“Mortally s’prised ter see ther old man, aire ye?” he said, with a chuckle. “Ther s’prise is muchal. I no more expected ter run inter ye, Buffler, than I expected ter be persented ter ther Queen uv Maddygoosker.” “But what are you doing in Arizona? I thought you had settled down in Kansas or Illinois, and was occupied in raising a family of Alkalis.” “I hev settled down, Buffler,” replied the ungainly scout, with a sigh, “but this year I hankered arter ther old life. I shore told my wife that I must hev a mounting outing, or else I’d go plumb crazy. She reasoned with me, but it wa’n’t no sorter use. I war bound ter go, an’ hyer I be, stanch, loyal, an’ true, like a pig’s foot in mush.” “Same old Alkali,” laughed Buffalo Bill. “Erbout ther same, but not quite. My feet shore got tender a bit while I was cahootin’ with them innercent rickaroons that raise corn an’ mortgages along ther Missourah.” “I understand. You wouldn’t have fallen into the hands of the Apaches if you had come out here with your wits rodeoed.” “That’s a plumb true remark, Buffler,” rejoined Alkali Pete sadly. “I was too fresh when I hit these yer hills. I hed reckoned that ther ’Paches would let an honest white man alone. I hedn’t hearn that they hed been puttin’ on the war paint ag’in.” “How were you captured?” “How?”—in deep disgust. “Why, when I war snoozin’ on ther bank of ther crik on t’other side of those hills. Hed been huntin’, and hed killed a b’ar an’ two deer. War powerful tired, an’ while I war sleepin’ ther sleep that innercence only is shore acquainted with, ther ’Paches crope up and corralled me ez easy as if I war a lost babby. Shucks! it shore makes me dumgasted weary when I recollects how I war taken in.” “Were there any white men among the Indians?” inquired Buffalo Bill. “Nary a one. They war all ’Paches, an’ that old thief, Thunder Cloud, war ther leader. Ther capture happened a month ago, an’ I war with ther reds, moseyin’ hither an’ yon up ter a couple o’ days ago, when we hot-footed it fer ther castle.” “The castle? I have heard of the place, but I don’t know where it is, and I have no idea what it looks like.” “It’s a stone fort at the head of a valley, Buffler. Thar aire trees all round it, an’ I reckon it war built in ther year one by ther Azticks or ther Woodsticks, or some other tribe of flat-headed mavericks.” Buffalo Bill slapped his thigh. “I know the place now,” he said. “I was there years ago. No one lived there then. The plainsmen called it the Palace of Adam.” “Hed an idee that Adam lived thar onct, did they?” “Perhaps. I never asked them. Come, let us talk fast. There is work to be done. How long did you stay in the castle?” “Didn’t stay thar a minute. The Injuns camped outside, an’ this mornin’ I shore bade ’em farewell. I played possum onto ther thievin’ outfit, an’ believin’ I war sick ernuff ter peter, they made my cords easy ter bear. They made ’em so easy, Buffler, that I beat ’em an’ got away.”