L8S5Q000W No.589 NEW YORK,AUG. 24,1912 5 CENTS ee si Sey Be § SRE peas eee ae ese Rance The crack of a rifle in the hut reached the ears of the approaching scouts. At the same instant the Comanche tumbled from the horse, but the captive was unhurt. Issued Weekly. Entered as Second-class Matter at the New Vork Post Office, by STREET & SMITH, 19-89 Seventh Ave., New Vork., O. G. Smith and G. C. Smith, Proprietors. LICATION Copyright, 1912, dy STREET & SMITH. TERMS TO BUFFALO BILL STORIES MAIL SUBSCRIBERS. ; (Postage Free.) ; Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Each. How to Send Money—By post-office or express money order, registered letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. At your own risk ifsent by currency, coin, or postage stamps in ordinary letter. No. 589. 3 poe Winieie sie ahiisitiala sie Cisteik stereroucie vie bi Bde. One YOAL ee se sect tees eee eee eee en $2.50 Receipts—Receipt of your vemittance is acknowledged by proper change 4 MLONLNS, «+++ ++ Asreieosiaine ceteris Spe, 2 COPIES ONE YCAL+ + see vee seeeee 4.00 ofnumber on your label. If not correct you have not been properly credited, Go MONLDS, -- erect eee cence cee n teens $1.25 L copy twO Yea4rs..+...+-..00- -.s---- 4.00 and should let us know at once. # 4 Price Five Cents, NEW YORK, August 24, 1912. BUFFALO BILL’S DEATH TRAP: Or, PAWNEE BILL AND THE COMANCHE CAPTIVE. Diy : ‘CHAPTER T. THE BELEAGUERED CABIN. The night had been a restless one for both Buffalo Bill and Red Plume, his Pawnee friend, and his partner in many a peril and victory with the “hostiles.” _ For. more than a month a fever of unrest seemed to __ be sweeping over the various Indian tribes, whether on ’ reservations or off, along the whole frontier line that extended at that time from the Black Hills of the North to the turbid waters of the Rio Grande in the far South- west, The: ever warlike Sioux seemed to be inspired with a ‘renewed hatred of the paleface interlopers in the vast ter- ‘ritories of Dakota and Montana. The Cheyennes and their kindred. tribe, the Arapa- hoes, were reported as raiding in Wyoming and south- ward. In Arizona the Apaches appeared to be trying to ex- terminate the white settlers throughout the territory. In northwestern Texas it was the Comanches—those princely horsemen, and, in many respects, the ablest war- riors that the Indian race could muster. For some time the Comanches had been “getting civ- _ ilized.”” In their case this did not imply that they were showing their ability to drink as much whisky as the whites, who were held up as examples for them to follow. As a tribe, the Comanches would not drink liquors of any kind. This made them more careful plotters against their enemies when they started on the warpath. ~ Then, they were well supplied with firearms of a late, pattern, and only a very few of the most famous of the white scouts were better marksmen than they. — By the author of “BUFFALO BILL.” ‘These few words of explanation are necessary to show. the background of the story we are about to tell. Then, any truthful details about the redskin races are worth knowing. ~ ae and the Pawnee chief had had a harassing day OL? th. ‘ ee They were told at the start that there were not more than a dozen Comanches in the party which they under— took to run down. But once they got to where they could read the trail with their own eyes, they knew that the number of the enemy had been understated. Buffalo Bill set the probable number at twenty-five; Red Plume’s estimate was higher yet. In either case, they were too many for two men to pursue, meet in battle, or try to bluff. “You just can’t bluff a Comanche, and that’s all there is to it,’ was the decision of Buffalo Bill. Red Plume nodded his assent. “Comanche heap coward, jes’ same,” the redskin pard asserted, with his natural prejudice against a tribe which his tribe hated. : Se * “That’s easy to say,’ smiled the great scout, who was prejudiced against none, because he knew them all. © “Comanche ride round, round, hide behind horse, heap not dare show himself.” ; “Pretty good scheme, where there are no trees to hide behind, I reckon,” argued Buffalo Bill. “Ugh (2 ‘ The grunt, which was Red Plume’s usual wind-up when he could think of nothing more to say on his side of ‘the question, énded the discussion of the merits of the . Comanche Indian as an adversary. 2 oo 9 THE BUFFALO But it did not end the Comanche Indians. And Buf- falo Bill, with Red Plume, followed that trail over a cor- ner of the Staked Plain, through mesquite, chaparral, and the river timber along a slender tributary of the Rio Pecos, all in Texas. On the slender tributary just laine ¢ which the scout did net know, and which the writer, therefore, cannot positively state—they had camped for the night after the first day’s weary journey. It was a starry night, with no moon. ‘The Indian pard slept the first half of the night, and was awakened by Buffalo Bill a little after midnight. Then Red Plume stood guard, and the white. scout tried to sleep. But he could net. Why, in the first part of his turn, he did not know, for nothing occurred to disturb him beyond the husky quarreling of coyotes and prairies wolves over some carrion which they had found in the edge of the timber. Once the scout fell into a dole. but he awoke from it with a start, and his heart was beating just as it used to when he was a youngster, and he dreamed of hiding under a bed from Indians—just as most youngsters have. dreamed. Yet in the present case there was no dream—nothing like .a nightmare. He lay in a comfortable position. There was no reason to expect a surprise attack from the enemy. . But Buffalo. Bill could not even catch a nap after that, and he lay and watched the stars creeping down toward the .western horizon, where they soon faded and died before the glory of sunrise. Then he sprang up. Red Plume was already prepat- ing their breakfast over a small, smokeless fire, which he “ was especially skillful in making. A throbbing sound just then agitated the air. “Shooting!” exclaimed the scout. He sprang to the edge of the timber and sacot back over the plain which they had crossed the He before. Not a living object in sight. Then the firing abruptly ceased. The atmosphere was in that condition, with the trees in the way to interrupt the sound waves, that the firi ing had.seemed to proceed from a direction exactly opposite the place from which it actually came. “We've got to cross the creek and get out of the timber belt on that side before we can make out any- thing,” said the scout. Like the best of doctors, and others who ue a success of what they undertake, Colonel Cody made it a point to eat when he was hungry or needed food, no matter what might be pressing at the time, But they made short work of the job, and =the little fire was trampled out, saddles and bridles were flung on, and then almost without speaking they went to look for a place to ford the stream. The water was not high, and the ford was easy to find. Once across, they were soon through the belt of timber. Beyond stretched the Texas plain again, with a gradual downward slope, and covered with mesquite (locally pro- . nounced “mes-kee-ty”) and other dwarfish alan and _ the coarse grasses of that region. At first the eye of Buffalo Bill saw neither te nor movement on that vast plain. But the reason was that he scanned too distant a range, Within a, shorter eye- shot squatted a cabin, se of logs. BILL STORIES. It was a little box of a hut, and the timber for it must have been .hauled from the growth that fringed the creek which our friends had just crossed. Around that cabin, completely encircling it, were Bly thirty. mounted ‘Comanches. Some of these galloped their horses back and forth, occasionally gesticulating signals to the warriors at. the opposite side of the ring. The cabin was about two miles distant. The Ae was so clear that every object was distinctly visible to the white and red scouts who were observing the cabin and its besiegers. “That is the crew of Comanches that we have been tracking, Red Plume,” said Buffalo Bill, breaking the silence, The other nodded; but for a moment did not speak. When he did so it was to ask: a “Where prisoner?” _ “T don’t see any signs of there ae one,’ aa uife! too, Dat queer, Heap queer. Dem al you only - twelve Comanche, dere thirty.. Me count ’em. Dem tell you they have white prisoner, tie on horse. Me see no white prisoner dere: Heap queer,’ Red Plume had been doubtful about the on on which they had started out from the beginning. Buffalo Bill, however, was not one to be easily fooled into starting on a “wild. -goose chase,” and yet he had not seemed to doubt the genuineness of the commission which had been given him, with the help of phe: Pawnee patd, to execute. “At this distance we wouldn’t see the prisoner if they had taken him off the horse,” said the scout. “Where ee dent Dem tiot hide horse heap mighty easy, (|, “That? S SO, Red Mae and it is all a mystery. Still, I reckon. they have a captive, and the settlers told us - true about that part of the business. But I reckon they set the number of the Comanches that had the cap- tive lower than it really was because they were afraid I might ask some of them to join in the pursuit. And they didn't hanker after the sport.” “Ugh!” was the doubting comment from Red Plume. When a redskin doubts a thing it takes all creation to convince him that he is mistaken. But then, there are palefaces who are equally hard to convince. of error |’ “Tt those fellows were of any tribe but. Comanches, we would ride down on them and drive them away with some fast shooting. : “But they have long-range rifles, and they won't be bluffed. It is strategy rather than. an open fight that is called for in this case.’ ‘ Of course, the judgment of Buffalo Bill in this case, as in most others where he did not agree. wath Red. Plume, was the nearer right. The: Pawnee professed so much contempt foe ie fighting. abilities of the warriors of other tribes that he — would never own that the odds were too great. for: making an attack. Possibly he would have ‘been more. Gautions. “had. tie not been perfectly certain that Cody would block any : piece of recklessness that he might. PrOpOAD: seh “The question is,’ added the scout, ‘‘what have. rie inside of that cabin that they’re so careful to keep. my. from it, although they seem to hate to give it up?? Another grunt was all the suggestion that - Red Plume ae to oe LAE ane moment, re seven S Bill. THE BURPALO of the Indians rode closer to the cabin, discharging their rifles at the same time. The reports reached thé ears of Buffalo Bill ad Red Plume with a dull, thudding vibration of the air, as had beem the case when their attention had first been: called to the attack on the lonely cabin. Instantly a puff of smoke spouted from the side of the hut—through a loophole, probably. And one of the Comanches, who was at the moment scurrying away from the cabin, flung up his arms and fell from the saddle. An exclamation came from the lips of both Cody and the Pawnee at the same time. “A splendid shot, was that!’’ muttered Buffalo Bill. “Heap good!” agreed Red Plume. “That wakes up my interest and curiosity at a big rate. No ordinary settler would be likely to have a gun to carry that far, nor the eye to train it on the mark if he had the gun.’ Could Buffalo. Bill have known who was pathin the log walls of the beleaguered cabin at that moment, it is doubtful if any considerations of prudence could have restrained him from making a dash to drive away the foe. For the defender, whose single shot picked a Co- manche so neatly out of the saddle, was a scout and Indian fighter whose name was second only to that of Cody himself. The unseen marksman was Pawnee a CHAPTER EL S -ACGHOSTLY -FIND: On the very day that Buffalo Bill and Red Plume started in pursuit of the Comanches, who were said to have a white captive with them, Pawnee Bill was racing for a point on the Rio Pecos, bent upon getting there ahead of certain marauding bands of Comanches whom he knew were scouring the plains for mischief. It was a long, hard tide that he had before him, and, with his usual headlong, put-her-through-or-die style of “traveling, he smashed his horse over the trackless plains at a pace which would have been cruel had the animal not seemed as anxious as the rider was to get over the ground. ; But both the horse and rider were too ambitious. The animal seemed to absorb something of his rider’s reckless. spirit, for he shoved a foot into a gopher hole and went lame to pay for it. It was the start of a string of bad luck for Pawnee He reached the tributary of the Paces where Cody and his Pawnee pard encamped several, hours ahead of them. He struck the creek at a different point. As it happened, he had not crossed the trail of the war patty of Comanches whom Buffalo Bill was fol- lowing. Consequently he did not know that the Indians were in the ae until he found out in a most emphatic manner. He halted at. the creek and dismounted long enough to let his horse drink and breathe with a free back. Then he leaped to the saddle again and pushed him through the creek. The opposite bank was low and *helving, Aah it ~ looked to be all right. The horse made a leap to get out of the water, which at that distance. BILL STORIES. 3 was rather deep in that spot for fording. ‘He got. a foothold, sprang clear, and then, when his hind 7icet dug into the bank, a big chunk of it gave way. : Back went the horse, landing in the creek on his back. Pawnee Bill knew how to get off a horse in a hurry. That was the piece of experience which he put into use at that interesting moment. There was no time to make calculations, and it took wild guessing to land any- where except in. the creek with: the horse on top of him. His spring carried him clear of the water, but when he landed, it was with one foot on the trunk of a small fallen tree. The nervy scout closed his teeth with a click to keep back an exclamation of pain. ’ “Leg broke!” he grunted, and settled down on the — ground to think it over and get used to the grinding hurt. But when he came to think of it he had once broken a leg, and it didn’t feel like this.. The break was a numb, dismal feeling that went clear up to the back of his neck. This was the keener, more excruciating pain of joint and tendons. He reached down. and rubbed his hand over his ankle, where the ache was hardest, and that time he hardly kept back a yell, the pain was so intense. “Tt isn’t a break; it’s an infernal sprain!” he decided. The discovery was not much more encouraging. The horse was floundering to the shore by this time; but Pawnee Bill remembered that the beast was lamed, and so used up for speed for one trip, at best. 7 “Oh, the luck!” he groaned. But it couldn’t hold down such a man as Bare Bill. He crawled down to the water’s edge, peeled off boot and legging and took a squint at the fast-swelling ankle. “Tt’s.a sprain,” he repeated. “That will. hurt and lay me up for a bit, likely. But it won't take so long to mend as a break. “Tf I can only manage to climb onto that wet saddle again, and the horse can -amble a few miles farther, things won't turn out so bad, maybe. - “Here goes for treatment with Adam’s liniment. Cheap, pure, plenty of it. Thunderation! How it hurts!” _ He scooped up ‘‘Adam’s liniment”’ from the creek with his hand, and rubbed the fluid gently on the swelling limb. It was water cure, pure and simple, and if it did not cure, it at least soothed. When the pain got down so he could bear it he cut a stout cane and stood up. He liobbled out to where his horse was feeding, and after some difficulty got into the saddle. It was a poor pace that he was obliged to content. himself with; but he made the most of it, and was soon traveling at a hipity-hop in the direction of the Rio Pecos once more. Suddenly he pulled up short with an ejaculation of dismay. “Same old string ‘of luck, running right with me!” he exclaimed. The dark eyes of Pawnee Bill flashed deine luck in the shape of the very band of Comanches.whom. Buffalo Bill was trailing at that blessed minute. They were not half a mile distant, and riding in a. direction running diagonally with his own course. The redskins discovered him at the same instant that he first put eyes on them. They recognized him, even Good reason, indeed, had they to recog- nize Pawnee Bill, for many a time had he routed and’ # a ae THE BUFFALO defeated them in battle, both in the open and inthe bush. But he could not do that thing now, as they observed at the first glance. They uttered yells of hod iG set their horses . into a racing run—they swung their half-naked bodies to and fro in a reckless abandon of delight at the thought of running down and forever blotting out Pawnee Bill. Pawnee Bill gritted his teeth and clasped his rifle the tighter. He reckoned on the probable number of the redskins it would be possible for him to drop from their saddles before they should get close enough to drop him. But it was uncertain reckoning, he knew that. His ankle felt as if it was being twisted in a vise. agony to sit in the saddle with that sprain pulling at his nerves. Just then he caught sight of the lonely log hut out among the mesquite. And he kicked at his horse’s flank with his well foot. The animal responded with quite a spurt of speed, and Pawnee Bill could see the log hut creeping closer. Dit f ean. get in there Ul make a lot of that crew sick before they get very close to me,’ was the muttered reflection of the plainsman, It soon became certain that he would each the cabin before they should reduce the distance separating them enough to make their shooting dangerous to the fugitive. He did not think anything about the possible character of the inmates of the cabin, or whether there were any. His only thought then was of getting to any kind of cover, The Comanches began to pop at ae without slacken- ing their pace, But the distance was so great that he knew there was little danger. ‘The shots did not all go so very far out of the way, however, and he was glad enough to pull up before the cabin. He looked to see if there was any possible shelter for his horse. But there was none. Then he’ dismounted and painfully hobbled to the door, He knocked heavily, and then tried the door without waiting for a response, It was a situation in which he could not afford to stand on ceremony. ‘The door swung open on creaking hinges. As he went in he became certain that the on had no living inmates. And yet he was thrilled by a strange itnpression which he could not have explained, and which was not quite comfortable. By this time it was getting close to sunset—just about the time that Buffalo Bill and Red Plume were nearing the creek where he had met with his mishap. - . He closed the cabin door and looked for means by which it might be made fast. He was pleased to find a wooden bar or brace, which he lost no time in placing in position. He had stripped off his saddle, the blankets, and other articles which he always carried on a journey, and _ dragged them into the cabin, which he found was pro- vided with loopholes on each of the four sides, - The cabin had also two small windows placed with the boone on a level with the face of a man of medium height when standing. : It contained some plain furnishings, such as one might expect to find in a prairie cabin of such outward pre- tensions. There were but two small rooms on the It was - BILL STORIES. ground, and there appeared to be an open loft over- head which could be reached by means of a ladder, As he glanced out at his foes he was surprised to find that they did not approach any closer to the lone cabin. They galloped pane it at a good distance, and once a shot was fired with such accuracy that Pawnee Bill heard the thud of the bullet in the logs. But he did not attempt to return the compliment. The truth was, his ankle gave him such pain just then that he hardly cared what might happen to him. Had the Comanches made a rush for the cabin just at that time of his indifference,. through physical pain, the chances are that they could have reached the hat and burst into it almost wholly unresisted. But—and it looked queer that they should behave in that manner—they hung off at about the same distance as they had halted in the first place. “They're mighty shy of my ee thought Pane Bill, with a smile. “Which shows’ what a big reputa- tion a man thay sometimes build up without really deserv- ing it,” At last he relaxed his vigilance somewhat. He no- ticed what appeared to be a rude bed at one side of the smaller of the two rooms. As he approached it, he was thrilled by the appearance of the bed having an occu- pant. Hobbling. up to it, ie drew the blanket down from the pillow. As he did so he uttered a gasp of horrified amazement. A skeleton face grinned up at him! CHAPTER Hl. A DASH TO THE RESCUE. © . The gruesome “find” of Pawnee Bill, the prairie whirlwind, was enough to have given a strong-nerved man the shivers. It cannot be said that he was pleased by the discovery of such Se ey in the lonely. cabin, But as it couldn’t be helped for the time, a least, | made the best of it. As it was growing dark, he did not stop We to make any further examination of the contents of the cabin, although he was curious to see if something might not be found to throw light upon the identity of. the former occupants of the habitation. Pawnee Bill found a lamp and quite a supply ae on He hung an old blanket over each of the two windows, and then lit the lamp. The light within being dim, there was no chance of even a ray shining through loopholes or crevices to show any mark for the wily enemy to fire at. He glanced out frequently to see what the Indians were doing. He was not a little surprised to find that they had retreated to a yet greater distance from the cabin, and that they seemed to have-gone into camp for the night, ‘Such proved to be the case. “Well, they’re easy with me, for once,” muttered the_ scout, “And I’m going to be easy with my self and try to get a wink of sleep. “If they decide to: try cleaning me out they won't be likely to try it until near morning. So I will drop down and snooze, with both ears and one eye open. “There’s no way the redskins can get in without mak-~ ing noise enough to Wake me up a dozen times over. Ne as # And if I lie out of range of the :oopholes they can’t get a glimpse of me, even if they creep up to the cabin : while I am asleep.” Upon this decision Pawnee Bill lay down and was soon in a dreamless sleep. — Meanwhile Buffalo Bill and Red Plume, whom we left as they were observing the maneuvers of the Co- manches, noticed that they were growing bolder in their approach: to the cabin than they had been when they first glimpsed the Indians in the act of beginning the attack, They kept riding round and round the cabin, and occa- | sionally one would send a carefully aimed shot at one of the windows. But none of them could have been effective through the thick walls. And for a time the inmate did Apt again fire back at them. At last, however, another puff of smoke darted fon a loophole and Cody and the Pawnee saw a second Co- ake reel in his saddle, and then plunge earthward. “That is perfect shooting !” exclaimed the scout. -“Tt shows that the one inside is a dead shot. But he is putting up a slow fight, just as if he was willing to stay there all day if he could have a chance now and then to drop a redskin out of the saddle.. “It looks almost like a bit of vengeance play. And yet—well, I don’t believe it is that.” “Ugh!” came suddenly from Red Plume. “Look!” | Buffalo Bill saw already what attracted the attention : a his companion. Far out on the prairie beyond the lone cabin, two or. three of the redskins were gathered in a little knot. Presently they seemed to be helping something to rise from the ground. The explanation was soon made clear. From the midst of the shrubby mesquite a horse rose from what must have been a perfectly horizontal posi- tion. Then a human figure was lifted from amid. the shrubbery and placed on the horse. S oe s their prisoner, after all!” exclaimed Buffalo 1 4 "es," nodded Red Plume. goin’ do something now.’ It might have been suspected that it was their jnten- tion to abandon the attempt to kill or capture the in- mate of the cabin. Yet not for a moment did Cody believe that such was their purpose. He suspected, instead, that the savages were about to use their captive in some sort of a stratagem for the de- struction of the i marksman in the cabin. This decided the scout on the next move in his side of the game. He knew, without acre, that Red Plume would stand by his judgment. “The one inside that cabin is piaine a nervy lone hand,’ said Cody, “and if he knew we were out here looking on, he would call for an assist, so as to euchre the other side. It is for us to throw Hoa trumps we have into his hand, and to do it now.’ Red Plume had played many a card game with his white pard, and he appreciated the Be iN terms to their full value. © "Ugh? he erunted, . “That prisoner. They “Dem Comanche hold heap low trump ;. right, left bower, joker on our side. rent Their horses were fresh after a long night’s rest and » had had plenty of feed and water. , The two scouts—the white and the redcnopiied un- THE BUFFALO We wax BILL STORIES. | ee der cover of the timber. They saw that saddle girth and weapons were ready for a swift dash and hot shooting. “We talked as if it was simple euchre that we were going to play,’ * muttered Buffalo Bill. ‘‘But it is a case when we've got to work a regular poker bluff. It is where deuces will have to be played so as to beat aces.’ Red Plume made no reply to this. He had an idea that Comanches could never hold anything better than . low trumps, and that their only show was in the num- ber that they could play. That was just a‘streak of natural race prejudice, and the Pawnee chief was full of it. — “Now for it—like a streak!” Cody gave the word, and the two horses shot out on the plain neck-and- neck. Beth of the horses had eh the property of Buffalo Bill, and one had been given by him to Red Plume, for the moment might come while they were together when they would need animals that could match each other in speed and endurance. They were thus equipped in the present case. And from the instant that they shot out from the shelter of the timber it became a mad race to see which should get within range of the Comanches ahead of the other. Their sped increased as the steeds warmed to the race. The horses seemed to enter into the spirit of it, as if it were a handicap, and there were hurdles ahead to De leaped over, or a fence to smash through. The Comanches are great horsemen; but if they ever had any close rivals among the Indian race they were numbered among the Pawnees, Red Plume believed there was no one in the world like Buffalo Bill. He tried to shoot like him and to ride as easily as he. The red chief succeeded as wellas any man ever did. The plain, as has been stated, was a gradual down- ward slope, and that favored the wind of the racers. It was a APG heat at that, and they ate up the distance at a dizzy clip. Ay fourth ot if *was "spanned before the Corinne saw them, even. Meanwhile the redskins had not been idle, although, at the rate they were moving, Buffalo Bill and the Paw- nee could not keep track of the maneuvers of their enemies. They only saw that the horse upon which they had mounted the prisoner was being led toward the cabin. Buffalo Bill kept as close a watch on their movements as did the Pawnee chief. What he observed was on a line with his prediction that they would resort to a ruse to gain an advantage over the marksman in the hut. After leading the horse bearing the captive to within about five hundred yards of the cabin, the animal was halted, and the Indian at its head suddenly ran back . and leaped on the horse back of the prisoner. | Then, carefully shielding his own body behind the person of the captive, the redskin approached the cabin at a bolder and faster pace. “Thats the trick,” thought the scout. “Yet, if | were in that cabin I reckon I could find room to plant a bul- let in that redskin without touching the prisoner, though it would be a rather close mark. The prisoner wouldn't have to, worry as long as he didn’t know the shot was coming.’ By this time there was a decided commotion among the Comanches. They saw Buffalo Bill and Red Plume riding down upon them with just as much confidence as 6 ee THE BUFFALO though te were backed by a company of government troops. ° Some of the redskins glanced back in the direction of the timber belt, expecting to see a company of sol- diers come clanking out from among the shadows. But as they gazed and saw no signs of the red and white scouts having backers, the Comanches regained their confidence and turned to support the one of their‘ number who’ was attempting to beat the inmate of the cabin by strategy. It looked like a sure thing. The redskin, with the prisoner, quickened the pace of his horse when he got to within a htndred yards of the cabin. Then he dug his heels into the horse’s sides, slapped the animal’s neck, and dashed ahead like mad. _ Buffalo Bill was almost within range, but the distance was too great to allow him to try a shot, although the figure of the Indian was presented better to his view than it could have_been to the De of the inmate of the besieged cabin. Closer came the Coman: vain the form of his pris- onér in front of him. That prisoner the scout could now see was a woman. 2 This in itself was enough to make the one in the hut the more reluctant to hazard a shot at the enemy. “That redskin will get so close that the one inside can’t shoot in a minute more,” exclaimed Buffalo Bill. “Look!” came from Red Plume. A jet of smoke and flame had again spurted from the loophole of the cabin. The crack of the rifle“in the hut and a death yell from the Comanche chimed in with a scream of terror from the captive, the sounds all reaching the ears of the approaching scouts at the same instant. The Comanche tumbled over backward. But the captive was unhurt! “Good!—jes’ like- White. Buffalg!” exclaimed Red Plume, © CHAPTER LN. THE PUGITIVE. The Comanches, hearing the shot from the cabin and seeing their comrade, who had boldly sought alone to obtain the advantage which they could not obtain to- gether, fall from the horse of the captive, were made wild with rage. At the same time they could see that Buffalo Bill and Red Plume were bound to ride down upon them, and there were some among the Indians who recognized Buffalo Bill, the border king. A moment before they had been sure ie everything, as they supposed. Now they would have to fight to hold what they had, and against the greatest dead shot they had ever seen, and that was not all. _ Their white captive was alone on the horse and fully a hundred yards distant from*the nearest of her captors. If she were bound hand and foot, it is true, she would have no:means of guiding her horse. But the latter was headed toward the cabin, and the report of the rifle, with the sense of having lost a part of his burden, excited the animal into a gallop. The prisoner, therefore, was being borne directly toward the cabin, and away from her foes. The air was filled with their hideous yells. They BILL eee pushed their ponies into a wild and reckless ah to cut off the flight of the captive. The’ latter, realizing that there was a chance, however faint, for her to escape, seemed to be urging her horse to.a better pace with her voice, which was all the means she could command. By this time Buffalo Bill : was near enough to open fire, although the range was a long one. The first shot was not thrown away, although the redskin who was bitten was only wounded by it. It was enough to throw him out of the race, however, and it told his comrades what they had to expect. Red Plume, ambitious to emulate the great scout, made a try with his rifle, It missed the chosen mark, but it nipped the hiarse instead of the rider, so that, for a little, the latter was eartied out of the line on account of his horse being uncontrolable. Then Pawnee Bill, from within the cabin, blocked the life game of another Comanche with one of his won- derful shots. And it began to look as though numbers did not count for ‘es in a fight on. the open prairie. But Comanches are not the sort to frighten easily. They saw that they were in the game for keeps—to run away would not protect them from the marksmanship of their enemies, while it would insure the escape of their captive, and, for some reason, the prospect of los- ing their prisoner seemed to make them wild. The next moment their bodies slid from sight behind the shoulders of their horses, after the fashion which Red. Plume had spoken of so contemptuously. And, with their rifles aimed at Buffalo Bill and Red Plume, they began a return fire, which was to make the game a two-sided one, By this time, amid all the hurry of incidents around her, the Comanche’ "captive reached a point quite close to the cabin. At the same moment the door of the hut was thrown open and Pawnee Bill. appeared at the opening. Leaning upon a stick, he hobbled over the threshold and tried to head off the horse of the captive. “This way, miss, if you can only manage to guide the horse!” he called to her. “Yes, yes!—if I only might,’ came back in a voice that thrilled with the hope of escape. “Holy powers!” exclaimed Buffalo Bill, as he ob- tained a glimpse of the one in the doorway of the cabin. “Tt is Pawnee Bill—and that was his og ae that made the Comanches fight so shy.” The border king tried to spur his horse to a better clip —to a final burst that should win the goal when it needed winning as it had not before for many a day. But a horse can only do his best, and that was being done and a noble best it was. ~ The bullets from the Comanches began to whistle and hiss in the ears of Cody and his Pawnee pard. It was a moment when the Indian nature would have prompted the latter to seek shelter of some sort. Red Plume had courdve enough; he was not afraid of death or of pain. But he had never been trained to overcome the nature inherited from his ancestors, every man of whom had fought from behind a tree or a rock. Here there were no trees or rocks, and the great White Buffalo, the paleface chief, who, in Red Plume’s eyes, was the bravest hunter in the world, seemed not | 1 THE BUFFALO, to mind the sputter ing rifles of his foes or the sibilant hiss of the lead that was being POWs at and about then) It was being in open battle, that is just what it was, and no man, red or white, can be in that position and feel just as he thinks he would feel before he had ever been there. But Red Plume did not: bee ee head. He expected to lose his life, and the thought of that being forfeited to a “cowardly dog” of a Comanche was what was hard. He meant to sell it at a high price. Lying close to the neck of his horse, he fired fast and well, and he was sure that at least two of the Co- manches who were left to kick and roll in the prairie grass, with hurts that they would never get over, were his game. With Buffalo Bill it became partly a business of shoot- ing horses. With his skill it was easy for him to put a shot through the foot of a Comanche that showed over the back of his steed. » But that merely lamed the Solan One left him is cling to the bridle and probably escape on a straight runaway. It was better, in his judgment, to kill the horse by a dead shot in the brain, that was without a touch of cruelty, and leave the rider without means of escape and a fair mark for another shot. ‘He did that very thing twice while he was tek a good way from the cabin. Then, seeing how matters stoed with the Comanche captive, he decided to change the complexion of things in that quarter. While she seemed to be trying to guide. the horse toward the open door of the cabin, where Pawnee Bill stead ready to give her his protection, the animal veered off and was bearing her away in a straight line across the prairie. The woman—or girl, for none of our. iriende aud ver obtained a glimpse of her face so as to tell whether she were young or .old—appeared to be entirely helpless. She was swathed in a blanket and her head and face were almost entirely hidden by a hood. She appeared to be bound to the vadale. Vee hands were out of sight, but as it seemed likely. that she would not have allowed the horse to run away from the chance of rescue had she been able to grasp the rein, the scouts all assumed that they also were bound. Indeed, it was somewhat surprising, considering the violent movements of her horse, that she was not Ee from the saddle, Buffalo Bill saw that the captive was in a wens way of ‘being borne back to where her captors could again sur- round and prevent her rescue by her friends. There was only one way to stop it, It would risk giving her a fall from the horse—indeed, fall she must—but he did not hesitate. The animal had to be sacrificed. A single, sure shot found the brain of the captive’s horse and sent. steed and rider to the earth, . “Go the, surprise of. Buffalo Bill, who fired the shot, ad of Pawnee Bill, who was closer to the captive at the moment, the latter fell clear of the horse, and her limbs seemed to- -be free. ‘She uttered a ‘scream; and in what appeared ae be a fit. of bewilderment, started to run in a direction which took her away from the shelter of the cabin instead of taward. it. BILL STORIES. | - , “Vere, miss! They'll have you again if you go nes way!” cried Pawnee Bill. “Oh, what shall I do?” cried the captive then, and in a voice which was so sweet that they knew she must be young. Pawnee Bill was one of the most gallant and chival- rous men living. Buffalo Bill was equally so, in a way, but not so apt to forget everything else when there hap- pened to be a woman around who needed his aid. | In this case Pawnee Bill forgot that he had a badly sprained ankle and. set out to hobble out to where the frightened girl seemed bent en going around in a circle, T he pain * made him grit his teeth, and yet he got over the ground at a rate that quickly br ought him to the side of the Comanche captive. Fyen then she appeared to think that he wine be one of her late captors, for she uttered a little scream and started to run-away from him. os “No, you don’t, miss!” exclaimed the scout, And in a flash he had a grip on her arm that she ee not. throw off if she tried. _ we i Then she looked at him, and. said: Mae] thought the Indians had Oty me again! “Not this time, miss. But they'll have you sure if you don’t help yourself over the ground a bit, for I-can’t © carry you. “Quick, - tough!” Pawnee Bill pushed her ahead of an while he habhied back to the cabin door. It was-all done quicker than can. be told, and ules Pawnee and the girl were close together, the Comanches stopped shooting _ at him. 4 iY It was plain that they were. particular. ‘o secure her alive. While Pawnee Bill was. in the doorway, they had not been in a position to get a fair shot at him. Therefore he had had a-very good show, as compared with that of Buffalo Bill and Red Plume, who had been under fire from the first moment that they came within range of the Comanches’ weapons, It sometimes seems that.men in such a situation bear charmed lives, You may think that men do not go through a storm of bullets, without getting ae or badly enh outside of a story, But read the accounts of many Bates. some of them recent ones in the Philippines, in which a handful of Yankee soldiers haye wiped out scores of the enemy with hardly the loss of a man, and been in a storm of lead and other equally dangerous missiles all the while. A clear head, alert judgment, perfect coolness—these ae thiss—my_ _ankle—sprained—hurts. ‘pretty and kindred qualities win out, and the possessor, like Buffalo Bill and a few others among the world’s heroes, are said to bear a “charmed life.” To tell of the adventures and victories of such men we need not exaggerate. So, as Pawnee’ Bill gently pushed the Camaneke: cap- tive ahead ef him in the cabin, Buffalo Bill and Red Plume dashed up to the door with hardly a scratch to show for the fusillade of the Comanches. The latter, with just eight of their number out ob the race for good, and minus the captive whom they had taken so much pains to guard, were beating a retreat out of range of the rifles that never seemed to fail when a mark was chosen. _The two scouts entered the cabin and closed the door, vs THE BUFFALO CHAPTER Vic). THE COMANCHE CAPTIVE. The moment that Pawnee Bill got inside of the door of the hut he flung himself with a groan at full length on the blanket where he had laid during the night. The sprain of his ankle was severer than even he had thought, and as yet the tide had not turned toward improvement. In going to the rescue of the fair captive of the Co-— manches he had momentarily forgotten his hurt, and stepped quite heavily upon the injured limb. “The result was a paroxysm of pain which was far more intense than that he had suffered when the in- jury occurred. Buffalo Bill sprang to his side, seeing at a glance that his pard’s face was white as death, and that his fore- head was beaded with perspiration. “Why, man, what is the matter?’ exclaimed the border. king. “Sprain, that’s all. Gave it an extra twist just now, and it makes a fuss about‘it. Give me your flask. I’m taint. 4 The flask was given, but the scout took only a short pull at it. He closed his eyes and the color. began to creep back into his bronzed cheeks. “How logg have you been here in this shape? Buffalo Bill, when Pawnee Bill again opened his eyes. “Since last night.” “How did you get the hurt?” Pawnee Bill briefly explained, adding a short account of the incidents of the night. “That is why those Comanches hung around here so sharp—they thought their chance to wind you up had come at last.” “It did look like it for a while. But what fetches you this way, Cody? And that Injun with you A ~“**Tt’s Red Plume, my Pawnee pard. He will stand by me-and fight hostiles of any tribe as long as any one would, save you, Gordon. “And he has had a good hand in the little business we've done here this morning.” “T like his looks. But—what’re we thinking of, old aman, to let the young lady stand there without a> word of attention?” Pawnee Bill would actually have gotten up onto that tender ankle again had Buffalo Bill not gently forced him to lie down again. The late captive of the Comanches, after entering the protecting walls of the cabin, had gone to one of the small windows and stood silently looking out across ' the prairie toward the Indian survivors of the hot, quick _ battle which had been fought, mostly, as it appeared, on her account. They were retreating, but at a moderate pace, for they had several wounded to look out for. In truth, of the thirty warriors who had been on hand at the beginning of the attack on the cabin, not — above fifteen remained in shape to put up anything of a fight. The girl was still closely wrapped in the blanket, and the queer hood about her head and face would have made many young women look like frights. Not so with this young lady, however. Her bright, dark eyes, fresh complexion, and some wisps of golden hair that straggled over her forehead made up a ue asked . BILL STORIES. that no kind of a frame. could. deprive in its pealar beauty. - It would have been hard to read the expression of that face as she gazed after her late captors. She certainly did not look as if she had been ade to suffer very seriously as yet in her captivity. And Red Plume, who had time to observe her in his sly, furtive way, saw her smile once, as if there had been something amusing about her adventure. Seeing that smile made Red Plume grunt and ous his shoulders. Having made Pawnee Bill agree to lie still for a while, Buffalo Bill turned his attention to the young lady- “Vou are out of the clutches of that party, miss, and you may thank your good streak of luck that . are,” said the scout. She faced him, and Cody decided that he had never before looked into just such a pair of eyes. “Do you suppose they would have burned me at the stake?” she asked, with an odd curl of her lips. “No, I reckon they wouldn’t have done that.” “Made me run the gantlet, perhaps?” “Hardly that, either.” “Then, why didn’t they give me a quick send-off—l ‘mean, why didn’t they kill me outright instead of taking the trouble to lug me around?” : “The chances are, miss, that they would have assigned you to one of their chiefs for an extra wife. If you had been old and ugly: they would have made short work of disposing of you,’ “I’m glad I wasn’t old and ugly, then, for I wasn’t ready to be disposed of. But I suppose you expect me to say something nice to you for taking the trouble to’ rescue me from a terrible fate. So I will say that it was very gallant in you, and also in the dark gentleman who came running after me when his ankle was hurting him so.’ A slight frown crossed the brow of Buffalo Bill. He had a feeling that this pretty, saucy-eyed girl was making a jest of the part Pawnee Bill had played in saving her from the Comanches. For himself, Cody did not care. But Pawnee Bill was a man to throw away his life for anybody who was helpless and in danger or trouble, and he never counted pain or hunger when he was in the service of some one who needed fim. There were many who would have said as much and more of Buffalo Bill. But the latter was not the man to dwell in his mind on his own sterling qualities of mind and heart. “The dark gentleman is Major Gordon Lillie, called by the scores of good men and woman who know and admire him, Pawnee Bill. He is known by the Indians as Kulux—Kittibux, “Little Bear.” “Indeed! How glad I am to meet such a distinguished gentleman. And may I ask who it is that gives so much praise to another and takes so little credit to himself?” “Tam Colonel Cody, and like Major Lillie, a govern- ment scout.” “Is that allP And yet you really look like peut I won't say it, for it wouldn’t do you justice. I can see by your face, Colonel Cody, that you think I don’t mean ao say. Truly, I mean’a great deal that - ay - said.”” Here was a puzzler—this handsome girl, whe ‘ad: such a new way of thanking them for saving her Jom THE “BURPFALO captivity among the most merciless crew of redskins to be found in that part of the country. The scout did not know just what to say. But he felt like saying something sharp to her. The face of Buffalo Bill became stern and his voice cold and polite as he said: “Will you oblige me by giving me your 1 name, miss?” “Call me Miss Hallam—Bertha Hallam.” “You were captured by the Comanches, we were told, while you were on your way from Barstow Settlement to Barstow Ranch yesterday morning?” “May I ask who told you that?” the girl asked. A settler at. Barstow: Tt seemed to be generally known about the settlement.” “Oh, well, let it go at that, then.’ What did the girl mean? Buffalo Bill asked himself. He had seen frontier girls who had the nerve to fight Indians with the best of them, or to break horses and lasso steers. , But this one was not like them. A little while ago she had seemed to be so frantic with fear that she did not know. which way to turn to escape from the Indians who were closing about her. She seemed so bewildered and beside herself that she would certainly have fallen into the hands of her captors again but for the self-sacrificing efforts of Pawnee Bill. “And now she appeared ready to treat the whole affair as a joke, and to throw doubt on the information which had been given Buffalo Bill, and which had sent him on a ride to the rescue. sim atraid, Miss Flallam,”” said the scout, “that you will have to wait until my good friend, Pawnee, here, gets so he can ride beforé we can see you back safe at Barstow.’ Oh, never gad such a little delay as that, Colonel Cody. There are plenty of ways than I can amuse my- self while I am _ waiting.” The girl irritated Buffalo Bill more and more by~her fippant. speech and airs. — Then it occurred to him that she wad seemed to be free from her bonds the moment she fell clear of her. horse. “Were you tied onto the horse by. your captors just now, when they used you for a shield in trying to get at the one in the cabin?” “Not very securely,.1 believe.’ The scout tried to look into her eyes, but when she would meet his gaze she seemed to be just ready to laugh in his face. “] reckon, miss, that you weren't tied on at all. ue _ “Come to think of tb don't believe Twas... “And your arms, too, were they free: fe. “How inquisitive you are about those little things, Colonel Cody! Whatever can you care whether I was bound or free while the Comanches used me for a pos- sible bullet catcher?” “They knew that the man in the cabin would never fire a shot that could endanger a hurt, however slight, to the woman captive.” 20! course—that was why they played the trick.” “So your hands were free, when we thought they Were. ‘bound so that you could not guide your horse, and that was why he turned back toward your captors. ‘Miss Hallam, Major Lillie risked his life and suffered great pain to save you from,recapture, when, unless'I’m greatly mistaken, you would have preferred that the redskins got hold of you again! Am I right or _ wrong 2” 2 BILL has only begun.. STORIES. | 2 The pretty eyes of, the strange sirl tell under the accusing gaze of Buffalo Bill. Without a word in reply shé suddenly turned and’ went to the side of Pawnee .Bill, who had fallen into a mo- mentary doze, on account of exhaustion from pain. CHAPTER A DRIVEN BACK TO COVER It had been the original intention ae Pawnee Bill. to keep on until the River Pecos settlements were reached. But the sprain would make it impossible for him to ride for twentyafour hours, at least. He wanted Buffalo Bill and Red Plume to push on to his destination. But Cody would not listen to it. He found that Pawnee Bill, besides having a sprained - ankle, was not in quite his usual health in other respects. The reason was that the brave fellow had been trying to get along for a week without sleep and sometimes. without sufficient or suitable food, just because he was so busy trying to give warning to all creation about the Indian outbreaks, which were spreading all along the border. The sprain was the final hi that pulled him down. Probably twenty-four hours of perfect rest would put him in shape to travel. But Buffalo Bill would not bear of a minute short of that. “And it has got to be rest, too,’ added the great scout. “You can’t sleep with one eye open and listening for. redskins. You can’t do a thing but just snooze and eat. “IT happen to know that our fun with the Comanches They’re the worst of all redskins when it comes to sticking to a vengeance trail. “We have done them some damage this morning, and don’t you reckon for a minute that they won't lay for us to pay for it? “As for Miss Hallam, here, I suppose it was in the con- tract that she be restored to her people at Barstow.” The girl had been standing at the window, as she had done much of the time since entering the cabin, gazing out across the boundless plain. In a-low voice Pawnee Bill had told Buffalo Bill of the gruesome find under the blankets in the corner of the smaller cabin room. Since making the discovery, just after his arrival the night before, he had flung a wolfskin, which he found there; over the pallet. ° dt had not been: thought best by either Buffalo Bill or Pawnee Bill to mention the matter to Red Plume or Bertha Hallam. The Indian was likely to have superstitious fears about the presence of a human skeleton in the cabin. The girl, if she were like most girls, would not wish to stay in the cabin an hour if she knew about it. “Likely that somebody lived here alone,” said Jack, as he discussed the matter with Buffalo Bill, ‘and he got sick and died. Nobody has been here since to oa it out.” “Did you make any examination so as to form a judgment about the oR of time the thing has been there?” “No. All I saw was the skull and a “glimpse of the neck and one shoulder. It is as dead and dry as a mummy.” “It would take a full 5 year to put it in that condition.” Piouger, [reckon e 10 THE BUFFALO “Yott have made no search of the cabin to find a clew to the identity of the fotmer occupant?” “No, it was all I cotild do to get arotind jtist what was necessary. Besides, the Comanches kept te oti the watch most of the time.” - “You say they found that you were here last night?” “They chased me to cover atid here is where I got in.” “But they didn’t follow up the attack last night after sunsets) | . “No. They kept off a good distance. They acted mighty queer about it.” “It couildn’t have beeti on account of their feat for your shooting altogether, for they cotild have crept up closer at night without much danger, if they had only tried for it.” “That’s the way I figtired on the game.” “Phen how do yoti accotint for theit being so shy?” Pawnée Bill shrugged his shoulders. “I feckon something about the place scated them at some time in the past and they haven’t forgotten it. “Maybe a search of the shanty will show up some- thing that will explain the business. There is a loft overhead, and another small room partitioned off as you see. The skeleton is in the smaller room. I didn’t look atotnd in there any except to find a loophole, so that I could show the red devils that 1 wasn’t asleep.” “Another thing, Gordon,” contiiued Buffalo Bill, “What do you think of the girl that we took so mitch trouble to resctie from the Comanches?’ “I think what you think, maybe, Bill. She might have escaped without otir help, | reckon, if she had wanted to. Now, 1 don’t know what we'd better do with her.’ The border king frowned. There was anothér aspect of the case which had not seemed to occur to Pawnee Bill, “If that girl rode up to the cabin in the way she did, helping the redskins in their strategy, what is the reason that she isn’t as much responsible for the trick that was meant to take your life.as the Comanches are?” “Looks on the outside as if she was as much to blame as anybody—rather more, I reckon, for she took ad- vatitage of otit confidence in het, and we wottld have done her a good turn.” : It could not have been that Bertha Hallam caught any word of thé mention which was made of her. Yet she abruptly turned from the window and ad- vanced to where Buffalo Bill was sitting on the ground beside the pallet of Pawnee Bill. She glanced from one to the other, as if trying to make out what they thought of her. Then she said: “T have set you to guessing about me, haven’t 1?” _ “Yow could stop the guessing mighty easy, miss, by ~ just givitig us some facts to work on. It isn’t idle curi- osity, understand? Major Lillie, hete, risked his life to save you, and then he finds out that you didn’t need ot want his help.” “It is the same with you, isn’t it?” And the girls bright eyes looked straight into those of Bttiglo Bill, ae “Red Plume and I were on the trail of your captors, _ and we shouldn't have come in this direction except to run them down and rescue you. So you can figtire that out to suit yourself.’ . “That makes it look as if I had played the decoy to _ €raw you into danger. I should think you would bind Bibl STORIES: me hand and foot, and other spy ortraitor, pe “You talk qtteetly, Miss Hallam. If you have any- thing to own up to, blaze away, atid we'll exectite judg- ment after we know the facts.” : oe “T shall own up to nothing, éxcept to say that | am sorry—if yot are sorry—that you took the trouble and risk to rescue itie from the Comanches. I did not in- tetid to act as a decoy, and I had to thought of being a ifaitor That is all | can say” ea “And that’s enough for me!” exclaimed Pawnee Bill, who foutid it hard to believe that this girl could have acted a treacherous part ' Buffalo Bill was not so easily convinced “You don’t explain the ptizzle, then, Miss Hallam?” he asked te “Tm sotry, btit I can’t do that. now” “Do you deny that you would have returned to the Indians if we had allowed you to?” — ae “IT do fiot deétiy: it” “Of that yott were not botttid to the hotse, or other- wise confitied wher you rode toward the cabin with the Comanche warrior behind you on the same horse ?” “I don’t deny that, Mr Cody.” : “But yott refase to explain?” - “LT eahtiot explain.” “Then you refuse?” “You are botitid to put it that way, so let it go! “You wish, then, to have us set you free, and allow yout to return to the Comanches?” “I haven't said that.” ia “Do you wish to go back to them ?” “Not now. No, I want to go back to thé settlement if you will take me with you. I don’t ‘want to ever see another Comanche Indian. You are kind, both of you, atid I like you.” ae The cheeks of the strange girl were flttshed and her eyés shone like stars. : “Come, Bill, don’t puzzle her with any mofe qtiéstions, ° séfve ite a8 yott would any $3 pleaded Pawnee Bill, . “T didn’t intend to,” replied the border kine. A little later in the day Buffalo Bill and Red Plume rode out tipoh the prairie and made a complete circuit of the cabin, covering a wide area. Not a living thing could they discern within the wide ratige Of theif vision. “Think yott, Red Plume, that we have scen the last of those Comanches?” questioned Buffalo Bill, When they were alone.together, the Pawnee was free enough to talk, but at the cabin, in the presetice of Bertha Hallam, it was hard to get a word out of him. “They come back bime-by,” was his atiswer, as he scanned the. horizon. “In bigger force, if they come=sand I think you are right, for they will want to take it out of us to pay for the warriors of their party that we killed. ee _ “It is a pity that we can’t be making the most of this time either in warning or defending settlers, or in get- ting the young lady to 4 place of safety.” ee “Ugh!” grunted Red Plutne, Theti he fell silent and elunn, “What do you make of it, Red Plume?” © “Me think white girl heap talk—talk—heap maké be- lieve. No like girl like that, heap,” als ay “You have taken a notion against her because doesn’t dress tip like @ squaw.’ a dats % she