“Up thar,” said he. “Up thar, an’ gazin’ down on ye. When I seen Dell go over, I couldn’t drap ter ther trail without mebbyso breakin’ my neck, so I had ter hunt fer er place ter come down. When I found ther place, an’ got down, I was skeered ter look at ther place whar I’d seen you an’ Dell last. Waugh!” and the old man shook himself. “I was under somethin’ of er strain, too,” he finished.
“Did you just happen to find us sitting on this rock here this morning?”
“Nary, Buffler. I been follerin’ er mighty devious night trail, I kin tell ye. I jest happened ter find ye last night.”
“How?”
“I was skirmishin’ in ther direction o’ Bonita, intendin’ ter arrive thar, somehow, ef I didn’t git double-crossed in my calkerlations. I’d been dodgin’ Apaches ever sence I saved my skelp in thet ambush, appeasin’ my hunger with mesquit-beans an’ sichlike forage, feedin’ like er pizen hoss, an’ glad ter git my fodder at thet.
“When I seen you an’ Dell, I reckoned ye was two more Apaches, kase et was in er dark gully whar I fust seen ye. I ducked inter ther bresh, an’, when ye got by, began movin’ down ther gully. But et was er blind gully, an’, not hevin’ my wings erlong, I couldn’t git out o’ et without comin’ back ther way I went in.
“I passed er cave. Ther mouth o’ et looked like a tollable place fer a fugertive like me ter bunk down fer an hour’s snooze: but, as I was erbout ter start in an’ investigate, I seen a ’Pache on gyard at ther entrance, so I says: ‘Excuse me,’ ter myself, an’ moseyed on.
“T’other end o’ ther blind gully opened inter a gulch. When I hit ther gulch, I seen you an’ Dell ahead o’ me, an’ at fust glance I thort ye was ther same two ’Paches I passed in ther gully; then another look, with ther moonlight shinin’ full on ye, showed me I was mistook. I seen one o’ ye was er gal, an’ t’other er man, but I didn’t suspect one was Dell an’ t’other Buffler Bill till I’d come closter.
“As soon as I found out I was nigh ter my pards, I give er joysome yell an’ jumped arter ye; direckly tharafter, I give another yell thet wasn’t so joysome an’ ducked fer the shelter of er rock. I’m er Piegan, Buffler, ef you an’ Dell didn’t both open on me with yer hardware!
“Was I rattled? Was I dumfoundered? Waal, some. ‘Say, pard,’ I whoops, ‘et’s me, Nick!’ With thet I showed my shoulders over ther rock so’st ye an’ Dell could see me in ther moonlight, an’ know I wasn’t talkin’ with two tongues, even ef ye didn’t reckernize ther meller trill o’ my bazoo.