"Vance Bernard."
"Stubborn fool!" ejaculated the officer, while the courier drew from some secret receptacle about his clothing another note and handed it to his commander.
CHAPTER XXI.
The Cheyenne Indians under the command of Lieutenant Carey had come to almost idolize their captain.
They knew his record as a border boy, when he had roamed the country fearlessly in company with the old hermit of the Black Hills, his adopted father, and afterward alone, as a young guide and hunter.
They knew him as a soldier later on, and now that he had them under his command they felt that his word was law, and they could follow him unflinchingly wherever he would lead them.
His manner toward them was gentle, yet firm.
He treated them as human beings, not as machines, and gave them the best of food and clothing.