, and the white
man's blue eyes; then Two Whistles looked at his own naked, clotted
body, and, turning the pistol against himself, fired it into his
breast.

[Illustration: THE CHARGE]

Far away up the river, on the right of the line, a lieutenant with two
men was wading across after some hostiles that had been skirmishing with
his troop. The hostiles had fallen back after some hot shooting, and had
dispersed among the brush and tepees on the farther shore, picking up
their dead, as Indians do. It was interesting work, this splashing
breast-high through a river into a concealed hornets'-nest, and the
lieutenant thought a little on his unfinished plans and duties in life;
he noted one dead Indian left on the shore, and went steadfastly in
among the half-seen tepees, rummaging and beating in the thick brush to
be sure no hornets remained. Finding them gone, and their dead spirited
away, he came back on the bank to the one dead Indian, who had a fine
head-dress, and was still ribanded with gay red streamers of flannel,
and was worth all the rest of the dead put together, and much more. The
head lay in the water, and one hand held the rope of the gray pony, who
stood quiet and uninterested over his fallen rider. They began carrying
the prize across to the other bank, where many had now collected, among
others Kinney and the lieutenant's captain, who subsequently said, "I
found the body of Cheschapah;" and, indeed, it was a very good thing to
be able to say.

[Illustration: "THE HEAD LAY IN THE WATER"]

"This busts the war," said Kinney to the captain, as the body was
being lifted over the Little Horn. "They know he's killed, and they've
all quit. I was up by the tepees near the agency just now, and I
could see the hostiles jamming back home for dear life. They was
chucking their rifles to the squaws, and jumping in the river--ha!
ha!--to wash off their war-paint, and each ---- ---- would crawl out
and sit innercint in the family blanket his squaw had ready. If you
was to go there now, cap'n, you'd find just a lot of harmless Injuns
eatin' supper like all the year round. Let me help you, boys, with
that carcass."

Kinney gave a hand to the lieutenant and men of G troop, First United
States Cavalry, and they lifted Cheschapah up the bank. In the tilted
position of the body the cartridge-belt slid a little, and a lump of
newspaper fell into the stream. Kinney watched it open and float away
with a momentary effervescence