To Shackaye's reply that the chief Wygwind meant to allow the friends of the prisoner to buy him back, Captain Shirril dwelt upon the impossibility of such a thing. He pressed his view of the case with such vigor that Shackaye, influenced alone by his gratitude to Avon, agreed to conduct the captain out of the hills, where he could make his way to camp undetected, provided the interview between Wygwind and the Texan was not ended in time for the Comanches to discover what had been done. It need not be said that Captain Shirril seized the opportunity thus offered, and began limping forward, behind his guide, who encountered Avon Burnet a few minutes later. The expectation was that Shackaye would return to camp with his two friends, since he would be assured of good treatment despite his former unfaithfulness, and especially since it was unsafe for him to remain among those to whom he could never justify his course of action. But after the captain was assisted on the back of Thunderbolt, and his nephew took his place, so as to help him in keeping his seat, the young Comanche obstinately refused. They tarried to urge him to save his life by such a course, but he ended the argument by abruptly turning about and hurrying along the path, where he speedily vanished. "There's no use of waiting," said the captain, starting Thunderbolt forward; "I can't understand his obduracy." "He must be afraid of our men." "But he knows the danger is a thousandfold greater among his own people--hark!" The sharp report of a rifle rang among the hills behind them, accompanied by a wild cry of mortal pain. "He has paid with his life for his friendship!" whispered the captain, instantly spurring up Thunderbolt to a dead run. Such was the truth. Shackaye could offer no excuse for what he had done, nor did he attempt to do so. His act was discovered sooner than he anticipated, and he died at the hands of the infuriated chieftain Wygwind, before those whom he had saved were beyond reach of the sound which told of the completion of the tragedy. The Comanches attempted pursuit, but the start obtained by the fugitives, brief as it was, sufficed, and they had not ridden far when they met the whole band of cowboys galloping to their defence. Gleeson and his comrades would have been glad had the red men ventured out upon the plain beyond the shelter of the hills, but Wygwind and his warriors were too wise to do so. THE END. No. 2 of the Forest and Prairie Series will be "The Path in the Ravine." Transcriber's Notes: Archaic and variable spelling, as well as inconsistency in hyphenation, has been preserved as printed in the original book except as indicated in the list below. One missing punctuation mark was silently corrected, however, punctuation has not been changed to comply with modern conventions. The author's tribe names and spellings, such as Navajoe and Kioway, have been retained.