Early March found us closing up our affairs at the camp, preparatory to starting back to the settlements. We had succeeded in taking a few more than our three thousand wolfskins; and in addition to these we would have nearly a wagonful of bales of the dressed buffalo robes and other skins we had traded for with To hausen's people, together with the beaver, otter, antelope, and other pelts we had taken in our camp.
We had hauled all our baled wolfskins over to Fort Larned and stored them there as fast as they accumulated, but retained in camp for the last load our otter and beaver skins and the peltries we had gotten from the Indians; for we thought it best not to bring these latter under the notice of Weisselbaum, for fear he should make trouble for us for encroaching on his Indian trade.
As a prospective buyer he had kept close watch of our wolfskins, as we stored them, and was anxious to buy our whole catch; but we had stood him off, saying that we thought we could do better with them in Leavenworth. We had heard that Kitchen's freighting train from New Mexico was on the road, going in empty, and would pass Fort Larned in a few days, and had decided that if we could not get Weisselbaum up to our figures, we would ship them in that way.
After an early dinner, Tom and Jack had started for the fort with the mule team, taking a partial load of the last of our wolfskins—a half dozen bales—and some camp plunder.
I do not think that my comrades were as much alarmed as I was at the thought of the hostiles dropping in on us. They seemed to be borrowing no trouble on that account and, for fear of being ridiculed by them for my cowardly fears, I had kept my thoughts on this subject to myself.
On this day we had all seemed unusually jolly; even Tom's grim features occasionally relaxed into a pleasant smile at some sally from our wild Irishman. Our spirits were high, for we had grown tired of buffalo hunting and wolf skinning, with all the attendant hardships and excitements, and were now eager to get back into "God's country" with our profitable cargo of skins, to reap the reward of our winter's hard work.
As I stood looking after Tom and Jack as they drove away, I thought: "To-morrow they'll be back, and the next morning we'll load up the last of our camp outfit and will soon be beyond the reach of Satank and his crowd."
While still standing on top of our dugout watching the receding wagon a growl from Found, at my feet, caused me to look down at him; and following the direction of his look, down the ravine toward the timber, I saw an Indian boy afoot stealthily approaching, every now and then casting furtive glances behind him as though fearful that he might be seen by some one in the timber. I at once recognized the boy as one of To hausen's sons and, quieting the dog, awaited his approach. Following a path skirting the edge of the water in the ravine, when he had reached the platform between our dugouts, he again looked cautiously about and beckoned me to come down where he stood.
When I neared him he said in his broken English:
"To hausen, my fadder, he say tell you, 'look out! Satank comin'!'"