"Don't speak," she said; "you are in too much pain."
She was right, for the next moment Buttons fell back exhausted.
The Senator drew a flask from his pocket and motioned to the young girl to give some to Buttons; and then, thinking that the attention of the Señorita would be far better than his, he hurried away to Dick.
So well had he been treated by the Don (whom the reader has of course already recognized) that he was now sitting up, leaning against the driver of the diligence, who was making amends for his cowardice during the fight by kind attention to Dick after it was over.
"My dear boy, I saw you had no bones broken," said the Senator, "and knew you were all right; so I devoted my first attention to Buttons. How do you feel?"
"Better," said Dick, pressing the honest hand which the Senator held out. "Better; but how is Buttons?"
"Recovering. But he is terribly bruised, and his arm is broken."
"His arm broken! Poor Buttons, what'll he do?"
"Well, my boy, I'll try what _I_ can do. I've set an arm before now. In our region a necessary part of a good education was settin' bones."
Dick was wounded in several places. Leaving the Don to attend to him the Senator took his knife and hurriedly made some splints. Then getting his valise, he tore up two or three of his shirts. Armed with these he returned to Buttons. The Señorita saw the preparations, and, weeping bitterly, she retired.