ir ears pricked up a trying to look over the ledge
towards the river, we heard a sharp firing down on the Trail, which
didn't appear to be more than a hundred yards off. You ought to seen us
grab our rifles sudden, and run out from behind them rocks, where we was
a camping, so comfortable-like, and just going to light our pipes for a
good smoke. It didn't take us no time to get down on to the Trail, where
we seen a Mexican bull train, that we know'd must have come from Santa
Fe, and which had stopped and was trying to corral. More than sixty
painted Pawnees was a circling around the outfit, howling as only them
can howl, and pouring a shower of arrows into the oxen. Some was shaking
their buffalo-robes, trying to stampede the critters, so they could kill
the men easier.

"We lit out mighty lively, soon as we seen what was going on, and
reached the head of the train just as the last wagon, that was
furtherest down the Trail, nigh a quarter of a mile off, was cut out
by part of the band. Then we seen a man, a woman, and a little boy jump
out, and run to get shet of the Ingins what had cut out the wagon from
the rest of the train. One of the red devils killed the man and scalped
him, while the other pulled the woman up in front of him, and rid off
into the sand hills, and out of sight in a minute. Then the one what had
killed her husband started for the boy, who was a running for the train
as fast as his little legs could go. But we was nigh enough then;
and just as the Ingin was reaching down from his pony for the kid, Al
Thorpe--he was a powerful fine shot--draw'd up his gun and took the
red cuss off his critter without the paint-bedaubed devil know'n' what
struck him.

"The boy, seeing us, broke and run for where we was, and I reckon the
rest of the Ingins seen us then for the first time, too. We was up with
the train now, which was kind o' halfway corralled, and Dick Curtis
picked up the child--he warn't more than seven years old--and throw'd
him gently into one of the wagons, where he'd be out of the way; for we
know'd there was going to be considerable more fighting before night.
We know'd, too, we Americans would have to do the heft of it, as them
Mexican bull-whackers warn't much account, nohow, except to cavort
around and swear in Spanish, which they hadn't done nothing else since
we'd come up to the train; besides, their miserable guns warn't much
better than so many bows and arrows.

"We Americans talked toge