“I believe I could have got through,” Hickok replied. “I guess I could have ridden round the Injuns, and maybe got to Fort Hays all right. But it occurred to me that this fort might get surprised and rushed if ye didn’t know the Injuns had broken out at last.” The commandant nodded his approval. If Wild Bill had been a soldier, he would have expected him to carry the message without exercising his own individual judgment. But a noted scout like Hickok was expected to think for himself, weigh the situation, and act for the best accordingly. That, indeed, was the very reason of his employment. “Could you tell me who the Indians were--what tribes they belonged to?” the colonel asked. “Yes, of course; I took care to find that out,” Wild Bill replied, almost in an injured tone of voice. “I waited till they got near enough so as I could find out from their feathers and war paint. They was mostly Sioux, but there was a few Cheyennes and Crows, and I shot an ’Pache. He was the only one in the bunch, so fur as I could see.” “Then there has been an alliance made between the tribes, and we will have to meet the attack of a strong confederacy,” muttered the commandant. He rang a bell and an orderly entered the room, saluted him, and stood at attention. “Ask Colonel Cody to oblige me by stepping in here for a moment,” the colonel said. The soldier left the room, and in a few moments returned, announcing the famous king of scouts, Buffalo Bill. He had been making a tour of inspection to see that the horses of the soldiers were in good shape, and that all necessary preparations had been made for a long ride and a hard campaign, if the need should arise. The famous frontiersman was an even more striking and handsome figure than his friend Hickok. At this time he was in the zenith of his vigorous manhood. It was only a short time before that he had earned his sobriquet of Buffalo Bill by shooting a record number of buffaloes to supply fresh meat for the workmen engaged in the construction of the Kansas Pacific Railway. Every line of his face and every movement of his body showed force, courage, and determination such as are rarely seen even among the bravest men. The border king greeted his friend Hickok warmly, and said: “So they couldn’t get you, old pard! I wish I’d been with you to help you put up a little bit of a fight.” The colonel briefly explained the position, and Cody was not surprised to hear that several tribes had joined in the rising. “The Sioux are at the bottom of it,” he said. “Unless we strike hard and swiftly, the rising will spread not only over Kansas, but over all the territory round about. “I received a message from my friend and blood brother, Red Cloud, the war chief of the Navahos, only two days ago. He sent one of his braves to tell me that the Sioux had sent their messenger even down into New Mexico to try to persuade the Navahos to join with them in a grand uprising against the whites.