f being shot, he bent low over his faithful mare's neck.

"On, Bonnie, on!" he cried softly, and the beautiful animal seemed to
understand that it was a race for life and death.

"Crack!" It was the report of a pistol close at hand. Looking among the
trees, Pawnee Brown saw an arm wearing the colors of a cavalryman
disappearing among the foliage of a nearby tree. He aimed his own weapon
and pulled the trigger. A yell of pain followed.

The marksman had been Tucker, the fellow hired to take the great scout's
life. Tucker had been on picket duty for the cavalry troop, but had
failed to note Pawnee Brown's first movement in that direction. Seeing
the scout coming, he had instantly thought of the promised reward and
taken aim. The bullet had struck Pawnee Brown's shoulder, merely,
however, scraping the skin. On the return fire Tucker was hit in the
side and nearly broke his neck in a tumble backward into a hole behind
him.

The chase was not of long duration. Although they had good steeds, not
one of the cavalryman's horses could gain upon the scout's sturdy racing
mare, and soon they dropped further and further behind. Seeing this,
Pawnee Brown turned to the eastward, out of the ravine, and in three
minutes had his pursuers entirely off the trail.

His face grew thoughtful as he allowed Bonnie Bird to drop into a walk.
The cavalry had followed the wagon train westward--they were bound to
keep the boomers in sight. What was to be done? Should he advise another
movement during the night to come and then a forward dash?

"We might make it," he mused. "But if we did not there would be a
fearful fight and possibly slaughter. I wish I knew just how matters
were going at Washington."

Pawnee Brown had friends at the Capital, men who were doing their best
to defeat the cattle kings by having a bill passed in Congress opening
Oklahoma to settlement--a bill that would smooth the present difficulty
for all concerned. He felt that the bill was not needed, yet it would be
better to have such a law than to have some of the boomers killed before
their rights could be established.

"I'll send a messenger off to the nearest telegraph station and
telegraph for the news," he went on. "A day's delay may mean many lives
saved. It shall never be said that Pawnee Brown rushed in, heedless of
the danger to those who trusted in him."

It was not long before the scout reached the boomers' camp. Here he
found several waiting for him.

"I