[Illustration:  They raced around us in a circle.]

Jim said, “Which way do you think of going?” Pointing to the south, he said, “We think of going down into those low hills not more than eight or ten miles from the trail.”

Jim answered, “I have no doubt you would find Buffalo and maybe kill some, but I have grave doubt of your ever getting back alive.”

The man said, “Do you think we would get lost?”

Jim answered, “Yes, I think you would, if the Indians shoot you full of arrows and take your scalp off.”

He answered, “We have got to find some Indians before they have a chance to scalp us, and I don’t believe there is an Indian out there, and we are going hunting in the morning.”

Jim answered, “All right, do just as you darned please, but I will tell you this just here and now.  When you go a half a mile from the train without our consent, you will be out from under our protection, and we shall not hold ourselves responsible for your lives.”

They turned away from us, saying, “We will take the chances; we want some Buffalo meat, and we are going to get it.”

The next morning when the train pulled out twenty-three men left us, mounted on their horses with their guns all in trim for a Buffalo hunt, and four out of the twenty three was all we ever saw again either dead or alive.

We pulled out, and everything moved on nicely all day.  I saw a great deal of Indian sign at various places during the day.  About the middle of the afternoon one of the scouts reported that he saw a band of Indians off to the south.  As soon as he reported this to me, I went with him to the top of a high ridge where we could see all over the country, and sure enough, there was a small band of Indians some two or three miles south of our trail.

After watching them a few minutes, I saw that they were going from us, so I knew that we were in no danger from that band.

We had to make an early camp that evening on account of water.  It was one of my duties to ride ahead of the train and look the country over for signs of Indians to select a safe camping ground for each night, although Jim and I always talked over the best place to camp the coming night before we struck out in the morning.

That night I did not get in until Jim had the wagons all corralled.  Jim came to me as soon as I rode in and said, “Will, have you seen anything of the men that went hunting this morning?”

I answered, “I neither saw or heard anything of them since I saw them ride away this morning, but I will call my scouts together and ask them if they have seen them during the day.”

When I inquired of the men, I learned that they had not seen or heard of them and had not even heard the report of a gun all day.

We had just finished eating supper that night when one of the committee men came to us and said, “Don’t you think you had better send out some men to look for the party that went a hunting?”