Show x albeet 1 11 HAHOLD CHANNING WIRE y LEW BURNET has hai been engaged by TOM ARN 0 LD owner of the afo croci T alro to act as ai trail boss boil ou on the drive iva f torn southern louthern te x a 5 to ogallala in th the e prang n of 1871 1875 T tom m with his son ion andl and daughter STEVE SIEVE and loy are movin moving to wyoming tom must mait deliver 1000 long horns to the I 1 indian than agent by sept 1 or abIn lose a valuable contract lew suspects that the indian supply co Is I 1 trying to delay the cross cro I 1 tom arnold Is if killed during a stampede itam pede CLAY MANNING and ED dispute lewi laws authority and nd I 1 lew din discharge barges they cross cion the d river n nd enter indian territory later s lew lev leei e s two men one ol of them ed epla kulk ing nearby ste steve a tells lew I 1 1 im I m no not t ying tying myself down to a ranch CHAPTER XII steve arnold puffed up by his newly acquired wealth and importance swaggered about like many other idle rich young men who think themselves above common work they flashed in a big way for a little while those riders of the th wild bunch you blame a boy been held down so long it if he know steve better he could let it go at that but steve talked the loudest when he we was s scared he always had the slow grazing pace with time dragging let him think it out in circles which brought him back in the end to where he had started steve was a maybe but no tool fool it was hard to put two things together his exaggerated exaggerate d importance of owning the cross T and this talk of being through wl with th cows without getting only onit one answer you cant make any good plan lor for the future if youre scared ot of your past he saw steve ride with clay much ot of that afternoon and nd knew the showdown settled early in the evening they crossed is small creek and watered there trolling trailing on a mile afterward to camp on open ground he bedded the longhorns la in close hobbled some of the horses so the herd stray and swung a rope corral between the for the night guard mo mounts un is horses were like scented balt bait to indians there had been no indian sign either along the creek or over against the black wichita range it was as lonely a country as he be had bad over iver seen with moonlight bailey and jim biffi hope riding guard until the first watch went out all the other men were in camp washing up at owl heads water keg it was not quite dark that moment of shadow like ime a thick layer across the land with the sky still blue he finished at the keg himself picked up a flour sack towel and turned to goolt south ten or fifteen vague mounted figures were coming from the creek 4 he swung back and spoke quickly to joy near the campfire get inside he said pull down the flaps the matter he nodded south she saw then her face went white around the water keg the men were hurriedly drying their hands bonds someone joked guess the party opens boys watch your hairl they pulled their springfield from rom saddle scabbards propped against their bedrolls bed rolls but then watching the riders take shape he knewitz knew it was not a war party indians out for trouble would not come on like this bunched and bt t a slow walk spread and hakea running charge and haul up short just before hitting camp that would be to show their strength and tee see how the white men took it he could count them now fourteen and the men around him had started to grin at the way these indians were dressed some wore pants but were naked from the waist up others wore brown reservation shirts with only a loincloth under the long tails A tew few had on old felt elt hats with the tops of the crowns cut out but mostly they were bareheaded their black hair hanging in double braids he had missed one of the group who wore both shirt and pants when the little party halted off fifty yards from camp a black and white patched pinto came on carrying this broad heavy shape of a man old end and fat halfway in he reached the firelights firefights fire lights brighter circle stopped and lifted his left hand he 0 waiel was L lew unarmed gave his rifle to rebel john saying ill go he walked slowly forward tor ward halved the distance that remained and halted he said briefly driendl Fr Fri lendl endl and stretched both arms in front of him palms up for his age and weight the indian came to the ground with surprising ease he too exactly halved the tittle little dismang distance still left waiting then for the white man to finish the ap f f it was a ritual that lew understood tit Rel he might stand rooted and make the indian come to him it sho showed wedin in a way ones supremacy over the other that matter now he closed the gap and saw the black eyes faintly indicate that knowledge 40 he waited saying nothing while 5 w the black eyes deep in their folds of dark daik skin gave him a long appraisal pra isal then in perfect school english the old man said 1 I am looking tor for lew burnet tell him spotted horse is here ere ll 11 im burnet he said and had a sudden queer feeling spotted horse here on uese plains and far south into texas men oiled their guns when they heard that spotted horse was leading 11 ll ing his Co manches again now he faced that dreaded chief a fat old man with a quiet kindly voice spotted horse nodded good I 1 have come to talk your friend long rifle is my friend man who walks alone he added giving both of willy nickles indian names it was about time he knew kaew where old willy was 1 I am glad to hear bear you speak of my friend he said we have meat in camp you and your men are wel welcome corrie he turned and saw his crew grouped clearly in the firelight standing in front of the shut flaps of joys wagon but spotted horse shook his head no talk Is better here I 1 will have one man come to us you have one to keep us even all AH right lew said and turned a gain again and tried to point at quarter night beckoning but it was clay manning who came out spotted horse had likewise made a signal the one who rode forward he saw instantly was not the same sort as this old comanche I 1 chief he was a young buck thoroughly savage with the thin sharp face and long bony nose humped in the middle of the northern cheyenne he kicked free of the rawhide loops dropped lightly to the ground and r tood stood there with his reached head u up p high looking at no one rowdy howdy lew said and got no answer two vermilion spots of su mac mach h j juice u ice were smeared on the sharp cheekbones A yellow cres A p f 4 spotted horse nodded good I 1 have come to talk cent curved around the ball of his bis chin he cannot talk en english 9 lish spotted horse explained 1 I will talk for him he is crazy bear dakota cheyenne 1 I see crazy bear must be one of the younger chiefs then stirring up the reservation now that their wiser head red bed cload ciodo had gone to washington clay manning had come to his side up he turned a little with a low warning talk and ill do it As an opener he said spotted horse how is it with our friend long rifle his camp is good said spotted horse he has plenty he spoke to the stolid figure beside him in a clacking blacking clack ing tongue they bent their legs and squatted on the ground lew touched clay drawing him down and squatted facing them no one spoke time meant nothing to an indian their talk must run in many circles before they came to the point spotted horse lowered his head his ais tace face heavy and sad he sat like that silently with the immovable quiet of a huge dark rock and spoke at last without looking up my people he said have been driven from their lands by your people you have killed our buffalo and give us meat that smells bad instead 1 I know lew said its a bum trade spotted horse I 1 admit it but my people are many like the grasshoppers that breed too fast and swarm as the sun moyes moves we had to move west it had to be spotted horse and I 1 am sorry yes that is it the old comanche tapped his chest my heart is not bad now but the hearts are black toward you he moved his head a little to crazy bear this thin is cheyenne beet beef you are taking north right lew said for the reservation beyond ogallala spotted horse stared at him a moment turned and pointed his hip chin toward the Wl Wi chitas six hundred cheyenne are over there they are hungry they hunt bunt the antelope and the antelope are gone this is cheyenne beet beef they say they want what is theirs now how much half said spotted horse half of this boral you know the answer to that th a t lew said he felt clay move 0 on n his heels beside him and started arted to look around when the old warriors warrior next words stopped the turn ot of his head 1 I know you are a texas man you can fight but your friend long rifle asks you to listen when I 1 say the have whisky many are drunk with his head turned a little he ha saw clays fixed interest to in something on the ground and then spotted p horse was saying two white is men came with four horses loaded they gave whisky to the and put this talk ot of beef in their ears lew brought his eyes all the way around to clay then B but u t it if there had been any foreknowledge of this in him it show ori on the unchanging ruddy cheeks so there it was A neat trick now that he saw it clearly fire the up on liquor send them against the cross T herd it if they got their bellies full of cross T beef let the open A pass without trouble but drunk s you might as well touch fire to the prairie grass no man could tell where it would stop quietly spotted horse said my people want peace this Is our country we live here and will not go with the against you but if there Is fighting and the army comes we will be blamed with the others they will not give us beet beef for many months and make us live on flour and water our women and children will go hungry that Is why I 1 talk it was an earnest plea yet given in the old Co manches low tone lew felt it strongly and hesitated and saw shw no other way the answer he said Is still the same this Is not cheyenne beet beef till it reaches ogallala Og aUala lew clay touched his bis arm this Is bad I 1 say better give in something he shook his head no use you cant bargain with drunk indians no hurt to try clays voice came with a sharper edge you better his blue eyes were still fixed upon the ground we got more than cows to think about you go ahead and make a dealt deal clay he warned watch out for he saw crazy bears quick attention to this talk it was too plain a show of trouble in the white mans man I 1 a camp and bad to be be known to 1 spotted horse he said tell crazy bear we have refused what does he say then the old chief signed rapidly and spoke in a clacking blacking clack ing tongue the young bucks haughty face showed no change he grunted op opened ened and closed his hands many times dropped them and sat stiffly looking off toward the camp spotted horse said nothing he shut his eyes clay moved suddenly irritable well he asked the old eyes opened and looked at him spotted horse took hl his time e cows one for each cheyenne all right clay agreed lew theres your dealt clay he said you show youve never handled indians that six hun dred is only an opening wedge lis ten spotted horse your heart li is white there is no lle lie in it if we w give this much to the Cheyenne a can you say not take all weve got we have horses wagons 11 II w we e give six hundred cows we are weak in their eyes can you say n not 0 t come back for more gravely the old man said th they ey are not my people I 1 cannot tell eu them what to do satisfied lew asked and gol go no answer he turned from clay and looked past spotted horse his glance held suddenly by a alq fixed at in crazy bears jot jet eyes he followed that look back toward camp i joy 0 y had come from her wagon to stand with the group of men at the fire its light showed crazy bear all 11 that she was spotted horse had seen her now his head lifted you have morn worn en one lew said she he has s her man along A hopeless anger filled filid him trust a womans comans curiosity to do he nodded sidewise and saw the old comanche give clay a measuring look she is young said spotted hr harse arse that Is not good crazy beat bear stood up he made a sign and walked back to the mount ed group for a moment longer spotted horse sat with his bs head bowed again then he too rose he held out his right hand palm up R rising ising lew touched it lightly wilt his own spotted horse he be said your name is written on this land in great letters you have come tc warn me and I 1 am glad but the th white man and the red man never could talk with words tell my m friend long rifle I 1 am not asleep clay had started back to caeg ahead of him he caught up and gave hima him a questioning glance the tull hill ruddy face was set some de termination of his own held claa cla grimly silent he bring himself to be lieve at first that clays talk woula get anywhere with joy the gir gar had her fathers co common sense olo tom have listened to one on word of rebellion at a time like this TO BIS BE CONTINUED |