Buffalo Bill dismissed the army men, caught up Navi’s lariat, and with his pards galloped after. The cavalrymen, as they rode away, turned in their saddles and watched the progress of the strange procession as long as they could see them, and then hastened on to the fort to report. “Looky hyar, Buffler; et strikes me we’re gittin’ inter fermiliar territory--don’t et yeou?” asked Nomad. “Yes; there is the rock where the yellow-haired girl hailed us,” answered the scout. “An’ Cayuse is goin’ plumb centre at et,” continued the trapper. “Well, we intended to come this way sometime, and we got around sooner than we expected,” said the scout. “Mars’ Billyum,” broke in Skibo, “Ah reckon yo’ eyes am better dan dis yeah niggah’s--don’ yo’ see sumpin’ atop o’ dat mounting?” The scout looked, and then pulled his field glass. “There certainly is quite an important something there, Skibo. It is no less than our yellow-haired girl of beauty and mystery. Perhaps she’ll invite us to lunch, Skibo.” “Yah, yah! Mebbe she do, Mars’ Billyum; but Ah specs it’ll take a pow’ful lot o’ floppin’ for dat dar Nomad to fly up to dat high roost ob hern.” “Yer jes’ look out fer yer own floppin’, Mr. Skibo--who ever hearn tell o’ a nigger with wings, anyhow?” “I guess if I could get up there with my bugle, Miss Yellow Hair and I could make the Indians look silly,” said Tootsie. “Yes, thar ye go ergin! Course ye’ll begin ter make plans, fust thing, ter git up thar ermong ther pretty gals. Like ernough ther mounting ez full er yaller-haired angels,” teased Nomad. As they rode nearer Buffalo Bill saw that the girl on the mountain top was signaling to them. He could not understand what she was trying to convey. He thought of Indians approaching from beyond, but he could not understand the girl’s apparent perturbation. She ran back and forth on the rock, and waved a cloth at them, and then looked and pointed away beyond their view, on the other side of the mountain. When they had reached hailing distance they pulled their horses to a standstill, and heard the girl cry: “Go back! Go back! A party of Indians are approaching from the other side.” “How many?” asked the scout. “Nearly a score,” she answered. “Only four to one,” said the scout; “we have come on an important mission, and if they mean fight we will entertain them.” “Oh, sir, I beg you to go back. They are Sioux and bent on mischief, I feel sure.” “How near are they?” asked the scout. “Ten minutes’ ride.” “Very well; it is only two minutes’ ride for us to the crevasse south of your castle, and once in there we are willing for them to try their mischief on us. We thank you, just the same, for your kindly warning. And again we thank you for your advice the other day; it saved us lots of trouble and brought us in contact with a child and an old man in whom you may be interested.” “Who are they?” the girl asked, although she was manifestly nervous for the safety of the scout and his pards.