She began to cry; and in her nervousness it seemed that with difficulty she restrained a desire to clutch hold of the great scout and thrust him out of the office, and on the trail, in pursuit of the abductors of her boy.
Buffalo Bill, understanding her feelings, said all that he could to quiet her and give her the comforting warmth of hope. He repeated that he would take the trail with his aids and run the Indians down.
“You will begin at once?” she urged.
“Yes,” he answered; “as soon as I can get ready for so long and dangerous a trip.”
“It will be long—very long?”
She wanted her boy rescued instantly.
“They have probably retreated deep into the Cumbres Mountains,” the scout told her. “We shall have to follow them there; and it will be a dangerous journey, for which we shall have to make preparations. It is an unfamiliar country to me, and my companions, too, and we may need to look for a competent guide.”
“You’ll get none here, Cody,” said the marshal; “you couldn’t get any man here to follow old Fire Top into the Cumbres—if it was old Fire Top.”
There was an interruption at the door, and a man came into the office hurriedly.
He was from the jail, and bore a letter.