“After I had killed the chief I wanted to get away. I was faint, and the sight of the blood was more than I could stand. I rushed out of doors and looked around for you, Mr. Cody. Not finding you, I determined to hurry to the end of the valley and find out whether or not the Apache chief had lied. I got to the cottonwood, saw, to my delight, that no human body was hanging from it, and was about to retrace my steps to the castle when my father appeared. Black Wing had freed him, and he was on his way to attempt my rescue.” Colonel Hayden now made other points clear. “Black Wing is all right,” he averred. “He promised Thunder Cloud that he would hang me to the cottonwood, but he never meant to keep that promise. He is an intelligent Indian, and a true friend of the whites. He knows that you, Mr. Cody, and Wild Bill are friends, and that I am your comrade. Besides, he had had an understanding with Mr. Hickok, and the two were acting in accordance with that understanding.” Buffalo Bill whistled softly. “And Thunder Cloud was fooled, was he? Thought Black Wing was really working for peace, eh?” “Yes. He pulled the wool over Thunder Cloud’s eyes, and now Thunder Cloud’s Apaches are on their way either to a reservation of Uncle Sam or to bloody death.” “Wild Bill and Black Wing have fixed up a trap, then?” “I think you would call it one. The Apaches will come out of the holes in the cliff, and, instead of marching out into the open to arrange a treaty of peace, they will be invited to a duel. Wild Bill wouldn’t stand for an ambush, so that the fight will be a fair one.” “It hasn’t commenced yet, or we would have heard the firing,” said Buffalo Bill. The speaker looked at his watch. It was a few minutes after four. “Five o’clock is the time set for the scrimmage,” explained the colonel. “The palavering is going on now.” “Time enough to get there before the fun begins,” said Buffalo Bill. “I’ll hear the rest of your story, colonel, and then I’ll start.” “I’ve told all there is to tell, Cody. I was released by Black Wing about half a mile up the hill.” “But you have not said anything about the Apache, Thunder Cloud’s lieutenant, who left the band and returned to the castle.” “I didn’t know that he returned. He was walking by the side of Black Wing when I left the band.” “How did he take your release? Didn’t he expostulate with Black Wing?” “Yes, he did, and I remember that he gave me a savage look when I went away.”