“If I give you the horse and mule will you proceed at once to Fort Lyon?”

“No, sir; I have some bills to settle at Sheridan and some other business to transact,” replied I.

“Well, sir; will you at least agree not to interfere any further with the quartermaster’s agent at Sheridan?”

“I shall not bother him any more, sir, as I have had all I want from him,” was my answer.

General Bankhead thereupon sent for Captain Laufer and ordered him to turn the horse and mule over to me.  In a few minutes more I was on my way to Sheridan, and after settling my business there, I proceeded to Fort Lyon, arriving two days afterwards.  I related my adventures to General Carr, Major Brown, and other officers, who were greatly amused thereby.

“I’m glad you’ve come, Bill,” said General Carr, “as I have been wanting you for the last two weeks.  While we have been at this post several valuable animals, as well as a large number of government horses and mules have been stolen, and we think that the thieves are still in the vicinity of the fort, but as yet we have been unable to discover their rendezvous.  I have had a party out for the last few days in the neighborhood of old Fort Lyon, and they have found fresh tracks down there and seem to think that the stock is concealed somewhere in the timber, along the Arkansas river.  Bill Green, one of the scouts who has just come up from there, can perhaps tell you something more about the matter.”

Green, who had been summoned, said that he had discovered fresh trails before striking the heavy timber opposite old Fort Lyon, but that in the tall grass he could not follow them.  He had marked the place where he had last seen fresh mule tracks, so that he could find it again.

“Now, Cody, you’re just the person we want,” said the General.

“Very well, I’ll get a fresh mount, and to-morrow I’ll go down and see what I can discover,” said I.

“You had better take two men besides Green, and a pack mule with eight or ten days’ rations,” suggested the General, “so that if you find the trail you can follow it up, as I am very anxious to get back this stolen property.  The scoundrels have taken one of my private horses and also Lieutenant Forbush’s favorite little black race mule.”

Next morning I started out after the horse-thieves, being accompanied by Green, Jack Farley, and another scout.  The mule track, marked by Green, was easily found, and with very little difficulty I followed it for about two miles into the timber and came upon a place where, as I could plainly see from numerous signs, quite a number of head of stock had been tied among the trees and kept for several days.  This was evidently the spot where the thieves had been hiding their stolen stock until they had accumulated quite a herd.  From this point it was difficult to trail them, as they had taken the stolen animals out of the timber one by one and in different directions, thus showing that they were experts at the business and experienced frontiersmen, for no Indian could have exhibited more cunning in covering up a trail than did they.