several weeks after buffalo bill had taken leave of his friends of fort larned, he stood one day
upon the veranda of a little hotel in the frontier settlement of danger divide, when a young man
came up, and, taking him by the arm, led him courteously to the other end of the veranda.
“mr. doyle, let me introduce to you colonel cody, the chief of scouts of the department of the
platte.”
the speaker was a tall, handsome sun-tanned young man, whose frank, honest look and kindly,
smiling eyes would at once have prepossessed any one in his favor.
the man to whom he spoke was old enough to have been his grandfather. his appearance was
distinguished, but his face bore deep lines that spoke of some great sorrow which had clouded his
life.
the old gentleman rose from the chair in which he was sitting and bowed courteously to the man
who was being introduced to him.
“any friend of yours, mr. mainwaring, honors me by his acquaintance,” he said. “but it gives
me especial pleasure to meet colonel cody. i have heard much about his great deeds out here in
the west, and now that i see him i am sure that nothing i have heard has been exaggerated.”
“i am delighted to meet you, sir,” replied the scout.
“i heard you make a speech in the senate two years ago, when i was in washington on some
business with the war department,” he added cordially.
“ah, they say that you never forget a face, colonel cody, and it appears to be true. but i have
resigned from the senate and left washington forever.”
buffalo bill’s face expressed polite interest, but he made no remark. he could not help
wondering, however, how it had come about that one of the most distinguished statesmen at that
time in america should have abandoned his great career, and instead of being in his proper place
at washington should be found at a wretched little frontier shanty—which was all that the best
“hotel” in danger divide could really be called.
“yes, i have turned my back on washington,” mr. doyle went on, “and i am now on my way to
california, with my two daughters. i am going to buy a ranch there and make it my home for the
small balance of my days. i want to leave all the old associations of my life behind. they have
become painful to me.
“my eldest boy died three months ago in washington. he was the last of my three sons. my wife
died years ago, and now i have only my two girls left—may and gertrude. like myself, they wish
to live in a new country, among fresh scenes and people who will not remind us of the past.”
it was a strangely frank speech to make to a new acquaintance, but buffalo bill was a man who
inspired confidence at first sight, and mr. doyle found it natural to talk to him of his most
sacred and private affairs as he could not have done to another man.
a smiling, honest-looking negro came out onto the veranda and said to the old man:
“lunch done got ready, massa. missie gertrude and missie may waiting for you. i ’clar’ to
goodness, suh, i cooked de best lunch i could, but you can’t get nuthin’ more in this place
than down in ole virginny at de end ob de wah.”
“all right, norfolk ben,” replied mr. doyle, smiling kindly at the man. “i’ve no doubt that
you have done the best you can, and probably you have done wonders, under the circumstances.”
the honest fellow, grinning his appreciation of these words, vanished through the door.
“that is my servant, norfolk ben,” said mr. doyle, turning to cody and jack mainwaring. “i don
’t think any one ever had a more faithful one. he has been with us for many years, and is
perfectly devoted to my daughters. he comes from norfolk, in virginia—hence his name.”
“a good virginian servant of the old stock is indeed a treasure,” remarked mainwaring.
“will you join us at lunch, colonel cody, and you, too, mr. mainwaring? i want to hear some more
about that ranch of yours in texas, and my girls will be delighted to meet you, colonel cody, and
listen to some stories about your adventures.”
“i don’t think it will be easy to induce cody to tell them,” said jack mainwaring, smiling. “
somebody else is always the hero of the stories he tells. i have known him for three weeks, but
all that i have heard about his adventures has been from other people.”
both men accepted mr. doyle’s invitation and went into the small, stuffy dining room of the
hotel with him.
they found there two girls, of about twenty and eighteen years of age respectively, whom they
were introduced to by mr. doyle. the elder was his daughter may and the younger was gertrude.
both were pretty, but the elder was by far the prettier, and buffalo bill, wise in such matters,
could see at a glance that young mainwaring was powerfully attracted by her. it was the first
time they had met, for[110] he had only made the acquaintance of mr. doyle a short time before he
introduced cody to him.
the party sat down to lunch, norfolk ben waiting on them, and they were soon in the midst of an
animated conversation.
jack mainwaring told stories of his life on his ranch in texas. he was a wealthy young fellow,
owning one of the best cattle runs in that state. he was now enjoying a hunting trip in the
farther west, and buffalo bill, whom he met some time before, had been able to show him some very
good sport.
as mr. doyle had prophesied, the two girls were eager to hear the king of scouts tell about his
own deeds, but he evaded their questions and appeals as well as he could. he was more silent and
abstracted than was his wont, and something seemed to be weighing on his mind, in spite of the
gayety of the little party.
“mr. doyle,” he said suddenly, in a lull in the conversation, “would you mind telling me why
you have halted in this little place on your journey to california? the accommodations are so bad
that i am sure you would not have done so without some very good reason.”
“necessity was my reason,” replied the old gentleman, smiling. “i have a train of three
wagons, and one of the wagons was so badly damaged in crossing a deep gully near here that we had
to stop to have it repaired. from what they tell me, it will be a pretty long job. they have few
facilities for such work in a little place like danger divide.”
“it is a pity you could not have gone on to fort mcpherson, seventy miles farther on,” said
buffalo bill. “it is a military post, and they have all the means for doing such work. the
general who commands the post would have been pleased to help you. i know[111] him well, for i am
attached to the post as his chief of scouts.”
“we could hardly get to danger divide,” replied the old man.
buffalo bill thought deeply for a few minutes, hesitating whether or not he should speak out what
was in his mind. then he said:
“mr. doyle, what i am going to say to you will no doubt sound extraordinary and impertinent, but
it is prompted by my knowledge of this country.”
“whatever it is, i am sure it will be well meant, colonel cody,” remarked the ex-senator,
looking puzzled.
“well, then, it is this: when your wagon is repaired you would, in my opinion, be well advised
to turn back east, instead of trying to cross the great plains at present. if i were in your
position i would wait for a few months at least before trying to reach california by the overland
route.”
mr. doyle and his daughters looked very much surprised at this remark. a shadow of annoyance
crossed the old man’s face, as if he thought an unwarrantable liberty was being taken with him
and his plans, but it passed almost as quickly as it came, and he turned to the king of the
scouts and said:
“what you have just told me, colonel cody, is certainly rather strange, but i am sure you must
have some good reason for saying it.”
“i have,” replied the border king. “the great plains are very unsafe for wagon teams at
present—more unsafe, i think, than they have ever been before in my experience.”
mr. doyle looked surprised.
“i was assured by the officials of the war department in washington that the soldiers at the
various posts in this territory had the indians under complete control,” he said.
buffalo bill smiled.
“what they don’t know about this part of the country in washington would fill a big book,” he
retorted. “the troops do their best—they do wonderfully, indeed. but they can’t be everywhere
at once. sometimes they are too late to protect, and can only avenge.”
the old man looked grave, but at the same time obstinate. he had made his plans, and he was not
of the kind to give them up readily.
“of course, i know that there is always a certain amount of risk on the overland route,” he
said. “that must be taken for granted. we have reckoned it in the plans we have made, and the
girls are not at all afraid, i can assure you.”
“indeed we are not, father!” exclaimed may, glancing at buffalo bill with some indignation.
“what is the special danger at present?” the old man asked.
“it is twofold: the shawnee indians, under their chief, evil heart, are in a very ugly mood
toward the whites, and there is a band of outlaws calling themselves death riders who have held
up several wagon trains during the past few months, and even ventured to raid some of the
settlements.”
“the death riders!” exclaimed the old man. “it is an ominous name.”
“and it fits them well,” returned cody. “they show mercy to none who fall into their power.
they are the worst gang of outlaws who ever cursed the west in all my experience.”
