumined. nearly. the whole ef the
vast hollow, and from his point of vantage he was enabled
to catch a glinpse of the mysterious ruins to the west.
It was, however, an object behind them, which arrested |
his particular notice—a long stretch of shimmering, per-
pendicular rock.

Could it be the Wall of Gold Mine?

At another time the sight would have fascinated Bim.
It served a different purpose now.

Jt rendered him desperate.

In attempting to reach that mine, situated in the very
heart of the Punnak fastness, the man who had led the

pioneers had ag actuated by a motive little short of

criminal rashnes

Owing to a i aan’s folly, scores of valuable lives had
been lost, while his and W Hd Bill’s were now in immi-
nent jeopardy. —

Smothering an exclamation of anger, Buffalo Bill once

more directed his attention to his own imm ediate sus-

rou indine’s.

Far below, on the lowest slope, stood the tepee where
Hailstorm and High Lance had fought out their struggle
for supremacy, na

On a ledge directly above it, a large and imposing lodge,
decorated with be a ihe wigwam of a chiet
warrior.

Jt attracted his notice chiefly owing to the movement of

a figure in the vicinity.

Presently he observed the movement again, and then
a Warrior crept noiselessly inside. ce

} The redskin was armed to the teeth, and apparently

bent on effecting a surprise.

instantly Bu a Bill divined his object. He was one
of High Lance’s band bent on secreting himself tn’ Hail-
storm’s Oats : avenge his chiei’s death.

Tiere was the opportunity Buffalo Bill had longed tor:

‘lt he could: sé cure the red man’s weapons and dis-
euise, it would mean the initial bid for success!

CHAPIER: xX...
Spe rs oN we ere.

Moving down the slope with all the stealth of a red-
skin on the warpath, Buifalo Bul approached the lodge.

from behind, and cautiously raised one,of. the flaps. an.

inch er so from.the ground. . He was. not mistaken...
The marauding warrior was in the act of concealing
himself beneath a pile of bearskins.
eee sommodating his own movements to those. of. the.
redskin, in order that any sound he made might be cov-.
ered by. his enemy; he wormed his way beneath the flap,

and stole softly up to Hailstorm’s would-be assailant.

The redskin. heard him as he got within striking dis-
tance,

Instantly he essayed, to leap to. his feet, but Buffalo.
Bill was too quick. ant

With a spring he landed full upon the warrior’s chest,
and ere the latter could use the scalping-knife in his
‘erasp, Buffalo Bill, seizing him by the hair, struck his
rd to the ground with stunning force.

Without a groan, without a cry, the redskin’’ muscles |
relaxed, and he lay back stunned and helpless. -

“Buffalo ‘Bill's first act was to gag him, then, divest-

     
122 co

ing him of his war-trappings, and taking care to rernove
his feathers and wampum, as well as his tomahawk and
war-lance, the daring scout proceeded. to deck himself
out in the Shoshone garb.

By adroitly manipulating three Apache scalps, he made
a wig which, while it completely covered his own hair, re-
sembled as nearly as possible the long, lank hair of the
warrior he was bent on impersonating.

There was plenty of war-paint in the lodge, consisting
of red and white clay, vermilion and charcoal mixed
with bear’s grease.

By covering his hands, arms, neck, and shoulders with
the charcoal and bear’s grease, and his face with a thick

daubing of white clay and vermilion, he effectually altered
his appearance; then, slipping on the Shoshone wartior’s
leggins, fringed with scalp-locks, his breech-cloth, moc-
casins, and Povere robe, his disguse was completed by
the long train of dyed eagle’ S feathers, reaching from his
head downward. ‘ ‘

This done, he made a hasty meal off some cold roast.

venison, and then, as his denuded assailant began to
show signs of recovery, he wisely fastened the latter’s

ankles ante wrists iSuch a manner as to render movement

impossible,

He was loath to leave his own clothes behind; but
since there was no help for it, he fastened-them up in a
bundle and thrust them beneath the ashes of the fire-hole
in the center of the lodge. They would be consumed
by the red-hot embers long before Hailstorm entered.

The only thing of value he possessed was the curious
talisman’ which he had taken from the Mystery Man at-
tached to High-Lance’s*band. :

Pulling it ‘out, he thrust it carelessly into the wampum
pocket; then, snatching up his captive’s war-lance and
tomahawk, he emerged from the lodge.

So far fate had dealt kindly with him.

Being fully equipped, he was ready to ‘put his daring
plan into operation.

This consisted of making a bold dash to rescue Wild.

_ Bill at the critical moment, following this up by taking
to the water before his enemies could recover from their
surprise,

Nevertheless, when he stepped forth and viewed the

scene below, it was borne in tipon him that his plan would

need some revising.

The Mystery Men held the field entirely to themselves

Adorned in full regalia of relics, paint, bears’ claws,
and other oddments, they were yelling and leaping around
some inanimate object stretched upon the ground near
the central fire.

Buffalo Bill guessed only too surely that the object was
none other than his friend, Wild Bill.

He saw the hideous figure of the Mystery Chief leap
into the air to the accompaniment of an uncanny scream
from the rest. The crowd stood back at a distance of

something like fifty paces from the circle of Mystery

Men.

_ Here and there, as Buffalo Bill ored down, he eee.
a glimpse of a few glowing embers, all that remained
of the inclosure which had hemmed him in during his
terrible struggle with the mountain lion. —
At last, and not without some trepidation, he reached
the crowd of squaws, braves, and warriors. .

-the thongs securing his limbs.

 

THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES.

4

Ne

Would they detect his disguise, or would ue regard
him as one of themselves? was the question uppermost .
in his mind.

-He made his way as rapidly as possible to where a small
party of warriors had gathered; there, at least, he would
attract least notice.

Ner were his calculations far out.

He found to his great relief that the warriors never
once suspécted his identity, while, mingling with them, he —
soon learned some particulars of Wild Bill’s impending
fate.

He found that the Mystery Men were displaying the
power of their magic for the edification of the crowd;
that when Wild Bill had been brought into a state of
absolute helplessness, the Great Snake would give the
word, and the warriors were forthwith to cast the helpless
captive into the midst of the blazing pile.

So’strong was the Mystery Chief’s magic considered,
that the victim, who was neither gagged nor bound, would
be incapable of offering resistance or uttering a sound.
In silent anguish he would be consumed before their
eyes.
How much of this. was true, and how much was merely
the outcome of blind superstition, Buffalo Bill had yet to
discover.

He found his task ne easy one.

To play the part ef a warrior, and yet listen to the hoe
rible speculations of the rest upon the subject of his
friend's death, tried his courage and patience almost to
breaking point.

Still, with the knowledge that Wild Bill's life hung
upon the success of the daring plan he had thought out,
he contrived to master his feelings, and bide his time.

All at once the circle of Mystery Men opened out, en-

-abling Buffalo Bill to obtain a Bo glimpse of his Pree :

trate ead

Wild. Bill was stretched out at full! length upon the
ground, bound hand and foot, but as the Mystery Men
fell back, their leader knelt beside the captive and severed
Then, with lightning
speed, before Wild Bill could move, he made a “number —
of furious passes, his brown, shriveled hands working
up and down and from side to side with the speed of a
pair of humming birds.

Suddenly the Mystery Chief sprang up and began to
dance around the recumbent figure. At the same time
a strange cry seemed to creep up from the ground. It.

was caused by some of the Mystery Men, while others. —

now began to file into the open, uttering a wild, droning
cry, repeating the same bar again and again, though each.
time in a higher key, until it seemed impossible that they -
could reach a key still higher. -

The moment, however, they reached the climas a
deeper note sounded, and others took: up the refrain.

‘From a faint whisper ue noise changed to a. es and
then toa shriek.

All at once there was a pause, followed by a sharp,
metallic beating. —

A faint cry uprose, which grew deeper, when the wae
tiors joined in, shriller when the squaws took up the re-
frain, and furious when the entire crowd caught the high-
est note and hung to it with the full foree of their peck

It died away in a series of long drawn-out. echoes.

 

 

 

 
  

 

 

aK

 

 
  

 

iL

Again the faint, trembling ery began to ascend, then
ceased with startling abruptness.

Simultaneously the: Mystery Chief bent over his. pris-
oner, Wild Bill was motionless, and seemed absolutely
devoid of life.

3uffalo Bill’s heart beat anxious ily.

His attention was suddenly called off by a sickly oder,
which struck him full in the face. Glancing around, he
saw a number of the Mystery Men filing through the
crowd, each carrying a great bunch, or torch, of what
locked like grass that had been steeped in some resinous

- substance.

These they waved above. their heads to ‘keep them
alight, handing them finally to their companions in the
open circle. ;

At the same moment the 1 AMysers Men in the circle be.
gan their dance, They went very slowly at first, softly
waving their evil-smelling torches.

Gradually they became. excited, and faa faster and
faster, until they resembled electric figures.

As they danced they raised the torches frantically, and
shrieked at the top of their voices, |

a ing bits of grass flew through the air,

verywhere,

ue Buffalo Bil, almost overpowered by the sickly odor,
the whole thing seemed like some half-waking dream.

It was unreal and unnatural.

A mad longing possessed him to plunge his war-lance
into the heart of the hideous Medicine Chief; moreover,
the suspense was begun to try even his well-steeled
nerves.

The circle of dancers parting suddenly, enabled him
to get another glimpse of his friend’s body.

Wild Bill lay there entirely motionless, at a distance
of several yards from his cruel foes, who still continued
to dance, but with a slower motion, while at the same
time they lowered their evil- sinelling torches almost to
the ground,

That the crucial moment was near at hand, Buffalo
Bill had little difficulty in guessing, for the utmost ex-

and settled

-citement was now evinced by the crowd.

He kept his gaze alternately upon Great Snake and the

: apparently lifeless prisoner, © \

All at once a faint murmur broke from the watching
redskins, and Buffalo Bill felt his heart give a jump, as,
peering forward, he beheld a sight such as he could never
have imagined possible; such as, indeed, he had never
beheld in all his experiences with the Indians.

The body of Wild Bill. was gradually rising from the
ground! He was as rigid as a bar of iron, and ascended
very slowly, not with jerks, but with a regular, silent

me movement, until he had obtained a height of about three

feet above the ground, and here he stopped and hung

_ without a quiver or a motion. on his: bed of air, outraging
all the laws of gravitation. ©

Buffalo Bill was unable to ceca an exclamation of
wonder and alarm. The sight was uncanny, grewsome;

that it was no optical illusion was. patent, for the bot-

tom of Wild Bill's. jacket was Rane down and stirring
faintly in the breeze.

His hands were rigid at his aides! as though bound: é

there, and his entire body + ‘was as straight nat ae as. a.

: length BLUR i ea eee

THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES,

fre.

 

29°

Suddenly the torches flickered out, and the captive
began to descend in the same slow and stately manner,
until his body rested again upon the ground.

This was the moment which the eager warriors had
bee e awaiting,

Vith an “abruptness that was fairly startling, the
Mystery Men glided from the scene of their operations,
leaving their chief standing over the body of his victim.

Suddenly he raised both a arms, an at once a rush was
made for Wild Bill.
. Hailstorm and two dog soldiers were first to reach ae,
helpless scout. In a moment they had sipiched hae a
But that our was their last. a

With a yell such as no Shoshone could ever equal,
Buffalo Bill dashed to his friend’s rescue. One swift,
unerring stroke with his war-lance, and the keen point
was buri ed deep in Hailstorm’s heart,

Wild Bill was dropped heavily to the ground, as the
dog soldiers turned fiercely upon the disguised scout,

As yet neither they nor the Great Snake had reco gnized

im; and, taking prompt advantage of their confusion,
7 struck down ihe Nearest with a terrible blow from
his tomahawk... j eee

The Mystery Chief 1 tee a watning cry, but the ery.
came too late to save his own life. ' i

Pie Bill brought his wea apon around like a fash

f light, aiming the blow at the disguised chief's neck,

i truck the Mj ystery Chief just over the heart, and
he dropped, Eel lne like a bull buffalo.

The fate of the Great Snake seemed to arouse the

amazed crowd to action, though it was not until Buffalo

Bill assisted his friend to rise that they guessed the
truth.

The: Mvstery Men were the first to apprise them of
Buffalo Bill’s disguise.

A fierce rush was made for him. Lifted off his feet
DY half a dozen sinewy arms, an effort was made to fling
him headlong into‘the fire.

He was saved by something little short of a miracle.

The Mystery Man’s talisman, which, when completing
his disguise, he had thrust carelessly into the wampum
pocket, rolled out, alighting upon the edge of the great
‘Then a wonderful thing happened. The yelling
crowd surged around with upraiséd weapons, which next.
moment were quivering in a light of intense brilliancy.

Simultaneously the. reds kins, Warriors, braves,. and
Mystery Men alike, fell back, uttering cries ‘of abject fear.

Dropped by the very edge of the fir e, Buffalo Bill
sprang up, and with difficulty, owing to the almost blind- |
img properties of the light, gob his way to where Wild
Bil had fallen,

"Ouick, Bill Domus you Gadus me?” he cried, drag-
ging » the latter to his feet. “There’s a chance now, if we
can een the water in time. I rather fancy those red
fiends have had enough magic to last them a lifetime.
Anyway, while this blaze lasts, they don’t seem inclined
to follow, Quick! Here we are.’

A painful sigh of relief was the only reply Buffalo
Bill received from his friend. o

Wild Bill's faculties seemed numbed; indeed, his daring -
companion was forced to guide him like a child. Five.
war canoes were fastened near the head of the lake, and
thither Buffalo Bill directed his fei,

  
   

24

The moment, however, that Wild Bill sighted the wel-
come craft, he ‘seemed to shake off the stupor which had
held him spellbound so long.

He stopped short and gripped his companion fier cely.

Buffalo Bill’s quick laugh disarmed his fears, and for

the first time he recognized beneath the grotesque dis-

- guise his chief and friend.

“Buffler, old pard! is it you?
gasped.

“T guess them red fiends fixed me some close to the big
divide. ‘

“Them magic rites war darned frightful.

“Ef we gets outer this yere hole, no power on earth
will induce 7 B. Hikok ter make this trail again.’

“I’m aiming to get out, Bill; but I reckon it's going
to be a close shave. The redskins are after us.’

“Sink them canoes; Buffler!” said Wild Bill, hurriedly.

The same thought had entered Buffalo Bill's swiftly
working mind, and both simultaneously catching up
heavy stones, dashed them through the frail bottoms of
two of the craft, which immediately began to settle rap-
idly in the water. Hastily severing the “connecting leath-
ern thongs from the wrecks, they leaped into the fore-

most canoe, and Wild Bill, seizing a paddle, sent the craft
swiftly over the rippling water.

But the pursuing Shoshones had already re the
bank, and in a moment the remaining two vessels were
manned by about a score of hideously bedizened red
fiends, while the rest of the dog warriors, headed by one
of the minor chiefs, dashed off “through the under growth
to follow by land.

To a chorus of shrill yells and deafening war- whoops
the chase had begun.

The situation of the two men was indeed desperate.

They had but barely eighty yards’ start of their pursu-
ers, who were gaining on them perceptibly with almest
every stroke of the padlles. :

Wild Bill, weakened as he was by the ber rible hours of
mental and physical suffering through which he had just
passed, could not perform such an amount of effective
work as could his companion, whose strength had been

Thaak Heaven!” he

comparatively untaxed, and though he struggled man-

Tully. for about half a mile, the terrible exertion was too
much-for him.

Hardly a word ed between the two, as on they
sped, the moon fitfully stealing through the dense clouds
overhead, showing them occasional glimpses of the dark

forms of their pursuers moving swiftly through the un- -

dergrowth upon the shore on the one hand, and those
in the canoe, churning the water about them inte seeth~
ing foam, as they forced it with strenuous strokes nearer
and nearer to the quarry.

In grim silence the two men struggled on, till at on
Buffalo Bill, noticing the failing strength of his com-
panion, began to cast about in his mind for some plan of
action which would be swift and decisive.

They were comparatively unarmed, but for the lance’

and tomahawk which he had taken from the Shoshone

watrior, and another tomahawk which they had found
lying in the bottom of the canoe, left by its last occupant... -

On they pressed, Buffalo Bill ‘silently working with

magnificent energy in the stern, planning swiftly somé —

THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES.

i

way of escape, and Wild Bill, panting and paddling with
the energy of despair, in the bow of the frail craft.
In a few moments the resourceful mind of the scout
had formed a plan, as ‘magnificent as it was desperate,
and simultaneously with his mental decision came a chok-
ing cry from Wild Bill.

“Its no go. Buftler, old pard, I ain't got mictice

ounce of push lef’ in me.

“Tm blamed sad ter think yer’ve got into this mess

all for the sake of a puddle-headed coyote like me, pard,

and I guess it ‘ud ’a’ been a sight better for yer to hev
left me up at the camp ter die at fu’st at the hands o’
them dirty red fiends.

“All ther same, I Toe and thanks yer fer yer de-
votion, Buffer, and I’m on’y sayin’ thet ’m sad ter think
I’ve led yer in ter this mess.”

“Nonsense, Bill, we’re not by any means dead yet, and
while we've got a chance we'll take it, and I should think

“myself a coward to have left you to death by torture, be-

cause I saw an opportunity of saving my own skin. But
new is the time for action, Bill, so the tighter we can keep
our heads shut on the subject of sentiment the better.
Do you just keep the canoe moving while I attend to
these fiends behind. We've little to fear, I think, from
those on the shore, as we're too far out to be reached by a

\ tomahawk, and they have no rifles as far as I know.”

-Coolly and collectedly spoke the scout, as if not a breath

‘of danger threatened, and Wild Bill turned as he paddled

to gaze with admiration and almost with awe at the iron-
nerved Buffalo Bill. :

Not a sign did the scout give of his intention, and not
a word of explanation did he vouchsafe by way of answer
to the astonished questioning gaze of his companion.

He sat silently gazing astern at the pursuing craft, and |
when at-last the leading canoe was within about a dozen
yards, he rose swiftly, and grasping a tomahawk in his _
right hand, and the Shoshone lance in his left, stood for
a moment poising the hatchet ready for the throw.

Then did Wild Bill understand the “chance” which
his companion had referred to, and immediately he con-
centrated his attention on steadying the frail bark, so
that the scout should have every opportunity of making
a true aim with the weapon.

Nearer and nearer came the pursuing craft; the red-
skins, either at a loss to understand this strange maneuver
of their foes, or merely regarding the pursuit as finished :
and the victory with themselves, uttered no sound, and —
only the vicious splashing of the paddles, and the hissing
of the foam they tore up, broke the deathlike stillness.

They were but ten yards _ off now, and the intervening :
space was lessening every moment, eight, seven, six, five,”
and then like a flash the glittering weapon leit the hand
of Buffalo. Bill on its errand of destruction. | ee

ee

 

 

 
   
 
  

The Indians raised a yell of terror and rage as they
saw the course the tomahawk was taking, and endeavored
to back the canoe out of danger. But too late! the aim
of the ot had been unerring, and the hatchet with an
ugly “zip” tore through the bow of the leading canoe,
just below the water-line.

In a moment the craft was half full of water, no
would have sunk, but a warrior,
resource than the rest, sprang forward, and placing a

leather pouch over the jagged hole, endeavored to stop |

the inrush.

But Bufiale Bill had. Got cn some nae possible event,
and like a flash he cast his lance, transfixing the Indian,
who flung up-his left arm, and pitched over into the

waves, unluckily for his comrades, retaining his grasp

on the edge of the hole and ripping a great sheet of bark
from the side of the frail craft as he fell.

In another second the canoe had sunk, and its late occu-
pants were struggling in the water.

_As soon as he had seen the success of his maneuver,
the scout again seized his paddle, and commenced to
place as much distance between the enemy as he could;

in this he was aided. by his companion, for in the short
_ time that sufficed for these incidents to take place, Wild
Bill had had an opportunity for a brief rest, of which he |

had availed himself, and the two sped on again in silence.
In a little while Cody turned his head to glance at the
pursuers; and then with a glad cry he called a halt.

“See, pard,” he said, “we’ve had the good fortune to

- win the victory with two single blows.”

It was indeed so.
As soon as the foremost carioe had sunk, its occupants

_ had immediately made for its consort, and the united rush
to the side of the little craft had been too much for it, and
even as the scout watched it capsized, and a score of

dusky warriors were struggling in the stream.

a Yells and guttural exclamations of baffled rage were

borne to his ears, as the dark forms of the swimming

' tedskins at length reached the bank.

~ The pursuers on the shore had abated the chase
when it became apparent to them that, without the aid of

_ the war canoes to captute or drive the scouts ashore,

there won be nothing fo ‘gain by their continuance of it

alone.

aN ne silence ensued, as the two companions paddled

lowly on, which was at last broken by Wild Bill.

~ Waal, Buffler,” he said, “I guess I owes yer some-

thing more’n thanks fer this yer night’s work—some-

thing as.I reckon I shall be glad ter give yer jes’ as soon
as yer wants it, and thet something is my life, pard.

= ‘Twice i in a few hours yer has saved me ther mortifica-
tion o’ hevin’ ter pass in my checks ter a parcel o’ dog- |

sean

evidently of more .

 

 

THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES. 25

   

gored ct fiends, and 'm blamed sensible of the debt I .

owes yer.”

He ceased paddling as he finished speaking, and turn-
ing about in his place, frankly extended his hand to his
fend and protector.

For a moment the scout held it in a silent grasp of
friendship.

“Wid Bill,” he replied, “we have been together in a
good few tight corners lately, and if I have done my duty
under trying circumstances, I am assured that it is not
more than you would have done had you been in my
position, and that if ever I need a gallant comrade to help
me out of a mess and you are close by, you ue be- the
first to.lend a hand.

“So we'll say no more, pard, for you fattest not pa fae
much value on the little assistance I have been able to
render you to-night.” “

For about an hour longer they kent on their course.

Wild Bill, espying a little creek, suggested that ney
should camp on its shores for the night.

Having thrust the nose of the canoe into the reeds, the
two men sprang ashore, and sank wearily upon the grassy
slope of the bank.

But despite the feeling of comparative security, Buffalo
Bill was keenly alive to the fact that they were not by ul
means out of danger yet.

‘They were, with the exception of the single remaining

tomahawk, and the knife that he had retained, entirely —

unarmed, cast upon the shore of a lake, at any moment
likely to be recaptured by their relentless foes, or stricken
with the fever with which the heavy steaming atmosphere
was too obviously laden.

A glance at his friend showed him that he was too
utterly exhausted to allow them to proceed on their j jour-
ney befere some hours’ rest had been taken by him.

Not daring to light a fire, for fear that the smoke

should acquaint the foe with their whereabouts, Cody

set to work to collect some of the berries which had sus-
tained him in his previous experiences in the mesquite
bush, to be eaten in lieu of cooked food.

When this was done, and the two had made a hearty
meal—if it could be called a meal—the scout, stretched
upon the ground by the side of his comrade, remarked

upon the lucky escapes from death by the hands of sav-

ages that had come under his notice.

This he did partly to keep up the spirits of his friend,

and partly to while away the tedium of waiting for his
friend’s slow recovery. iS

“T remember,” he said, “old Senator Duncan Me-
Arthur telling me of a somewhat similar SP to

- ours of to-night.

“He was one of a band of three bee scouts, oe
had escorted a packet-boat from Maysville, Kentucky,

   
26 ;
up the Ohio River, to a point past the Big Sandy, where
the country was considered safe for the voyagers, and
were on their return down the river in a canoe, which
had-been taken up with them for this purpdse.
“When nearly opposite the mouth of the Scioto, a
tributary of the Ohio, Duncan said to his companions’:
“I say, boys, just put me ashore here, and I'll go up
to a deerlick, right over the hill yonder, and see if I can
bring in some game. A little fresh meat now will not be
a bad thing to take.’ :
‘Don’t you think it too risky right here now, Dun-
can?’ queried one of his companions. ‘You know, on our
way up, we found a canoe sunk in the mud on the other
side of the river, which was proof enough that a party of
Indians had crossed over there, and it’s just as like as not
they’re back here again and prowling around; it may be
watching us fromthe very point where vou want to land,’
“The young man laughed. )

“<°Ts hear words of caution from Nat Beasley is like |

listening to the devil quote Scripture,’ he said, gayly.

“"T don’t often do it, that’s a fact,’ was the rejoinder,
‘but somehow I seem to smell Indian in the air to-day.’

“Well, Il risk my part of it if you are not afraid to
‘land me,’ returned the intrepid Duncan.

“AI right, then, and ashore you go, even if it’s good-
by forever,’ said the other, as with his long paddle he
sent the canoe toward the land. .

““Do you want me to go along
asked the other one of the three.

““No, Tom, you had better stay in the canoe with Nat,’
“was the answer. ‘li there is any danger one will be
enough to lose.’ |

with you, Duncan?’

“*Yes, and one too many; my friend. Shall we wait
for you here, or drop along down?’
| “Oh, the latter, decidedly, for if the savages are about
“here they might surprise you and cut us all off. Besides,
if they should see you waiting here they would be certain
of somebody being aa and then they would either
attack you or ane me.’
“After getting ashore, young Duncan moved cautiously
forward, atidiue through the bushes almost as silently as
a serpent till at Jength he reached the deerlick, and

stretched himself on the ground to patiently await the
coming of some creature that would be worth the shoot-

ing. No sights or sounds broke the dull monotony of his

lonely watch until he found himself unconsciously yield- :
ing to a drowsiness that would soon have ended in an”

unconscious sleep.

“At length rousing himself with a start he looked
sharply around, and fancied he saw the bushes carefully

parting on the other side of the lick.
“Well, something at last, I hope, ’ he said to himself.

“But the something he saw was not the something he —

stand my ground for hand-to-hand fight,’

THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES.

2

was wanting to see, for as the bushes parted' farther he

~ beheld first the grim face of one savage, and then that of

another, pushed cautiously forward, their black eyes
seeming to glitter as they a the oe scene before
Le
“They had evidently come’ hither for the same ohicct
as himself, the hope of surprising some animal at the
spring; and when they found there was none they stepped
boldly forward, and stood revealed in the open space
around the lick, which the saline overflowing always kept
clear and bare of vegetation. !

“It was a critical point of time in his adventurous
career, and thoughts rapid as lightning whirled and
flashed through his dizzy brain, sending a burning heat
down through every portion of his physical system.

“At least, if I must die, I will only yield to fate after

I have done my best for life,’ was his mental comment,
-as he ran his eye along the barrel of his rifle and took de-

liberate aim at the heart of the most formidable of the
two warriors, who chanced to be facing him, and was
looking down into the spring. ‘I can at least kill one of
them, and then I shall be man to man with the other.’
“With this last determination he pulled the trigger.

‘The forest resounded with a loud explosion, and the

Indian he had selected for his target dropped motionless
at the feet of his companion, who, contrary to savage

‘precedents, did not turn’to fly, but grasped his loaded

weapon and pointed it at Duncan.
“ “There is no merit in waiting here to be shot like a

dog, thought the young white borderer, as he suddenly

bounded to his feet and ran in a zigzag manner up the

hill behind him, to DEEVEns his foe from taking a _ certain

aim.
“With fierce yells of rage ‘the ee darted forward

in pursuit.

“As Duncan neared the brow. of the hill he anced
over his shoulder to see how great the danger was behind,

and perceived the Indian coming at full speed. There

was not a moment to be lost, but ashe turned his head
again to see his course, and made a desperate spring
forward, he suddenly, to his horror, found himself en-
tangled in the branches of a fallen ier.

“He was this caught like an insect in the meshes of a
spider, and, while making the most desperate exertions to
free himself, his savage pursuer, secing his predicament,
madé a quick halt, drew : up ie om, took 4 7 a and
fired.’

“Fortunately for. Dancin, the Indian was not a perfect

_ marksman, or else his firearm did not carry accurately,
for the ringing bullet sped past him, but so close to ‘his :

head as to cause him to cast it to one side itistinctively.
“ ‘Now, then; that his gun is as empty as mine, I will
muttered the

 
-. border scout.

 

 

 

 

  

Tt shall never be said that I fled like a
coward from a single fee.’

“With this he was about to come out of the tree on the
same side as he had entered it, when suddenly the forest

-resounded with a series of the most appalling shrieks.

and yells that seemed to curdle his blood, brave as he was,
and, glancing off to the right, he saw at least a dozen
savages come leaping and bound forward through the
- bushes.>

“Now it was instant flight alone that could save him,
and quickly extricating himself from his perilous position,
he dashed over and down the opposite side of the hill,
the Indians, all screaming, after him in fierce pursuit.

“When he had reached the foot of the declivity he un-
fortunately had another ridge to ascend, in order to keep

the course which would the most speedily take him to the
river in sight of his companions, his principal hope.

“As he struggled up the acclivity, therefore, he be-
came a fair target for his bloodthirsty foes, who were
in the act of rushing down the opposite slope; and at
least twenty shots were fired at him in quick succession,
but Providence still kept him unharmed. :

“But he was not to escape entirely free, for after a
brief interval there came a single shot, as if the marks-
man had paused for a more deliberate aim, and he felt the
‘shock of something strike his side, and then the blood
- flowing freely dewn to his feet. That the ball had passed
completely through him, and probably given him a mortal
wound, he did not for a moment doubt, and his only
wonder was that he still had strength enough to pursue
his flight and did not faint nor fall.

“He reached the top of the ridge, ran down the other

- slope, and up another acclivity, with such wonderful

celerity, that his savage pursuers only came in sight of
him again as he neared the summit.

ing his scalp, he escaped without another wound.

“This was the last he saw of his foes; and altering

his course, a little he ran toward the river, where he
hoped to find his. companions.

_ “To his inexpressible joy, as he came in sight of the
Ohio, he beheld them nearly opposite to him.

_ “He shouted to them, and they hastened to the shore,
ee Duncan met them, blood-covered and out of breath,
and really dying, as he believed.

“They were alarmed at his condition, and as soon as

fs _ they had got safely out into the, middle of the stream

: again, they examined his wound. |
o. “To their great joy and his, it was found that the ball,
instead of passing through him, as he had supposed, had

_ THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES.

They had loaded
- their pieces in the meantime, pues and they all now
fired at him again; but though two of the bullets cut his-
clothes, and one passed through his hat, just barely gtaz-

    

27,

struck his powder-horn, and driven some of the splinters
into his flesh, which had caused the blood to flow freely,
but in reality had only inflicted a trifling wound, from
which he speedily recovered.”

A few moments’ silence followed the close of Cody’s
narrative, until he rose from his reclining oe and re-
marked, with a smile:

‘So, you see, Bill, we are not the only ones who occa-~
sionally find that they have to be dependent on Provi-
dence for a little timely intervention. If McArthur’s
powder-flask had not intercepted the bullet, and if those
rascals had not upset the second canoe themselves to-
night, Duncan and you and I might at this moment be
exchanging greetings on the other side of the big divide.”

After another hour’s rest, spent in a peaceful doze by
Wild Bill, and in alert and ceaseless vigilance by Cody,
the two, as by mental consent, rose, and embarked once
more on their journey.

Taking it in turn to propel the canoe, they made rapid
progress.

The dawn broke, and found them skirting the great
forest.

All through the day and the succeeding night they
pressed along, seeking neither rest nor food till they had
crossed the portage and recovered the weapons which they
had hidden in the bluff where the river took its pene
eastward.

Ten days later, weary, ragged, and well-nigh unrecog-
nizable, they entered Long Pine Settlement.

The story of their sufferings, and their description of
the Shoshone fastness in the heart of the Sierras, sufficed
to deter even the most foolhardy and reckless miners from
seeking the Wall of Gold Mine.

Wild Bill nevér took that trail again. He had been
kept a prisoner in the mysterious mine, of which Buffalo

‘Bill had obtained a glimpse/ and the horrors of his cap

tivity, together with the temporary loss of his faculties
on the night when the Mystery Chief displayed the power
of his magic, made him vow that he would never more
undertake a trail beyond the prairies.

And even Buffalo Bill, although fate destined hint to
go over the same ground on a subsequent occasion, had
no relish to repeat that awful and never-to-be-forgotten
experience—his life struggle.

THE END.

Nee week’s issue, No. 95, will contain “Buffalo Bill’s
Gallant Stand; or, the Indian’s Last Victory.” A story
of desperate fighting against the redskins and some of

the most thrilling adventures in the life of the greatest of

scouts.
Wild journeys in the Bad bends and the last fight made
by the Indians there are described in this issue,

 
 

 

Next week is the fast one of the present contest.

So, get a move on you, boys, if you hla to get a ea ee *

‘The prizes are worth while.

A little effort will win one.

The new contest will be announced next week. 9 8) ba
Fog full particulars, see page 31. a

 

-In Mexico.
(By Robert Welty, Marion, Ohio.)

One hot evening in July, 1 went to bed quite early,
something | had never done before. It took me quite a
while to go to sleep, but when I did, 1 dreamed the fel-
lowing :

I was in Mexico—how I Bol there I did not know.
: knew-is that I got there with my friend, Jack Switzer,

1 jolly German lad of about sixteen, As we walked
Mone the streets we noticed a very large temple. As we
did not know where.to go to, we thought we would take
a look at the inside,
ne at any one around us, nor caring whether
looked at us or not.

When we got on the inside eran g looked grand
and magnificent. When, all of a sudden, a a score of dark-
jooking men came rushing on us, yelling like madmen.
We started to run, but we did not know where to run to.
Suddenly’ a young boy of about aur own age, Cale
rushing out from. behind a curtain and yelled to us:
“Fol How me!” We followed him up one flight of stairs
and then another, At last we got to the roof, and there
1¢ disappeared. ‘| : oo
- Jack saw a window, and, looking out, could see the
street far below. Suddenly from a side room there came
about a dozen of those dark men.

All

they

they pushed into us so hard that I was knocked out of
the window. Down I fell to a great distance. I gave
myself up for lost! What was that I struck?
‘the telephone wires. That saved my life,

I then began to crawl to the nearest telephone post,
and. began ta. descend.
untold ‘dismay, Jack, whom I left ur
oe past me,

Up. the steps we waiked, not look-

vat was.

As I neared the bottom, to my.
in the temple, came,
Poor fellow, ne was dead before he

When the men who
were running us came up with us, they eame so fast that.

>

‘Actitious, novel af. Oe Crusades of the Druids,

eleried, vehicle of my own contrivance.

lay this wonderful palace.

_to his majesty’ 8 abode, I secured. my van a a.tree (to —
prevent its running away, |. Stes
once challenged: me with the te
: 1h ae

reached the ground. But at this juncture I slipped ae
fell, but as I was near the bottom it did not hurt me
very much. Here I awoke to find myself downstairs.

t was very sore after my dream. I never knew ‘how I
got down except by falling, down the stairs. The only
thing for me to do was to go back to > bed, as it was
nearly morning.

 

AR Realistic Dream.
(By Horace E. Wyolentt, Weatherfo rd, Okla.)
bor the past three years I have. been annoyed with

sommanibulism, or sleep-walking, And the adventure

which 1 am about to relate came very near causing my
deat.
One dy in Helena, Mont.,-a friend and myself had

visited an old, abandoned gold mine in the near vicinity.

That. night, having deeply engrossed my. thoughts in a
L could
think of nothing else. On retiring, 1 found I could not
sleep for several hours. Finaily, having pa into a
troubled sleep, I dreamed I eould not sleep. I thought
4 was in- Peru, in South America. It a that I de-
cided to get up one dress myself and pay a visit to the
“underground. palace of the Druids.”

I. thought I departed from my room and oneanad an
Having started
the electrical machinery i in operation, I thought i “directed
the course of my electrical van in the Cuseiion in which

 

  
   
  
  

“Having arrived, after much hard riding, at the entrance .

    
  
   

 

  
  
 

tinel at.

   

 

 

 

han ee i ee

gupta te

Seige
 

 

 

: ing:

 

  

after which he cnet me to pass through ee massive
folding- -doors which had now noiselessly opened to ad-
mit of my entrance.

I now thought I descended numerous flights of
stairs of gold and silver. Having arrived at the” ground
flodr, | was again accosted by a sentinel, who demanded
the password. I replied: “All is not gold that glit-
ters,” After which he rang for a servant. A valet in
“gorgeous livery appeared and conducted me into the
presence of his majesty, the King of the Druids. It
seemed as though I was previously acquainted with this
royal personage, for he extended his arms, saying:
“Enter, noble prince of the Druids. ’

After having had dinner in a magnificent dining-
room, all ablaze with gold-and jewels, the king led me
to his private apartments, stating he had something of im-
portance to relate to me. I thought we seated ourselves
in golden chairs at a table with a massive top of gold,
laden with the choicest wines and cigars.

“My son,” began the king, what I have to relate to
you is an important secret.” I bowed respectfully. * “It
is this,” continued he, “) aniin love:* 1 do not know
why, but d thought this news produced quite an effect
on me.

‘The object of mv affections,” resumed his majesty, “‘is
the fair daughter of a millionaire at Lima, whose name
is Ve "seemed. that : bounded to my feet with
a loud ery:

The name he mentioned was identical to that borne
-by the girl to whom I was engaged to be married!
“Sir.” I replied, “this same man to whom yout refer ‘is
the father of the girl to. whom I am engaged. And,
since he has but one daughter, the object of your af-
fections must be my Mamie.” This declaration enraged
the king, who bounded forward with a fierce oath on
his lips, “You,” he hissed, “you dare to tell me that
you are in love with this girl!”

“T ean prove it,” 1 replied.

“Then, by Heaven,” stormed the king,
leave this place alive.”

I thought he came toward me, and it seemed as if I
detected hued in his eyes. Grasping me by the col-
lar, he dragged me through the door, along a dark and
harrow passage, and stopped at what appeared to be a
black and yawning chasm. |

I tried to resist, but I.was powerless. I seemed to be
immovable. I cried out again and again, but the only
answer ‘I received was the echo, which seemed to be,
“You are doomed,’ 7.)

 

“you shall not

The king then gathered me in his:arms, and, with a.

demoniacal laugh, hurled me into the gaping pit.
The light. seerned to fade, and darinece reigned over
all. 7 thought the fall had killed me. TI felt that I was
dead. Of a stidden I seemed to raise myself up, cry-
“T will not die!’
bake! At first I could searcely realize that I was alive,
All- was darkness and silent as the tomb. I felt a dull
aching in my head, My ideas were confused. I tried
_ to rise, but my limbs were so stiff and sore that I sank
back with a stifled eTean: 7
“Where was I?” I asked my self.

T felt about me; on
two sides was a rough and jage

eed stonewall, before

: a and behing mie was space. i then felt for my clothing to"

  

“THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES.

- Indian village.
Then, with a sudden start, 1

-an Indian, and a negro.
ney caught sight of me, and were just going to shoot

29

see if I was dressed. I was, ne fortunately, had a supply
of matches in my pocket.

Striking one, I could discern by its sickly rays a long
and narrow underground tunnel. Quick as a flash, the
truth occurred to me, I was in an abandoned mine!

The next thing then was to get out of this place. By
a superhuman effort I managed to gain my equilibrium,
Once on my feet, I began a tremendous stamping to start
my sluggish blood to circulating. I next took from my
pocket some old letters, and, twisting them into a torch,
lighted it. My. confused thoughts slowly righted them-
selves and 1 knew that in my sleep I had entered an old
mine.

By the aid of the torch I was enabled to see my way
for a considerable distance. And, oh, horrors! right
where I had lain was a wide, deep shaft. Glancing up,
I perceived another tunnel. Then I knew that I had
fallen from this passage above to the one below. I trem-
bled at the thought that had I fallen into the shaft de-
scribed, 1 would have met instant death.

I managed to climb to the upper passage, which I
supposed was the main one.

On reaching this, I saw daylight ahead, and knew this
was the surface tunnel.

As I walked along, the horror of my dream came back
to me with fearful distinctiveness.

You may be sure that I was overjoyed on again see-
ing the light of day. The mine proved to be the one I
had visited the day before. .

That night I had really gotten up and dressed and
visited the ‘ ‘underground palace,” which proved to be
an old gold mine. How I had gotten there, I never knew,
unless the “electrical van” had been a Street car. One
thing, though, I lost no time in making my way down
the mountains to the Hauser Boulevard and taking a car
home. On reaching there I learned that it was 4 P. M.,
the eve of the next day after the night on which occurred
“A Realistic Dream,”

Caught by Indians.
(By Carmelo Guinta, Boston, Mass.)

I dreamed that my father was a rancher. He had
one thousand cows and seven hundred and fifty horses,
and also Winchester rifles, Colt revolvers and bowie
knives. He also had saddles, gold mounted, and bridles,
One afternoon I was riding out on the prairie with a bowie,
two revolvers, and a repeating rifle hung on my saddle-
horn, and a lariat. I had been riding for a dozen miles,
when suddenly six Indians sprang upon me. They
bound me up tightly. Then they searched me, but I was
lucky. They did not search me in my coat sleeve where
there was a little Derringer. They brought me to an
They gave me a buckskin coat and pants,
also a bow and arrow. One day I was out hunting with an
Indian boy, when | decided to escape. So I killed the boy.

While I was getting reac to escape, I heard a voice say-

ing, “We must find that boy or he’ll get killed.” I went
to see who it was, and, to my surprise, | saw that it was
They were two scouts. Then

me when I told them I was captured by Tidieas. They

told me to go with them, but z told them the best way
 

  

30 me

was to send a troop of cavalry. Then they mounted and

rode out.of sight. When I came to the village it was
‘dark. The first thing they asked me was where the In-
dian boy was. I told them he was killed by a bear.
‘They bound me hard to a tree and they went to the spot
where he was killed. In the night they did not return, for.
an Indian squaw came running over and said in broken-
English that they were killed, wounded or captured by’
soldiers. I was glad when I heard that. One day a
great big miner came up to me in seme secret way and

told me that my father would give a large amount of |

money if any one would bring me back to the ranch.
He untied me and gave me a revolver. While he was
giving it to me an Indian sprang upon him. I grabbed
his revolver and fired. He fell dead. The-other In-
dians heard the shot and ran to see who was shot. The
miner and I went in hiding, and while they were look-
ing at their dead comrade, we killed ten more.

‘When the Indians heard the shots they thought soldiers . so

were nearby, and they ran off like rats, when they see a
cat. While we were in hiding something struck me and
my friend. We were unconscious. When we came to,
we found ourselves inside a wigwam.
troop of cavalry arrived with a piece of artillery, and
they shot all the Indians in the village, and, afterward, I
was free once more. J met my father at the fert, and
while I was speaking with him, I awoke to find myself
on the floor.

 

A Dream of Horseback Riding.
(By Charles E. Larrabee, Auburn, Me.)

One night I was feeling very tired, so 1 went to bed
very early, and soon dropped asleep.. That night I
dreamed that I was out in front of my house riding on a
horse, which was trying to throw me off. I could not
jump off, so all I could do was to hang on to him. It
seemed to me as though I was standing on my _ head.
And, oh, how big my head felt when I awoke, and I was

jumping up and down, crying for all I was worth. I _
screamed to my mother to take me off that horse, and ~
she came and found me crying and told me it was:only

a dream. I was not on a horse, and I never wish to go
through such an experience again. This‘%is a true dream.

 

eee

Chased by Catamounts.
(By Price Smith, Albany, Ga.)

T had been used to playing out every evening with a
crowd of boys and girls.
when I was coming home. I saw something cross the
street in front of me that looked like a catamount. As
there. was thought to be one in the vicinity, I started
to run, and when J got home I was out-of breath and
frightened nearly to death. I undressed and got into
bed as quickly as possible. The next thing I knew J
was being chased by catamounts. I started running, and
after a while I could see a hundred after me, instead of

one. But there was nothing for me to do but keep run- _
ning, Just as I had given myself up for’ lost, a figure, —

dressed in white, arose before me and motioned me to

THE BUFFALO BILL SLORIES...

The next day a The dre
_ The day had been unusually hot and I felt very tired, so

_he persisted till I gave him it.

SG HBR teen Me

follow. As there was nothing’ else for metodo, I’ fél-

lowed the figure for about two. hundred yards; when
suddenly the earth seemed to open up and swallow us.
When next I came to‘myself | was in what seemed to be
a large cave. Strange figures surrounded me. In the
center of the cave, upon a raised platform, on a toad-stool,
sat the strangest figure I had ever seen. His. head
composed about three-fourths of his body, and for hair,
live reptiles wriggled and twisted in every direction. _
When. he spoke it seemed like thunder. He said:
“You have broken my law, therefore you shall die.” As
I was about to reply, | was seized by invisible hands and
hurled through space. I felt myself sinking downward.
At last, after what seemed an age to me, | struck some-
‘thing and awoke to find that 1 had fallen off the bed.
It was morning, and the sun was shining through the
PvindOw.. ,
‘Lhat cured me of siaying out late at night.

 

A Lucky Dream.
(By Arno Thompson, Detroit, Mich.) : :
The dream I am about to relate occurred: last month.

&.

when night came I went to bed early. As soon as my
head touched the pillow I fell asleep.

Pretty soon I dreamed I was standing on the dock just
ready to dive in with some other boys, when a boy asked
me for a cigarette. I asked him to wait till I dived, but

When I came back the boys had dived and were
sucked under by a current.

The next day the very same things happened to me
with the exception that no boy asked me for a cigarette,
and that the boys were saved, and this time in reality. -

‘As for me, I was just going in when I thought of the

- dream, and stayed out. Now I am glad I stayed out, for

I might not have been saved. I have had some lucky
dreams, but this is the luckiest, as

 

Window Breaking.
(By Leo L. Richards, Dorchester, N. B.)
One night I had a curious dream about a big animal
that I could not get out ef the door. ‘I tried and tried
to put it.out, but I could not do it. So | went upstairs
and tore off the piece of moulding that keeps the window
in place, and I got the animal out. After that I again
went downstairs, unlocked the door, and went.out and

le ye tale One sumes ee ‘stood in the street looking up and down it to try if I
‘ Syed

could see the animal, but I could not, so I went to bed,
-and the next morning I found I had opened the door and
-broke off the moulding, but I was greatly frightened,
‘I must admit. non oe

 

ez
ei ki ae

4... Boys, have you any numbers of Golden Hours? - If. so, see if
the following are among them: 134, 135, 156, 166, 167,

$68, 369 -to.392, 296,389, I will pay liberal- prices.

canoes wor Address, WILLIAMS, Box.392, New. York City... §

 

 
 
  
 
 

       

 

on

s

 

 

 

  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OU all know what a success the last contest was.
even bigger.

We propose to. make this

LOOK AT THIS SPLENDID PRIZE OFFER

 

 

 

including an EASTMAN BROWNIE CAMERA and av complete « outfit for tne

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GET INTO THIS CON

All you have to do is to remember any

whether you were in the last or not.

 

TEST

Curious Dream you have ever had, write it in five hundred. words, or less, oe

send it a the accompanying ‘coupon, properly filled mut, to

   

WEEKLY, Care of STREET & SMITH
238 WILLIAM STREET, ee YORK

CITY

 

 

 

 

 

OFFER THIS T a
are about the FIN EST EVER GIVEN. in a contest of this kind. ‘The cameras ba

 

 

f cee GOUFrON - ce
uffalo Bill Dream mUNESt, No. a

 

exposures. without reloading.

Name. vacesecnnas Iss Uidencevs seeeessraaeeenas sebvesseeessnnsenenstensees ie ;
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ue City e Te SANs ee ee :

WR On ee ae

 

 

Title of Story..........- a se escise ee

 

are beauties—simple in operation and
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tridge and. a. complete outfit, together oe
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to take and develop ‘photographs a a

with, each, camera,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

    
 

 

 

 

CONTAINING

THE ONLY STORIES AUTHORIZED by HON. WILLIAM Fr. CODY (+Buffat Bill 5)

xia

 

 

 

 

61—Buffalo Bill and the Masked Driver; or, The Fatal Run Through Death Canyon.
62—Buffalo Bill’s Still Hunt; or, Fighting the Robber of the Ranges.
63—Buffalo Bill and the Red Riders; or, The Mad Driver of the Overlands.
64-—Buffalo Bill’s Dead-Shot Pard; or, The Will-o’-the-Wisp of the Trails.
6s—Buffalo Bill’s Run-Down; or, The Red-Hand Renegade’s Death. —
66—Buffalo Bill’s Red, Trail; or, A Race for Ransom.
67—Buffalo Bill’s Best Bower; or, Calling the Turn on Death Notch Dick. | ;
68—Buffalo Bill and the Gold Ghouls; or, Defying Death at Elephant Rack.
69—Buffalo Bill’s Spy Shadower; or, The Hermit of Grand Canyon. |
70—Buffalo Bill’s Secret Camp; or, Trailing the Cloven Hoofs.
71—Buffalo Bill’s Sweepstake; or, Hunting the Paradise Gold Mine.
72——Buffalo Bill and the Black Heart Desperado; or, The Wipe-Out at Last Chance.
73—-Buffalo Bill’s Death Charm; or, The Lady in Velvet.
74—Buffalo Bill’s Desperate Strategy; or, The Mystery of the Cliff.
75——Buffalo Bill and the Black Mask; or, The Raffle of Death.
i _  76—Buffalo Bill’s Road Agent Round-Up; or, Panther Pete's Revenge. 4
| 77—Buffalo Bill and the Renegade Queen; or, Deadly Hand’s Strange Duel. i
78—Buffalo Bill’s Buckskin Band; or, Forcing the Redskins to the Wall.
79—Buffalo Bill’s Decoy Boys; or, The Death Rivals of the Big Horn.
80—Buffalo Bill’s Sure Shots; or, Buck Dawson’s Big Draw.
: 81 Buffalo Bills Texan leam; or, The Dog Detective ~ |
| 82—Buffalo Bill’s Water Trail; or, Foiling the Mexican Bandit.
83—Buffalo Biil’s Hard Night’s Work; or, Captain Coolhand’s Kidnaping Plot.
84—Buffalo Bill and the Scout Miners or, The Mounted Sharps of the Overland.
85—Buffalo Bill’s Single-Handed Game; or, Nipping Outlawry in the Bud.
86—Buffalo Bill and the Lost Miners; or, Hemmed in by Redskins. ie
87—Buffalo Bill’s Tenderfoot Pards; or, The Boys in Black. .
88—Buffalo Bill and the Man in Blue; or, The Volunteer Vigilantes of Silver Thread City.
89—Buffalo Bill and the Outcasts of Yellow Dust City; or, Fighting for Life in the Blizzard.
9o-—Buffalo Bill’s Crippled Crew; or, Sunflower Sam of Shasta. . :
gi—Buffalo Bill and the Boy Scout; or, The Tenderfoot Tramper of the Oveuad.
92-——-Buffalo Bill’s Young Double; or, A Yankee Boy in the Wild West.
-93-—Buftalo Bill and the Silent Slayers; or, The Arizona Crack Shot.

a

 

 

 

=

 

 

 

All of the above numbers always on hand. If you cannot get them from your Dewsdealer, five
cents a copy will. bring them to you by mail, postpaid. -

oS & a H, sa eheee 238 William ‘Street, New. York.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
The Biggest Success of the Year

The Old Broadbrim Weekly

It is the largest library of detective stories published, as well as the best.
JOSIAH BROADBRIM, the Quaker detective, is a favorite all over the

- country.

The stories are fascinating and exciting, and contain the

true solutions of many of the great mysteries of crime that have
never before been explained. Here are ,the numbers published so far:

 

 

LIST OF TITLES.

 

Old Broadbrim, The Quaker Detective ;

or, Solving the Mad House Mystery.
Old Broadbrim Fighting a Clique of Crime;

or, The Detective’s Ghost Ally.
Old Broadbrim In a Race for Life ;

, or, The Thirteen Days’ Fight.

Old Broadbrim’s Crimson Knot ;

or, The Bats of Baltimore.
Old Broadbrim. On a Perilous Quest ;

> or, Running a Band of Assassins to Earth.

Old Broadbrim Chasing the Bank Thieves ;

or, A Brilliant Piece of Detective Work.
Old Broadbrim On a Water-Front Trail;

or, Breaking up a Dangerous Gang.
Old Broadbrim On an Ocean Chase ;

or, The Diamond Smuggler’ s Great ae

vention.

Old Broadbrim Solving the Railway Mystery;

or, The Millionaire’s Strange Death.
Old Broadbrim Finding the Millville Robbers ;

or, The Miser of Great Wallingford.

. Old Breadbrim After the Gold Brick Swindlers ;

or, The Blacklock Bunco Gang,
Old Broadbrim: Among the Thugs of Harlem ;

or, Landing a Big Catch.
Old Broadbrim On a Strange Abduction Case ;

or, The Tramping King of Ireland.
Old Broadbrim Fighting Western Desperadoes ;

or, Playing the Counterfeit Game.

 

Old Broadbrim Forcing Their Hands ;

or, The Panel Thieves of the Tenderloin.
ola Broadbrim On a Kidnapping Case ,

or, The Search for a Young Heiress,
Old Broadbrim Destroying the Swamp Angels;

or, The Mysterious Crime of Gotham Court,
Old Broadbrim Up Against Grave Robbers ;

or, The Tomb Hunters of Tavistock.
Old Broadbrim Seeking the Man in Black

or, Miser Ben’s School of Crime.
Old Broadbrim Untying a Tangled Knot;

or, One of the Queerest Cases on Record.
Oid Broadbrim Baffling the Dark Terror; a

or, The Crimes of the Red Hands of India.
Old Broadbrim Revealing a Double Life ;

or, The Clew of the Blood- Stained Paper.
Old Broadbrim Keeping His Vow;

or, The Tangled a stéry of the Quaker

City.
Old Broadbrim Trapping the Hore
or, The Crimeé of the Boathouse.

Old Broadbrim On the Trail of the Iron Frog; .

or, Who Killed Percy Manson. ?
_ Old Broadbrim In Ticklish Places;

or, Hunting a Banker’s Assassins.
Old Broadbrim Playing a Desperate Game ;

or, The Mystery of the Red Dragon.
Old Broadbrim Playing a Master Stroke;

or, The Mystery of Pier No. 4.

 

 

These stories may Le purchased for Five Cents at any newsdealers, or from

STREET @ SMITH, Publishers,

232-238 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK CITY.