would triumph surely in the end. And the
feeling of victory and confidence was still strong upon him when his
watch of two hours was finished and he, too, in his turn, slept again.

CHAPTER X

THE WAR CLUB'S FALL

When Will awoke in the cold dawn he found the herd still passing, though
it showed signs of diminution in both breadth and density. After
breakfast he climbed the cottonwood again, and took another long and
searching look through the glasses.

"I can't yet see the end of the advancing herd under the rim of the
horizon," he announced when he descended, "but, as you can tell from the
ground, it's thinning out."

"Which means thar'll no longer be a river cutting us off from the hoss
Indians on the south," said the Little Giant, "an' which means, too,
that it's time fur us to light out from here an' foller the trail."

Curving considerably toward the north for fear of the Indian hunters,
who were likely to be where the buffaloes were, they rode at a good pace
over the plain, the pack horses and mules following readily without
leading. Their curve finally took them so far toward the north that the
swells of the plain hid the buffalo herd--only Will's glasses disclosing
traces of the dust cloud--and the thunder of its passage no longer
reached their ears.

Near sundown they came to a low ridge covered with bushes, and deciding
that it was an excellent place for a camp they rode into the thick of it
until sure also from the presence of tree growth that they would find
water not far away. Will was the first to dismount and as he went over
the crest and down the slope in search of a stream or pool, he uttered a
cry of horror.

He had come upon a sight, alas! too familiar at that time upon the
plains. Scattered about a little grassy opening were seven or eight
human skeletons, picked so clean by the wolves that they were white and
glistening. But the lad knew that wolves had not caused their deaths.
Bullet, arrow and lance had done the work. He shuddered again and again,
but he was too much of the mountain ranger and plainsman now to turn
aside because of horror.

He concluded that the skeletons represented perhaps two families,
surprised and slaughtered by the Sioux. Several of them were small,
evidently those of children, and he arrived at the number two because he
saw in the bushes near by two of the great wagons of the emigrant camp,
overturned and sacked. Just beyond was a small, clear stream whi