“Why, you locked me in when you went away! Why did you do that?”
“For your protection,” he said, still thinking it best to lie to her.
“For my protection?”
“Yes; some of these men here I don’t trust. They’re all right as scouts, and all that, but I don’t trust them. We’ve got to stay here a little while, until we can get more men; for the outlaws, it’s reported, are in strong force between here and the Blue Hills.”
His manner had changed, and the truth suddenly came to her, with its startling revelation.
“You are not Buffalo Bill!” she cried, gasping.
“Who’s been telling you I’m not?” he said, startled.
“Oh, I know it! I feel it! You can’t be Buffalo Bill. I did hear rumors, and thought them——”
“What rumors?” he demanded.
“That Buffalo Bill was not in this part of the country, and that you were a fake Buffalo Bill. But I didn’t believe them, for you——”