“Hello!” he said, stepping within. “Got some Injun lead in ye?” His tone changed to astonishment. “Bill Givens!” he cried. “Waugh! Ole pard, what’s ther meanin’ o’ this?”
The meaning of it was that Bill Givens, an old acquaintance of Nomad’s, was ill of measles, and in a dangerous condition. He had got home, and tried to get into the house and on his bed, but had fallen on the floor.
Nomad knew what the trouble was as soon as he looked in Givens’ splotched and fevered face; but he had no fear of measles; and, picking Givens up, he put him on the narrow bed, and then tried to do something for him to make him comfortable.
“Been ground-hoggin’ out hyar by yerself, eh? Tryin’ ter git some of the yaller gold thet everybody ’lows these hyar hills aire sloppin’ over with, eh? Waugh! You’d ought to ’a’ got out o’ this ’fore ther measles hit ye, fer ther Blackfeet aire thick as flies round hyar, and aire likely ter make trouble.”
He was puzzled as to what he should do.
When he had worked over Givens a while, and had poured some hot water down his throat, water heated in the tiny fireplace, Givens came, in a measure, to himself.
He knew that Blackfeet were around in that locality, and now, seeing and recognizing his old trapper pard, he begged Nomad to take him down to the town, or at least away from the cabin so surrounded by Indian perils.
“It’s resky, but not so resky as you stayin’ hyar, even if somebody stayed hyar with ye, Givens,” said Nomad. “I reckon I kin help ye stick ter ther back of my ole hoss, and we’ll git ye back to whar ther rangers aire waitin’, and then have some of ’em stay by ye, er git ye to ther town. I never deserts an ole pard, Givens, and I’ll not desert you.”
Nomad got Nebuchadnezzar, and with some difficulty helped the sick man to mount to the horse’s back. Then he took the rein, and, with Givens swaying weakly in the saddle, he set out with him, striking the backward trail and hurrying on toward the camp of the rangers.
Meanwhile, Crazy Snake had not been inactive; he had drawn his cordon of Blackfeet warriors and descended into the trail.