“General Canton, I did not come here, sir, to bandy words with that man. Will you spare me a moment of your time?”
“You chanced to hear Major Belden’s accusations?”
“Yes, I heard him; but I never have raised a hand against the United States troops on this border, who did not first attack me.”
“You slew two soldiers who once attempted your arrest, I learn?”
“I slew two drunken deserters who had boasted that they would take me alive and hang me without trial. They rushed upon me. I warned them back; they would not heed the warning, and I shot them dead. You were not in command here then, sir, and heard only a garbled account of the affair from such as yonder man, who wears a major’s straps, which I will yet tear from his shoulders if he crosses my path with evil intent.”
“You speak boldly, Mr. Cody.”
“I know it, general; it is a habit I have. Regarding my killing of peaceable Indians, it is all a lie, though I made war upon all hostile bands. Now, sir, I desire to state why I sought you here: first, to give the lie to all assertions against me such as have been brought to your ears, and then to say that upon arriving at the new settlement, whither I guided the Conrad emigrant train, I saw with horror that a cruel enemy had been there, and left ruin and death behind.
“Alfred Carter’s wife and son had been murdered, and Carter and his daughter, a beautiful girl of eighteen, had been carried off into captivity. Taking the trail of the bloodhounds, after days of tedious work, I tracked them to their kennel, and found that Ricardo, the chief of the Branded Brotherhood, had done the deed.”
“Infamous!”
“Well may you say so, General Canton, but, to continue: I tracked the renegades to their den, I disguised myself, and by night entered the stronghold, and sought the cabin where the young lady was held a prisoner.”