Waving his battered hat in response to the shout, Buffalo Bill rides straight to the open gate, enters, and dismounts before Major Baldwin’s door. An orderly seizes his bridle-rein, and the major comes forth and grasps the scout’s hand with the words:
“Thanks be to God for seeing you again alive, Cody! When Keyes told me you were safe, I felt like ordering a feast to celebrate the occasion. And they say the Sioux are ready for peace?”
“I believe they are. Oak Heart has pretty much lost his grip on the tribe, and is an outcast. But the new powers-that-be have seen the fallacy of trying issues again with us.”
“We certainly believed you dead one while, Cody.”
“And it was a close shave not to be this time, sir.”
“You have won out as usual, Bill, with flying colors.”
“Yes, Major Baldwin. I went to Oak Heart’s village with the firm determination to get Boyd Bennett if it cost me my life. That scoundrel had been a thorn in my side too long. I got him. He’s dead. He’ll do no more harm this side of the Great Divide!”
“A good piece of work, Cody. And I understand that old maniac, the Mad Hunter, who attacked Keyes, is dead, too?”
“That is so. But I am sorry for his end. I tell you in confidence, major, that the man was Dick Danforth’s father—though I never suspected it until I saw his face close to. The Indians were supposed to have cracked him on the head and flung him into the river years ago. The crack on the head was sure enough. But he wasn’t drowned. His end has come now, poor fellow.”
“And [Dick] wonderfully saved!”