d_ passed through it
all. He was with his beloved comrade again, not much the worse for his
experience. In truth he was a little homesick, and was stirred with
sweet delight at the thought that, if all went well, he should be with
his parents within the coming week.

And yet he was oppressed by the thought that one of the results of his
short visit to Wyoming was to be the death of a human being. He was sure
he could never shake off the remembrance, and should he ever wish to
return in the future to renew his hunt under more favorable conditions,
the memory would haunt him. It mattered not that the wretch deserved to
be executed for the crime, in the commission of which he had been
interrupted before he could complete it. He was a savage, a heathen, a
barbarian, who was following the light as he understood it. Why,
therefore, should not mercy be shown to him?

There are many things which Jack Dudley and Fred Greenwood have done
during their youthful lives that are creditable to them, but there is
none which gives the two greater pleasure than the remembrance of the
moral victory gained in their argument with Hank Hazletine. Fred opened
the plea, and his comrade quickly rallied to his help. Their aim was to
convince their guide that it was wrong for him to carry out his purpose
regarding the Sioux. That the fellow should be punished was not to be
questioned, but it should be done in a legitimate way and by the
constituted authorities. Hazletine insisted that the conditions were
such that Motoza would never be thus punished, at least not to the
extent he ought to be; therefore, it was the duty of Hazletine to attend
to the matter himself.

The argument lasted for two hours. The boys were able, bright and
ingenious, but they had _truth_ on their side, and by and by the grim
cowman showed signs of weakening. What knocked the props from under him
was the fact which he was compelled to admit that the Sioux was only
following the teachings he had received from infancy; that he lacked the
light and knowledge with which Hazletine had been favored; that it was
the duty of the white people to educate, civilize and Christianize the
red men, who have been treated with cruel injustice from the very
discovery of our country.

It cannot be said that the guide yielded with good grace, but yield he
did, and the victory was secured. He pledged the boys not to offer any
harm to Motoza for his last crime, and indeed would never harm him