event that
really happened--their ammunition was giving out, and the savage
horde, rimming them on all sides, was very near.

He did not know how long the battle had lasted, but it seemed
many hours to him. The sun was far down in the west, gilding the
plains and hills with tawny gold, but the fire and smoke of
conflict filled the whole valley of the Little Big Horn.
"Perhaps night will save those who yet live," thought Dick. But
the fire of the savages rose. Fresh ammunition was brought to
them, and after every repulse they returned to the attack,
pressing closer at every renewal.

Dick saw the leader at the edge of the circle almost facing his
hill. His hat was gone, and his long yellow hair flew wildly,
but he still made gestures to his men and bade them fight on.
Then Dick lost him in the turmoil, but he saw some of the horses
pull loose from the detaining hands, burst through the circle,
and plunge among the Sioux.

Now came a pause in the firing, a sudden sinking, as if by
command, and the smoke thinned. The circle which had been
sprouting flame on every side also grew silent for a moment,
whether because the enemy had ceased or the cartridges were all
gone Dick never knew. But it was the silence of only an
instant. There was a tremendous shout, a burst of firing greater
than any that had gone before, and the whole Sioux horde poured
forward.

The warriors, charging in irresistible masses from side to side,
met in the center, and when the smoke lifted from the last great
struggle Dick saw only Sioux.

Of all the gallant little army that had charged into the valley
not a soul was now living, save a Crow Indian scout, who, when
all was lost, let down his hair after the fashion of a Sioux, and
escaped in the turmoil as one of their own people.

Chapter XIX
A Happy Meeting

When Dick Howard saw that the raging Sioux covered the field and
that the little army was destroyed wholly he could bear the sight
no longer, and, reeling back against the tree, closed his eyes.
For a little while, even with eyes shut, he still beheld the red
ruin, and then darkness came over him.

He never knew whether he really fainted or whether it was merely
a kind of stupor brought on by so many hours of battle and fierce
excitement, but when he opened his eyes again much time had
passed. The sun was far down in the west and the dusky shadows
were advancing. Over the low hill where Custer had made his last
stand