to Talpers's, after which a reverse curve swept back into the
Indians' domain. All of which was the cause of no little trouble to the
agent and the Indian police, for bootleggers found it easy to operate
from White Lodge or Talpers's and drop back again across the line to
safety.

Another ten miles, on the sweep of the road toward the reservation, and
the automobile was sighted. The body was found, as Plenty Buffalo had
described it. The man had been murdered--that much was plain enough.

"Buckshot, from a sawed-off shotgun probably," said the agent,
shuddering.

Whoever had fired the shot had done his work with deadly accuracy. Part
of the man's face had been carried away. He had been well along in
years, as his gray hair indicated, but his frame was sturdy. He was
dressed in khaki--a garb much affected by transcontinental automobile
tourists. The car which he had been driving was big and expensive.

Other details were forgotten for the moment in the fact that the man had
been staked to the prairie. Ropes had been attached to his hands and
feet. These ropes were fastened to tent-stakes driven into the prairie.

"The man had been camping along the route," said the agent, "and whoever
did this shooting probably used the victim's own tent-stakes."

This opinion was confirmed after a momentary examination of the tonneau
of the car, which disclosed a tent, duffle-bag, and other camping
equipment.

"Look around the prairie and see if you can find any of this man's
belongings scattered about," said Lowell.

"Plenty Buffalo wants to know if you noticed all the pony tracks," said
the interpreter.

"Yes," replied Lowell bitterly. "I couldn't very well help seeing them.
What does Plenty Buffalo think about them?"

"They're Indian pony tracks--no doubt about that," said the interpreter,
"but there is no telling just when they were made."

"I see. It might have been at the time of the murder, or afterward."

Lowell looked closely at the pony tracks, which were thick about the
automobile and the body. Plainly there had been a considerable body of
horsemen on the scene. Plenty Buffalo, skilled in trailing, had not
hesitated to announce that the tracks were those of Indian ponies. If
more evidence were needed, there were the imprints of moccasined feet in
the dust.

Lowell surveyed the scene while Plenty Buffalo and the interpreter
searched the prairie for more clues. The agent did not want to disturb
the body nor sear