“When ther redskins wake up they’ll wonder whar we come from an’ whar we went,” chortled old Nomad. “On’y one trouble w’th that, Buffler, ’twarn’t long ernuff. Ef we c’d er hed ’bout twenty-four hours jes’ ez excitin’ mebbe the’d been some sassifaction in et.” “Golly! Mars’ Billyum, Ah reckon dey t’ought de reg’lars am right at de back doh, w’en dey hear dis gemman swell out ’is chist an’ sing out: ‘Git inter line, dar, yer goor fer nuffin’ brack possum eaters!’ Dat’s what Ah said.” “Now, boys,” said Buffalo Bill, after they had come up with Hickok, “don’t fool yourselves with the notion that it is all over but the shouting, for it isn’t. It is almost daylight, and we are on the open plain with three hundred throughly aroused red men on our trail as soon as it is light enough to see. It is up to us to put as much distance between ourselves and the Indians as possible before light. To the west lies a heavy range of hills, which we ought to make in three hours’ hard riding. Are you all good for it?” “Ay,” came the chorus. When the sun arose the scout’s party had passed quite a range of hills, and if the Indians were in pursuit they were nowhere visible. “Ef the’s ary game I like ter play at, et’s er hide-an’-whoop scramble with ther reds,” piped up Nomad. “Plenty whoop,” suggested Cayuse; “some hide, more fight. Pa-e-has-ka all same catamount--everywhere and nowhere, hit like grizzly, kick all same Hide-rack, Injun think um heap bad medicine.” “Did yer hev er beauty fight er gittin’ ther papoose, Buffler?” asked Nomad. “Oh, there were one or two got in the way, but they were so scared they couldn’t fight,” answered the scout modestly. “Shore; ther pesky varmints wor so scairt they prob’ly laid down an’ stuck up their feet ter be tied--thet’s jes’ like them air Sioux,” sarcastically snapped the trapper, because the scout made so little of his exploit. To turn the conversation, Cody said: “Here’s a good place to make an attack and I move we make it--on our haversacks.” “Hooray!” sang Hickok, “I second the motion.” CHAPTER XXVI. BUFFALO BILL SAVES TEN. During the darkness and excitement of the expected attack, while the Sioux were pulling themselves together, the prisoners were forgotten. Price managed to slip his bonds, and released Bloody Ike; not that he had any particular love for the ex-miner, but because misery loves company, and rogues cling together in adversity. The pair found some blankets and arms, and mingling with the braves worked down the stream until they came to the motte of timber at the river bank. They preferred to remain prisoners among the Indians to being captured by the soldiers, which they momentarily expected to charge on the Indian encampment. The Indians, too, believed that U. S. Cavalry only awaited daylight to charge. That explained why the red men had failed to follow Cody and his party.