“What will you do with it?”
“Use it on myself in case of failure in the lines. It will save me from the stake. Otherwise, they may as well burn me first as last, and I will at least escape the additional torture of running the gantlet.”
The unfortunate man had begged repeatedly for the weapon before, when his friends visited him, and they had refused to give it to him.
But, as he now seemed resolute in his present determination, Captain Meinhold promised to give it to him, on his word of honor that he would not make use of it except in the last extremity—not until the fagots around him were fired, or some equivalent torture was begun.
Buffalo Bill, Meinhold, and the other men had debated long and earnestly together as to the course they should take if things came to the worst with Hare; and they had found it very hard to arrive at a decision.
Their natural impulse, being all brave men, was to die in his defense, ineffectual as a fight would undoubtedly be.
But they had to think first of the women in the party. If necessary, Hare must be sacrificed for their sake. In the event of a fight, the chances were a hundred to one that they would spend their lives as the squaws of Indian braves.
Captain Meinhold exhorted Hare to do his best in running the gantlet, reminding him that there was a chance of escape if he was vigilant and active.
“Well, captain, I will try,” the doomed man replied. “I will do my best, if I have this pistol as a last resort.”