But just as the Indians rushed forward Wild Bill, Eagle Eye, Nick Wharton, and a couple of Navaho braves charged to the rescue round the ledge and into the cave. They met the Cave Dwellers with a volley of shots and drove them back into the recesses of the cavern.
Realizing that their only chance of life was to cut their way out through their enemies, the savages soon rallied to the attack, and several minutes’ hard fighting followed. But Buffalo Bill’s party managed to hold the entrance until reënforcements came up, for Eagle Eye had left a couple of braves at the rope to draw up the rest.
It was a fight to the death. The Cave Dwellers refused quarter, and in the end only three or four of them managed to escape down the zigzag path.
Red Cloud and his warriors took many scalps that night, and there was much rejoicing in the Navaho village on their return, for they had not lost more than half a dozen braves in the fight and had utterly annihilated their troublesome neighbors.
Buffalo Bill had escaped from one of the fiercest fights in his experience without a scratch, and Wild Bill and Nick Wharton were also unwounded.
CHAPTER XIII.
A TERRIBLE FATE.
On the night following the fight with the Cave Dwellers, a feast was held in the village of the Navahos to celebrate the great victory they had gained.
The Indian braves and their three paleface brethren gathered closely around the camp fire after the feasting was over. The warriors told stories and legends of their tribe and indulged in wrestling and other sports, in all of which they showed great skill.