Warren sheaf., 1903-09-10

came popping into view, their
feathered @bonnets streaming in the
rising wind, and about the prairie
wave, where the savage general had
established field headquarters, fu-
rious conference was going on. Stab
Der had again interposed, and with
grim but hopeful eyes, Ray and his
fellows watched and noted. Every
lull in the fight was so much gain for
them. -. 5E
Twelve fifty-two,'' said the dark
eyed commander, swinging his watch
into the pocket of his hunting shirt,
and sliding backward into the stream
bed. "All serene SO far: Watch things
on this front, Field, while I make the
rounds and see how we came out"
"All serene so far it was! Not q
man hurt. Two Of the sorrels had
been hit by flying bullets and much
amazed and stung thereat, but neither
was crippled. Bidding their guards
to dig for water that might soon be
needed, Ray once more made his way
to the ,northward side and rejoined
Field and Winsor.
In an almost cloudless sky of steely
blue the sun had just passed the me-
ridian and was streaming hotly down
on the" stirring picture. Northward
the ridge line and the long, gradual
slope seemed alive with swarms of
Indian warriors, many of them DART
ing about in wild commotion. About
the little eminence where Stabber and
the Fox had again locked horns in
violent alteration, as many as hun
dred braves had gathered. About the
middle knob, from whose summit
mirror flashes shot from time to
time, was still another concourse, lis
tening, apparently, to the admoni-
tions of a leader but recently arrived,
Q chieftain mounted on an American
the pair long and curiousi iy through
his glasses. Lame Wolf, probably"
said he, but the distance was too
great to enable him to be certain.
What puzzled him more than any,
thing was the apparent division of
authority, the unusual display of dis
cord among the Sioux. These were
all, doubtless, of the Ogalalla tribe,
Red Clouds own people, yet here
they were wrangling like ward "heel-
ers'' and wasting precious time.
Whatever his antecedents, this new
conner had been a powerful sower of
strife and sedition, for, instead of
following implicitly the counsels of
one leader, the Indians were divided
now between three.
True to it's. practice, the prairie
wind was sweeping stronger and
stronger with every moment, as the
sunwarmed strata over the wide, bill
lowing surface sought higher levels,
and the denser, cooler. current from
the west came rushing down. And
now all sounds of the debate were
whisked away toward the breaks of
the old South Cheyenne and it was no
longer possible for old Sioux cam
paigners to catch a word of the dis
cussion. The leaves of the cotton
woods whistled in the rising gale, and
every time pony crossed the stream
bed and clambered the steep banks
out to the west, little clouds of dun
colored dust came sailing toward the
grove, scattered and spent, however,
far from the Lair of the defense.
But, while the discussion seemed
endless among the Indians, on the
northward side, never for a moment
was the vigilance of the circle re-
laxed. South, east and west the
slopes and lowlands were dotted with
restless horsemen, and from young
Clayton came the word that through
his glass he could make out three or
four warriors far away toward the
Moocasin ridge. '"That's good,'' said
Ray. 1T means that they, too. are
looking for a column coming out from
Frayne. But where on earth did all
these rascals come from? There
must be 400 now in sight," -,
Well might he ask and marvel!
Stabber's little village had never
more than so warriors. Lame VOLTS