“When I seen you an’ Dell, I reckoned ye was two more Apaches, kase et was in er dark gully whar I fust seen ye. I ducked inter ther bresh, an’, when ye got by, began movin’ down ther gully. But et was er blind gully, an’, not hevin’ my wings erlong, I couldn’t git out o’ et without comin’ back ther way I went in. “I passed er cave. Ther mouth o’ et looked like a tollable place fer a fugertive like me ter bunk down fer an hour’s snooze: but, as I was erbout ter start in an’ investigate, I seen a ’Pache on gyard at ther entrance, so I says: ‘Excuse me,’ ter myself, an’ moseyed on. “T’other end o’ ther blind gully opened inter a gulch. When I hit ther gulch, I seen you an’ Dell ahead o’ me, an’ at fust glance I thort ye was ther same two ’Paches I passed in ther gully; then another look, with ther moonlight shinin’ full on ye, showed me I was mistook. I seen one o’ ye was er gal, an’ t’other er man, but I didn’t suspect one was Dell an’ t’other Buffler Bill till I’d come closter. “As soon as I found out I was nigh ter my pards, I give er joysome yell an’ jumped arter ye; direckly tharafter, I give another yell thet wasn’t so joysome an’ ducked fer the shelter of er rock. I’m er Piegan, Buffler, ef you an’ Dell didn’t both open on me with yer hardware! “Was I rattled? Was I dumfoundered? Waal, some. ‘Say, pard,’ I whoops, ‘et’s me, Nick!’ With thet I showed my shoulders over ther rock so’st ye an’ Dell could see me in ther moonlight, an’ know I wasn’t talkin’ with two tongues, even ef ye didn’t reckernize ther meller trill o’ my bazoo. “Then I was rattled some more, kase ye fanned my face with er lead pill, an’ howled like er Commanche. ‘Don’t ye dare come nigh me!’ sez you, like thet; ‘don’t ye dare come nigh me,’ you says, knockin’ me all of a heap. ‘This hyar’s my sister, an’ I’m takin’ her ter town.’ “I allowed right off, Buffler, thet ye was madder’n a locoed steer, but I didn’t see how Dell could be locoed, too. So I whoops ter Dell: ‘Don’t you reckernize old Nomad, gal?’ “An’ would ye b’leeve et? Dell larfs right out. ‘Go ’way,’ says she; ‘I’m goin’ ter town with my brother, an’ you ain’t got no call ter interfere. I’m ther Queen o’ Sheeby, an’ he’s King Bill, brother Bill. Hands off, er we’ll give ye yer ticket.’ “I knowed by thet thet Dell had been grazin’ on ther same crazy weed that growed on yore range, Buffler. I didn’t dare come up with ye, an’ I didn’t dare let ye git erway from me, seein’ as how ye might run onter ’Paches an’ git inter trouble. So I follered.” Nomad leaned back against the cliff and drew his sleeve over his wet forehead.