Oscar felt a shudder pass down his back, and his knees well-nigh gave way under him as he caught a glimpse of the ruin that had been wrought. Tears were in his eyes, and, unable to raise a shout, he turned and wildly waved his hands to the party, who had just then reached the door of the cabin. His Uncle Aleck had been watching the lad, and as he saw him turn he exclaimed, "Oscar has found the buffalo trail over the corn-field!" The whole party moved quickly in the direction of the plantation. When they reached the rise of ground overlooking the field, Oscar, still unable to speak, turned and looked at his father with a face of grief. Uncle Aleck, gazing on the wreck and ruin, said only, "A whole summer's work gone!" "A dearly bought buffalo-hunt!" remarked Younkins. "That's so, neighbor," added Mr. Bryant, with the grimmest sort of a smile; and then the men fell to talking calmly of the wonderful amount of mischief that a drove of buffalo could do in a few minutes, even seconds, of time. Evidently, the animals had not stopped to snatch a bite by the way. They had not tarried an instant in their wild course. Down the slope of the fields they had hurried in a mad rush, plunged into the woody creek below, and, leaving the underbrush and vines broken and flattened as if a tornado had passed through the land, had thundered away across the flat floor of the bottom-land on the further side of the creek. A broad brown track behind them showed that they had then fled into the dim distance of the lands of the Chapman's Creek region. There was nothing to be done, and not much to be said. So, parting with their kindly and sympathizing neighbors, the party went sorrowfully home. "Well," said Uncle Aleck, as soon as they were alone together, "I am awful sorry that we have lost the corn; but I am not so sure that it is so very great a loss, after all." The boys looked at him with amazement, and Sandy said,-- "Why, daddy, it's the loss of a whole summer; isn't it? What are we going to live on this whole winter that's coming, now that we have no corn to sell?" "There's no market for free-State corn in these parts, Sandy," replied his father; and, seeing the look of inquiry on the lad's face, he explained: "Mr. Fuller tells us that the officer at the post, the quartermaster at Fort Riley who buys for the Government, will buy no grain from free-State men. Several from the Smoky Hill and from Chapman's have been down there to find a market, and they all say the same thing. The sutler at the post, Sandy's friend, told Mr. Fuller that it was no use for any free-State man to come there with anything to sell to the Government, at any price. And there is no other good market nearer than the Missouri, you all know that,--one hundred and fifty miles away." "Well, I call that confoundedly mean!" cried Charlie, with fiery indignation. "Do you suppose, father, that they have from Washington any such instructions to discriminate against us?"