Late in the afternoon the scout started upon his return, the señor accompanying him a few miles on the trail.
Learning that he had just moved in, the Señora Otega insisted that she be allowed to add to his comfort, and when he was ready to go he found a pack horse ready for him to carry along, and it had been loaded with grapes, vegetables, preserves, and a large quantity of choice provisions, which the good lady insisted that he must accept from her.
“Just turn the pack horse loose to-night, and he will come home and give you no further trouble,” said the señor.
The scout was touched by the señora’s kindness, and as he rode away with her husband, he said:
“You told your wife, then, that I was here to help you?”
“Not a word, señor; but I told her when you left a month ago that you were Buffalo Bill, the great military scout, and had promised to be our friend; and, with a woman’s quick intuition where her love is interested, she feels sure that you have come to save our poor daughter.”
“Yes, I saw that she was trying to read me, and I appreciate her kind gifts to make me comfortable. We will enjoy her bounty greatly.”
As they reached the lake shore the sun was touching the horizon, and the señor halted.
“I will turn back here, Señor Cody, for my wife will be anxious. You see, we have lately received quite a handsome legacy, and if it were known, then our secret foes would capture me or my wife and demand a much larger ransom.”