dssued Weekly. By Subscription $2.50 per year. Entered as Second Class Matter at New York Post Office 6) STREET & SMITH, 238 Wetliar Sé., Venki

Price, Five Cents.

 

 

 

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The revolvers of Buffalo Bill and the revolver of the old trapper made quick work of Stone Eater’s
hounds, or of such of them as had chased Nell Slocum.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A WEEKLY PUBLICATION
DEVOTED TO BORDER HISTORY

 

 

 

Issued Weck oy By Subscription $2.50 per year.

Entered as Second Class Matter at the N. Y. Post Office, by STREET & SMITH, 2398 William Sz., V. }

Entered according to Act of Congress tn the year 1905, in the Office of the Librartan of Congress, Washington, D. C.

of Wilde bab tiistsdoone—

elgg pel anes ai adet Tdi thors fat k

 

No. 199.

‘NEW YORK, March 4, 1905.

Price Five Cents.

 

Buffalo Bill and the Hound

 

OR,

THE TR

 

 

 

4 By the author of “BUFFALO BILL.” -
CHAPTER: J. hear ’em yowlin’ like a pack o’ tomcats. Whoa, thar,
; MISSING. consarn ye!”
“Whoa, Nebuchadnezzar! Consarn ye, what ye snif- AS the trapper thus looked out into the gloom, and
fin’ about? Pesky reds snoopin’ round out thar? Waal, spoke to his excited horse, a form rose up before him,

ef they air, I reckon they won't come in hyar an’ bite
ye. a

Old Nick Nomad, known to the Indians as The Wan-
derer, rose to his feet, put his gnarled hand soothingly
on the mane of his shaggy, tawboned pony, and peered

out into the darkness.

About him camp fires were gleaming dully. | Troopers

were seated about these fires, spinning yarns ae smok-
ing.

In the midst of the camp fires, though rather to one
side, was an officers’ marquee, the oy tent upon the
field. “

“You've been mixed up with reds so much lately that
you're gittin’ ter be like a reg’lar drunkard. Every time
a drunkard smells liquor, he sees snakes; every time

you smells Injuns, you see ther red devils dancin’ an’

as if rising out of the ground.

Nebuchadnezzar leaped as if struck in the foot by a
rattlesnake, and snorted wildly.

Nick Nomad’s hand dropped from the mane to the
knife he carried in his belt.

But instantly the hand fell, and a smile overspread
his hairy visage.

“Waugh! That you, Buffler? Waal, ye about skeered
me an’ Nebby inter sixteen fits.”

The man who had risen as if out of the ground was
the noted scout, Buffalo Bill.

He stood up now, within the light of the camp fire.

The trapper and the horse regarded him curiously.

“Whar ye been, Buffler? I thought ye war over thar
talkin’ foolishness with them off’cers. I didn’t see ye
go out o’ ther camp.”

 
 

bo

THE BUFFALO

“T didn’t intend that anyone should see me leave the”

camp,” said the scout. “And I didn’t want anyone to
see me return, until after I had returned.”

“Jutushy Sikes, ye accomplished yer purpose!’

“i itted to,

The scout was garbed for the war at and carried
in his right hand his repeating rifle. A pair of big
revolvers showed at his belt, together with the haft of a
knife and the handle of a tomahawk. As

“Red Elk’s Indians, some of them, are out there. I

found a dozen over in the canyon; and there are other —

parties hanging round.”

“Goin’ ter attack ther camp, air iiey

“Thardly think so. “Perhaps they’re just watching to
see what we intend to do. I thought I'd come to you
first ; for you know, Nick, that I trust you even more than
I dé the troopers. You can smell an Indian a mile
away.”

Nick Nomad twisted his hairy face into what he in-
tended as a smile.

“It’s Nebby hyar that does ther smellin’ act. Trust
Nebby ter nose ott an Injun, ef one comes nigh. All I
have ter do is ter watch ther antics o’ this brute, an’ I
knows when reds is about, an’ when they ain’t. He
hates ‘em wuss’n a rat hates a cat.”

“Keep your eyes peeled, Nick, now that you know about
the Indians. I don’t think they'll be foolish enough to
try to rush the camp, but there’s no knowing. Red Elk
_ is a desperate character. Now, I’m going over to re-
port to the lieutenant.”

Instead of proceeding to the officers’ marquee, as might
have been expected, Buffalo Bill walked to one of the
camp fires.

A young lieutenant rose up beside the fire as the scout
approached him.

“Ah, Cody!” he said. “I was looking for you a few
minutes ago, and failed to find you.”

“A ‘word with you, Lieut. James,”
his salute.

They stepped to one side, beyond the camp fire and
the reach of the ears of the men seated there.

“Indians are swarming all about,’ the scout reported.

Lieut. James gave a start of surprise. :

“You've been outside, Cody?”

“Yes. I thought it well to take a look ole Q

“Then the guards let you pass!”

“On the contrary, Lieut. James, the guards don’t Seriser
ia about it. I went and came without their knowl-
edge.”

said the scout, after

“T didn’t een anyone could slip a ee pe
without discovery.”

Al did?

The young lieutenant regarded the scout with admira-
tion.

“Are you expecting trouble, Cody? I'll send the word

BIEL, STORIES.

round, and we’ll be ready for the red imps if they try
to jump us.”
“That’s the thing I advise.
But do not make a display of your ERG
our fair guest this evening?”
“She is in the tent, Cody, resting irom the fatiges she
has been through.”
~“Tt was kind of you, lieutenant, to surrender the mar-
qttee to her.”
“T should have been a brute, Cody, if I ade te
“She will not object if I call upon her?”

Have the troopers ready.
Flow is

“On the contrary, Cody; she was inquiring for you.

not long ago. That’s why is set out to find you, and ds:
coveted that you were gone.”

Hearing this, the scout started toward the marquee,
where_a sentinel was walking up and down, with rifle on
shoulder.

He stepped aside without a word when the oteat scout
approached him.

These troopers knew Buffalo Bill, the chief of the army
scouts, who came and went at his own sweet will, with-
out asking leave even of the highest officer.

Information sent to them by Buffalo Bill was the thing
that had brought them into this section. But for that
information, they would not have been camping that night
under the shadows of the great mountains of the Yellow-
stone courttry, in that geyser land which has been called
“The Land of Fire.”

They had arrived on the very morning of the day in
which this story opens.

Red Elk, a renegade Sioux chief, had fled to the fast-
nesses of this wild region, shortly after the battle in
which Custer was slain with the whole of his command.

Red Elk was gathering about him all the disaffected
Indians of the far West, and was putting them in shape
to resist the United States troopers who were expected
to follow him.

Murders had been committed i. these Indians, and
other crimes had been perpetrated.

One, of the white men murdered was an old trapper-
settler named Slocum, who had been shot down at the
door of his cabin, on a tributary of the Snake River, but
a few days before.

Nell Slocum, Slocum’s only daughter, was made a
prisoner, and was carried by her captors to Red EIk,
who intended to force her to become his squaw.* a

She had been released by Buffalo Bill and Nick Nomad,
and she was now in the marquee, which De one lieu -
tenant had given up to her use.

Shaking the flap of the tent, Buffalo Bill waited.

Instead of an invitation to enter, there was dead
silence.

 

“All these things are set forth, together with the story of Nell
Slocum’s fescue, by Buffalo Bill, from her Indian captors, in No. _

196, of this library, ‘ ‘Buffalo Bill Jin the Landof Fire; or, Nick
Nomad,-the Mountain Wanderer.’

ER ES

SESS

LEE oe a ee

 

Re

 
 

 

 

Tie BUM ALO

“Miss Slocum,’ he called,
if you are comfortable?”

Still there was no answer.

“The young lady has not left the tent?” Buffalo Bill
inquired, turning to the-sentinel.

The latter saluted, as he answered:

“She has not, sir.”

“And no one has been here ?”

“No one, sir.”

“She is tired out, and has fallen asleep.
wonder at that.’ |
He turned away, and walked back to the camp fire.

The young lieutenant arose and stepped to one side,
to meet him.

“How is the young lady, Cody ?”

“Asleep, apparently.”

The officer looked at his watch.

“It is early, though pretty dark.”

“Miss Slocum may have fallen asleep from exhaustion.
I thought it well not to disturb her. Yet, Lieut. James,
I confess to you that I feel anxious.” :

“Anxious, Cody ?”

“Just that. That girl is probably asleep; yet something
tells me she is not in the tent at all.”

“Not in the tent, Cody? What makes you think that?
she can’t be any place else.”

“T admit that she is probably in the tent, as I said;
but I can’t get rid of the strange feeling which troubles
me, and makes me half believe that she isn’t there. Nor
can I explain it. It is just a feeling. I shouldn’t con-
sider it for a moment, only I often have these singular
presentiments, and-nine times out of ten they turn out
to. be. true.

“T have stopped just to ask

I don't

“This is extraordinary!’ the young officer exclaimed.
“Your nerves are shaken, Cody, by the dangers you have
been through.”

“Not at all.”

“You won’t admit it, even to yourself. But the perils
you have encountered in the last three days are enough
to kill an ordinary man. You have outwitted Indians,
run from Indians, fought Indians. You penetrated to
Red Elk’s village in broad daylight, and brought away
this girl, who was held there as a captive; you rescued
that old trapper, and saved him from death at their
hands; and you and he had a stand-up fight with the red
fiends for hours in that cave where they had you hemmed
in. Such things, kept up hour after hour, would shake
up the nerves of an iron man. You need sleep and
rest, Cody.”

The scout listened to this adulatory speech with well-
concealed impatience.

“You are wrong, Lieut. James; none of those things
has troubled me. But I am troubled about Miss Slocum.
I can’t believe that she is in your marquee.” »

“But, Cody, note the foolishness of your idea! There

BILL STORIES. 3

is a sentinel walking up and down in front of the tent,
and all around the camp are watchful sentinels.”

“I passed those watchful sentinels, you must remem-
berty

“You did, Cody; but no other men could do it. When
you go or come, you make no more noise than a shadow.
Other men are not so expert.”

Buffalo Bill walked away from the nee, and strolled

over toward Nick Nomad. But he turned before he
- reached the trapper, and went back to the lieutenant and

the camp fire.

“How, now, Cody?” was the lieutenant’s greeting.

“That. feeling grows on me, lieutenant; I can’t shake
it off. So I’m going to ask you to go with me to the
marquee, and we'll make an attempt together to see if
the young lady is there.” _

“You would arouse her from her sleep?”

“We'll walk over there,” said the scout, without com-
initting himself.

Again the sentinel saluted and stood aside.

“No one has been near the marquee?” asked the lieu:
tenant.

“No one but Mr. Cody, sir.”

“It’s as I told you, Cody; you’ve been through so
much that your nerves have jumped the trolley, and elec.
tric sparks are flying.”

Buffalo Billagain shook the flap of the tent, and called
in a low. voice to Miss Slocum.

Hearing nothing, he raised his voice.

Three times he called, each time in a louder tone.

“She’s sleeping soundly,” said the lieutenant, smiling.
“It isn’t to be wondered at, considering all that ‘the young
lady has been through.”

“The things she has been through would not tend to
sound sleep, but to nervousness and restlessness, in my
opinion.”

From under his coat he produced a small torch.

A match snapped, and the torch flamed.

“You're not going into the tent, where the young lady
is sleeping?” the punctilious lieutenant protested.

“I think if she is in there, the light will help to arouse
her

So saying, the scout thrust the burning torch through
the tent opening, though he did not enter himself.

The light filled the tent with a red glare.

As it thus shone, he called again, in a still louder voice:

“Miss Slocum!
and Buffalo Bill.

Even the lieutenant now began to think something was
wrong.

“Friends are out here—Lieut. James
We want a word with you.”

Buffalo Bill was sure of it.

Without further ado, he pushed the flap aside, and
looked in, glancing about by the light of the torch.
The tent was unoccupied !

 
 

4 THE BUFFALO

CHAPTER 41.
THE TRAITOR TROOPER.

Nell Slocum was a young woman of courage.
very courage had led her into danger.

Wearied by what she had undergone, she rested her
head on a blanket roll in the officer’s mages and
thought over recent events.

Her heart was filled with gratitude to Buffalo Bill and
to the queer old trapper, Nick Nomad; for to them, as

Yet her

she believed, and to her own heroic energy, she owed her

present liberty.
As ,she thus thought, marveling at the vicissitudes

through which she had passed unscathed, the rear wall
of the tent was lifted.

She started up in alarm, but smiled when she beheld
the intruder, a young trooper named Marlin.

She had been introduced to Manton Marlin by Lieut.
James, soon after her meeting with the troopers.

Yet that was not her first introduction to the young
trooper.

A year before she had met Manton Marlin, at a ball
given in.a certain town on the Union Pacific Railroad,
where her sister lived, with whom at the time she was
visiting. ,

The beauty of the’ girl had appara won the heart
of the young trooper that time.

‘Th his impetuous manner, he had made hasty love to
her,

She did not wish to regard him as a lover, and had
told him so. )

Then they had separated, and from that hour until she
had met him with the troopers, she had neither seen him
nor heard from him, co

Manton Marlin was a handsome young fellow; almost
too handsome, in truth, for manly beauty. But he had a
covert gleam of the eyes which would not favorably
impress a good reader of character. It had not favor-
ably impressed Buffalo Bill.

“Seeing young Marlin appear thus 4 in the tent-assigned
to her, Nell Slocum was about to speak to him. He
stopped her by putting his fingers to his lips.

The marque was lighted by a small lantern that hung
suspended from the ridge pole.

With his fingers still on his lips, Marlin stepped up to
the young girl and handed her a note.

“Read it!” he whispered.

She rose, and standing beneath the lantern, read the
note, which was, under the circumstances, a remarkable
one:

BILIs SPORTES.

“My Dear Miss Stocum: I send this by my friend,
Mr. Marlin, the trooper. I have good reasons for doing
so. ‘Follow him, and do as he directs, Be careful to
make no noise, and do not let yourself be seen. This is
all-important. Come at once. I will explain fully when
we meet, which will be in a few minutes. As you value
your life and liberty, do not hesitate, but come, Your
true friend, W. F. Copy (Buffalo Bill).”

When she had read the note, Marlin signaled to her to
follow him, and turned the lantern low.

He did not speak, but nodded toward the sentinel, who
was pacing to and fro on his beat in front of the tent.

If there was one person in the world on whose wisdom
and judgment Nell Slocum felt she could rely, that per-

_ son was Buffalo Bill,

She threw her cloak about her, put on her hat, and
followed the young trooper, passing with him from the
tent by the way he had entered.

He lowered the tent curtain, andthey stood in the dark-
ness, for the tent shut them off from the light of the
camp fires. 7

“Don’t speak,” he whispered, “but follow me!”

She followed him, and even imitated his example, as he
walked, in a crouching attitude, away = om the tent toward
the nearest sentry beat.

No sentinel was there. But, being unused to camp-
fire duties and routine, this did not surprise her.

““Come!” Marlin whispered again. ‘We must hurry.”

“Will you not explain to me what Mr. Cody wishes?”
she asked, hesitating, as she looked out into the darkness
that lay beyond the camp.

She was well aware that hostile Indians were likely
to be hidden by that darkness.

“He will explain when you meet him.”

“But where is her’ .

“Right out there. He is holding his horse.
asked me to tell you to hurry.”

With her aroused suspicions checked, she followed on
again; but soon she stopped.

Already she was some distance beyond the confines of
the camp. The darkness was not reassuring, and she
began to feel that something must be wrong. Now that
she had a little time to think, it seemed strange to her
that Buffalo Bill had not delivered his message himself,
instead of sending for her in this way, asking her to
meet him beyond the camp. It was not like him, she
knew, when she took time to consider the matter.

“T will go no further, Mr. Marlin,” she said.

“Why do you doubt me?’ he ached, and his voice

And he

~ trembled.
“T have no right to, I suppose; but the whole thing

begins to look strange. Why should Mr. Cody ask me
to meet him in this way?”

“T can’t’say as to that; I only know that he did.”
_ She turned about deliberately.

“Mr. Marlin, I will go no further,” she declared, “If

 

SS

 
 

 

 

esas

THE BUPEALO

Mr. Cody has anything to.say to me, he can come to the
tent where I am and say it.”

“But he has a horse out here for you; he wants you
to leave the camp. It—it is to be attacked by Indians in

‘a little while, and—and he fears you may be injured in

the fight.”

She noted the anxiety that trembled in his noe

For an instant she stood in hesitation. She had no
reason, except this queer occurrence, *to suspect Manton
Marlin of trickery or double-dealing.

“Aren’t you going?” he asked, afixiously, stepping close
up to her. “I was urged to ask you to hurry. The
scout is waiting.” '

“Mr. Marlin, he will have to wait. I shall

Further speech was cut short.

He pressed a hand over her mouth, and with the other
hand caught her by the throat.

This was followed by a blinding blow that bereft her
of consciousness. ,

When she came to herself, she was some distance from
the camp. Bending over her was Manton Marlin, and
at his side was the infamous Sioux renegade, Red Elk.

 

 

CHAPEOR iE
DISCOVERIES.

39

“Inspect your sentries,” said Buffalo Bill, speaking in
quick words, when he and the young lieutenant discovered
that the marquee was empty. “There has, in my opinion,
been creoked work done here.”

He began the task of inspection himself, as soon as he
had cast a hasty glance about the tent; and it was he

who found one of the sentries dead on his beat, with a-~

knife stab in his heart.
’ Some distance beyond-the sentry line where he found

the body of the dead sentinel, the scout observed, even in.

the darkness, a bit of white paper, that the wind blew
over the ground. He picked this paper up and thrust it

into his pocket, intending to examine it as soon as he —

could.

All about the camp was utter ee Though _ he

_ knew that Indians were near, there was no, sound to

indicate their proximity. °

Returning quickly and quietly to the camp, he an-
nounced to the lieutenant the death of the sentry.

“Indians must haye crawled upon the sentinel as he
walked his beat,’ said the horrified lieutenant.

“He was killed by a white man,” Peele Bill ce
clared. . ;

He and the young lieutenant were in the marquee to-
gether, and the lantern was again burning. _

The young officer stared at the scout, when he made
that assertion. eae

“How can you say that Cody?

There are white men
f ? 3 39 \“
with the Indians, I suppose.

“stern.

BILL STORIES. | as

The camp was in a state of excitement, and the guards
were being doubled. A detail was bringing in the body ~
of the slain sentinel. Every man had his rifle ready,
and expected an attack from the savages.

“T do not care to make charges until I know my
grounds,” said Buffalo Bill. His voice was strangely
“But I should like to know if any of your men
are missing from the camp.” Bs

The lieutenant stared.

“My God, Cody, you're not thinking that one of my
own men did that?”

“T make no charges at present. I know that sentinel
was stabbed by a white man. I base my opinion on the
nature of the wound and the way it was made. An
Indian never does anything as a white man would do it.
They never think as a white man thinks, and never act as
a white man acts. Because of my knowledge of Indian
methods, I say that stabbing was done by a white. man.
The thing was done quietly; so, whoever did it had a
little time. If an Indian had made that wound, and
had been given time, he would have decorated the body
of his victim with other knife cuts, in the truly Indian
fashion. An Indian can never resist the temptation to
mutilate the body of his victim. The man was not

-scalped; he was not gas Therefore I know he

was killed by a white man.’

“But there may be renegade white men among those
savages.” : :

“There may be, though I doubt it. But it was not
the work of a white renegade. My observation and ex-
perience tell me that when a white man becomes a rene-—
gade and lives with Indians, he adopts their ways. * A

owhite renegade would have mutilated the body, not ‘so

badly as an Indian would, perhaps, yet to some extent. ,
It was not the work of a white renegade.”

He could see that Lieut, James was unwilling to be-
lieve that one of his own men could have done that
murderous work.

“But come,” said the scout, seeing that he was wast-
ing time, “Something must be done. I purpose a pur-
suit of the villain who carried Miss Slocum away.”

“Vou are sure that she was carried away?”

“As sure as if I had seen it with my own eyes.”

“Tt is very strange.”

Going from the marquee, the young lieutenant had an
inquiry made.

In a little while he found Buffalo Bill, who was talk
ing with Nick’ Nomad.

“One of my troopers is gone,’ the lieutenant ad-

_ mitted, in a tone of regret.

“Ah! I thought so, but -didn’t want-to say so. You
know who he is? Tell me what you know of him.”
“His name is Manton Marlin.”
You will.

“Has he been considered a reliable man?

bs

 
 

6 THE BUBFALO
pardon my questions, ar James, in consideration of
the exigencies of the case.’

“Marlin has been in bad odor for some time,’ the lieu-
tenant admitted, with manifest reluctance. “He became
addicted to gambling, and debts accumulated against him.
He was before a court-martial some time ago, but was
discharged, with a warning. I understood he has been
gambling again, and accumulating more debts.”

“And that means that he has been in danger of being
dismissed from the service in disgrace, and pCR some-
thing worse?” :

vest!

“Has anything else been charged against him?” the
scout continued, pressing his point, for he saw some-
thing of hesitation in the manner of the young officer.

“There have been hints of dark things, Cody. I hate
to specify, but I understood there was something wrong
with his pay—that he had tried to draw his salary twice;
and also that he got into’a scandal of some kind while he
was in Fort Laramie, a month or so ago. I will admit
to you, since it seems necessary now forall the facts to
be known, that I was told to watch Marlin. He was
sent with me on this campaign, in the hope that by his
bravery in battle, or courage and endurance in other
ways, he could restore something of his lost prestige.
He is the son of an old army officer. But for that fact
—his tamily connections, you know—he would have been
dismissed from the service long ago. But I never antici-
pated a thing of this kind.”

“A sort of black sheep,’ said the scout.

“T have heard him called a handsome young scape-
peace:

“If he ’scapes, being shot this time, he will do well!

Now, Nick and I are going out to scout round a little, ©

to see what we can discover.”

He had his horse with him, and seemed about to mount
into the saddle.

He hesitated, and put his hand in his pocket.

“Oh, by the way, I picked up a bit of paper that I
saw fluttering over the ground beyond the camp, after
I discovered the dead trooper. It may be just a bit of
torn writing paper. But we'll take a look at it?”

He stooped by the camp fire, and began io read the

paper.
It was the forged note to which his name was signed:
the note brought to Nell Slocum by Trooper Marlin.
She had dropped it when Marlin caught her by the
throat. Buffalo Bill’s anger rose hot within him as he read
it. & :

He gave the paper to the young lieutenant:

“Read that, Lieut. es he requested, his accent
hard and harsh.

The officer uttered a cry of astonishment. ;

“Do you know the handwriting?’ Buffalo Bill asked.
“Tt is not mine.” se .

BILL STORIES.

Cote iseviarlin’s. ¢

“Disguised ?”

“Disguised very little. It seems to have been scribbled
ina hurry. I could recognize it anywhere as his.”

“That finishes the proof, if any more were needed.
I don’t think much of the vigilance of your sentinels,
Lieut. James; if they do no better guard duty than
they’ve done to-night, not one of you will ever go back
to civilization; the Indians will slaughter you. Another
thing—this man, Marlin, never intends to put himself
where you or any other officer of the government or the
army can lay hands on him. | He has cut logse from the
army and from everything.”

“Has become a renegade, you mean?”

“That's just what I mean. Another white renegade
gone to join the Indians! He is not the first one; and
they’re ten times more devilish than the Indians them-
selves; more to be feared, too, because they have more
brains than the average Indian.”

Lieut. James seemed stupefied by hi8 discoveries.

“Cody,” he said, “it looks as if I have brought with
me a lot of traitors and imbeciles, instead of tried
troopers.”

“Your troopers are all right; they are come men, and
they will stand up in a fight with the best. ‘In my
opinion, you had some green men on sentry duty to-
night, though. This man who was killed and the one
who stood guard at the tent, were they long in the serv-
ican:

“New recruits,’ said the lieutenant, with something
like relief. “Both were inexperienced men; they joined
the army less than a month ago.”

“T thought as much. Have you more liks them 2:

SA iw.

“Then let me give you some advice, and I urge yqu .
to heed it. We are in the Indian country, with the red
fiends all about us. They naturally fear United States
troops, or they would be charging us now, in my opinion.
Once on a time Gen. Washington found it necessary to
say: “Put only Americans on guard to-night.’ I say to.
you, put only old, seasoned troopers and Indian fighters
on guard while we*are in this Indian country. It will
make for the safety of your men.”

_ The young lieutenant, inexperienced to a certain degree
himself, and overwhelmed by the happenings of the night,
was glad to assure the scout that he would do this, and
thanked him heartily for his judicious advice.

“Now, Nick,” said the scout, “you and I are going
out to look around a bit. Lieutenant, let your guards
and men know of it, so that none of them will feel called
on to shoot at us when we return. We shall return
mounted, as we go, unless something occurs, like the
loss of our horses. And when we draw near the camp,
we will give three yelps of the coyote as a signal.” ©
So saying, the scout and the trapper passed from the

 

 

 
 

 

 

THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES. : 7

camp of the troopers ott into the night, bent on lernine

what they could concerning the abduction of Nell Slocdny.

and her present position.
Yet the night was so vere a feared they could not
do much. :

 

CHAPIER IV.
A FRIEND OF*RED ELK.

| There was a good deal in the life of Manton Marlin.

which was unknown to Lieut. James, though that young
officer fancied he knew the best and the worst.

Marlin was the son of an army officer, as has been
said. The lieutenant knew this, arid knew that because
of it young Marlin had been given a chance to redeem

himself, when a less fortunate man would have been |

dismissed in disgrace from the service.
But the thing that Lieut. James did not know was

that Manton Marlin had an extensive acquaintance among

the Indians.

Born at a border army post, his childhood passed on
the frontier and in army posts, he had been given many
opportunities to become acquainted with the Indians of
various parts of the country. _

Running away from home at ‘the age of fifteen, he
had been found in an Indian village, where he had spent

months, learning the ways of Indians and extending his

acquaintanceship among them.

Later, just before he was sent to West Point, where he
was fitted for the army, he had again disappeared, this
time for almost a year.

On this occasion, as on the first, he ad gone to an
Indian village.

It chanced to be a village of the Sioux. One of the
leading young men of this village was a youthful and
capable warrior known as Red Elk.

With Red Elk, Manton Marlin struck up a warm

friendship. They hunted and fished together, they raced ”

their ponies together, they slept together and ate et
on long trips taken on foot.

Red Elk became in that time as a brother to Manton
Marlin.

In laying his plans for the abdtiction of Nell Slocum,
Manton Marlin took into consideration the friendship
existing between himself and the renegade chief. Be-
cause of that friendship, he felt that no harm would come
to him when he encountered the Indians. He could speak
many Indian dialects and languages, and would have no
trouble in making a statement that would cause him to
be taken at once before Red Elk.

Marlin was in desperate straits at this time. The things
the lieutenant knew against him were not the worst, by
any means. He had comtnitted several forgeries to ob-
tain money, 4nd he knew that the day of reckoning was
nigh,

- chief’s advisers.

"He was well aware of the fact that he had been sent
on this campaign that he es be given a chance to
redeem himself.

Yet he could not redeem himself. When exposure
came for some of his recent acts, he knew that nothing
could shield him. And that exposure was likely to
come as soon as the troopers returned to the army post.

These were the things which moved him to his ees
ent course.

He had fancied himself in love with Nell Sidetins
She was a beautiful girl, and he had thought of her
much sirice that meeting at the ball many months before.

But in truth it was chagrin and revenge struggling
within him, more than love. Nell Slocum had rejected
his advances.

Now that he-felt he nttist desert from the atmy to save
himself from imprisonment, by what seemed a lucky
chance, this girl had been thrown across his path. He
resolved to force her to accompany him in his flight.

Whether she cared for him or not made no difference
now, when he was to become a renegade, a criminal, a
traitor, for whom disgrace and death waited if he were
ever caught.

Knowing that Red Elk was in comes. of the forces
against which the troopers were moving, he resolved that
he would go to Red Elk. He would become one of that
‘He understood military tactics; there-
fore he could make himself invaluable to the renegade
chief, who would be glad to receive him.

And he would take Nell Slocum with him. He would
force her to become his wife, even against her will; and
she should live with him in the Indian village, hidden
deep within the shelter of the great mountains.

It may be that the troubles he saw thickening round
him had temporarily unhinged the mitid of this really
brilliant young man. Despair, when almost the last
card is played in a desperate game, produces queer mental
results sometimes. — .

Yet there was one thing on which Manton Marlin did
not count, one thing of which he had no knowledge. He
did not know that Red Elk had himself set his heart on

the beautiful white girl.

Marlin knew thar Nell Slocum had been a prisoner in
the Indian village, and had been brought away by Bui-
falo Bill. He thought this had come about merely be- |
cause of the attack on her father’s cabin which the In-
dians had made. Neither Buffalo Bill nor Nick Nomad
had said otherwise. |

Fleeing from the camp of the troopers with the ‘almost
insensible girl in his arms, Manton Marlin found himself

caught by the foot by some one who lay coiled like a

snake in the ee and was hurled headlong.

conscious, for she was flung heavily out of young Mar-

a

 
 

o THE BUFFALO

lin’s arms, and Marlin himself, dazed and jarred,*saw
above him a fierce Indian face and the gleam of a knife.
In that moment of deadly peril he did not forget what
he had planned to do.

“Red Elk!” he gurgled.

He spoke in Sioux! 727):
_. The choking fingers relaxed their grip of his throat, and

the gleaming knife blade fell.

~The answer came in Sioux:

“Tam Red Elk!” :

Marlin tried to struggle to a sitting position, but a
strong Indian hand pushed him back. Again he saw the
gleam of a knife.

“Red Elk spares not any white man,” said the Indian
chief. 7

“But—but—Red Elk—you do not understand! You
don’t know who Iam. Iam O-ne-gah-ta, The-Man-that-
Rides. Don’t you know me? I am your Sioux brother
—your white Sioux brother!”

Red Elk gave a guttural grunt, and stared into the
face beneath him.

“You remember the half of the blue stone that you
gave me—you took the other half? Here it is, round my
neck—held by a string round my neck., Look at it, and
see that I speak true. J am your white brother. That is
what the halved stone means—that I am your white
brother.”’

‘Red Elk drew back, and put away his knife.

“You are O-ne-gah-ta? I will see the half of the blue
stone.”

Manton Marlin sat up and took the one from his
breast, where it hung suspended by a cord of buckskin.

As he did so, the chief stared hard at him, trying to
recall every line of his face there in the darkness.

“It is well,” said Red Elk, as he felt the stone and
recognized it. “You are O-ne-gah-ta. What do you
here

He squatted in the grass.

“Take me to Red Elk!”

The girl lay where she had fallen, unconscious.

Manton Marlin squirmed to a-.more erect position,
feeling tenderly of his crushed throat, for the fingers of
the Sioux had pressed with cruel force.

“IT have left the camp of the white men forever, Red
Elk; I come to you. Henceforth I am red—red at heart,
_ even if my skin is white. I want to join you and fight
with you, and help oe all I can against those cep of
white men over there.”

He spoke bitterly, and pointed in the direction, of the
camp from which he had come.

Again Red Elk grunted gutturally.
wUgils he ered (itis well)  Butthe White Lay:
He meant the girl who still lay where she had fallen.

“Perhaps she is dead,’

* said Marlin, showing now some
wneasiness,

ny ararcd,

_ be brothers now.

BILE STORIES.

He rose and bent over her, and Red Elk stooped with
him.

As if she felt the evil influence of their presence, the
girl moaned and began to struggle back to conscious-
ness. |

‘What will Man-that-Rides do with the White Lily? ae
the renedage chief asked.

“She is to go with ue live with me in the Indian vil-
lages, become my squaw.”

Something gripped Manton Marlin Be the throat and
made him want to cry out, when he observed, dark as
the place was, the queer start that the chief gave, and saw
something of the look that swept over his face.

In that moment he realized that he was to have Red
Elk for his enemy, instead of his friend.
~ Nell Slocum struggled back to consciousness.

She opened her eyes and looked up.

Fear paralyzed her lips, when she saw over her the
feathered head of Red Elk, and by it the head of the
man who had lured her from the camp of the troopers.

 

CHAPTER V.
WITH THE INDIANS.

Manton Marlin was crafty. He saw that he was be-
tween two fires. He could not return to the white men;

therefore he must conciliate and make friends with the

red. He concealed the thought that had come to him,

and crowded down his fears.

“Come,” he said, speaking to the girl.

I will see that you have protection.”
He perceived that she trembled violently.
The girl had a deathly sense of faintness, due largely

to the effect of her heavy fall: and, though her heart was

crying out in fear, she could not speak a word. Some-
thing choked her throat and prevented speech.
“Help me, Red Elk,” Marlin requested. “We are to

I came to you from the white soldiers,

and will help 00 to fight them. ae must get this girl

to your camp.”

“Do not be

He spoke in Sioux, and the aa could not fadereeaul
him.

-Red Elk answered in Sioux: *

“Did the White Lily come with Man-that-Rides with-
out being forced to come?’ _

_ “She desired to be with me,’ was the evasive reply.

Together they helped her*to her feet, and she stood by,
clinging to Marlin’s arm. Still she could not speak, but
only trembled violently.

Perceiving this, Manton Marlin, who ‘was an athlete
in strength, lifted her in his arms, where she lay limp and
moaning.

“Point out the way, Red Elk,” he requested.

Red Elk turned without a word, and walked i ina cr

tion that led away from the camp.

 
 

Earnest

THE BUFEBALO

Manton Marlin followed, carrying the girl.

As they strode on, there came to their ears by and
by the trample of hoofs.

The sound was not loud.

“Down!” said Red Elk, still speaking in Sioux.

Manton Marlin dropped to the grass, and laid his

burden down softly.

The girl had lapsed again into unconsciousness. Ole
was beginning to fear that she had been seriously injured
by her fall.

Two horsemen loomed in the darkness.

They were Buffalo Bill and Nick Nomad.

“Down! Hug the grass!” Marlin whispered, his voice
showing trepidation.

Red Elk unslung his tomahawk and put a hand on his
rifle.

“No—no—for God’s sake, no! If you.should shoot
and miss, the jig would be up. That scout is a whirl-
wind, and the fellow with him is about the same. Let
them go on by, if they will.” '

Even Red Elk seemed quite willing that the scout and
the trapper should go by without being troubled.

The two men lay on the grass in the darkness, as silent
as shadows. :

Buffalo Bill and his companion passed so near that their
words could be heard.

But they rode on; they did not see the dark forms so
near, and soon the dele of their horses’ hoofs failed
to reach the listeners.

_“That’s good. Now we'll go on.’

Marlin lifted the girl again. Red Elk did not offer to
assist him, and said not a word to indicate that he had
any interest in the girl whatever.

Thus they went on, arriving by and by at a ‘Sorge,
where Indians lay in waiting.

Some Indian scouts were out, hovering about the camp,
but they came in one by one.

Nell Slocum appeared to have lost all interest in earthly
things. She had recovered consciousness again, but the
knowledge of what had befallen her, when she had felt
so secure in the trooper camp, numbed all her faculties.

Red Elk had hung around the camp for the sole pur-

pose of getting possession again of this beautiful white

girl,

He did not say this, of course, to Manton Marlin; but,
now that she was once more in his power, he was ready
to move; and to move speedily.

Marlin was making himself at home among these In-
dians, which his proficiency in the Indian languages made
him able to do readily.

One of the.men he met was an old Crow medicine
man, who had been an acquaintance and friend some
years before, when his father was stationed at an army:
post in Montana.,*

ARLE FoR” A END HOTET feMON  saaeRoIE D

BILL STORIES. 9

This medicine man was Stone Eater, and he greeted
Manton Marlin with apparent satisfaction.

“My son,’ he said, when he understood that Marlin
had deserted from the soldiers and joined the Indians
under Red Elk, “I have some great things to show you
when you get into the big mountains.”

“If you can show me more wonderful things than
you used to show the officers at the fort when I was a
child there, you must be a wonder,” was the anwer which
Marlin gave.

It was an answer which pleased the old man.

“You shall see,” Stone Eater boasted.

“We are ready to move,” announced Red Elk.

Ponies were being brought in. -

_ “Tam ready,” cried Manton Marlin.

“The white soldiers will not follow until daylight,”
said Red Elk, “and by that time we can be far from
here.

Nell Slocum understood none a the things that were
said,

She was not acquainted with any of the Indian lan-
guages.

Yet she saw the preparations that were being made,
saw Marlin in friendly conversation with the Indians, and
her heart sank with foreboding.

But, as she recovered slowly from the effects of her
terrible fall, something of her old courage returned to
animate her.

“I will escape!’ was her thought. ‘‘Those troopers and
the scout and the trapper will follow me. I will watch
my opportunity, and escape to them.”

 

/ CHAPTER VI.

THE MEDICINE MAN.

Red Elk could have called no stronger man td his
aid than Stone Eater. As a powerful medicine man, he
had a reputation that extended ‘throughout the length
and breadth of the mountains.

In the retreat from the vicinity of the trooper camp,
Stone Eater rode by the side of Nell Slocum.

This he did at the command of Red Elk, who, though
he pretended friendship for the new white renegade, did
not trust him. Red Elk was shrewd enough to: under-
stand that now there could be no true friendship between
himself and Manton Marlin. Therefore he had instructed

the medicine man to watch Marlin, and at the same time

to watch the girl.

Stone Eater’s strength was in his craftiness.

It was greatly to his interest now to increase his repu-
tation as a medicine man. By so doing he could assist
Red Elk in binding the Indians more closely together, a
thing necessery if they were to resist successfully the
pursuing troopers.

“See!” he said, as he rode at the ude of the girl, in

 
 

IO THE BUFFALO

full het of all the retreating Indians, for daylight had

_ come.

He stretched out his hand to the open air, and then
spreading his fingers apart, a live rattlesnake wriggled
in them and twined about his wrist.

The girl shuddered and cried out as she beheld the
writhing snake,

The Indians expressed astonishment oy guttural ex-
clamations,

“See!% cried Stone Eater again.

He gave his hand a quick toss, ©

The rattlesnake was gone.

_ He turned upon the girl with a smile which wrinkled
his painted face.

Even Manton Marlin, riding at his side, was astonished.

He had beheld the snake appear and then disappear.
He had seen similar things in variety shows, where
_ sleight-of-hand men gave exhibitions.

He knew it was but clever jugglery; yet the thing was
strange and impressive.

It affected the watching Indians profoundly. ‘To their
untutored minds, Stone Eater was proving himself little
short of a god. He certainly was, in their opinion, a
wonder worker who was aided by spirits from the unseen
world.

All Indians believe in the active agency of spirits. The
hills, the woods, the silent night, where strange sounds
are heard, are, to their minds, filled with spirits.

Some of these spirits they believe to be good, others
they think are bad.

It is this universal Indian belief in the existence and
influence of spirits which gives power to the medicine
men. It is the business of a medicine man to control
the spirits. He is supposed to make the evil ones power-
less, and to summon to the assistance of himself and his
friends the good spirits, who will fight for them and
overthrow their enemies.

The Indians gathering round Red Elk were ready to
believe that the white troopers would be powerless against
them, if the spirits of the air, of the hills and mountains,
could be brought by Stone Eater to fight on the side of
the Indians. :

To make ote believe this strongly was now the pur-
pose of this medicine man; and the exhibition he was
giving was to impress them wae this fact.

“See!” he cried, once more, while the girl stared and

wondered as much as the Indians.
The snake appeared in his fingers again.

Sitting on his shaggy pony, with his painted face work-
ing in fiendish glee, he lifted the squirming thing aloft.

It thrust out its forked black tongue; its beady little
eyes seemed to snap with fury.

“See!” he cried again, dramatically. ”
There was a quick motion—a motion made so quickly

BIL’ SIORIES.

that the eye could not follow it—and the snake seemed
to yanish down his wide throat,

He lifted his empty hand, smacked his lips, made a
wry gesture; then, reaching round, he seemed to pull the
snake from the hood of his blanket, at his neck.

It was a performance worthy of any juggler anywhere.

That it was all trickery did not make it the less im-
pressive to these Indians, who believed firmly in his
powers. :

As he had the blanket looped about him in capacious
folds, covering his arms to his wrists, thé truth is that
the snake was deftly concealed within the folds of the
blanket.

‘It was a tamed rattlesnake, and to guard against acci-
dent he had extracted its poison fangs.

Hence, what seemed a dangerous and marvelous per-
formance was not dangerous, and marvelous: only as it
exhibited his skill and dexterity,

Again the snake appeared, seemingly out of the air,
and again it seemed to vanish down his throat.

This time it stayed there, apparently; and from his
mouth a cloud of smoke came.

The smoke floaied for a little while above his head,
then the wind blew it away.

“Gonel. he cried. 1 Snake: all. gone:
smoke, and float away !

He smiled, and looked about.

Stone Eater was exceedingly vain of his powers, and
loved praise, and it delighted him to behold the wide-
mouthed wonder of the staring Indians.

_ As for Nell Slocum, she felt for this old medicine man
an inconceivable horror. |

She shuddered.

“Oh, I must get away from these people!
can I—how can I?” —

“Old Stone Eater is really a. marvel,” said Manton
Marlin, taking this opportunity to speak to the girl.

He turn to

But how

“Did you speak to me, sir ?’’ she asked, in icy tones.

“Why, yes,’ he cried, with affected gayety; “I hope
you didn’t think I was talking to the air.”

Though she was very pale, she held her head erect.

“T shouldn’t think you would have the effrontery to —
speak to mel".
“Wouldn't have the cheek, eh?”
“Not after what you have done.”
“My deareNell—don’t be foolish,” he urged. ‘‘We are
no longer in a civilized land, and so are not bound by its
foolish coventionalities. I speak to you because I wish
to

“T don’t wish to hear you.”

Her words angered him. A bit of color came to his
rather pale face.

‘Whether you want t6 hear me or not,.I think you will
have to hear me a good deal before this thing is over.”

 

 

 

 
(vO ect Wa

 

 

REE

 

fellows.

the only thing I could do.

time.

SS ica icarscecpnearinen 2a

THE PUPEALO

“Tt will be over soon!” she said, though she felt far
from being as confident as her words asserted.

“In what way? Going to kill yourself, and so deprive
me of your lovely presence?”

“It will be over soon, for the troopers will rout these
They will destroy them. Having been a trooper
yourself, you ought to know that. You ought to know
that these Indians can’t resist and defy the United States
Government successfully. Wheén that time comes, where
will you be?” '

“My dear girl, don’t let that distress you. There are

_ places in these mountains where a man could live for-

ever, and all the troopers of Uncle Sam couldn’t drag
him out.
comes to worst, you and I will fly to one of them, and
live there as happy as a pair of humming birds.”

“Never!”

“All right, if you think so. But let me tell you—I came
here because I couldn’t go any, place else. When the
devil drives a man, he is apt to become desperate. He
drove me hard, and I had to do something. This was
I shall take my chances with
these Indians. You happened to be there in the camp,
and I thought I’d like to take you along for pleasant
company. You ought to thank me for the compliment.
I did that because I am fond of you.”

“Don’t speak to me!” she ordered.

She closed her white lips firmly ; and, though her cheeks
were now flaming, she would say nothing more at that

The flight of the Indians was a hasty one, made in a
helter-skelter scamper for the safer protection of the
big mountains.

Red Elk knew he could make such a flight now.

The troopers under Lieut. James were but a recon-
noitering party, and not strong enough in numbers to
dare an attack on the superior force of the Indians.

The main body of the Seventh Cavalry was still some
distance away, and could not at once come up.”

It was Red Elk’s plan to reach the security of certain
fastnesses of which he had been informed, and there pre-
pare to resist the troopers to the last ditch..

He was sure that old Stone Eater would be able to

‘imspire the warriors to a fighting frenzy, and that they
_ would not surrender or scatter until their power was
absolutely broken.

And, though he now hated the young white renegade
who had come to him from the i he was glad that
he had come.

Manton Marlin would be worth a dozen Indians. Mar-
lin knew that death would be his portion if he were taken
by the troopers. Hence he would do all that he could
to thwart and overthrow them.

Marlin was a trained soldier. Knowing the tactics

lee Ue eee tn eo Sinem on tig ea eg ua

I know of some of those places; and, if worst ~

Eee eee er tere fee RY eee se

 

BILE STORIES. : rT

of soldiers, he would be an adviser and aid worthy of
the name. . :

So Red Elk conversed much with Manton Marlin
while this flight was on, and together they laid plans
for strengthening the defenses they expected to erect, and
for beating back the troopers of the Seventh Cavalry
when those formidable fighting men arrived.

The point'to which Red Elk fled with his constantly
increasing force was a narrow valley in the Sawtooth
Mountains, which he reached by the middle of the second
day of his flight.

This valley was surrounded by high mountains and
precipitous cliffs. 9

A canyon ran through it, and the only way to get into
or out of the valley was by way of this canyon, which
was narrow and partly filled by a plunging torrent.

The widest end of the canyon lay toward the east, the
point from which the troopers must attack, for they
could not well get into the rear of the Indians, because
of the terrible mountains, which were notched like a
saw and had no trails.

The Indians expected to escape, if they were routed,
by way of the upper end of the canyon, which again
they could defend, and so delay the advance of the sol-
diers.

When this valley was gained, Manton Marlin carefully
inspected it, in company with Red Elk.

“You, Man-that-Rides, must show my Indians how to
fortify this canyon so that the white soldiers cannot take
it,” was the commission given to Manton Marlin by Red
Elk.

Forthwith, Marlin set to work; and, though the In-
dians were poorly supplied with tools, and were not
used to such labor, he had them soon engaged in throw-
ing up. earthworks across the canyon, at a point where
there was sufficient ground.

These earthworks he covered outwardly with the branch-
ing tops of trees, to entangle the charging troopers and
their horses.

As he began this labor, Manton Marlin’s mind was at
work on a plan that had been taking shape ever since He
met Red Elk out beyond the trooper camp, and saw that
strange start and the strange look in RedsEIk’s face.

“Tt will be a battle to the death between us soon,’ was
his thought, “and I’m not going to be the one to fall, if
I can help ity?

Thereupon, while pushing and superintending this
work of building defenses, he sought to increase his hold
on the medicine man.

Stone Eater remembered him as a boy. The medicine
man had liked the bright-faced little fellow, and he ad-
mired the youthful trooper who had turned his back on
his soldier friends to become an Indian.

Stone Eater had seen renegades before. He knew that
no man hated the whites and would fight them with more

 
i THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES,

fury than a renegade, ‘to whom capture by his old com-
panions would mean death.

So Stone Eater had many talks with the renegade, and
his good opinion of Manton Marlin was increased.

As for Nell Slocttm, she was as miserable as it was
possible for such a prisoner to be.

The dirty lodges of the Indians disgusted her, and
the. old squaw into whose charge she was given was
brutal and insulting in her manner. Altogether, she
seemed to have fallen on hard lines.

“And just when I thought I was free!’ she wailed.
“Just when I thought I was free! Oh, Mr. Cody, if
you could but come now—now!

~

CHAPVER Vib.
THE HOUNDS OF THE HILLS.

- It must not be supposed that all this time Buffalo. Bill
and Nick Nomad were idle.

As soon as it was known that the Indians were in
full flight toward the Sawtooth Mountains, Lieut. James
sent a courier to hurry on the Seventh Cavalry,

With his own little company he began a pursuit, but
because his force was so small, he dared not attack.

Buffalo Bill and Nick Nomad scouted in front of the
troopers, to prevent them from falling into an ambus-
cade. :

An ambuscade would undoubtedly have been laid, but
for the fact that Red Elk and Manton Marlin knew
it would be a useless waste of time; the troopers would
not tumble into it, so long as i had Buffalo Bill at
the head of the scouts.

One of the defenses on which ee Eater relied was
made apparent to Nick Nomad soon after his arrival in
the vicinity of the fortified valley.

He had separated from Buffalo Bill, that they might
cover more ground.

The troopers under Lieut. ae were still several
hours behind.

As the old trapper ie ee talking in his ee way
to his shaggy and ungainly looking pony, he observed
what he at first took to be a pair of big mountain wolves.

They were looking down on him from the rise of a
low hill, regarding him intently. ce

“Waugh!” he prunted.. “Ei I warn’t so near ter Red
Elk’s Injuns, I’d take a shot at you critters.”

He shook his gnarled fist. at them.

Somewhat to his surprise, they seemed to regard this
asa challenge.

They came loping down che hill toward him. Four
more joined them as they Be on, forming an ugly
band.

_ Nick Nomad fingered the tong rifle he habitually car-
ried across his knees when he was in the saddle.
It was an old-fashioned weapon, a muzzle loader, but

he would not have exchanged it for the best repeating
rifle that ever came out of a gun factory.

Never was a truer gtin made, yet it could be fired but
once without reloading.

“Watigh! They looks as ef they wanted ter tackle
us, Nebby. Waal, we'll make some of ’em sick, ef they
do. 39

Then his astonishment became so great that for a mo-
merit he was wordless. He saw that these were not
wolves, but dogs of a long-bodied breed, with ferocious
heads and tremendous muscles. They looked to. be a
combination of mastiff, wolfhound and bulldog.

Strange stories of a breed of wild dogs in the Sawtooth
Mountains had floated about the Western country, and
some of these stories had reached the trapper in his
loneliness. But he had not believed the stories. Espe-
cially he had not believed the account which declared that
these dogs were not wild, but belonged to an old Indian,
who had trained them to, hunt and fight, to trail and pur-
sue, with a relentlessness never surpassed by bloodhounds.

Now, these stories came back to old Nick Nomad, when
he saw the six dogs come swinging down the hill toward
him, showing their cruel teeth.

As they drew near, they began to bay. A

When they did that, an Indian form appeared on the

nearest ridge.

Nick Nomad saw it, for nothing that moved near him
ever escaped the notice of his keen eyes.

“Bur-durn ef that mustn't be ther Injun they say owns
these hyar critters!” he grunted. |

He lifted his rifle, as if tempted to fire at the Indian,
but the feathered head disappeared instantly.

Then across the distance a shrill, high Marae sounded.
It cut the air like a knife.

‘When the dogs heard it, they ceased their slow lope,
and made a furious dash at Nick Nomad, baying loudly.

“Waugh! Settin’ ther dogs onter us, is he?
we'll see about that!” -

He lifted*the long rifle, and, though the foremost dog
was advancing with tremendous leaps, so true was the
trapper’s aim that when the rifle cracked, the dog turned
a somersault, and was dead almost instantly, with a
bullet through its head.

Again that sharp whistle cut the air.

The shot which killed the leading dog did not turn
the others back.. That keen whistle seemed to throw
them into a fury, and they sprang at Nebuchadnezzar as

if they would pull him down and drag the rider out of
the saddle. :

Nick Nomad drew the revolver he carried, and began -
Another went down, and a second —

to fire at the dogs.
was wounded.

The others leaped at the throat of the horse.
Nebuchadnezzar sprang backward, whirling half round.

Waal,’

   

 

 

 

 

 

 
  
 

 
 

  
 

 

 

Fe eee EN NEEL MEIN D Rs

THE BUUEALO

They leaped again at the horse’s throat, as Nick Nomad
fired at them.

One of them caught Nebuchadnezzar on the angle of

“the jaw, and made a gash before he was shaken off.

The trapper drove his heels into the horse’s side.

With a great bound, Nebuchadnezzar cleared the bay-
ing dogs and sped down the way he had come.

The keen whistle shrilled again, in a different key.

_ There were but two hourds able to continue the pur=>
suit. These stopped when they heard EM whistle, and
turned about.

“Waugh! Did ye ever? Who ever heerd o’ sich pizen
critters? In another minute, Nebby, they’d ’a’ cut yer
throat; and when they'd downed you, I reckon that old
Nick would ’a’ had a hard time of it.”

He took a pistol shot at the dogs as they ran in the
direction from which the whistle had sounded; but Nick
Nomad was not as expert with the revolver as with the
long rifle, and the dogs ran on uninjured.

Yet two of the dogs were dead, he was sure, and
two more were injured. *

“He won't set his dogs onter us ag’in, anyhow he
growled.

Then he climbed angrily out of the saddle, and ex-
amined the hurt which Nebuchadnezzar had received.

As he did so, he heard a clatter of hoofs, and Buffalo
Bill came in sight, riding at’a swift gallop.

The scout had heard the shooting and the yelping of

_ the dogs, and was coming to ascertain what the noise

meant.

“Waugh!” squalled the trapper, when he beheld the
scout. “We ain’t got only Injuns ter fight, it seems, but
cussed dogs that air wuss than any wolves I ever tackled!
See what they done ter Nebby.”

‘When Buffalo Bill and Nick Nomad proceeded to the
spot where the trapper had fought this strange battle
with the dogs, they. found the bodies of the two dogs
which he had slain.

“Right over thar ther Injun blowed ther whistle an’
set ‘em onter me,’ said the trapper.

With rifle held in ee Buffalo Bill approached
this place.

The Indian and his dose. were gone; but far beyond,
in the direction of the canyon gap, they beheld him, mov-
ing alertly. Two dogs't ran at his side, and two followed,
limping.

“T reckon I purty well cleaned out his paces o’ hounds,”
was the trapper’s comment.

 

CHAPTER VII.
STONE EATER AND HIS DOGS.

The Indian who had set the-dogs upon Nick Nomad
was old Stone Eater, the medicine man and magician.

jen ten te er Geaieleas

‘LHe wounded dogs, as well as those. .
_ uninjured, had disappeared.

sry on A eae al No

Seen

 

BILL STORIES. 13

He had been out beyond the canyon gap, scouting
about to ascertain if the troopers were near.

He had with him six hounds, and he was training
them, as he had trained many others. By changing the
note of his whistle, he could send them forward or call
them back. He tould cause them to charge whatever
was before them, whether it were man or beast; and such
was their natural courage and ferocity that, once they
began a fight, they would fight to the death if he did not
recall them. Sometimes even he could not. call them
back, when their blood smoked hot in the midst of a
fierce battle.

The loss of the two dogs slain by Nick Nomad threw
the medicine man into a rage.

Observing, from his elevation, that Buffalo Bill was
coming to the trapper’s aid, he called off the hounds, and
beat a hasty retreat toward the canyon gap, which was
the entrance to the present Indian stronghold.

Near the canyon efitrance he encountered Manton Mar-
lin.

Marlin had been doing some scouting on -his own’ ac-
count.

He had heard the clamor of the young dogs and the
shots, and he looked curiously now at Stone Eater.

“Your dogs tried to bite off more than they could
chew,” he said, in what he meant to be a humorous tone.

Old Stone Eater lcoked at him fiercely.

The dogs limped by into the canyon and oa
as he thus stopped to speak to Marlin.

“Tf I had had my old dogs with me, that white devil
would have been dead, both him and his horse!” he de®
clared.

His eyes burned with rage, and his painted face was
contorted. ‘
“T’m hoping that your dogs will be worth as much as
you think, when the time comes,” said the renegade.
“Come see them!” snapped the medicine man.
Manton Marlin walked along at his side, turning back
into the valley, where Indians were even then at work
strengthening the fortifications, under his instructions.

“Who was the white man your dogs tackled?” he

asked.

“The Wanderer.”

“Oh, that old trapper!’
near.”

“Yes, eis there. I saw him also.”

“Did you set your dogs on him?”

“He was not there at the time. He came later.”

The young may looked at Stone Eater craftily.

“T noticed that you had some trotible with Red Elk
yesterday ?” he said, in a questioning tone.

Then Buffalo Bill must be

The face of the medicine man again took on a fiendish
look.

“May the devil-spirits of the hills haunt him; may owls
make nests in his hair; may hawks. tear out his eyes; and

 
 

4 _THE BUFFALO

when he reaches the happy hunting grounds, may he light

on a desert where there is no game and no water!”

“Vet Red Elk is in Se ei here. Ie, cats say 10
you go there, and you must go.”

The medicine man eee hig wishes that horrible
things might happen to the chief.

“How many other chiefs are there here?”

“Three others—White Loon, Crawling
Done Lance)”

“One is a Snake, one a Sioux and the other a Black-
Toot,

Ves.

“They will not get along well together. Neither of
them is a Crow; not one of them belongs to your tribe.”

“T£ we had a Crow chief here, I would set him over
all of them, even over Red Elk,” Stone Eater boasted.

“Could you do it? Red Elk would. fight to hold his
position.”

“He might fight, but I would do it.”

“Tf Red Elk were not in the way, I Ses some one
-else might be chosen chief?”

“Ves but I do not want either of those—White Loon,
Crawling Adder or Long Lance—to be chief. The white
men are at the canyon gate. They are strong fighters.
If we do not have a strong war chief to lead us, they
will break in upon us, and then we shall die by the gun
and the knite.’’.

The old medicine man sobered in his Heneanor as he
thus talked.

“Ah, here are your dogs!” exclaimed Marlin, yee
the subject abruptly.

Adder and

They had come to a group of rough brush kennels set

against the canyon wall. Here were scores of dogs, of

the breed encountered by Nick Nomad; and there were »

scores more of the same kind in the village, all owned.
and trained by the old medicine man.

“Where did you get these dogs?” asked Marlin, patting
the heads of some of the fierce brutes, as the old Indian
pointed them out and dilated on their good qualities.

“T have reared them in these hills for years,” said Stone
Eater. ‘‘They were a wild breed at first. I caught them
in the hills, years ago. I bred them to wolves, and then
at the agencies I bought dogs, big dogs, strong, fierce
dogs. I mixed the breed until I have what you see—dogs
that can fight, that can run, that will obey me.” |

He passed from dog to dog, saying a word here and
there, stroking their heads.

Over these brutes the old medicine man seemed to
have hypnotic power. Ata word from him they crouched
and whined. When he spoke to them in a different tone,
they bristled in anger, and even seemed about to dash
at the throat of Manton Marlin.

“Tt is not enough to be a medicine-man, able to do’

strange things and heal strange diseases,’ said Stone
Eater. ‘“‘A medicine man has enemies, men who would

BILL STORIES,

do him harm. I have more: than once fought such an
enemy. Five years ago Stalking Deer, a chief of the
Crows, sought my life. A few men clung to my for-
tunes. Stalking Deer came upon me. I fought him ®
with the few men who were my friends. But it was my
dogs that saved me.”

His burning, black eyes flashed at this recollection.

“See you that dog over there—the old dog with the
scar on his nose? He killed Stalking Deer, in the midst
of the fight. That scar was made by Stalking Deer’s
knife. I should have been in the happy hunting grounds
but for my dogs.”

He looked round at the brutes that fawned upon and

followed him.

They are worth ere than your fighting soldiers,
more than many warriors,’ he declared. ‘They are al-
ways true. Never do they seek to strike me in the back.
They are ever my friends, and will fight for me to the
death.”

_ The fierce hounds bristled as if they understood his
words.

Manton Marlin almost shuddered as he observed it.

“T shouldn’t want them to be turned loose against me!’

“Woe - you the day that they are! May it be long
in coming.”

“T can say ‘Amen’ to that—may they never. be ordered
to set their teeth in me. But I’m glad you’ve got them.
We'll use them against the troopers when they arrive.”

The conversation had been carried on in the Crow
tongue, of which Manton Marlin was a master. ‘

Again he went back to Red Elk, as a subject of con-
versation.

' “Many of the warriors do not ae Red Elk?” he said,
in a tone of inquiry.

“They fear him,” said Stone Eater.

“Why: pat

“Why! Because he sets himself so high. He is lord
over all. Chiefs and warriors who are old fighting men >
with many scars do not like it.”’

“But whatever happens,
friends, Stone Eater?’

“So long as Man-that-Rides is the true oe of Stone
Baten.

“T want to be your friend always. e
“Then Stone Eater will be the friend of Man- that-
Rides.”

Manton Marlin ote out his hand.

you and [ will be strong

It was not the Indian custom to shake hands over a
thing of this kind, as white men do; but Stone Eater was

_ somewhat acquainted with white man’s WAYS, and he took

the extended hand.

“We will be close friends, strong friends, Stone Eater,
whatever happens. Remember that in all things I will
stand by you. And I hope that you will always stand
by me.”

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

=

THE BUFFALO

“Man-that-Rides hasgleft his people to become as one
born with a red skin. While he is true to his new people,
Stone Eater is his friend.”

It was not just the thing that Manton Marlin wanted
by way of agreement and promise, but he contented him-
self with it; and after a further inspection of the jumping

_-and esas dogs, he turned about, ening. Stone Eater

with them.

 

CHAPTER IX,
THE RENEGADE’S TRIUMPH.

Manton Marlin again passed through the canyon gap.

Instead of continuing on in the direction in which
Stone Eater reported the scout and the trapper to be, he
turned off to one side, and mounted by way of a small
gorge to some high ridges.

From the peaks of these ridges, a view of the surround-
ing country could be obtained.

To these ridges, as Marlin knew, Red Elk had gone
not long before.

Having climbed to a considerable height, and passed
down into a cuplike hollow, he affected surprise when he
beheld Red Elk before him.

The young Sioux chief had beén watching the two
horsemen out on the plain before the’ canyon, those two

horsemen being Buffalo Bill and Nick Nomad.

He turned to greet Manton Marlin when the latter
approached.

“Ah, Red Elk,” said Marlin,
not far behind those two men out there.

“the whité troopers are
‘Those scouts

are like the weeds that fly before the storm.”

Si

“One of them was attacked by Stone Eater’s dogs,”
remarked the chief.

“Yes, I saw Stone Eater and. fie dogs when they came
ine . :
“Two of the dogs did not come in,” said Red a sig-
nificantly. A

“Where did the fight with the dons take place??? Mar-

lin asked, though he knew well enough.

“You can see from here,”’ was the answer of the chief,
as he stepped to the edge of a cliff slightly higher than
any near it, and pointed with lean, brown forefinger out
over the. plain.

Manton Marlin advanced to look.

Suddenly Red Elk caught him by the arm, and lee
him forward. A knife flashed in the hand of the Sioux
chief.

The treacherous deed which Mantes Marlin contem-
plated seemed to have been turned back upon himself.
He had been wondering how he could attack Red Elk
and slay him with safety to himself, anid Red Elk had
commenced the attack.

Manton Marlin understood the situation in a flash.

Red Elk wanted now to get rid of him.

Ko iv.
§ ea ve Wa,
emcee ca etnias ani

te ncn meena tihetepcrihsimbinoneyh one emctonte rit iy cat aac

- wheel.

 

BILL STORIES. .

15

Marlin had shown the Indians how to construct those
fortifications and breastworks, from behind which it was
hoped the Indians could beat back their white foes. That
done, he could do no more than any Indian could do.
And he had set his heart on the white girl whom Red
Elk desired. There could be nothing but war between
them because of that.

Clutching Marlin by the arm, Red Elk lifted his knife.

But he had to deal with a foe more alert and clever
than he had thought.

As the knife fell, driven by the strong arm of the
Sioux, -the wrist of the knife hand was caught in a
powerful grasp, and the point of the blade was turned
aside. .

Then a struggle began for possession of the knife.

Knowing that on his own exertions and skill depended
now his life, Manton Marlin fought like a demon. _

Hehad been schooled in all the arts of fighting. Every
form of combat was known to him; for in the army posts
the drill in these things had been thorough. .

He was not as strong as Red Elk, but he was more
sinewy and lighter on his feet.

The combat thus begun was of the fiercest character.

Not a word was spoken; as the red man and the white
swayed back and forth on the edge of the cliff, struggling
for that knife, the possession of which might determine
the course of the struggle.

Once Marlin was bent backward by the great strength
of the Indian.

Dexterously he shifted his. position, and with an upward
kick knocked the chief’s feet from under him.

They fell together on the cliff’s edge, the Indian: on
top.

Marlin still clung to that knife hand and would not
release his terrible hold. “i

With the other hand, he now sought to get Red Elk by

| the throat.

The Indian thwarted this ‘ a ee turn aside.
The motion that followed was like that of a revolving
Tt. rolled’ them nearer the verge of the. cliff.
Marlin was now. uppermost, and had the Indian beneath
him. He had also, with his free hand, in that quick
turn, got the Sioux by the throat. 7
“Curse you!’ he grated, speaking for the first time. 4
“Curse you, for a red fiend! You tried to kill me, and
now over you go!” :
He tried to hurl Red Elk from the cliff.

The Sioux chief wound arms and legs round him, and
clung with blind tenacity.

But in thus saving himself, Red Elk relaxed his hold
of the knife.

‘Marlin tore it from his grasp, and with one swift mo-
tions drove it into the chief’s neck. - ae

- horrible, gurgling sound followed.

 
 

6 : 0. THE BUFFALO

“Over you go!’’ yelled Marlin, now ina frenzy. “Over
.you go, you hound!’
The wound in the throat kee Red Elk. > He

pawed the air wildly.

breast.

A wailing cry gurgled in his throat. ;

The next instant he shot downward through space, with
the knife sticking in his bosom.

Manton Marlin lay on the edge of the cliff, panting
from the effect of his exertions.

His face was. white and his eyes very bright.

“T’ve killed him!” he whispered, as he heard Red Elk’s
body strike on the rocks.

He lifted himself on his hands, and with white Face
looked over.

Far below he saw the form of the Indian lying, hands
thrown out and the attitude that of death. —

“And I might have gone over there!’ he whispered,
with something of horror in his tone.

He seemed to forget for the moment that from the first
he had contemplated killing the Sioux chief. It was a
strange mental state which made him forget this, and feel
that only in self-defense had he slain Red Elk.

He began to consider the effect of his deed.

When he had come up to those heights, dreaming of
the death of Red Elk, certain hopes blossomed in his
mind.

‘With Red Elk dead, he had believed that he might him-
self become chief of these Indians, if he could gain the

support of the medicine man. Could he gain that sup-
- port?

UD Gantry; ie said. “Old Stone Eater thinks well of
me, and he don’t like those chiefs a little bit, because not
one of them is a Crow Indian. Well, I am not a Crow
_ Indian, yet he looks on me as his especial friend.”

He glanced down at his clothing.

“That’s good! ! he cried. “I wonder I’m not as bloody
as a butcher!”

There was but one slight stain of blood visible, and
this he removed carefully, using some mossy grass for
the purpose, instead of a handkerchief or piece of his
own clothing.

When he had removed the blood stain, and in some
measure had regained his strength and the control of
his nerves, he turned back by the way he had mounted,
and descended to the canyon entrance?

Old Stone Eater met him there.

“Did you see Red Elk?” the medicine man asked.

“I saw him, but I was not near him. He was on
those peaks. It is a dangerous place. too, for Buffalo
Bill and that trapper are not far away.

_ The old medicine man regarded him attentively.
“My son,’
with you.”

he said, in a queer way, “I would speak

Again the knife fell, driven this time into the chief’s

BILE STORIES.

CHAPTERe x.
THE RENEGADE'S ELEVATION. oe

There was wailing that night in the edocs ‘clustered
in the canyon under the Sawtooth Mountains.

Some of the young bucks had found the body of Red
Elk.

They had brought it into the village, and the women
were howling over it in the customary Indian fashion,
screeching and beating their bosoms.

Red Elk was to be buried the day following, a the
warriors and chiefs were gathering in the large lodge
pitched near the center of the village. This was the
council lodge, and there, that night, a new chief was to
be chosen; not a supreme chief, but a war chief.

The white troopers, it was known, were not far dis-
tant; and some fighting man of undoubted courage and

skill must be selected to lead the braves who would try
to hurl those white Beas warriors back into the arms
of death.

When the time oF speaking came, and the drums and
chanting, the singing and boasting had ended, old Stone
Eater rose in his place in the council.

To the surprise of many, in a speech that bristled with
strong arguments, he presented for that place none other
than Manton Marlin, the white renegade.

The only ones who did not know that this was coming
were the adherents of the three chiefs already mentioned
—White Loon, Cra wling Adder and Long Lance.

When he had called Manton Marlin aside, after the
latter had slain Red Elk, the shrewd old medicine. man
had done so because he had read in Marlin’s face a
record of the deed committed.

Instead of denouncing Marlin for the crime, Stone
Eater had commended him, and had declared his purpose
of elevating him to the position of war chief.

There are different degrees of chieftainship in an In-
‘dian village or tribe.

. The war chief is he who feds. the fenine men. Often
he has no other power of command.

In presenting the name of Man-that- Ride for the place
of war chief, old Stone Eater declared that he had been
commanded to do so by the spirits of the hills and of the
canyons.

The old liar. announced that three little, old men, so
small they were that he could’ have held them on the
palm of his hand, had come to him as he lay talking
with the earth spirits and the spirits of the canyons and
of the mountains.

These little, old men had once been war chiefs. One
of them had been a Snake, the other a Crow, and the
third a Sioux; and they had told him that if the young
white man who was now in the village were made war
chief, victory would come to the Indians. |

To prove that he spoke truly, Stone Eater spat fire out

 

 

a

i

 

 
 

 

  

  

i
%
}
|
i
4
‘y

 

 

 

 

pesca

 

 

THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES. | 17

of his mouth, breathed smoke from his nostrils,
cried out that even then he heard the three little men
talking to him, urging the Indians to choose Man-that-
Rides for the war chief.

Of course Stone Eater did not state that it was Man-
that-Rides who had slain Red Elk. He professed to
believe that Red Elk had fallen at the hands of the Scout®

with-the-Long-Hair, as the Indians called Buffalo Bill._

This was a thing that could easily be believed, for
Buffalo Bill was known to be ne near, and all the
Indians feared him.

The friends of White Loon, of Crawling Adder and
Long Lance asked some sharp questions of the old
medicine man, but he was ready for them.

A rattlesnake fell out of the folds of the blanket of
the questioner who was nearest him, much to the astonish-
ment of that individual. The medicine man picked up
this snake, and deliberately swallowed it, or appeared to
do so, though it went by some quick twist of his wrist
out of sight and into his own blanket.

This was proof enough.

The man who could do that had, of course, communi-
cation with spirits, and his declaration that the spirits
said that the young white chief who had joined the
Indians should be the war chief was no longer ques-
tioned.

The council broke up with wild dancing and yelling.

In the midst of the dancing, the new war chief, Man-
ton Marlin, departed quietly from the council lodge.

Entering the lodge occupied by the girl, Nell Slocum,
he sat down before her.

He had put on a war bonnet, moccasins, and had painted
his face. But she knew him, and the ae of him in
this garb made her shudder.

“I came to tell you what has happened,” he said, speak-
ing in a low tone, though he was sure that if any In-
dians heard, they could not understand his English. “I
am now in command here; I have been chosen chief, in
place of Red Elk, who is dead.”

She looked at him earnestly, and what she saw in 1 his
face made her tremble.

“Under ordinary circumstances, I suppose it would be
a thing of good omen to have a white man elevated to
such a place.”

“Ts it not a thing of good omen?” he asked.

“Not to me, I fear.”

“To you as much as to me, if you're willing to be

sensible.”

“Tf you were a man of any honor, Mr. Marlin, you
would release me, now that it seems in your power to
do so.”
® he declared.

“You say you are now the chief?”

“That isn’t in my power,

“But there are other chiefs;
cannot do as he pleases.

He must have regard to the

Lad

and besides, even a chief .

wishes of the warriors, or he will not be a chief very
long. They will depose him in the council, and so put
him down.” |

“T can see that you do not mean to help me in any way.
I had no right to hope you would.” |

“T have told you what I intend to do,” he said.

“You want me to marry you, and live here like a
squaw.. Do you think I would ever do that? I would
kill myself first.”

His painted face flushed, though the paint well con-
cealed the fact.

“Now, see here,’ he said, almost angrily. ‘There is
no use of foolishness. I have certain powers here. They
are enough to make it possible for me to have you treated
well, yet that is about all. I can’t set you at liberty.”

“You wouldn’t if you could! I haven’t forgotten that
you placed me here aS a prisoner. I owe my misery to
you.”

There was a trace of tears, though her eyes flashed.

“Yes, I placed you here. We've talked that over, so
I'll not repeat it. If you want me to treat you well,
you must treat me well. Crying won’t do you any good.
We can’t get away from here; at least, I can’t, and I
don’t want to. I’m not going to trouble you. I will
see that you have decent treatment, and are not disturbed.
By and by, in return for this, I shall expect you to show
me some consideration.”

“Never !’’

Her eyes blazed defiantly.

“That's a long time!’ he said, mockingly.

“I thought well of you once, Mr. Marlin, but now I
shall hate you as long as I live. And if there is a just
God in the heavens, he will punish you for this. crime
against me, and for your traitorous conduct toward your
country. You are a traitor and a renegade, and if you
are caught, you'll be shot for deserting to the Indians.”

He rose to his feet, shaking with anger.

“Pile it on, Miss Slocum! The time will come when
you'll regret these things. And if I should be killed in
the fight that is soon coming, just remember that you'll
be worse off because of it than you are now. Living,
I can protect you from these Indians; when I am dead,
if such a hard fate comes to me, no one can protect you.”

“TI can protect myself,” she declared.

“How: 2?

She drew a small revolver from her bosom.

It had been given to her by Buffalo Bill, and she had
concealed it so well that its pe on her person was,
unknown to the Indians.

“T can first shoot the man that attempts to insult me, and
then I can shoot myself. There is a way of escape from
these Indians, Mr. Marlin.”

He stared, aghast.

“While I live, you will not need to use that, for I can
protect you.”

 
    

    

39

“T may use it against you, Mr. Marlin,” she declared,
steadily.

But when he was gone, leaving her alone, her steadi-
ness and courage forsook her, and she gave way to her

grief and her tears.

 

SHAPER XI,
THE ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE,

The result. of Marlin’s revelation of his elevation to

the position of war chief of the renegade Indians deter-

mined the girl to attempt a flight from the village that
night.

Having come to this heroic ae, she put her

tears aside, and tried also to forget her fears.

She examined the little revolver more carefully than
she had yet done.

There were five cartridges in it, and she had a few more
hidden in the bosom of her dress.

The knowledge that she possessed this little weapon
strengthened her resolution.

If worst came to worst, she could, as she had declared
to Marlin, slay one at least of her persecutors, and then
turn the revolver on herself.

At first she thought it wise to wait antl the darks
hours before the morning.

But when midnight had passed, and the howling a
dancing in the council lodge continued, she resolved to
make the effort at once. It seemed to her that the sounds
from the council house would serve to screen her move-
ments,

The old squaw who had been set by Red Elk to guard
her, and who had been away when the interview with
Marlin took place, had returned, but she had thrown her-
self down at the further end of the lodge, and seemed
now to be asleep. |

Rising from the corner where she had crouched, Nell
Slocum crept softly to the spot where the squaw lay.

Slowly and with much care she drew away the blanket
which the squaw had drawn over her.

It was little better than a filthy rag, and the girl shud-
dered when she touched it. Yet she deliberately: placed
-it round her shoulders and over her head, as nearly as
possible as she had seen the squaw wear it. :

Stepping now to the flap of the tent, she looked out.

There was no moon, but the stars were bright. .

They revealed the dim mountains that hung round the
canyon like sentinels.

Here and there a fire gleamed through the darkness,
~~ and a dog skulked now and then from tent to tent in
search of bones and offal. °

Drums were booming and Indians were singing and
dancing in the big council house, and there most of the
braves were gathered, except those who were on guard at
the canyon entrances and at the new fortifications.

   

18 THE BUFFALO

BILL STORIES\

survey, for her heart was shaken.

She glanced about like a wild animal seeking shelter.
For a time she contemplated a flight by the rear of the
lodge.

“No, that wouldn’t do!” she thought. “Tf anyone saw
me, they would know the squaw wouldn't leave the lodge
in that sneaking fashion. Yet I must do something at
once—at once—for she may awake at any moment!”

Again she stepped up to the flap, which served as the
front door.

For a full minute she stood in trembling hesitation.

“T will!” she declared. “I. can but die, and it is a
living death to stay here!” :

She clutched the revolver under the folds of the hooded
blanket, and, stooping in the manner of the old squaw, she
passed slowly from the lodge by this front way.

Hobbling round the tent, she set off at a slow and

halting gait, stopping now and then to peer about, as she |

had seen the old squaw do.

A dog came sniffing by, and she stopped in sheer terror.
But. the filthy blanket protected her from the prowling
brute, and he passed on.

As she hobbled on, moving toward the ower ae of the
village, a squaw who saw her called to her in a a friendly
way. ;

The girl’s heart leaped with fear.

She mumbled something which no one could have un-
derstood, and waved her hand under her blanket,

The squaw shouted back in a laughing way.

The girl wanted to break into a wild run.

She chécked the impulse, for the act would have pen
fatal.

The squaw shouted Sorretning else, but the girl passed
on, picking up a stick here and there, as if she were
gathering wood for the lodge fire.

Her heart was thumping so wildly that it seemed to
shake her whole body, and she felt hot and cold by turns.
Her hands trembled and her limbs were so weak that at
times she felt she was going to fall. Yet she moved on,

. slowly, toward the lower end of the village, which was
_ not far from the canyon entrance. :

“How am I ever to get past those guards?” was now
a thought.

- The squaw had disappeared, and, as a consequence, her
courage rose again.

She knew that the bold course she had pursued would

no longer avail.

Hence, when she drew near the fortifications, she -

dropped to the ground, hiding herself in the darkness.
She hoped she had not been seen by the guards.

Fer position was now perilous in the extreme.
away were the kennels of the fierce dogs.
covered her and attacked her hope would be lost.

Not far

As she lay, crouching low in the darkness, she listened -

4

The girl drew back from the lodge opening, after that.

 

 

If they, dis- _

 

  

tk

S¢
 

 

 

THE BUFFALO

for some sound, some spoken word from the guards,
which might aid her.

To her ears floated the dancing, singing and drumming
in the council lodge.

Now and then an Indian woman wailed for the fallen
chief, Red Elk, making a nerve-racking sound.

All about the girl silence lay as heavily as the dark-
ness. Not even in the direction of the fortifications of
brush and earth, nor further, by the canyon entrance, was
a thing to be heard. - ey

Clutching the revolver, Nell Slocum now crawled on,
heading toward the mouth of the canyon.

As she did so, she discovered a dark form before her.

She was ready to cry out in fright, for she saw that
this was a man, and that he was staring at her. He held
something in his hands which she was sure was a knife or
a pistol, or, perhaps, a tomahawk.

For a moment or two she stared back at ie man, who
sat squatting before her like some great cat.

She turned about, sure the man was one of the Indian
sentinels. Her pulses leaped and she could hardly repress
a shriek of fear. Her body trembled.

As she thus turned, the form of the man seemed to
glide, with serpent speed, across the intervening space.
His hand stretched out, and she felt the blanket smothered
in a close fold about her face. She struggled to. free
herself, and was on the point of screaming.

“Hold, thar, you ole hag, er I’ll squeeze ther life outer

1?

ye!

That was what she heard, and it so astonished her that
she dropped to the ground in a limp heap.

“Waal, Jerushy Stikes, ef I ain’t skeered this hyar
squaw inter a fit! Didn’t allow Injuns v war so given ter
narves !” é

The speaker was ‘old Nick Nomad, the trapper.

The “squaw” lifted her head and moved.

“Drat ye,” he whispered, “dont try ter yelp, er Ill
slit yer windpipe! I’m in ther midst of ther Philistines,
an’ it ain’t no time fer foolishness, even with Injun
women. I ain’t goin’ ter hurt ye, but bur-durn ef I’m
goin’ ter let ye oe like a tomcat an’ bring trouble ter
me,”

“Oh! Mr. Nomad, I’m

Nick Nomad’s hand fell away as quickly as if it had
been touched by flame.

 

“Waugh! Who’s this hyar callin’ me by my name ?”
“Nell Slocum, Mr. Nomad; don’t you know Nell
Slocum?” »

He pee
“Waal, yes; but she warn’t an Injun——

99

“I'm trying to get away from the Indians. Your will
help me?’
She threw back the hood of the blanket.
“Waal, ef this hyar don’t knock me windin’!” the trap-

per whispered. ‘‘I see ye now, with that blanket off.’

Bir st ORM. 19

“T can hardly see you.”

“My eyes air used ter the dark, same’s a cat’s. Come’ S
frum much creepin’ round Injun villages in ther night, I ©
reckon. I see ye well enough. Great Jehoshaphat, but
this hyar swats me! You’ve got reg’lar grit, an’ no mis-
take. But don’t yelp out now; jes’ lay low—lay low an’
lemme do some thinkin’.” ,

“How ae you get in? We can a out the way you
came in.’

Her words trembled.

“Waal, I don’t know "bout that. I crawled right under
ther noses o’ ther guards. I war allowin’ I’d try ter gin
ye a lift “fore I went back; but, Jiminy Crickets, I didn't
expect ter be called on ter do it this way, an’ so quick.

(Lemme see! That guard is right off thar, and he’s sleepy...

Miss, I crep’ so blame clost ter that critter that I could ’a’
pulled one o’ the rooster feathers outer his ha’r. But |
didn’t. °“Twasn’t advisable jes’ then. Lemme see! Air
ye good at crawlin’ jes’ layin’ right flat down’ like a snake

-an’ wrigglin’ “long?”

. 111 do my best.”

“Waal, then, we'll try it; we'll go past that Injun thar
er bu’st suthin’ tryin’. Foller me; an’ stiddy, now, an’
slow; an’ no noise, mind ye!”

He dropped flat and moved off into the darkness.

This was a new and trying experience; but the fact of
his presence, and the hope of escape, so nerved the girl
that she was willing, an even able, to undertake this.
difficult work.

As they neared the sentinel, who sat at one end of the
fortification, seeming himself a part of the log against
which his back was BPCPP eG Nick Nomad stopped to
utter a warning.

“You're doin’ good; no one could do better. But now
it stands ye in hand ter be extry keerful. That feller is
right. over thar. See that black objict?’”’

(P seeva fogs

He chuckled, bending over in his silent way.

“Looks like a log, does it? Waal, that’s him. An’ ef
he hears anything he’ll be ther liveliest log that ever

_hopped. Come on, an’ quiet.”

They went on again.

The girl was trembling violently now. It seemed to
her she had never been so clumsy. Her dress caught, and
she scratched herself continually.

As they drew close to the Indian a twig snapped under
her hands..

He started up instantly.

A dark form seemed to shoot toward him through the —

_ darkness.

It was the body of Nick Nomad.

He struck the Indian in the breast, bowling him over,
at the same time clutching his throat.

A smothered yell, like the choked yelp of a oe
broke from the Indian’s lips.

 
 

ee
20 THE BUFR ALO

“Slide!” Nomad, whispered, to the terrified girl.

She heard him struggling with the Indian, and saw a
knife gleam in the starlight. Which of the forms she
saw tangled together in wild combat was the white trapper
and which his réd enemy she could not tell.

Fear choked her throat ; but it put speed into her limbs.
She sprang like a scared fawn toward the canyon en-
trance.

Indians came running from various directions toward
the fighting men.

Yells broke on the air, a tomahawk flashed by her head,
and a rifle flamed. Then she heard arrows thresh and
hurtle past her. It. came to her that the Indians were
shooting at her. But she was untouched, and she ran
on with the bounding leaps of a startled deer.

As she thus ran, a wild clamor broke behind her, and
out of the midst of this clamor sounded the booming notes
of baying dogs.

“Oh, the dogs are after me!” she screamed, filled with —

TKO,

But she ran on, bending every muscle to the work.

 

CHAPTER XIE.
IN TIME OF NEED.

Nell Slocum had no idea of direction as she thus, fled
from the canyon out into the surrounding darkness.

She did not stop to ask herself as to the fate of Nick
“Nomad, until she had covered a considerable distance.

When she recalled the condition in which she had left
him, a feeling that she had been cowardly came to her.
But it was swept away by the sounds of pursuit,

The baying of the dogs chilled her to the marrow.

That they were pursuing her became soon apparent.

Feeling that she could not escape from them by direct
flight, she began to look about for some trée or high rock
to which she might climb for safety.

At one side she beheld what seemed to be a mound, and
she ran toward it.

When she reached it she saw it was the refuge she
sought—a high rock, that rose sheer from the level
ground.

How to mount to the flat top was the ve that troubled
her.

Fear gave her cleverness. She found a broken bough,
placed it against the top of the rock, with the othef end
resting on the ground, and so scrambled up.

Hardly had she done this when the dogs bounded to-
ward her.

She could see them but dimly in the darkness, but their
loud baying rose clamorously. _

They had seen her take to this refuge, and they thought
they had her at their mercy. —

Liiting the bough, she tossed it to the ground.

_ Buffler, an’ we're all right.
psave yerself an’ Nebby!

BILL STORIES.

When the dogs gained the rock aud the foremost tried
to leap up to her, she shot at him with the little revolver.

The bullet took effect, bringing a yelp from him, but
the shot did not deter the others.

. They ran howling round the rock, making desperats
leaps, their eyes gleaming and their teeth clicking.

It was a horrible situation. |

- She fired again and again, and though her bullets found
lodgment now and then, none of the dogs were killed.

Those wounded seemed but to gain in savagery.

In the midst of the wild tumult a yell reached her.

- This was followed by hoofbeats; and out of the darkness
came the form of the trapper, Nick Nomad, mounted on
his horse, Nebuchadnezzar.

The hounds turned from the girl for the horseman.

“Take that, consarn ye!”

Nick Nomad began to shoot at the dogs.

Two of them rolled over, shot through the body.

He reined Nebuchadnezzar up by the side of the rock.
The dogs clamored about, and began to leap at his legs
and at the flanks of his horse:

“Right hyar!” he cried, reaching out for the girl.

Nebuchadnezzar gave a squeal of pain and anger as

~ one of the hounds tore his side.

Wheeling about, he began to kick and lunge viciously,
using his teeth as well as his heels. -

With his fighting blood up, Nebuchadnézzar was a foe
not to be despised. )

Nick Nomad, seeing that the girl feared to try to mount
to the back of the plunging beast, scrambled to the rock,
thus getting out of the saddle, and caught her in his
arms. ‘

“We've got ter hike!’ he cried. “Onter the back of
Nebby, an’ quicksabout it. Thar’ll be more’n a thousan’
Injuns on top of this place in ive minutes er less, I
reckon. Up with ye!”

Nebuchadnezzar, kicking and sauehbas had backed up
against the rock.

Nick Nomad fairly flung the girl into the saddle.

Having done that, he fired into the midst of the hounds
and sought to swing to the back of his horse. :

But at the critical moment Nebuchadnezzar, bitten by
one of the dogs, gave a quick leap, and the trapper was
spilled between the rock and his horse.

With an effort he gained the rock again as the dogs

rtished at him.

Other hoofbeats were heard, and a lotid cheer. -
“Waugh!” cried the trapper, in a high voice? “That’s
Git out o’ hyar, gal; git, an’
| Bufflef an’ me will take keer 0’
the cussed dogs.” |
Nell Slocum did not need this command. Nebuchad-
nezzar, enraged and fighting, had taken the bit in his
teeth and was uncontrollable. The next instant he was
running, at top speed, straight out into the open plain.

a

 
 

  

Buffalo Bill galloped up, a revolver in each hand.

_“Hooroar!” yelled the trapper. “Dogs an’ Injuns is
too much fer me! Now, give it to em! Watgh! Shoot
ther critters !”

The revolvers of Buffalo Bill, and the rifle and revolver
of the old trapper, made quick work of Stone Eater’s
hounds, or of such of them as had chased Nell Slocum.

Dead, dying and wounded dogs lay stretched about the
rock in bloody heaps.

‘Up hete!” cried Buffalo Bill.

Nick Nomad sprang to the back of the scout’s horse.

“Now, we'll pick up that girl,” Buffalo Bill shouted.
“She rode in that direction.”

There was a pursuit of Indians from the canyon, but
when they gained the rock where the dead and Ve ie
dogs lay, the people they sought were gone.

Out beyond, riding round in the darkness, Buffalo Bill
,and Nick Nomad were searching for Nell Slocum.

They called softly, when they felt it safe to do so.

-“Quare whar Nebby is,” said the trapper, by and by.
“T reckons [ll whistle fer him.”

He put his fingers to his lips. On the troubled air here
broke a high, clear whistle that pierced to a great dis-
tance.

A moment later Nick Nomad ppan sent forth that aa
blast.

‘Hoofbeats were heard. aoe came from the direction
of the canyon.

“That’s Nebby, er I miss my guess,’
“But what in time is ae gal doin’ over thar?”

i

“She has lost her way.”

“Looks as ef she 1 war tryin’ ter ride back an’ jine ther
Injuns.”’

._ “That horse is carrying no one,” the scout declared, as
he listened to the approaching hoofbeats.

Nick Nomad bent his head attentively.

“Yer right; that’s Nebby, but thar ain’t anyone on his
back.”

It was true. Nebuchadnezzar had returned to his mas-
ter with .bridle swinging, stirrup leathers flapping and
riderless.

“Waugh !” cet Nomad.
you rid away with? Tell me that, will ye?’

Nebuchadnezzar stood with drooping head and heaving
flanks.

He had made a fast run, and was weakened by cuts
from the teeth of the dogs.

| Phe old trapper walked round ae rubbing him gently
as he talked.

“Buffler, this critter is bit all ter pieces by. them
pesky hounds! I reckons I’ll have ter doctor him, fer he
seems ter be bleedin’ some.”

“All right,” said the scout.

’ said the trapper.

“Nebby, whar’s ther gal got ther gal wi’ “em?

“Meet me at the quaking

 

THE BUBFALO BIEL STORIES, ' 21

If the troopers advance, ‘report what you know. to

asp.
them. I’m going to find out what’s become of Nell
Slocum.”

 

ORAP TER XE.
WHOA, NEBUCHADNEZZAR!

When Buffalo Bill had departed, in the direction of
the canyon entrance, Nick Nomad gave his attention to
his horse.

“Nebby, frum ther feel of ye, I’d guess that you’d been
in ther cuttin’ teeth of a mowin’ machine, ef I didn’t know
better. A cuss on them pesky dogs, they've chawed ye
all up!”

Notwithstanding his hurts, which the trapper “doc-
tored’” as well as he could, the gamy pony was not
knocked out, by any means.

“Thar’s one thing I’m holdin’ agin’ ye,” Nick Nomad.
declared, as he rubbed the muzzle of his shaggy-headed
horse, “an’ that’s yer desartin’ of ther young lady. That
wart a mean, low-down trick, Nebby, an’ I didn’t figger
that you would do it.”

Nebuchadnezzar showed no heartrending signs of a
troubled conscience.

On the contrary, he stuck his nose to the a and be-
gan to nibble at the grass. /

“Talkin’ ter you about good deeds an’ ‘thet milk 0’
human kindness is sort o’ like pourin’ worter on a duck’s
back. Still, I says it war a mean trick, fer you ter desart

anybody, an’ especially a feniale woman in distress. Now,

ef you could only tell whar ye left her, an’ what war her
condition at that time, | might think about fergivin’ ye!”
Nebby lifted his heavy head and stared into the dark-

“ness, stopping his eager nibbling at the sward.

“She’s off thar?
Nebuchadnezzar continued to stare through the dark-
ness. |
_ Then suddenly he stiffened, his shaggy head went up,
and a low snort came from his nostrils, which were spread
wide.
“Waugh!
Injuns out thar.

I bet you're a liar.”

I knows that language, Nebby! Thar’s
Waal, what.air they doin’? Hev they
Ye don’t know? I reckons it’s up
ter us“ter find out. An’, anyway, Injuns out thar must
mean trouble fer somebody.” :

The trapper climbed softly into the saddle, and prod- —
ding his horse sendy with his heels, rode in the direction
indicated.

As they passed on, Nebuchadnezzar showed still more
uneasiness. 2

“Gittin’ clost ter them, air we?”

He drew rein and sat still in the saddle.

As he sat thus, Nebuchadnezzar wheeled Blow mov-
ing round, as if on a pivot.

“So, they're goin’ back toward ther canyon, air they?”

 
 

  

THE, BUPEAL©

22

This was Nick Nomad’s interpretation of that pivoted
turning of his horse.

He was sure that as Nebuchadnezzar turned, he kept
his nose pointed at the Indians.

Hence, though the trapper could neither see nor hear
them, he was able to tell which way they were going, when
they were moving, and when standing still.

Again he urged Nebuchadnezzar forward.

At intervals the horse swung his heavy head up and
down and stopped to paw at the sod.

His various motions were as so many sentences to the
man on his back.

“Gittin’ clost ter them ag’in, air we? Waal, | wishes
you could tell me even more. How many air they, an’
hev they got rifles with ’em, er jes’ stickers an’ bows an’
arrers?”

But this was asking too much, even of ae most in-
telligent horse.

Thus following the Indians by means of the guidance
of his horse, Nick Nomad discovered that this was a small
scouting party.

Knowing that, he knew it had been out to see what
the troopers were doing.

The men under Lieut. James were in camp, not far
away, though no camp fires burned to indicate their posi-
tion.

They were not far from the quaking asp, which was
situated lower down on the stream that came out of the
canyon, the point which Buffalo Bill had given as a ren-
dezvous.

While the trapper was still some distance from the
mouth of the canyon, he heard the horsemen, whom he
had so long been unable either to hear or see.

The pounding hoofs of their horses came to him, in-
dicating apparently that, as they were now approaching
the canyon, they had thrown caution aside.

“Buffler went that way, an’ ef they don’t run up ag’inst
him, I’m missin’ my guess!” _

The trapper drove his heels into the flanks of Nebu-
chadnezzar, causing that beast to give a quick leap and
bound after the Indians.

In a very few moments Nomad found that he had fallen
into a clever trap.

There were other Indians besides the ones whose clat-
tering hoofs he heard.

These had stopped silently, waiting for him to come on,

How they knew he was out there was a thing diffi-
cult to say, but they had smelled him out in some manner.

Now three Indians on horseback, who had waited for
him, rode out of the darkness straight at him, swinging
tomahawks and waving lances.

Nebuchadnezzar had been snorting in a warning way,
but for once the trapper had not heeded his warning,
thinking his uneasiness referred to the Indians ahead.
“Waugh!” he cried, when he saw he had run into an

BILE STORES.

ambuscade. “I reckons I war born a fool, an’ I’m liable

ster die one in, a hurry. |

Yet he was not dismayed.
Instead of fleeing, he drove his shaggy-headed oe

straight at the trio, who were charging him.

His rifle famed, and one horse galloped by riderless.

Wielding the empty gun as if it were a long club, he
turned aside the lance thrust aimed at his breast, and
bringing the rifle on round, he swept the lancer to the
ground.

The third horse Nebuchadnezzar struck with the shock
of a battering-ram.

The Indian rider was in the act of hurling his toma-
hawk,

That crashing collision caused the tomahawk to fly
wildly.

His horse went to his knees, while Nebuchadnezzar re-
coiled like a rebounding cannon. 7

Wheeling as quickly, Nebby began 6 kick.

“Waugh!” squalled the trapper, drawing his revolver,
maintaining his seat in the saddle in spite of all.. “Go it,
you Gatlin’ gun!” pe

The kicking of Nebuchadnezzar was _ the work of
a revolving, quick-fire cannon.

His heels plunged and plowed.

Nor was he kicking wildly.

His heels flew at the Indian who had ‘ambled to the
grass, and at the second Indian, who had been dismounted
by the shock given to his horse.

“Waugh! Go it, you whirligig!” the trapper yelled.
“Brain ’em. Drive their intellex down inter their spinal
marrers—squash their, red noses back inter their faces!
Whoop! Peel the paint off’n their handsome counter-
nances.”

Nebby’s work was quickly and effectively done. One
Indian was knocked out, with a head broken and face ©
crushed, the other was doubled up with a plunging kick
in the stomach, and lay on the ground howling.

The third Indian, Nick Nomad had slain himself.

The horses ridden by the three Indians had gone.

“Waugh! Good fer ye—good fer ye! I reckon’s I'll
climb down an’ interview ’em, an’ git their views of how
it war done, ter put inter ter-morrer’s paper. Whoa,
consarn ye! Quit yer kickin’! Ther fight’s over, an’
you’ve won!” ) :

But the fight was not over.

The Indians who had ridden ahead, to draw the trapper
on, had wheeled their horses, and now came clattering
back, to take part in the fray.

Something had gone wrong, they knew, for a rider-
less horse had passed them at a wild run.

“Waugh!” grunted the trapper, picking up Nebby's
bridle rein. “I reckons as we'd better hike, an’ hike

in a hurry. Now, it’s up ter ye ter do some runnin’
that will ekal yer. kickin’ record.”

  

  
 

  

In spite of the wounds he had received and the fight
he had been, through, Nebuchadnezzar was game to the
backbone. :

Le Few even of the best of the Indian ponies could equal
him, when it came to a straightaway faces :

“Go—you lop-eared jack rabbit!’ the trapper cried.
“Go—you gander-legged son of a-sawhorse! We'll draw
them critters right up ter the guns of the sogers, ef they
foller: us,”

The pursuing Indians halted when they came to the
spot where the sanguinary combat had taken place.

But a moment or two later they came on, hot for
vengeance,

They had thought to slay the white man, and they
had caught a Tartar.

“Waugh! They’re comin’ ag’in, Nebby!

_ can with a dog tied ter its tail!
dos

Nebuchadnezzar showed them, to such purpose that
they were speedily distanced.

“Waal,” said Nomad, drawing rein,
but we didn’t find that gal.
become of her.

off 32

Go—you tin
Show ’em what ye can

“we had a fight,
We'll have ter see what’s
‘S50 we goes back to that canyon straight

 

CAP Ei Cry.

BUFFALO BILL'S DARING.

Buffalo Bill’s ears had told him of the commotion in
the village, caused, no doubt, by Nell Slocum’s escape,
by the pursuit and the combat with the dogs, as well
as by the fear which was upon the Indians of an imme-
diate attack from the soldiers.

When he had covered the ground pretty thoroughly

_in front of the canyon entrance, riding as near to it as

hhe dared, the scout wheeled his horse, and rode off
toward the hills that lay on the right.

He was gone but a little while, and returned on foot.

In that short time he had not only tethered his horse in
a reasonably secure place, but he had made a remarkable
change in his personal appearance.

He seemed now to be an Indian. In his hair were
stuck some long feathers. About his form was drawn
an Indian blanket, which covered not only his clothing,
but his boots. And his face was painted. His beard
was hidden by the blanket, which he held muffled round
his chin,

In this disguise Buffalo Bill crawled close up to the
guards, who lay at the canyon entrance and by the
fortification.

These guards he heard elie :

' They were speaking of the escape of the girl prisoner,
of the pursuit by the dogs; and of the fight out on the
plain, which they had overheard.

» Indians had rushed out there, against the orders of

THE BUPRFALO

 

   

BILL, STORIES. 23

Marlin, who feared an ambuscade, and had found nothing
but a lot of dead dogs, and the ground and grass smeared
with blood.

One other startling thing had occurred: One of the
guards by the fortification had been found with a knife
wound in his heart. It was believed this wound had
been given by the girl.

For a number of minutes Buffalo Bill lay where he
could hear this talk of the guards.

Then he began to plan to pass them.

“One*thing is sure,’ he thought. “The girl has not ~
been recaptured. Therefore she must be wandering
about on the plain somewhere. I hope Nick will find
her. If he doesn’t, she may fall into the hands of In-
dians.”

Creeping close to the et he moved on very slowly.
His revolvers swung loose in their places; his knife he
carried between his teeth.

“There will be another dead guard or two if they
tumble to the fact that I’m trying to pass them,” was his
thought.

When so near that he feared to advance further while
the guard closest to him had his eyes fixed in that direc-
tion, he contrived to divert attention by tossing a pease
into the stream.

The guard rose, and, with gun in hand, walked to the
edge of the stream that slipped here with arrowy swiit-
ness through the canyon.

Another pebble clattered on the rocks down the stream
a short distance.

The guard moved in that direction.

“Some dog ot a white man is trying to get in!” But-
falo Bill heard him say.

While the brave was watching for this imaginary dog
of a white man, the scout wormed past the dangerous
opening, and was inside the guard line.

Having accomplished this much, he lay flat on his
face, regaining his breath and listening.

He heard the guards conferring together concerning
the probable cause of the sounds they had heard. They
agreed, by and by, that the sound in the stream had been
made by a leaping fish, and that on the rocks by a pebble
displaced by a rabbit or other small animal. ;

Buffalo Bill crawled on before this talk of the guards
ended.

Having advanced until sure the guards would not see
him, he rose to a sitting position.

Out from under his blanket he now brought long strips
of fresh meat.

This was meat cut from an antelope which he had killed
that afternoon, to prepare for the work he now hoped
to do.
To accomplish this work, he had ridden toward the
canyon wall, in the first place, and so had been near
when Nick Nomad and the girl chanced to need his aid.

    
 

     

 

es THE BUFFALO

On these strips of meat, and buried within them, the
scout put a number of grains of a white powder which
he had secured that day from the surgeon who accom-
panied the reconnoitering force under Lieut. James.

The white powder was strichnine, one of the deadliest
poisons known, which ranchmen use in poisoning wolves.

Having prepared the strips of meat, the scout cut them
into small pieces with his hunting knife, taking care to
see that in each piece ee was enough of the strichnine
to kill a dog.

He crept now toward the brush kennels of the hounds.

Out by the kennels he heard voices and saw lights, and
soon knew that old Stone Eater was there, with an
assistant.

For more than an hour, Buffalo Bill lay flat on his
stomach, a short bowshot from the kennels.

He feared to approach nearer while Stone Eater was
there, lest the dogs should smell the meat he carried.
They might have scented it anyway, but for the fact that
several of them had bloody injuries, and the smell of
this blood kept them from scenting the less bloody meat.

Stone Eater departed after a time, grumbling and
threatening. He was angry. The loss of so many fine
dogs was enough to throw him into a rage. With him
went the assistant.

When they were gone, and all had grown quiet again,
Buffalo Bill once more began his progress toward the
kennels,

When near, he rose to his feet and threw out pieces
of the poisoned meat.

The dogs, inclined at first to rush toward him in
bristling attitude, snapped it up.

He threw more strips of the fatal meat, and in a little
while the hounds were fairly falling over each other in
their eagerness to get it.

Stone Eater had half-starved them, to make them fierce
and savage. Thus they were just in condition to fall
victims to the cunning plan of the scout.

“It’s a pity to poison such fine dogs,” was his thought.
“But the thing must be done.”

CHAPTER: XV.
BUFFALO BILL'S VENTURE.

Having thrown to the dogs all the meat he had, Buf-
falo Bill retreated quietly from the kennels.

The Indians were still drumming and howling in the
council lodge.

“Indians are queer ducks,”

was his thought. “In order

to work themselves up to a proper pitch for fighting,

they seem to think they must dance‘and howl all night.
It would be more sensible if they occupied the time in
resting and getting ready.”

He was not sorry, however, that the noise at the coun-
cil lodge continued.

BILE STORIES.

It drew attention to what. was going on there, and.
held occupied the minds of most of the warriors.

Therefore he was less likely to be detected, as he made
his way now into the village itself.

This was daring and dangerous work, but the scout
desired to look the village over, and so find out the
strength of the Indians.

As he moved along, a warrior addressed him.

The language used was Sioux, with which Buffalo Bill
was well acquainted.

“How many of Stone Eater’s dogs were killed?” asked
the Indian.

“All that went out, I think,’ the scout answered.

The warrior was satisfied with the reply.

He did not come nearer to the scout, and had. no:
thought he was not one of the Indians.

“Unless he keeps his dogs in their kennels, he will
have them all dead before the fight,’ said the Indian, as
if dissatisfied with the course of Stone Eater. |

“Yes, they will all be dead,’ answered Buffalo Bill,
thinking that even then many of the dogs were no doubt
kicking in their death agonies.

His accent and command of the Sioux tongue was so
good that he was able to fool this savage, who was so
familiar with it, :

The scout moved on, with the blanket drawn close ©
about him, and chuckled to himself.

Approaching the council house, he stood just off at one
side, in the darkness.

The fire that flickered before the lodge trade the shad-
ows deeper where he stood, and there was little danger

of discovery.

Within the lodge, he heard a Snake chief boasting of
his warlike deeds, and loudly announcing the terrible
things he would do when the troopers came.

“You'll sing another tune when they do come,”
the scout’s prophecy.

Off in the eastern sky the dawn was beginning to ap-
pear as a gray streak. :

Day was now close at hand.

was

It had been an eventful night, but the morning was
to see work even more strenuous.
_ Slowly, as if in no hurry, the scout retreated from
the lodge.

Now and then one of the mangy village dogs came

sniffing toward him, but the hooded blanket deceived it.

These were not the terrible hounds of Stone Eater, but
vicious, prying little mongrels, such as are always found
in an Indian village, useless except to bark.

They permitted the scout to pass on without making
an outcry against him,

As he descended toward the fortifications, following
the canyon, he heard a loud wailing yell from the ken-
nels.

That yell came from Stone Eater.

te .

  

 

 
THe BORVALO BILL STORIES : 25

He had gone to the kennels to see how his dogs were
getting on, and had found more than half of them dead,
and the others so poisoned that if they lived it would be
a wonder.

That wailing yell, so loud and yet so weird, penetrated
to the village.

The dancers heard it in the council lodge, and the
women and children heard it in the lodges.

There was a commotion. They knew that something
terrible had happened to old Stone Eater’s hounds.

This was a serious thing to them, for on the fighting
qualities of those dogs they depended to a large extent
in the coming battle with the troopers.

Pell-mell down the canyon came many Indians, some

running and all shouting questions.

Some of the warriors thought the troopers were at
hand, and so came armed.

“It will be warm for me here, if those fellows happen
to drop to my disguise,’ was Buffalo Bill’s thought. ‘TI
guess I’d better get past the guards.”

The attention of the guards was distracted -by the
outcry of Stone Eater, and the shouting and running
of the warriors from the council lodge.

Buffalo Bill was about to try to take advantage of
this, when he found himself face to face with some one
~—-whom, he could not tell in the darkness.

The next instant the dark form leaped at him, with
outstretched hand and flashing knife.

“Waugh! You tarnal red villain, I reckons I’ll have
ter settle with ye!”

.“Hold!” said Buffalo Bill, writhing aside to escape
the blow of the knife.

The knife hand dropped.

“Waugh! Who’s ther Injun speakin’ ter me in white
man’s lingo?”

Buffalo Bill laughed.

“The joke’s on you, Nick!”

He threw the blanket aside.

“Buffler !”

“The same. And you’re Nick Nomad. - Now, what

“Say, Buffler, I come nigh knifin’ - But—did ye
see ther gal?”

“The girl!”

“Miss Slocum. I tried ter stop her, but

He was interrupted by a gurgling cry.

Then both saw a woman leap up and try to run.

An Indian sprang after her.

The girl stumbled and fell.

Buffalo Bill and old Nick Nomad bounded to her
aid, :

The Indian had caught her by the. wrist, and was
dragging her along.

Buffalo Bill’s knife flashed.

THe could throw a knife as straight as he could shoot
a bullet.

 

 

It struck the savage between the shoulder blades, and
sank to the hilt, so great was the force which the scout
gave it.

Without a cry or a moan, the redskin threw up his
hands and tumbled forward.

Buffalo Bill bent over the girl.

“Tt is I, Buffalo Bill—your friend!”

He lifted her gently.

“They’re comin’, Buffler—ther red niggers is comin’.”

Several of the warriors from the council lodge, seeing
something of what was taking place, though they did
not understand it, were running toward the little group.

Buffalo Bill saw that the position of himself and his
companions was now desperate,

“We'll stand by ther gal, Buffler!” said gallant old
Nick Nomad, as he drew his revolver. “How we hap-
pened ter git in hyar I’ll make plain as soon as I see
if we has a chance ter git out.”

Nell Slocum was in a mood of hysterical fright.

Nebuchadnezzar had thrown her, or she had fallen
from the saddle.

Then, in attempting to get away from the canyon, she
had, in the darkness, stumbled right toward it.

Nick Nomad, anxious concerning the safety of his
friend, Buffalo Bill, had crept close up to the canyon’s
mouth, where he was lying.

He saw her run past him, straight into the canyon.

He tried to call to her, to stop her; but if she heard
him, in her fright she misunderstood him.

She passed the guards, whom she seemed not to see.

One of them pursued her.

Nick Nomad, who could almost make himself invisible
when that was necessary, slipped past the guards while
they were staring at the girl, and while one of their
number was chasing her.

In doing so he had plumped up against Buffalo Bill,
as the latter was working down the canyon, for the pur-
pose of crawling out into,the plain.

All this Nick Nomad told the scout later.

At that time there was no opportunity for words.

“This way,” said the scout, putting an arm about the
frightened girl, and with the other hand drawing a re-

= volver.

“Hadn’t we better try ter buck out past ther guards?”

ey are wide awake now, and will shoot.us. This
way.’

He moved in the arean of the stream that flowed
through the canyon.

Into this he waded, with the girl in his arms.

He still had the Indian blanket about him, and, with
his feathered head, he looked in the darkness like an |
Indian; and the running warriors, who were now near.
thought he was an Indian.

All over the village there was now a great tumult.

It was loudest by the kennels, where Stone Eater was

 
 

   

 

26 THE BOPHALO

giving vent to his rage and grief, and where he had
been joined by other Indians. |

As the scout waded across the stream, bearing the girl,
with old Nick Nomad ducking and dodging by his side,
both expecting to be fired upon, a wild bugle peal broke
on the darkness of the early morning.

It came from the plain out beyond the mouth of the
canyon.

Following that bugle call condita the loud, ringing
cheer of troopers charging.

“Waugh!” screeched old Nick Nomad, forgetting that

VHyardhar i

“Yes, the troopers are charging. The Seventh Cay
has arrived.”

he ought to use caution.

 

CHAPTER XVI.
A SHARP FIGHT.

The gallant Seventh Cavalry, which has a record for
its courage in Indian fighting, was at last on hand.

The courier from Lieut. James had met them, and after
that they had made a forced march.

They had arrived in front of the canyon, with the lieu-
tenant’s attachment, but a short half hour before.

The scouts who had worked under Buffalo Bill, and
knew the location of the village and the canyon, acted
how as guides.

It was deemed best to charge the canyon at orice, in-
stead of waiting until daylight, when the Indians would
become aware of their presetice and be better prepared
to meet them.

So the charge was being made—a_ fierce and gallant
charge, such as only troopers harderied in our border
wars are capable of making.

The moment for which the renegade, Manton Marlin,
had tried to prepare was at hand.

He had come running from the council lodge when
he heard old Stone Eater’s outcry.

He sprang in now behind the brush and earth fortifi-
cations.

“Let loose the dogs!’ he shouted.

Instead of the dogs, old Stone Eater himself appeared,
- fury working in his face.

“The dogs are dead!” he wailed.

Manton Marlin had counted much on those dogs.

He had expected that when the charge came, as he
knew it must come sooner or later, he could throw those
terrible dogs upon the advancing men, and so hurl them
into confusion.

The dogs were dead!

For an instant his heart stood still with dread.

“Who has killed the dogs?’ he asked, as he ccenmanded
the warriors to fire on the advancing troopers, who could

not yet be seen, but whose ringing cheers came plainly.
“Some enemy—some white man; they are poisoned !”

BILL STORIES.

     

“Then—my God, white men have passed the euards!

. We are done up!”

As if to prove to him~that this was true, a rattling
fusillade broke forth from the rocks across the stream.

The spitting points of fire leaped in the direction of
the savages huddled behind the fortification, and the
bullets came singing in among them.

Then the charging troopers drove like a flying vate
into the mouth of the canyon, cheering frantically, to
throw the Indians into confusion.

“We must hold them!” yelled Manton Marlin, seizing
a rifle and beginning to use it himself. “Shoot them
down; they can’t get at uS behind this barricade!’

The troopers charged right up to the brushworks.

Some of them fell before the Indian riffle fire.

But the Indians were nope a and con-
fused.

This was due to that back fire from te rocks beyond
the stream.

Those bullets were being sent by Buffalo Bill and old |
Nick Nomad, who knew well what the effect of such a
rear fire would be.

As they fired, working their revolvers as fast as they
could, they yelled, making enough noise for a dozen
men. ae

The cheering troopets tore aside the brushy obstruc-
tions where they could, and where they could not they
began to clitmb over them.

The Indian rifles cut down numbers of them, but the
others came on, like a tide that nothing can Stay.

The revolvers from across the stream poured a steady
torrent of fire, and there yells lifted ferociously.

The Indians behind the fortification, believing that a
strong force of white men had broken in, or stolen in,
and were attacking them in the rear, broke in a panic, in
spite of the loud commands of theit white war chief.

Seeing that he was being deserted, Manton Marlin
threw down his rifle and fled with them.

He knew that if captured, death awaited him.

Still shooting and cheering, the troopers plowed into

“the barricade, firing at the running Indians.

Further up the canyon, the village was in commotion. —

Word had come that the terrible white soldiers could
not be held back, but had broken through, and were now
coming to slay all in the village.

A scramble of men, women and children for the shelter
of the hills ensued. : |

And thus retreating, and thus pursuing, the wild tide
of battle rolled into the hills, as the oe broke, shining ~
blood-red in the eastern sky.

The power of the Indians whom Manton Marlin had ‘

expected to tse as a club to drive back the troopers was

broken.
   

CHAPTER) XVil
THE TRAITOR AND THE MEDICINE MAN.

In their wild flight from the charging troopers, Manton

, Marlin and old Stone Eater found themselves thrown to- -

gether.

Stone Eater had darted into a small side gorge that
opened off from the canyon, and into this same gorge
Marlin had turned.

The day had dawned fully.

Behind them lay the wrecked village.

There many warriors and troopers lay dead, for the
fight, though brief, had been hot.

Scattered through the hills, fleeing for their lives, were

the other warriors with whom Manton Marlin had hoped
to hurl back the all-conquering whites.

Phe women and children, though they were perfectly

safe, for no trooper would harm them, were also fleeing
in wild panic.

“This is your fault!’ snarled Martin. seeking to lay
the blame on some one.

The face of the medicine man took on an angry look.

“Why do you say it is my fault? You promised to
hold back those devils of soldiers.” You said they could
not climb over those things you made of brush and earth.
They climbed over them, tore them down, and the war-
riors lay like fallen leaves. Why is it my work? It is
your work! You did not do as you said.”

They were heated with their flight, and they stopped
now, facing each other.

Manton Marlin saw the anger that flamed in ‘the eyes
of the old medicine man.

“Oh, well, we will not quarrel !
The thing is done, and we're ruined.”

He laughed harshly.

“Do you know where we os ide and be ‘safe from
those fiends? They'll follow us.’

The medicine man stood in hesitation, glaring at this
white man.

“Ves, I know,” he said, at length. “Come with me.”

Manton Marlin laughed again, in very bitterness of
soul, as he followed the old Indian.

He had played for high stakes, and he had lost every-
thing.

Two hours before he was war See of these Indians,
elevated to that position by the influence of old Stone
Eater,

But a little before that he had in his power the girl
whom he intended to force to live with him.

Now she was gone, and his warriors were overthrown
and in flight, such of them as were not dead; and he
was a fugitive, knowing he would be shot as a deserter
and traitor if he fell into the hands of his former com-
rades.

What is the use?

The gates that led back to civilization and all the things

he once held dear seemed closed to him forever.

THE BUFFALO BILL STORIES.

\
1

27

   

If he kept his life, he would become but a fugitive on

the face of théearth, a modern Cain. :
So his soul was as bitter as the laugh that fell from

his lips.

Without saying anything more, the medicine man led
the way at a brisk walk to a cave that burrowed into
the hillside.

“Ii the troopers find us here, we will be in a trap,’
Marlin objected, when it was shown him.

“Tt is the best we can do. You have revolvers; |
have a tomahawk and rifle. Wecan hold them off.”

Marlin threw himself down at the entrance of the little
cave.

He.was too weary to run further, and he did not
know where to go.

“We will starve in these hills.”

“Can we not kill game?’ asked the medicine man,
testilyo

“Perhaps so, if we can find any. But where will we
gor”

“T go to my people.”’

“They are dead—scattered.”

“They will come together again. The hunter scat-
ters the flock of grouse. They fly in every direction.
But always they come together again. It is so with
Indians. Fear not on that point.”

“But they will have no courage left to fight.”

The old Indian became solemn and grave.

“No,” he said.

“What will they do?’

“They can go upon the reservations.”

“You can go there with them; but what becomes of
ime?

“Do I have to take care of Man-that-Rides ?” |

Again Marlin laughed in that harsh, cynical, bitter
way.

“Oh, well, the game is up!
Blame for 1.7

Again the flash of fire showed in the eyes of the:
medicine man.

“You talk as a fool!” he said.

“If you had watched your dogs, so that they couldn’
have been poisoned, the thing might have gone differently.
That’s what I mean when I say you were the cause of
it. I depended on those dogs more than on the war-
riors,”

The look of wrath deepened in the eyes of the old
man.

“The troopers are used to fighting Indians, but those
dogs would have rattled them. That's what lost the
fight to us—the loss of those dogs.”

“Did I slay the dogs?” Stone Eater demanded.

SNOe

“Who slew them ?’

“T don’t know, unless that scout, Buffalo Bill, got

But you're largely to

 

 

   

  
 

 

    

~ among them. You say hey were poisong@ If you had
watched them
The medicine man sprang at him, lifting a knife.

 

Marlin knocked it aside, and, catching Stone Eater by

the throat, threw him against the wall.

‘Took out, old man!” he eried.
again, and I'll finish you!”

His voice was harsh.

Stone Eater dropped back, ie the fire of his. eyes.

He breathed heavily, but said nothing.

Marlin sat down in the door of the cave, looking out
along the gorge, where he feared he might. see the
troopers coming. His situation could not be worse, he
thought.

The old medicine man lay watching him craftily.
Finally he rose to his feet.
“Where are you going?’ Marlin asked, with a scowl.

“Does Stone Eater, the great medicine man, take his
orders from Man-that-Rides?”

“Well, you can tell me where you’re going?”

“T go to see if the soldiers are coming.
I lay there, I heard the tread of their horses.”

“Ts that so?”

Fear seized Marlin.

“Take a look, then; but don’t be gone long, old man.
You and I will have to stick together until we're safely
through this thing, I suppose. So there’s no need of
quarreling,” °

Stone Eater did not answer.

But his half-blanketed face held a look of hate and
~revenge as he slipped from the cave and disappeared.

Marlin sat in the mouth of the cave, watching.
Stone Eater was gone nearly an hour. .
It was a long wait. .

When the old Indian reappeared, he came in and
dropped to a seat on the rocky floor of the small cave
without a word.

“See anything?” Marlin asked.
“No.”

“How far did you go?”

“Two miles, five miles, perhaps.”
“Go to the village?” a
“To the hills above it.”

He: was not in a communicative mood, and Marlin
ceased to question him.

Marlin still sat in the mouth of the cave, looking
out, fearing to see the soldiers.

At last he heard the dreaded sound. »
Hoofbeats came oe the lower end of the gorge.
“They're coming,’ he said, with a look of desperation.

UTry that. trick

He drew his revolver, and, leaning forward, crouched ‘
_ afterward brought to his attention,

in the opening.

The hoofbeats sounded louder.

“Isn't there a better place to hide in than this round
here—a place where we will have some chance when. we
make our stand ?”’

He turned toward the Indian, ee out his hand
on the rock.

» Agne did: so; He saw the old Indian close by ile

crouching low, with the blanket about his face.

28 THE BUFFALO-BILL STORIES.

I thought, as -

  

At the same time he felt something strike hin, with
stinging effect on the wrist.

He jumped.
The Indian scrambled haceward and drew - ‘his toma-
hawk.

On the stone floor of me cave a rattlesnake coiled and
sounded its warning.
gone out of the cave to find,

It had sunk its fangs into Marlin’s wrist,

The tomahawk in the hand of the medicine man flashed

at Marlin’s head.

Marlin ducked and dodged it, as Stone Eater leaped
over him in a wild scramble to get out of the cave,

Though the rattler still sang its warning on the floor,
and the sting of the bite made itself felt sharply, Marlin
picked up one of his revolvers.

“You've killed me, old man, I reckon; but down you
go for it!”

The revolver rang out, and Stone Eater fell dead on
the rocks.

Marlin drew back into the cave, and began to suck. at
the wound.

He rose to his feet and crushed the serpent with his

heel,
His face was white, and terror gripped his heart.
2k * x es * * re

The troopers found them there.

Old Stone Eater, dead on the rocks, wail a bullet
hole in his back,

Marlin, dead in the cave, from the hive of the snake:

which he had pulverized with his heel.

The fierce old medicine man and the traitor trooper

had gone the long trail together.

There, in the gorge, Marlin, the traitor trooper, was
buried.

All his plans had been brought to naught, and his
treachery to his comrades and his cruelty to the girl,
Nell Slocum, had been punished as they deserved.

Yet the great heart of Buffalo Bill found pity even
for Marlin, the traitor trooper,.who had died so young,
and in a manner so teriible and tragic.

The campaign against the Indians in that section had
ended with success, at one blow, thanks to the es
work of the great scout. \

NS
And Nell Slocum went back to civilization and to her
friends unharmed, after all her trying experiences, thanks
also to Buffalo Bill.

€

THE END,

The energies of Buffalo Bill, here so happily suc-
cessful, were not allowed to remain idle long. A great
stage hold up, in Colorado, near Jule’s Rest, was shortly
in which he subse-
quently figured most desperately. ‘The career of Topaz
Jordan and Poker Kate, coupled with the arrival of a
new ally of Buffalo Bill’s, known as Nervy Frank, all
served to make one of the most exciting chapters in his
life. All of this has been most entertainingly set forth
in a story entitled, “Buffalo Bill’s’ Young Partner; of,

- The Outlaw Queen’ s Cipher Message,” which’ appears in

No. 200 of the Buffalo el series,
sure and get it.

Out next week, Be

  

  

It was the thing Stone Eater had

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
    

 

   

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ABP LZ

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LIES

Re

Bo
A

158—Buffalo Bill’s Cold Chase; or, Running
Down Redskins on Ice,

159-—Buffalo Bill and the Timber Thieves; or,
The Camp of the Secret Clan.

160—Buffalo Bill’s Long Drop; or, Drawing
Lots with Death,

161—Buffalo Bill’s Blockhouse; or, Old Nick
Wharton’s Strategy.

162—Buffalo Bill’s Canyon Cache;

* Beauty from Butte.

163——Buffalo Bill and the Great Sunstone; or,

The, Trick that Trapped the Duke of

be
SILL

ene
eS SEK

st
a

BZN

   
    

or, The

AAAS II2

a the Dagger.
ws 104—Buffalo Bill’s Wildest Ride; or, The Mon-
eS ster Serpent of the Bad Lands’ Lake.

165—Buffalo Bill and the Greengoods’ Cabal; or,
The Woman with the Manacled Arm.

166—Buffalo Bill’s Lightning Shot; or, The Red
Gulch Rescue.

We IGF.

tery of.the Black Riders.
168—Buffalo Bill at Bay; or, The Claim Jumper
of Silver Gulch.
169—Buffalo Bill’s Dark Drive; or, Manton, the
Mountain Mystery.
170—Buffalo-Bill’s Fair, Square Deal; or, The
Duke of the Dagger’s Dead I,ock. .
171—Buffalo Bill’s Bold Brigade; or, Injun Joe’s
Burrow.
172—Buffalo Bill on a Hunt for Gold; or, The
Lost Mine of the Cimarrons.
173—Buffalo Bill’s Ride for Life; or, Fighting
the Border Cattle Thieves.
174—Buffalo Bill’s Double; or, The Mephisto of
« the Prairie. :
175—Buffalo Bill and the Claim Jumpers; or,
The Mystery of Hellgate Mine.
176—Buffalo Bill’s Strategy; or, The Queen of
the Crater Cave.

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LINEN
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' 167—Buffalo Bill’s Bandit Friend; or, The Mys-.

 

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Containing the Most Thrilling Adventures of the Celebrated.
ment Scout “BUFFALO Bi

LL” Gion. William F. Cody.)

DTPA

   

177—Buffalo Bill in Morenci; or, The Cat. of the
Copper Crag.
178—Buffalo Bill’s Dead Drop; or. The Ghost-
Scout of Colorado,
179—Buffalo Bill’s Texan Hazard; or, The War
Trail of the Apaches.
.180—Buffalo Biull’s Blindfold. Duel; or, The
Death Feud in Arizona.
181—Buffalo Bill’s Mexican Feud; or, The Ban-
dits of Sonora.
182—Buffalo Bill’s Still Hunt; or, The Masked
Men of Santa Fé. :
183—Buffalo Bill’s Fiercest Fight; or, The Cap-
tive of the Apaches.
184—Buffalo Bill’s Navajo Ally; or, The War
with the Cave Dwellers.
185—Buffalo Bill’s Best Shot; or, Saving Uncle
Sam’s Troopers. .
186—Buffalo Bill’s Girl Pard; or, The Mystery
of the Blindfold Club.
187—Buffalo Bill’s Eagle Eye; or, The Battle of
the Staked Plains. °
188—Buffalo®Bill’s Arizona Alliance; or, Nav-
ajos Against Apaches,
189—Buffalo Bill’s Mexican Adventure; or, The
White Indians of Yucatan.
190—Buffalo Bill After the Bandits; or, Chasing
the Wyoming Bank Robbers.
191—Buftalo Bill’s Red Trailer; or, The Hole-in-
the-Wall Outlaws of Wyoming.
192—Buffalo Bill in the Hole-in-the-Wall; or,
Fighting the Wyoming Bank Robbers.
193—Buffalo Bill and the Bandit in Armor; or,
‘The Mysterious Horseman of the Moun-
tains,
194——Buffalo Bill and the Masked Mystery; or,
The Wild Riders of the Wilderness.
195—Buffalo Bill in the Valley of Death; or, The
Masked Brotherhood.

 

 

All of the above numbers always on hand. If you cannot get them from your

bring them to you by mail, postpaid.

 

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BRAVE AND.

CONTAINS THE BIGGEST AND BEST STORIES OF ALL
DESCRIPTIONS. A DIFFERENT COMPLETE STORY EACH
WEEK. FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE LATEST ISSUES:

61—Backed by an Unknown; or, Dick Darrell’s Hustle
for a Living. By Cornelius Shea.
62—All Aboard; or, Life on the Lake. By Oliver Optic.
63—Phil, the Fiddler; or, The Story of a Young Street
Musician. By Horatio Alger, Jr.
64—Dick Halladay’s Pranks; or, Fun at Strykerville
Academy. By W. L. James, Jr.
6s—Slow and Sure; or, From the Street to the Shop.
By Horatio Alger, Jr.
66—Little by Little; or, The Craise of the Flyaway.
By Oliver Optic.
67—Beyond the Frozen Seas; or, The Land of the Pig-
‘mies. By Cornelius Shea.
-68—The Young Acrobat; or, The Great North Ameri-
. can Circus. By Horatio Alger, Jr.
69—Saved from the Gallows; or, The Rescue of Charlie’
Armitage. By Matt Royal.
»70—Checkmated by a Cadet; or, Conquered by Chance.
By Harrie Irving Hancock.
7i—Nuggets and Nerve; or, The Two Boy Miners.
By Frank Sheridan.
72—Mile-a-Minute Tom; or, The Young Engineer of
Pine Valley. By Cornelius Shea. ; =
43—-Seared With Iron; or, The Band of Skeleton’ Bar.
By Cornelius Shea.
74—The Deuce and the King of Diamonds; or, Two
Southern Boys in South Africa. By the author
of “Among the Malays.”
7s—Now or Never; or, The Adventures of Bobby
Bright. By Oliver Optic. me i
76—Blue-Blooded Ben; or, Two’ Princeton Pals. By
q the author @f “Hal Larkin,’
77—Checkered Trails; or, Under the Palmettoes. By
Marline Manley.
78~—-Figures and Faith; or, Messenger Clinton’s Chance,
By the author of “The Hero of Ticonderoga.”
~9—The Trevalyn Bank Puzzle; or, The Face in the
ae Locket. By Matt Royal.
80—The Athlete of Rossville; or, The Isle of Serpents.
By Cornelius Shea. 2
81—Try Again; or, The Trials and Triumphs of Harry
West. By Oliver Optic.
82--The Mysteries of Asia; or, Among the Komdafs.
By Cornelius Shea.
83—The Frozen: Head; or, Puzzling the Police, By
Paul Rand. ea aeles
84—Dick Danforth’s Death Charm; or, Lost in the
o South Seas. By the author of “The Wreck of
the Glaucus.”
8s—Burt Allen’s Trial; or, Why the Safe was Robbed.
By W. A. Pareelle,

86--Prisoners of War, or, Jack Dashaway’s Rise from
the Ranks. By “Old Tecumseh.” —

 

87—A Charmed’ Life; or, The Boy with the Snake Skin
Belt. By the author of “Among the Malays.” ~

88—Only an Irish Boy; or, Andy Burke’s Fortunes.
By Horatio Alger, Jr.

~ 89—The Key to the Cipher; or, The Boy Actor’s Strug- ©

gle. By Frank J. Earll.

go—Through Thick and Thin; or, Foes to the Last.
By Walter J. Newton.

gi—In Russia’s Power; or, How Two Boys Outwitted
the Czar. By Matt Royal.

92—Jonah Mudd, the Mascot of Hoodooville; or,

Which Was Which? By Fred Thorpe. :
93—Fighting the Seminoles; or, Harry Emerson’s Red
Friend. By Maj. Herbert H. Clyde.
94—The Young Outlaw; or, Adrift in the Streets. By
Horatio Alger, Jr.
os—The Pass of Ghosts; or, A Yankee Boy in the Far
West. By Cornelius Shea.
96—The Fortunes of a Foundling; or, Dick, the Out-
cast. By Ralph Ranger.
097—The Hunt for the Talisman; or, The Fortunes of
‘ the Gold Grab Mine. By J. M. Merrill.
o8—Mystic Island. The Tale of a Hidden Treasure.
By the author of “The Wreck of the Glaucus.”
go—Capt. Startle; or, The Terror of the Black Range.
By Cornelius Shea.

100—Julius, the Street Boy; or, A Waif’s Rise from

Poverty. By Horatio Alger, Jr.
1o1—Shanghaied; or, A Wanderer Against His Will.
By H. C. Emmet. see
102—Luke Jepson’s Treachery; or, The Dwarfs of the
Pacific. By the author of “The Wreck of the
Glaucus.” : ;
103—Tangled Trails; or, The Mystery of the Manville
Fortune. By Clifford Park.

10o4—James, Langley & Co.; or, The Boy Miners of Salt ~ Ke

River. By the author of “Capt. Startle.”
1os—Ben  Barclay’s Courage; or, The Fortunes of a
Store Boy. By Horatio Alger, Jr.
1e6—Fred Desmond’s Mission; or, The Cruise of the
“Explorer.” By Cornelius Shea.
107—Tom Pinkney’s Fortune; or, Around the World
: with Nellie Bly. By Lieut. Clyde.
1c3—Detective Clinket’s Investigations; or, The Mys-
tery of the Severed Hand. By Clifford Park.

109—In the Depths of the Dark Continent; or, The

Vengeance of Van Vincent. By the author of
“The Wreck of the ‘Glaucus.’ ”

110—Barr, the Detective; or, The Peril of Lucy Graves.
By Thomas R. Montfort.

111—A Bandit of Costa Rica; or, The Story of a
Stranded Circus. By Cornelius Shea.

 

 

All of the above numbers always on hand.

STREET & SMIT}

If you canmet get them trom your newsdealer, |
five cents per copy will bring them to you by mail, postpaid. ‘

I, PUBLISHERS

288 William Street, New York ~~

 
383~-Kidnaped in Broad Daylight; or, Nick
Carter on His Own Trail. eae

384—The Little Giant’s Double; or, The World’s
Two Strongest Men.

385—The secret Order of Associated Crooks:
or, The Confederated Criminal Trust.

386—When Aces Were Trumps; or, A Hard
Game to Play.

387—The Gambler’s Last Hand; or, The Little
Giant Wins Out.

388—The Murder at Linden Fells; or, The Mys-
tery of the Cadillac Needle.

389—Mercedes Danton’s Double; or, A Plot for
Many Millions.

390—The_ Millionaire's Nemesis; or, Paul
Roger’s Oath of Vengegnce.

391—A Princess of the Underworld: or, The
Mysterious Burglary at Lakeview.

392—A Queen of Her Kind; or, A Beautiful

Woman’s Nerve.

393—Isabel Benton’s Trump Card; or, Desperate

Play to Win.

394--A. Princess of Hades; or, The Reappear-
ance of Dazaar, the Fiend,

395—A. Compact ‘with Dazaar ; or, The Devil
Worshiper’s Den.

396—In the Shadow of Dazaar; or, At the Mercy
of Vampires.

397—The Crime of a Money-King; or, The Bat-
tle of the Magnates. _

398—The Terrible Game of Millions; or, Track-
ing Down the Plotters.

399—A Dead Man’s Power; or, The Mystery of
a Telephone Number. :
400—The Secrets of an Old House; or, The
Crime of Washington Heights.
401—The House with the “Open Door; or, The

Double Crime of Madison Avenue.
402—The Society of Assassination; or, The De-
tective’s Double Disguise.

 

a

: STORIES IN THE WORLD

403—The Brotherhood of the Crossed Swords;

or, The Little Giant’s Mighty Task.

404-——The. Trail of the Vampire; or, The Mys-
terious Crimes of Prospect Park.

405—The Demons of the Night; or, The Terrors
of the Idol’s Cavern.

406—The Captain of the Vampire; or, Smugglers
Of the Deep Seay

407—-A Bank President’s Plot; or, oe Vil-

 lains of a Stripe.

408—The Master Criminal; or, With the Devil
in His Eye.

409—The Carruthers Puzzle; or, Nick Carter’s
Best Disguise.

410—Inez, the Mysterious; or, The Master Crim-
inal’s Mascot.

411—The Criminal Queen’s Oath; or, The ‘Dif-
ference Between Two.

_412—The Point of a Dagger; or, The Coal

Queen’s Madness.
413—Doctor Quartz, the Second; or, The Great
_ Freight Car Mystery.
414—Doctor Quartz, the Second, at Bay; or, A
Man of Iron Nerve, 9
Al 5 The. Great Hotel Murders; or, Doctor
Quartz’s Quick Move.
416—Zanoni, the Woman Wizard; or, The Ward
of Doctor Quartz.
417—The Woman Wizard’s Hate; or, A Danger-
ous Foe.
418—The Prison Demon; or, The Ghost of Dr.
Quartz:
419—Nick Carter and the Hangman’ s Noose; or,
Dr. Quartz on Earth Again.

420--Dr. Ouartz s bast Play; or, A Hand with a

Royal Flush.

421—Zanoni, the Transfigured; or, Nick Car-
ter’s Phantom Mascot.

422—By Command of the Czar: or, Nick Car-
ter’s Boldest Defiance.

ALL OF THE ABOVE NUMBERS ALWAYS ON HAND. IF YOU CANNOT GET THEM FROM YOUR
NEWSDEALER, FIVE CENTS PER COPY WILL BRING THEM TO YOU BY MAIL, POSTPAID

Street & Smith, 23'witen se’ New York

 
1—Ted Strong’s Rough Riders; or, The Boys
of Black Mountain.

2—Ted Strong’s Friends; or, The Trial of Ben
‘Tremont.

3—Ted Strong’s War Path; or, The Secret of
the Red Cliffs.

4—Ted Strong’s Stratagem ; or, Saving a Boy’ s
Honor.

5—Ted Strong’s Ride for Life; or, r, Caught i in the
Circle.

6—Ted Strong on the Trail; or, The Cattle Men
of Salt Licks.

7—Ted Strong in Montana; or, Trouble at the
Blackfoot Agency.

8—Ted Strong’s Nerve; or, Wild West epee at
Black Mountain.

g—Ted Strong’s Rival; or, The Cowboys of

Sunset Ranch.

10—Ted Strong’s Peril; or, Saved by a Girl.

11—Ted Strong’s Gold Mine; or, The Duel at
Rocky Ford.

12—Ted Strong’s Lawsuit; or, Right Against
Might.

.13—Ted Strong’s Railway Trip; or, An Unsolved
Mystery.

14—Ted Strong’s Mission; or, oe a Tender-
foot.

- 15—Ted Strong’s Might; or, The Cross Against

the Sword,

16—Ted Strong’s Puzzle; or, The Golden Mesa.

17—Ted Strong in the Chaparral; or, The Hunt

~ at Las Animas.

13 led Strong's pegs or, King of the
Mesa.

19—Ted Strong in the Land of Lite Rain; or,
Bud Morgan’s Vengeance.

20—Ted Strong’s Water Sign; or, In Shoshone
Land.

21—Ted Strong’s Steadiness;. or, The Cattle
Rustlers of Ceriso.

22—Ted Strong’s Land Boom; or, The Rush for
a Homestead.

 

23—Ted Strong’s Indian Trap; or, Matching
Craft with Craft.

24—Ted Strong’s Signal; or, Racing with Death.

25—Ted Strong’s Stamp Mill; or, The Woman
in Black.

26—Ted Strong’s Recruit; or, A Hidden Foe. |

27—Ted Strong’s Discovery; or, The Rival
Miners. .

28—Ted Strong’s Chase; or, The Young Rough
Riders on the, Trail.

29—Ted Strong’s Enemy; or, An Uninvited

‘ Guest.

30—Ted Strong’s Triumph; or, The End of the
Contest.

31—Ted Strong in Nebraska; or, The Trail to
Fremont.

32—Ted Stron® in Kansas City; or, The Last of
the Tlerd.

33—The Rough Riders in Missouri; or, In the
Hands of His Enemy.

34—The Young Rough Riders in St. Louis; or,
The League of the Camorra.

35——The Young Rough Riders in Indiana; or,

The Vengeance of the Camorra.
36—The Young Rough Riders in Chicago; or,
: Bud Morgan’s Day Off.
37—The Young Rough Riders in Kansas; or,
The Trail of the Outlaw.

38—The Young Rough Riders in the Rockies; or,
- Fighting in Mid Air.

39—The Young Rough Rider’s po Or, The
Mad Horse of Raven Hill.

40—The Young Rough Rider’s Fight to the
Death; or, The Mad Hermit of -Bear’s
Hole. é

41—The Young Rough Rider’s Indian Trail; or,

Okanaga, the Cheyenne.
42—The Young Rough Rider’s Double; or, Un-
masking a Sham.

43—The Young Rough Rider’s Vendetta; or, The
House of the Sorceress.

BIVE, CENTS AT ALL, NEWSDEALERS, Or PROM

STREET @ SMITH,

238 William Street,
@

NEW YORK,

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

°

rary deals with the hig] interesting and exciting adventures
R, the .erican Harkaway. All these stories are entirely new a1

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