CHAPTER IX.

The crafty race from Egypt came ;

Dark haired, and black browed, swart, and lean;
Of stature small, but sinewy frame,

Active, and little, and shrewd, and keen.

The Zingaro.

At the moment I saw a man pass the window. The curtain was presently lifted, and he entered. He was a low slight figure, apparently about twenty-five years of age, with an olive complexion; long, lank, black hair; small, keen, jet-black eyes ; and diminutive and rather handsome features. He was clothed from head to foot in halfdressed buckskin; hunting shirt, leggins, and moccasins, all glazed with grease and mottled with blood. A fillet of bearskin, of three fingers' breadth, tied around his head, served for a cap. His long hair partly escaped through this, and hung down his cheeks, and part fell over the top of it. He carried in his hand a formidable rifle, and wore a butcher knife stuck in a leather case at his belt.

"You are a good fellow, John," said Balcombe, holding out his hand without rising; "I sent for you to come with the speed of light, and you are here with the speed of thought."

"Why, colonel," said he, "I went out last night, just at sunset, and killed an amazing fine buck; and I heard you had company; so as soon as it slacked raining, I thought I'd bring you the hind quarters. So you see I met Tom just at the bars, and he told me you wanted to see me."

"Are you going to court to-morrow, John?" "No, sir."

"I wish you were. Are you going to the camp meeting?"

"I did not mean to go; but if you have any business for me to do I will go to the camp meeting, and to court too."

"To tell you the truth, John, I do not know that I shall have anything for you to do. But I am going there to-morrow, and I think it likely enough that things may turn up so, that I would rather have you by me than any other man in the world."

"I should be mighty sorry, colonel, if ever that should be the case, to be anywhere but right by you; because, you see, you have stood by me when nobody else would."

"We have stood by each other, John, in ticklish times. A man who will take a turn through the prairies, from here to Mexico, will have a chance to know the value of one who will stand by him. Do you know where Billy John and Black Snake are camped just now?"

"I fell in with them yesterday, but I did not ask them where their camp was."

"Could you find them to-morrow?" "I have not a doubt of it, sir."

"Well, there's no knowing what may happen, nor what sort of men I may want. I shall not want you sooner, at all events, than Wednesday; and if you will all be about there, I'll contrive to let you know when I do want you, and what for."

"We'll be pretty sure to be there, sir; I can make business anywhere, you know, so that my time is never lost."

"Well, John, I wish you to understand, that I do not want you to say anything about this matter. You can keep a still tongue, and so can the Indians; and, with you there, there are few things I'd undertake but what I think I could do."

"If it just depended upon wit, or manhood either," said John, "I am sure I don't know what it would be we couldn't do."

"Do you remember that night upon the Arkansas, John?"

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"Maybe I do," said John, laughing. Ah, Lord! that was a spree."

"Pray, what was it?" said I.

Tell it, John," said Balcombe.

Why, you see, sir," said Keizer," we were going away out, through the prairies, towards the Spanish country, the colonel, and I, and them two red devils; and one evening, just towards sunset, we came down upon the Arkansas. We knew the Pawnees were about, because we saw horse tracks everywhere; and as there were no colt tracks

among them, we knew it wasn't wild horses. So, you see, we took care to march in Indian file. The colonel, he went ahead, and Billy John was about one hundred yards behind him, and then came Snake, about as far behind Billy John, and I brought up the rear. So when the colonel got in about a quarter of a mile of the timber of the river, there they were, sure enough. The Lord knows how many of them there was: maybe a hundred, maybe five hundred; all on horseback, with guns, and bows, and arrows, and shields; and such a yell they raised as you never heard. So the colonel pulled up and cocked his rifle, and sat as still upon his horse as if he had been at a stand for a deer.

"As soon as they came near enough, he let drive, and downed one of them, that was before the rest; and that minute he laid whip, and rode away to the rear, till he got a hundred yards behind me, and then he stopped and loaded. Indians do not like to lose a man, especially a chief, and the fellow the colonel dropped looked like a chief, for he had a feather in his hair.* So, when he fell, they made a sort of stop, and then rushed on again. Then Billy John dropped one, and then Snake took his turn, and then I, and then the colonel again; and so we had it till we had three shots apiece. By this time it was getting dark, and they

* This badge of chieftainship (a single eagle's feather) is common to the Scotch Highlander and the North American savage. It is a remarkable coincidence, traceable, no doubt, in both cases, to the same association of ideas,

got to be rather shy; and after a while they hauled off, and we came back into the settlements. I do not know how many we killed; but you may be sure we did not waste much powder."

"And were none of you hurt?"

"Lord! no, sir; they cannot shoot. Besides, their guns were not so good as ours, and would not bear up so far; and how could they take aim, when they were just riding helter-skelter, whooping and hallooing, and trying to scare us. Lord bless you, sir, a real bush-fighting Shawnee, like these here, don't mind a hundred such as them. A man that is half scared, stranger, cannot fight a man that cannot be scared."

"Oh John," said Balcombe, "I beg your pardon for not introducing Mr. Napier to you. My good friend Mr. Keizer, William."

The fellow got up, made an awkward bow, and extended his hand. I had tact enough to give him mine, and Balcombe went on:

"My friend Napier must not be a stranger to you, John. I have often got you to serve my friends, and now I want to bespeak your good offices for him, if ever you see occasion. He is a good man and true, John, and whenever you can do him a service, charge it to me. If ever he wants your help, you may just take for granted that, if I was there, I would help him, and call upon you to help me ; and I know you would not fail me."

"You may say that, colonel; if ever I fail you,