This warrior was directly in the rear of Lone Wolf, and had been so fairly in line with him that there could be no doubt that the bullet had really been intended for the chief.  The point from whence it came could not be mistaken.

Over half of the war-party saw the flash of the gun, off to their right, in the direction of the settlement, and those who chanced not to see it were quickly informed of the spot by the appearance of a horse, looking as if he had sprung from the ground itself.  No rider was visible; but, of course, he was there, as he had just demonstrated by means of his shot.  That there might be no doubt of his identity, he uttered a loud yell, like that with which one Indian defies another, and called out in the Apache tongue: 

“Sut Simpson sends the shot for the heart of Lone Wolf, who is a dog and a coward.”

This was the favorite taunt of the hunter when he sought to draw out his old enemy.  Some of the numerous scars which he received were the direct result of his daring defiance, and he was hopeful that the challenge would accomplish something in the present case.  Nor was he disappointed.

CHAPTER X TWO OLD ENEMIES

Lone Wolf recognized the taunt of his old enemy, and his black eye lit up with a gleam of fire and passion.  He would not turn his back upon his white foe, who had just sent a bullet in quest of his heart.  He would accept the gage of battle, and end his personal warfare of years.  But, like all Indians, the chieftain was the personification of treachery, without a particle of chivalry or manhood, and when he resolved upon his attempt to destroy the frontiersman, it was without any regard for the fairness of the means which he should employ.

He handed the boy to one of the warriors sitting near him, as, of course, he could do nothing when impeded by his presence, although he had proved very convenient some time before, in the way of a shield.  Then he said something to a dozen or so of the warriors immediately around him.  The main body remained comparatively motionless, while the chief rode out in advance and headed toward his antagonist, his horse upon a slow walk, and moving with great caution.

Sut Simpson was not to be caught napping.  No one understood the sneaking character of Lone Wolf better than did he.  He had had it back and forth with him too many times not to be able to read the fellow through and through.

While the leader was coming forward in this cautious manner, he saw several other horsemen in motion.  Their direction was not the same as their leader.  They appeared to be riding further back upon the prairie, as though they had been sent upon some errand to a distant point.  But Sut knew what it meant.  They meant to steal away until they were out of sight, when they would come around behind him.  There were enough to surround him completely and to cut off his escape in any direction.