he happened to have alongside at that particular moment.
“Look there, will you?” called out Donald; “see him scuttle off into the darkness, of the shadows? An Injun as sure as you live. Oh! if only I had my gun in my hands. Give him a shot, Billie, why don’t you?”
But Billie, although he half raised his Marlin rifle, failed to shoot. Possibly the thought of hurting a human being did not appeal to him in the same sense as it did these boys of the plains. Then again, perhaps the haste with which the shadowy figure of the dusky warrior scuttled out of sight rather disconcerted the fat boy. At any rate, Billie only stood there with his gun half raised; and the next thing he knew there was nothing but the moonlight and the shadows before him.
[CHAPTER IV.—THE STRANGE SHOT.]
“Oh! he’s gone!” exclaimed Billie.
“Of course he is!” echoed Donald, in disgust; “say, how long did you expect a slick Injun to stay around, waiting for you to make up your mind to shoot?”
“But good gracious, Donald, what should I fire away at him for? He hadn’t done a single thing but creep up here to see who was making all this blaze and smoke. That’s a mighty little thing to try to kill anybody for. Why, I’d like as not be just as curious myself.”
Donald snorted as he turned to Adrian.
“Listen to the innocent, would you, Ad?” he remarked, in half discouraged tone. “Why, what else would a red be prowling around our camp for, except looking for a good chance to steal our horses.”
“Is that so, Donald?” Billie went on to say; “then I suppose I ought to have banged away, anyhow, and given him a scare; but you see I was that confused I hardly knew what I was about.”