"When are you going over to Camp Coyotelope?" asked Bill after first greetings.
"To-morrow morning," I replied.
"Well, I've got to make my report to the commanding officer an' turn in my pack-mule," said the scout, "an' if there's nothing special for me to do here right away I reckon I'll ride over with you an' take a few square meals with the boys."
"All right," I replied. "I'll be glad to have you go along with me. Will Adkins come, too?"
"No. He says he's got to go back to Rath's ranch in the morning, soon as he can get his voucher from the quartermaster for this trip an' get it cashed at Weisselbaum's."
"So this new quartermaster is short of greenbacks and has to pay off in vouchers, hey?"
"Yes, an' Weisselbaum only discounts 'em twenty-five cents on the dollar. But I won't sell my voucher at any such robbery figures. I don't need the money very bad here, an' so I'll just let it stand till the quartermaster gets the funds, or if he don't get the truck by spring I'll take my vouchers to Fort Leavenworth where I can get all they call for."
Finding nothing requiring his immediate attendance at the post, Bill easily obtained permission to go over to our camp, notifying the quartermaster where he could be found in case he was needed.
As we rode along he told me about his trip to Satank's village.
"As I expected, we picked up the Kiowas' trail over on the Smoky Hill, followed it up, an' found 'em in a snug-timbered camp over on the Solomon. They'd moved to this camp from another one a few miles up the river since the blizzard, because while that big snow was on the ground they'd had to chop down all the cottonwood-trees about that camp to furnish feed for their ponies and in case of another big snow catching 'em in the same camp, the feed there would have been pretty scarce. An' they'd just about got settled down in the new camp when this last snow come on. Me and Adkins were in luck, too, for this last snow come next day after we reached the Injun camp; an' during all the time it lay on the ground me and John were making ourselves as agreeable an' comfortable as possible in ol' Satank's lodge. I knew what a sour ol' cuss he is, an' the best way to get on the good side of him an' find out what he is up to was to go right to his tepee, an' let on that we'd come to pay him a special visit.