The Last of the Chiefs | Page 9

new color in his
face deepened. His breath cam in the short, quick fashion of one who is
excited. He suddenly turned to his brother.
"The men are off! Why aren't you with them Dick?" he exclaimed.
"I thought I wouldn't go," replied Dick evasively. "There'll be enough
without me."
Albert stared. Not hunt buffalo when one could. It was unbelievable.
Then he comprehended. But he would not have it that way! It was
noble of Dick, but it should not be so for a moment. He cried out, a
note of anxiety in this voice:
"No, Dick, you shall not say here with me! My time will come later on!
Jump on your horse, Dick, and join 'em! I won't forgive you if you
don't!"
Dick saw that Albert was in earnest, and he knew that it would be better
for them both now if he should go.
"All right, Al!" he cried, "I'll pick out a good fat one." He jumped on
his horse and in a moment was galloping at full speed over the plain
toward the great herd which now rushed on, black and thundering.
Dick heard shots already from those who had preceded him, and the

exultant shouts of the men mingled with the roar of mighty tramplings.
But it was not all triumph for the men, few of whom were experienced.
Two or three had been thrown by shying horses, and with difficulty
escaped being trodden to death under the feet of the herd. The herd
itself was so immense that it did not notice these few wasps on a distant
flank, and thundered steadily on southward.
Dick's own horse, frightened by such a tremendous sight, shied and
jumped, but the boy had a sure seat and brought him around again.
Dick himself was somewhat daunted by the aspect of the herd. If he
and his hose got in the way, they would go down forever, as surely as if
engulfed by an avalanche.
The horse shied again and made a mighty jump, as a huge bull,
red-eyed and puffing, charged by. Dick, who was holding his rifle in
one hand, slipped far over, and with great difficulty regained his
balance on the horse's back. When he was secure again, he turned his
mount and galloped along for some distance on the flank of the herd,
seeking a suitable target for his bullet. The effect was dizzying. So
many thousands were rushing beside him that the shifting panorama
made him wink his eyes rapidly. Vast clouds of dust floated about, now
and then enveloping him, and that made him wink his eyes, too. But he
continued, nevertheless, to seek for his target a fat cow. Somehow he
didn't seem to see anything just then but old bulls. They were thick on
the flanks of the herd either as stragglers or protectors, and Dick was
afraid to press in among them in his search for the cow.
His opportunity came at last. A young cow, as fat as one could wish,
was thrown on the outside by some movement of the herd, caught, as it
were, like a piece of driftwood in an eddy, and Dick instantly fired at
her. She staggered and went down, but at the same instant a huge,
shaggy bull careened against Dick and his horse. It was not so much a
charge as an accident, the chance of Dick's getting in the bull's way,
and the boy's escape was exceedingly narrow.
His horse staggered and fell to his knees. The violence of the shock
wrested Dick's rifle from his hand, and he was barely quick enough to
grasp it as it was sliding across the saddle. But he did save it, and the

horse, trembling and frightened, recovered his feet. By that time the old
bull and his comrades were gone.
Dick glanced around and was relieved to see that nobody had noticed
his plight. They were all too much absorbed in their own efforts to pay
any heed to him. The body took a deep, long breath. He had killed a
buffalo, despite his inexperience. There was the cow to show for it.
The herd thundered off to the southward, the clouds of dust and the
fringe of wolves following it. About a dozen of their number had fallen
before the rifles, but Dick had secured the fattest and the tenderest.
Albert, as proud as Dick himself of his triumph, came down on the
plain and helped as much as he could in skinning and cutting up the
cow. Dick wished to preserve the robe, and they spread it out on the
wagon to dry.
The train made no further attempt to advance that day, but devoted the
afternoon to a great feast. Bright Sun showed them how to cook the