“There is such a place as Quicksand Lake, Buffalo Bill,” put in Dell, “and there is an island in the lake. But, so far as I know, no one has ever been able to reach the island.”
“Bascomb and Bernritter hev been able ter reach the island,” averred Hendricks, “an’ I was there myself, jest before I started fer Squaw Rock to meet Banks. Consarn the luck! If I’d ’a’ stayed on the island, I wouldn’t be here now.”
“Do you know the way to Quicksand Lake, Dell?” asked the scout.
“Yes.”
“How far is it from here?”
“Three miles, if we cut across the plain around Squaw Rock.”
“We’ll go there, and see what we can find. Hendricks and Banks will go with us. If we learn they are not telling the truth, we’ll take them on to Phœnix; and if we find they’re up to any treacherous dodge, we’ll have a bullet for each of them. Ride for Squaw Rock, and we’ll——”
A quavering, long-drawn-out whoop reached the ears of the scout and his pards, coming from over the hill in the direction of the big boulder.
“Apaches!” grunted Little Cayuse.