“Every thing’s snug,” said the trapper, when a great mastiff bounded from the cottonwoods and waded a short distance into the stream. “If any thing was wrong, ye wouldn’t see Massasoit there.”
The next moment the steed had plunged into the water, which scarcely touched his flanks, and after a brief spell the trio found themselves on the island.
“This river beats all for quicksands,” said Shackelford; “but Tecumseh understands ’em. If he’d hev stopped for one moment the infernal sand would hev caught ’im, and then good-by, Tecumseh. I shot a prowling Pawnee in this river about four years ago, and the sand took him and his horse down, down, and he never come up again, dash me! if he did.”
It was a relief to the white buffalo hunters to find themselves under a roof once more. Everywhere they saw the fruits of the trapper’s industry. A large quantity of valuable pelts was stored away in the cabin, and the larder was well stocked with meat, and firearms also abounded.
The hut was divided into two apartments on the ground, and a rough unfinished dormitory lay above. One of these rooms served as Tecumseh’s stable on stormy nights, or when horse-stealers infested the neighborhood; and then Frontier Shack lay at the threshold, guarding the noble horse he loved, while Massasoit slept in the hollow trunk of a tree just beyond the cabin door.
The sun scaled the horizon and added a myriad of new beauties to the Platte, while the western trapper and his new-found companions discussed the contents of the cabin’s larder, with zest mingled with merriment.
The frontiersman was in the midst of an exciting narration of life in the Apache country, when a sharp bark from Massasoit saluted the trio’s ears.
Frontier Shack sprung to his feet and griped his rifle.
“Wild horses!” he exclaimed, as handing the weapon to Charley Shafer, he jerked the Spanish saddle from its pins, beside the door.
“Boys, select a rifle from the corner, and be quick about it! Mebbe you can get good horses now, and God knows we’ll need ’em when we go after the girls.”