CHAPTER XXXV.
AN AGED INDIAN’S STORY.
To the mysterious maid of the Castle Rock, Buffalo Bill and his pards owed their escape from a long, hard flight or a desperate fight with a strong war party of Cheyennes. They reached the river at the point indicated by the girl, and by crossing and galloping away behind the timber growth along the bank, escaped the sharp eyes of the savages.
But the scout and his pards were not to pass the day without its quota of excitement.
It was past midday when the party rode around a bend in the river and came upon a child crying bitterly. It was an Indian girl, and when they came upon her so suddenly she was terrified. She expected to be put to torture, evidently.
Buffalo Bill dismounted and spoke kindly to the child. She could speak no English, but the scout caught the Sioux tongue and learned that she lived alone with an old Indian who was ill and unable to hunt, and they were starving.
The scout asked the child to lead the way to her companion, which she at first refused to do, fearing that the white warriors would kill him. Buffalo Bill assured her that he would give them food, and perhaps he could cure the sick man.
She at last led the way into a dense thicket by the river bank where a rude tepee had been erected, and inside they found an aged Indian whose eyes glared defiantly at the white scout.