The scout at once urged his horse forward in pursuit.
Across the rolling prairie Howard Lawrence urged his steed, and, heading for a piece of timber, soon disappeared in its leafy recesses.
“Ha, he has taken cover and intends to fight me! So be it,” said the scout.
The next instant a look of disappointment was upon his face, for he saw the fugitive dart out on the other side of the motte and continue on across the prairie.
The next moment Midnight had reached the timber and was circling around it, when, suddenly, a shrill call was heard, and, glancing into the thicket, Buffalo Bill beheld the Red Bud of the Forest just preparing to mount Fer white mare, which stood near.
Instantly he wheeled alongside of the Indian girl, and in surprise asked:
“What does the Red Bud here alone?”
“She came to seek the great white scout. Yonder goes the enemy of the noble scout, the man who taught the Rose of the Pawnees to love him—the Man of Many Faces.”
“Yes, I am now on his trail, Red Bud, for I would take his life, for did he not try to destroy the Pawnee maiden, and was she not ever kind to me when I lay sick and wounded in her father’s wigwam? The scout has a heart and has not forgotten. But why did you seek me?”