Young Mason's heart gave a great throb of sympathy when he heard what sounded suspiciously like a sob from the girl.
His sister had been stolen from her home in New Orleans by Hoskins and this giant, and like a sleuth-hound this boy had followed on the trail, tracking the fugitives from one border town to another on their northward course, and yet always coming too late.
He had met Custer years before, and had been a friend of the yellow-haired cavalry leader, so when he found the general in these regions, the latter at once took up his cause, and sent out scouts to discover where Hoskins and his fair girl captive were.
These men, experienced as they were, failed to accomplish their end.
It was Mason himself, by his indefatigable efforts, who first discovered Sitting Bull's village, and reported the fact to the general, who was already heading in that direction, aiming for the Little Big Horn.
The boy also declared that Hoskins was with the Indians, which fact Custer was prone to believe.
After this Mason vanished, nor did he make his appearance until the doomed command was riding down the bluffs into the ambuscade.
How the latter proved fatal to the gallant troops is already known.
The wily Sioux allowed them to come on, pretending to give way, until the men were fairly in the trap, when they closed about them in a solid mass.
After this explanation, which I hold as due to the reader, I will resume the thread of my narrative where it was dropped.