At first their comments and their company greatly embarrassed and disconcerted Jack, but he soon became accustomed to both, and rather enjoyed the society of the noisy little throng.
Jack had also practised riding bareback, both on Pawnee and his new horse, and had reached a point where, clad in moccasins and leggings, he could gallop for half a day without feeling undue fatigue. Hugh had advised him to begin on one of the buffalo running saddles, used by some of the Indians; a square cushion of buckskin, stuffed with buffalo or antelope hair, but without stirrups. Beginning with this, he had gradually passed on to riding the naked horse, and now had a firm grip with knee and calf, on the smooth sides of his mount.
Toward evening that day, the three started out and galloped swiftly up the river, gradually turning into the low hills on its south side. They had gone only three or four miles, when Hugh held up his hand and bending low in the saddle, called their attention to a buffalo, whose back was just visible over a near ridge. "Now, boys," he said, "we can get up within fifty or seventy-five yards of that fellow, and then you can try him. As soon as the bull starts, son, you want to put the quirt on your horse and get up to him as quickly as you can, then shoot at him just as you would if you were using a rifle, except that you want to ride up nearly to his shoulders, before shooting. Let the arrow go in square between the ribs and not slant forward. When you are too far behind, the arrow is likely to strike a rib and just stick in his hide. I expect Jack will get the first shot," he added, turning to Joe, "because he's got the best horse, but I don't feel noways certain that he'll kill, and you must do your best to get the buffalo, if he don't."
They trotted briskly up to the top of the ridge, and were on the crest and within thirty yards of the game, before it saw them; then it dashed off, but in a very short time, Jack was close to the animal's side, and drawing the arrow to its head, he let fly. It was the first time he had shot from a galloping horse, and he did not allow for the motion, so that to his horror and shame, he missed the buffalo clean, the arrow striking deep into the ground under its belly. As the bow twanged, his horse made a lurch to the right and he lost his balance, and would have fallen off if he had not caught the mane, and thus recovered himself. Joe, on his slower horse, was bounding along close behind the buffalo, but gaining on it very slowly, and Jack turning again, passed Joe and once more drew up beside the bull. This time his luck was better, the arrow struck the beast just behind the foreleg and low down. When the horse turned, Jack was ready for him and did not lose his seat, but the prick of the arrow angered the buffalo, which turned sharply and would have caught his horse, if it had not sheered off just as it did. This little delay enabled Joe to come up, and he planted an arrow in the buffalo's side close to Jack's. The animal charged Joe as he had Jack, but the horse easily avoided him. But now the bull was badly wounded and angry, and stopped to fight. Hugh had come up, and the three sat on their horses, fifteen or twenty yards away from the great beast, which with head down and tail stuck stiffly up in the air, glared furiously at them from under the heavy mat of brown hair, which overshadowed its little eyes. Now and then it shook its head angrily, and its long beard swept the prairie grass; but blood was flowing from its mouth and nostrils, and both Hugh and Joe said it would soon fall. By this time Jack had seen plenty of buffalo, but as he sat there and looked at this enormous beast, it seemed to him that he had never beheld any creature so terrifying.
The buffalo stood there for a few moments, ready to fight, then slowly turned as if to run, tottered a few steps and fell on its knees.
"Well," said Hugh, "I guess, son, you and Joe will have to divide that buffalo; 'pears to me from the way those arrows look, that you both killed it."
"Well," said Jack, "the first shot I made, I didn't hit it at all. I would not have thought I could shoot at an enormous animal like that, at five or six yards distance, and miss it, but I did miss it clean. I'm going back after we have butchered, to try and find that arrow."
The buffalo was a young bull, fat and in good order. They took his tongue and the meat from the boss ribs, and packing it on Joe's horse, set out for the camp again. On the way back they spent some little time looking for Jack's arrow, which was finally found, sticking almost straight up in the sand.