“Sioux, as I live! Now, Kent King, look out,” cried the scout, while a glance showed him that the Indians had not seen him, and were taken by surprise at the sight of the pursuing party.
That Kent King and his band were also surprised, there was not the shadow of a doubt, for they quickly drew rein, a bugle call rang out over the prairie, and those in advance began to fall back and form for protection with those who were in the rear.
“They’ll stand the Indians off and get away, though I wish they’d be like the Kilkenny cats. Ha, they are sending a party to see who Kent King was in pursuit of; it’s out of the frying pan into the fire with me!”
Buffalo Bill, who had temporarily drawn his panting horse to a standstill, now urged him on into the hills. But though Midnight did his best, the redskins steadily gained upon him.
Worse still, the scout became weaker and weaker from loss of blood from his wounded arm, his head reeled, and presently, as he penetrated into a dense cañon, he fell forward on the neck of his horse, consciousness having left him. A few moments after the Indians came in sight and saw the faithful horse standing still, and his rider hanging over upon his neck, his lariat alone holding him in the saddle.
Recognizing them as foes, Midnight, in spite of the dead weight upon him, and his fatigue, endeavored to escape; but the cañon soon ended abruptly, and the redskins, pushing him hard, he was soon in their grasp.
At first they seemed inclined to scalp the scout without ceremony; but, seeing that he was not dead, they released him from the saddle and laid him upon the ground.
His weapons were quickly distributed among them. Midnight fell to the possession of a brawny savage, another of the party claiming the very handsome Mexican saddle and bridle, which were profusely decorated with silver.
Finding that the outlaws were his superior in strength, owing to their rifles, the redskin chief withdrew his party toward the hills, content with scalping a renegade in Indian toggery, who had fallen under their fire.
But, as they retreated toward the hills, with the outlaws sullenly retiring, they saw the man they had scalped spring unexpectedly to his feet, and run for his comrades, who at once started to his rescue, expecting the Indians would attempt to capture him.