However, of course the three defenders of the mule fort took the chief attention. They were the two men (the shoulder of one was rudely bandaged with a blue bandanna handkerchief) and the boy. Even the boy wore freighter plains costume, of broad hat and flannel shirt and trousers tucked into boots; and he held a yager in his hand, and had a butcher knife and two big Colt’s revolvers stuck in his belt. He and the two men looked pretty well tired out, but they stood fast and answered all kinds of questions. The mule fort showed how hot had been the battle, for the mule bodies fairly bristled with arrows. Arrows were everywhere on the ground about. The freighters had crowded close, and everybody was talking and laughing at once. Davy stood unnoted on the outskirts, gazing and listening――until on a sudden he was espied by a tall, lank teamster with long dusty whiskers. “Hello, thar!” the man called, loudly. “Whar’d you come from, Red? Lookee, boys! Reckon we’ve picked up a trav’ler. Whoopee! Come hyar, son. Give us an account of yoreself.” One after another, they all looked. Davy flushed and fidgeted and felt much embarrassed. The tall whiskered freighter strode forward and grasped him by the ragged shirt-sleeve. “What’s yore name?” “David Scott.” “Whar’d you come from?” “The Indians had me. They killed my uncle and aunt and made me go along.” “Whar was that?” “Back on the Overland Trail. We were with a wagon train and got separated.” “How long ago?” “Two weeks, I think.” “What Injuns?” “Those――――” and Davy pointed in the direction taken by the Cut Nose band. “I want to know!” The teamster gaped wide in astonishment, and from the crowd came a chorus of exclamations. “How’d you get away?” “When you scared them off I hid behind a bush. Two squaws had me, and they didn’t wait.” “You mean to say you war with those same pesky Injuns who war attackin’ this fort hyar?” “Yes, sir. But I didn’t do any of the fighting.” “No, o’ course you didn’t. Wall, I’m jiggered!” And the whiskered freighter seemed overwhelmed with amazement. But he rallied, as a thought struck him. “Come along hyar. I’ll interduce ye to another boy.” And by the sleeve he led Davy forward, through the staring crowd. “Hyar, now; I want to interduce ye to a reg’lar rip-snorter, not much older’n you are. Red, shake hands with little Billy Cody, the hero of the mule fort.” III WITH THE WAGON TRAIN “Little Billy Cody” was the boy who had been with the two men in the mule fort. Surrounded by the staring crowd Davy felt rather timid and did not know exactly what to do. But Billy Cody promptly put out his hand, Davy extended his, and Billy gripped it warmly. “Hello,” he said, gruffly. “Where do you hail from?” “I was out there, with the Indians, while you were fighting,” explained Davy. “Didn’t we give it to ’em!” asserted Billy Cody. “They thought they had us; but they didn’t.” “I saw you shoot Lame Buffalo,” said Davy, eagerly. “I guess you killed him.”