“I tell you what we will do, boys,” he said, after a few moments’ thought. “Nick and I will creep into the camp and see what we can find out. You know the Cheyenne and Sioux lingo, don’t you, Nick?” Nick nodded. “So do I. Hickok, you must take the dispatch and wait on horseback, holding our two beasts at a safe distance. If they catch sight of us, you mustn’t attempt a rescue. You must ride at top speed for Fort Hays. We will shift for ourselves as best we can, but that message must be carried, at all costs.” “May I be scalped ef I leave you and Nick in the lurch!” exclaimed Wild Bill. “You must do it, if needs be, old pard,” urged the border king. “The lives of many men, the peace of the border, the whole plan of campaign depend upon that message reaching Fort Hays. I don’t suppose the Indians will see us, but if they do you must ride the best you know, as soon as you hear the first war whoop.” The manner of the king of the scouts was so impressive that Wild Bill at last agreed to do as he commanded. They rode cautiously toward the camp fires, and as they approached they saw that the encampment of the Indians was a very large one. It had been established on the banks of a stream, and by a rough computation Buffalo Bill estimated that nearly two thousand braves were gathered there around the six fires. Evidently the Indians had rallied after the first shock of the retreat had passed; and they again constituted a very formidable fighting force. About a quarter of a mile from the camp the three scouts drew rein and dismounted, Buffalo Bill and Nick Wharton leaving their horses in charge of Hickok. “Don’t try to cut up the hull gang o’ them Injuns,” Wild Bill said, as his two friends strode off into the darkness toward the camp fires that twinkled ahead of them. CHAPTER VI. THE RENEGADE. As Buffalo Bill and Nick Wharton approached the first of the camp fires, they saw that the Indians were dancing the Sioux ghost dance around it, while at the next fire several of the Cheyennes were indulging in their own tribal war dance. Several sentinels had been placed around the camp, but, by careful scouting and judiciously taking advantage of cover, the two comrades managed to dodge them and get inside the cordon. When they had accomplished this feat, Buffalo Bill uttered a sigh of relief. They were now fairly safe, unless they were observed by some of the braves around the fire. In that event, the sentries were likely to cut off their retreat, unless it were made too rapidly to give them time to take up the alarm. Nothing was going on around the first two fires except the dancing, which both Buffalo Bill and Wharton had seen many a time before. Taking shelter behind a clump of bushes, they crawled forward until they were right in the center of the camp, and opposite the largest of the bivouac fires.