“It’s a big surprise to see you, Dell,” the scout went on; “especially to meet you here at Bonita. Why did you leave Grant?”
“You couldn’t expect me to stay there after Colonel Grayson had received that message about Bascomb and the escort, could you?” queried Dell artlessly.
Buffalo Bill drew back and stared at her.
“Why, what could you hope to do?” he asked.
“I didn’t know exactly; but, when you’ve got a pard in trouble, you don’t loll around and take things easy, do you? And it isn’t your way to keep clear of the scene of your pard’s trouble, is it?”
“Well, there’s a different set of rules governing the actions of a girl pard,” returned the scout, a twinkle in his eye.
“Not much there ain’t,” asserted Dell.
“What’s this?”
The scout touched the side of her blouse where the Apache bullet had gouged a rent.
“That’s where a redskin paid me his compliments,” said Dell.