The rest of the party would follow at their leisure, but it was imperative2 for Buffalo Bill to reach the fort, as from that place he would be able to speedily make the necessary arrangements for Hare’s ransom3.
He well knew the danger of delay in this matter. If the presents did not arrive within the stipulated4 time, it was likely enough that the Indians, always more or less suspicious in their nature, would decline to wait any longer, but would at once proceed to torture the unfortunate captive to death.
No doubt Running Water would do his best to prevent this, but his influence with the tribe over which he was chief seemed to be less than that of Black Panther—at all events, in this matter.
The commandant already knew of the loss of the schooner6; for the men who had escaped in the other boat, from which the Buffalo Bill party had been separated in the storm, had made their way to the fort just before, reporting that they were the sole survivors7.
There was naturally much rejoicing among the officers and soldiers when they found that so many others of their comrades had also managed to save their lives, and especially at the fact that the women were safe.
The commandant listened with deep interest to the story of their adventures in Running Water’s village, as told to him by Buffalo Bill and Captain Meinhold.
He was at first inclined to send a force of soldiers back with Buffalo Bill to punish the Indians for daring to capture a white man, hold him captive, and threaten to put him to death by torture.
Buffalo Bill, however, managed to persuade him that this would be neither fair nor wise.
He pointed8 out that the Indians had been kind and hospitable9 toward the shipwrecked party until Hare shot one of their number, that then they had only thought to carry out their idea of strict justice, and that in the end they had been willing to temper even that with mercy.
If soldiers were sent after them under such conditions, the faith of the redskins in the fair dealing10 of the whites would be shattered all through the country.
The commandant recognized the force of these arguments, and satisfied himself with helping11 the king of the scouts12 to get together the promised presents for the red men.
There was little difficulty in arranging this, and two days after his arrival at the fort Buffalo Bill set out on his way back to Running Water’s village, accompanied by Joe Congo, Wild Bill, and Captain Meinhold, the latter obtaining a short leave of absence for the purpose.
“After deserting you and Hare in the way I did,” the officer said to the border king, “I could never feel easy in my mind unless I saw the end of this business.”
“It was not desertion at all,” replied Cody. “You only did what you thought was your duty to the women. But I shall be very glad of your company on the trip, all the same.”
The Indian village was reached three days before the end of the period of reprieve13 which had been granted by the council to the captive.
“I was beginning to grow nervous,” Hare confessed, as he shook hands warmly with Buffalo Bill. “I knew you would not desert me, but as the time drew toward an end I feared that you might have met with some accident that would delay you, or even prevent you from coming at all.”
The man had been well treated by the Indians during his period of captivity14, but he had been closely watched night and day. Even had he been disposed to disregard Cody’s advice against attempting to escape, he would have found no chance to do so.
All of the Indians, from Running Water himself down to the youngest brave, were delighted with the presents. They fell short in no particular of the border king’s pictured descriptions. On the contrary, they exceeded the wildest anticipations15 of the red men.
The horses and the rifles were particularly admired, for they were far better than any the tribe could get. But unfortunately there was one item of the ransom which led to trouble; it was the whisky.
Buffalo Bill had hesitated whether he should bring it with him. He was much opposed to the selling or giving of fire water to the redskins, and had always fought bitterly against it.
Sure enough, that night the whisky caused trouble, as it always does among palefaces as well as redskins.
Buffalo Bill and his friend had arrived at the village in the middle of the afternoon, and by the time the Indians had finished inspecting the presents and talking with the whites it needed only about two hours to sunset.
Buffalo Bill proposed to start on his journey back at once, taking Hare with him. He feared that the Indians would indulge in a drunken orgy that night, and it might not be safe for the white men to remain in the village. At all events, there would be a risk of trouble, for the worst passions of the braves would almost certainly be aroused by the whisky.
But Running Water would by no means hear of their going. Hospitable as ever, he begged Buffalo Bill and his friends to stay and take part in the great feast which would be held that night to celebrate the wealth that had come to his band.
Buffalo Bill tried hard to get out of the invitation, but the chief and his braves were so insistent17 that in the end he was obliged to give way, very much against his will.
The feast started early, and enormous quantities of meat were consumed by the gluttonous18 braves.
Unfortunately enormous quantities of whisky were drunk also.
It was not long before the ugly traits in the Indian character began to come to the front.
Several of the braves, reeling to their feet, yelled and shouted defiantly19 at one another, declaring, as most men are apt to do when they are drunk, that they could “lick the earth.”
Old enemies and feuds20 were recalled under the influence of the liquor, and there would have been more than one deadly fight had it not been for the restraining influence of Running Water, aided by Buffalo Bill and the other whites, who had become very popular with most of the warriors21 on account of the rich presents they had brought.
The old chief was a pretty clever diplomatist, and he succeeded in calming down the angry braves until the more drunken and quarrelsome of them, taking more of the whisky, sank into a stupor23.
Black Panther was one of those who had indulged heavily, but the liquor did not seem to take quite the same effect on him as it did on the others.
He seemed to retain his senses perfectly24, but, as he took drink after drink, his fierce black eyes became fixed25 upon the white men with an even deadlier glance of hatred26.
He did not think of any quarrels that he might have with his own tribesmen. One of the great passions of his life was hatred of the whites, and it came uppermost now.
This hatred was particularly concentrated upon Buffalo Bill, whom he knew to be the leader of the little party.
The memory of the presents he had received that afternoon did not soothe27 him, by any means. Indeed, he had clean forgotten them under the influence of the whisky. He thought of only one thing—that he hated all white men, and particularly Buffalo Bill.
Running Water had not touched a drop of the liquor. When Buffalo Bill had asked him why, early in the evening, he had replied:
“Fire water bad for de man. Make him fool. Make him act like crazy man. Running Water must watch his braves. Running Water cannot drink.”
But of all the braves whom the chief watched, there was none he kept his eye on more intently than Black Panther.
That warrior22 said no word, but he looked steadily28 at Buffalo Bill with a baleful glare that would have done credit to the ferocious29 animal after which he was named.
“Black Panther bad to-night,” said the chief, in a whisper to Buffalo Bill. “He hate all white men—he[300] hate you most. Be ready. He want to fight, but I try to stop him.”
“All right, chief,” replied the border king. “I’m sure I don’t want to fight him, if I can help it. You have treated us well, and we don’t want to have any trouble. We’d like to remain friends with all your band.”
The words were hardly spoken, when Black Panther rose suddenly to his feet and commenced to declaim a loud, passionate30 speech which even awakened31 some of the drunken sleepers32.
Buffalo Bill could not understand many of the words. Although he was familiar with some dialects of the Sioux tongue, he did not know the particular one spoken by this band.
But the purport33 of his speech was plain enough from Black Panther’s impassioned gestures and the look of hatred which he concentrated on the king of the scouts.
Even Captain Meinhold and Hare, although less versed34 than the two scouts in the ways of the Indians, could not help seeing that what Black Panther wanted to do was to provoke a fight with Buffalo Bill.
In the middle of the harangue35, Running Water rose to his feet and motioned to the brave to seat himself on the ground again; but Black Panther remained defiantly standing36.
“What does he say?” the border king asked the chief.
“Him say he fight you with tomahawk—with knife—with revolver—with anything you like. But we not let him. You our friend. If a brave fight you here when you eat our meat, the face of my band is blackened.”
Running Water replied in this same strain to Black Panther, but he might as well have spoken to the wind.
Several of the braves—the more sober of them—supported their chief; but others wanted to see a fight, and they clamored to let Black Panther have his way. If the white man did not fight, they said, he was a coward.
Buffalo Bill caught this, for the word used was the same as in another dialect of the Sioux, which he knew.
He rose at once, repressing his anger with difficulty, and suggested to Running Water that he should wrestle37 with Black Panther. They need not fight a deadly duel38, he urged, but they could at least see who was the better man.
The chief grasped eagerly at this proposal, for things were beginning to look serious, and bloodshed seemed imminent39.
He translated Buffalo Bill’s challenge to Black Panther, and the latter fiercely accepted the suggestion.
He knew that he was far and away the best wrestler40 in the whole of the Sioux nation—the admitted champion of all the bands—and he had no doubt that he could vanquish41 his white opponent easily.
But he reckoned without his host, for he little knew that the king of the scouts had muscles as strong as steel, and had been trained in the art of wrestling from his youth up. So proficient42, indeed, had he become in it that he had never yet met the redskin who could beat him—or the white man, either.
Black Panther stood up, naked to the waist, for the bout16. He did not seem to be much affected43 by the quantity of whisky he had taken. His eye was clear, his attitude agile44, and his movements as rapid as those of the animal from whom he had taken his name.
With a loud yell, he darted45 straight at Buffalo Bill, and in a second the two men were locked in a close embrace.
For a few moments Black Panther lay upon the ground stunned47. Then he rose unsteadily to his feet and glared at Buffalo Bill like a tiger.
The king of the scouts held himself ready for another wrestle, if his opponent chose to take it—but Black Panther had another idea in his mind.
He whipped a knife out of his belt, and would have rushed at Buffalo Bill and stabbed him to the heart, but Running Water and several of the other braves, fearing just this thing, had watched him closely.
In a trice they seized and disarmed48 him. He struggled furiously, but in the hands of half a dozen strong braves he was as helpless as a baby.
There was no one to say a word in his defense49. Even the most drunken of the braves condemned50 his action, for hospitality is a sacred obligation to the red man. And Black Panther had actually tried to murder a guest!
By command of Running Water he was taken to a lodge51 and closely guarded until the white men left the village on the following morning.
Three braves, the most sober whom Running Water could select, watched him all night, tomahawk in hand.
Black Panther knew this, and he was wise enough to keep still. But the flame of hatred in his heart burned more and more fiercely as the hours went by, and he vowed53 to himself that he would never rest until he had vengeance54 on his white opponent.
No man knew this better than Buffalo Bill, who was as familiar with the nature of the redskins as any white man can be.
Before he left the village with his friends, Running Water apologized profusely55 for the behavior of Black Panther, who, he said, had brought disgrace on all the band.
“He shall not remain with us,” the chief added. “He left us before. He shall go back to the band he joined. He shall not remain another day in the village.”
“Don’t drive him out on my account, chief,” said Buffalo Bill. “I bear him no ill will. It was the whisky that did it.”
“But he feel ill will to you,” replied Running Water gravely. “He kill you when he meet you, unless you kill him first.”
Buffalo Bill laughed.
“Well, I’ll do my best to look out for myself if I ever do meet him again,” he said.
“You better shoot quick,” was the parting warning of the chief to the border king, as he and his friends bade farewell and mounted their horses for the return journey.
“A mighty good man. If it hadn’t been for all that drink that was in him, he’d have been the toughest proposition to handle that I ever ran up against. As it was, he was not particularly difficult to throw.”
The fort was reached safely, and soon afterward58 Hare, the rescued captive, returned to his relatives, quite cured of any desire for further experiences of Western life.
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1
buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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stipulated
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| vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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8
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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reprieve
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| n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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gluttonous
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| adj.贪吃的，贪婪的 | |
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defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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feuds
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| n.长期不和，世仇( feud的名词复数 ) | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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31
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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sleepers
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| n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环 | |
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purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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versed
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| adj. 精通，熟练 | |
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harangue
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| n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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duel
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| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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wrestler
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| n.摔角选手，扭 | |
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vanquish
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| v.征服，战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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proficient
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| adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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48
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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50
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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51
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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52
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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53
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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55
profusely
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| ad.abundantly | |
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56
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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