CHAPTER XLVII.

AT BAY--AT PEACE.

Silence reigned after that until Buffalo Bill spoke again, announcing to Black John that he was cornered, and demanding his surrender.

“Come and git me!” yelled the desperate man. “But recklect when you do I’ll shoot the girl.”

“We want to have a talk with you,” said Buffalo Bill. “We’ve got a proposition to make to you. Surrender the girl unharmed, and we’ll spare your life.”

When there was no answer to this, they began to crawl up the slope, taking Toby Sam with them.

“We’ve got a friend of yours here,” called Buffalo Bill. “We’ll release him, and let him come in and tell you the conditions here, so that you’ll know how foolish it is for you to try to hold out against us.”

“No--no!” Toby Sam gurgled; “he’ll shoot me! He’ll think I’ve turned ag’inst him; he’ll think I took the emeralds; he’ll think----”

He twisted out of the way of Buffalo Bill, whose intention of sending him to the cave he feared, and leaping up, he tried to run.

It was a foolish and fatal movement.

Black John’s revolver cracked, and Toby Sam fell with its bullet in his head, being dead as he struck the ground.

Now at bay, Black John was desperate and murderous. He had thought the man he shot at was one of Buffalo Bill’s force.

Silence followed the fall of Toby Sam’s body, and it lay on the rocks, the face, ghastly in death, turned skyward.

There was a movement in the cave; the next moment Lena Forest appeared.

Her hands and feet were bound, but she stood erect, while behind her, using her as a shield, Black John crouched, like a desperate villain and craven.

“Remember that I’m keepin’ her in front of me here in the mouth of this cave,” he shouted, “and if you shoot at me the chances aire you’ll hit her. Recklect it!”

Buffalo Bill’s revolver was leveled, seemingly on the girl. The next moment its report rang out, and the body of the man behind the girl slipped downward, and then fell, sprawling out in the cavern entrance.

It was a shot such as only Buffalo Bill or Pawnee Bill could have made.

In shouting his words, Black John had peered, with one eye, over the shoulder of the girl, trying to see the men who were hemming him in. That eye and the forehead by it was a mark big enough for Buffalo Bill. He sent his revolver bullet into the head of Black John with as deadly an effect as Black John, but a minute or so before, had sent one into the head of Toby Sam.

* * * * *

Buffalo Bill and his friends remained there by the cave for almost a week, to give Lena Forest time to regain her strength, for her physical weakness was extreme. They shot game on the mountains and in the valleys, and lived well.

Black John and the coward, Toby Sam, were buried at the foot of the hill, in graves unmarked by a single stone. As for the other outlaws, who had scattered and fled, what became of them was not known, but the band of “mustangers,” who had made their headquarters recently in the valley of the Bitter Water, went suddenly out of business.

When Lena had fully recovered from her exhaustion they all returned to the fort. The day after their arrival there, Buffalo Bill resumed his scouting expedition in the Blackfoot country. Bruce enlisted in the regiment stationed at the fort. Later he and Lena journeyed to the East, taking the emeralds; and there they were married and made their home.

THE END.

No. 84 of the BORDER STORIES, entitled “Buffalo Bill’s Hidden Gold,” is a thrilling story in which Indians, outlaws, and adventurers all play a big part in hunting for the treasure, Buffalo Bill, as usual, leading all the rest in daring and bravery.

WESTERN STORIES ABOUT

BUFFALO BILL

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Transcriber’s Notes

The Table of Contents at the beginning of the book was created by the transcriber.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation such as “raw-boned”/“rawboned” have been maintained.

Minor punctuation and spelling errors have been silently corrected and, except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, especially in dialogue, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.

Page 2: “A Congress of the Rough-riders of the World” changed to “A Congress of the Rough Riders of the World”.

Page 111: “and wrapped them round the roofs” changed to “and wrapped them round the hoofs”.

Page 119: “He was a magnificent speciment” changed to “He was a magnificent specimen”.

Page 217: “He could see the white water rearing” changed to “He could see the white water roaring”.

Page 291: “Now, as I said, I coudn’t” changed to “Now, as I said, I couldn’t”.