“No, no!” she cried. “I am going with you!”
Altogether, it seemed to him that the situation was unique. The outlaws had attacked the stage to get possession of the emeralds. Not finding them, and believing that young Clayton had them, they were carrying him away, and had gone in great haste. And now the girl who really carried on her person the coveted gems was urging a pursuit of the road agents, and declaring her intention of taking part in it.
“We have no horse for you,” he said, to dissuade her. “Besides, we need a larger force, for there will probably be a fight. If one of us conducts you to Glendive, or the railroad, he could summon help.”
“The delay will be too great,” she urged. “Those men ought to be followed at once, and we can’t weaken your force by sending a man away. Some chance may come to help Bruce. And I must go with you.” She looked at the scout’s horse. “Your horse will carry double, I think; and you’ll find me a good horsewoman. I can mount behind you.”
It was a waste of time to protest against the wishes of such a woman. Moreover, Buffalo Bill admired her pluck and high courage, and he knew she would be no weakling. The woman who could climb a wall of that perilous cañon and hurl a rope to him, as she had done, had more than the usual share of coolness and daring. In short, he recognized in this brown-haired, bright-faced young woman the stuff of which heroines are made.
“The emeralds!” he said, as a final objection.
“Let them go! I’d give them to the road agents willingly if they would release Bruce. And, Mr. Cody, I confess to you that is what I mean to do if I get the chance—offer the gems to those men for Bruce’s release. We can’t fight them, they’re too strong; but we might buy them, if we can get in touch with them to enter into negotiations. That’s what I hope to do. They want the emeralds, not Bruce.”
“Very true,” he admitted. “I think they want the emeralds much more than they do him.”
“What I can’t understand is, how they knew I had them, or anything about them. But they did. They searched Bruce hurriedly; and I heard one of them tell him to hand over the emeralds. Where did they find out about them?”
“I’ll make a confession to you,” said Buffalo Bill, “as we ride along. Lucky this horse is big and strong, and doesn’t object to double burdens!” he cried, as he helped her to mount to the back of his horse, and then he swung up into the saddle.