Chapter XLVII: At Bay--At Peace

Silence reigned after that until Buffalo Bill spoke again, announcing to Black John that he was cornered, and demanding his surrender.

“Come and git me!” yelled the desperate man. “But recklect when you do I’ll shoot the girl.”

“We want to have a talk with you,” said Buffalo Bill. “We’ve got a proposition to make to you. Surrender the girl unharmed, and we’ll spare your life.”

When there was no answer to this, they began to crawl up the slope, taking Toby Sam with them.

“We’ve got a friend of yours here,” called Buffalo Bill. “We’ll release him, and let him come in and tell you the conditions here, so that you’ll know how foolish it is for you to try to hold out against us.”

“No--no!” Toby Sam gurgled; “he’ll shoot me! He’ll think I’ve turned ag’inst him; he’ll think I took the emeralds; he’ll think----”

He twisted out of the way of Buffalo Bill, whose intention of sending him to the cave he feared, and leaping up, he tried to run.

It was a foolish and fatal movement.

Black John’s revolver cracked, and Toby Sam fell with its bullet in his head, being dead as he struck the ground.

Now at bay, Black John was desperate and murderous. He had thought the man he shot at was one of Buffalo Bill’s force.

Silence followed the fall of Toby Sam’s body, and it lay on the rocks, the face, ghastly in death, turned skyward.

There was a movement in the cave; the next moment Lena Forest appeared.

Her hands and feet were bound, but she stood erect, while behind her, using her as a shield, Black John crouched, like a desperate villain and craven.

“Remember that I’m keepin’ her in front of me here in the mouth of this cave,” he shouted, “and if you shoot at me the chances aire you’ll hit her. Recklect it!”

Buffalo Bill’s revolver was leveled, seemingly on the girl. The next moment its report rang out, and the body of the man behind the girl slipped downward, and then fell, sprawling out in the cavern entrance.

It was a shot such as only Buffalo Bill or Pawnee Bill could have made.

In shouting his words, Black John had peered, with one eye, over the shoulder of the girl, trying to see the men who were hemming him in. That eye and the forehead by it was a mark big enough for Buffalo Bill. He sent his revolver bullet into the head of Black John with as deadly an effect as Black John, but a minute or so before, had sent one into the head of Toby Sam.

* * * * *

Buffalo Bill and his friends remained there by the cave for almost a week, to give Lena Forest time to regain her strength, for her physical weakness was extreme. They shot game on the mountains and in the valleys, and lived well.

Black John and the coward, Toby Sam, were buried at the foot of the hill, in graves unmarked by a single stone. As for the other outlaws, who had scattered and fled, what became of them was not known, but the band of “mustangers,” who had made their headquarters recently in the valley of the Bitter Water, went suddenly out of business.

When Lena had fully recovered from her exhaustion they all returned to the fort. The day after their arrival there, Buffalo Bill resumed his scouting expedition in the Blackfoot country. Bruce enlisted in the regiment stationed at the fort. Later he and Lena journeyed to the East, taking the emeralds; and there they were married and made their home.

THE END.

No. 84 of the BORDER STORIES, entitled “Buffalo Bill’s Hidden
Gold,” is a thrilling story in which Indians, outlaws, and
adventurers all play a big part in hunting for the treasure,
Buffalo Bill, as usual, leading all the rest in daring and bravery.

WESTERN STORIES ABOUT

BUFFALO BILL

Price, Fifteen Cents

Red-blooded Adventure Stories for Men

There is no more romantic character in American history than
William F. Cody, or as he was internationally known, Buffalo Bill.
He, with Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, Wild Bill Hickok, General
Custer, and a few other adventurous spirits, laid the foundation of
our great West.

There is no more brilliant page in American history than the
winning of the West. Never did pioneers live more thrilling
lives, so rife with adventure and brave deeds as the old scouts
and plainsmen. Foremost among these stands the imposing figure of
Buffalo Bill.

All of the books in this list are intensely interesting. They were
written by the close friend and companion of Buffalo Bill--Colonel
Prentiss Ingraham. They depict actual adventures which this pair
of hard-hitting comrades experienced, while the story of these
adventures is interwoven with fiction; historically the books are
correct.

_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_

1--Buffalo Bill, the Border King By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
2--Buffalo Bill’s Raid By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
3--Buffalo Bill’s Bravery By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
4--Buffalo Bill’s Trump Card By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
5--Buffalo Bill’s Pledge By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
6--Buffalo Bill’s Vengeance By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
7--Buffalo Bill’s Iron Grip By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
8--Buffalo Bill’s Capture By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
9--Buffalo Bill’s Danger Line By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
10--Buffalo Bill’s Comrades By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
11--Buffalo Bill’s Reckoning By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
12--Buffalo Bill’s Warning By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
13--Buffalo Bill at Bay By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
14--Buffalo Bill’s Buckskin Pards By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
15--Buffalo Bill’s Brand By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
16--Buffalo Bill’s Honor By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
17--Buffalo Bill’s Phantom Hunt By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
18--Buffalo Bill’s Fight With Fire By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
19--Buffalo Bill’s Danite Trail By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
20--Buffalo Bill’s Ranch Riders By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
21--Buffalo Bill’s Death Trail By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
22--Buffalo Bill’s Trackers By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
23--Buffalo Bill’s Mid-air Flight By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
24--Buffalo Bill, Ambassador By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
25--Buffalo Bill’s Air Voyage By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
26--Buffalo Bill’s Secret Mission By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
27--Buffalo Bill’s Long Trail By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
28--Buffalo Bill Against Odds By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
29--Buffalo Bill’s Hot Chase By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
30--Buffalo Bill’s Redskin Ally By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
31--Buffalo Bill’s Treasure Trove By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
32--Buffalo Bill’s Hidden Foes By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
33--Buffalo Bill’s Crack Shot By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
34--Buffalo Bill’s Close Call By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
35--Buffalo Bill’s Double Surprise By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
36--Buffalo Bill’s Ambush By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
37--Buffalo Bill’s Outlaw Hunt By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
38--Buffalo Bill’s Border Duel By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
39--Buffalo Bill’s Bid for Fame By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
40--Buffalo Bill’s Triumph By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
41--Buffalo Bill’s Spy Trailer By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
42--Buffalo Bill’s Death Call By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
43--Buffalo Bill’s Body Guard By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
44--Buffalo Bill’s Still Hunt By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
45--Buffalo Bill and the Doomed Dozen By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
46--Buffalo Bill’s Prairie Scout By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
47--Buffalo Bill’s Traitor Guide By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
48--Buffalo Bill’s Bonanza By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
49--Buffalo Bill’s Swoop By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
50--Buffalo Bill and the Gold King By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
51--Buffalo Bill, Deadshot By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
52--Buffalo Bill’s Buckskin Bravos By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
53--Buffalo Bill’s Big Four By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
54--Buffalo Bill’s One-armed Pard By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
55--Buffalo Bill’s Race for Life By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
56--Buffalo Bill’s Return By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
57--Buffalo Bill’s Conquest By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
58--Buffalo Bill to the Rescue By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
59--Buffalo Bill’s Beautiful Foe By Col. Prentiss Ingraham
60--Buffalo Bill’s Perilous Task By Col. Prentiss Ingraham

_Adventure Stories_
_Detective Stories_
_Western Stories_
_Love Stories_
_Sea Stories_

All classes of fiction are to be found among the Street &
Smith novels. Our line contains reading matter for every one,
irrespective of age or preference.

The person who has only a moderate sum to spend on reading matter
will find this line a veritable gold mine.

STREET & SMITH CORPORATION,
79 Seventh Avenue,
New York, N. Y.

Transcriber’s Notes

The Table of Contents at the beginning of the book was created by
the transcriber.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation such as “raw-boned”/“rawboned” have
been maintained.

Minor punctuation and spelling errors have been silently corrected
and, except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the
text, especially in dialogue, and inconsistent or archaic usage,
have been retained.

Page 2: “A Congress of the Rough-riders of the World” changed to “A
Congress of the Rough Riders of the World”.

Page 111: “and wrapped them round the roofs” changed to “and
wrapped them round the hoofs”.

Page 119: “He was a magnificent speciment” changed to “He was a
magnificent specimen”.

Page 217: “He could see the white water rearing” changed to “He
could see the white water roaring”.

Page 291: “Now, as I said, I coudn’t” changed to “Now, as I said, I
couldn’t”.