"Where are they?" asked Frank, wonderingly.
"Right near yere, you kin bet yer dust," answered the guide. "They drapped down ther instant we begun slingin' lead, an' they're huggin' ther yearth, you bet!"
"Did we kill any?"
"Wa-al, I dunno; but I'll allow thet I didn't do any shootin' fer fun. I don't b'lieve in thet under such circumstances."
"This affair may bring on an Indian war."
"Let'er bring! It'll be er good thing ef it does, an' ther hull Injun nation is wiped out. But ther chances are thet it'll never be heard of by anybody except them we tell it to. Ther varmints will make tracks outer ther park, fer they're on forbidden ground."
"If the soldiers should turn up——"
"It'd be a mighty good thing fer us. Still, I kinder reckon we'll be able ter hold Half Hand an' his gang off till they git weary."
They took care that their revolvers were replenished with cartridges, and then Frank loaded his rifle.
A sudden silence seemed to brood over the whole world.