IN THE OLD WEST 61 



they had leisure to eat their supper, which, as 

 before, consisted of raw buffalo-liver; after dis- 

 cussing which, Killbuck pronounced himself " a 

 heap " better, and ready for " huggin'." 



In the short interval of almost perfect darkness 

 which preceded the moonlight, and taking advan- 

 tage of one of the frequent squalls of wind which 

 howl down the narrow gorges of the mountains, 

 these two determined men, with footsteps noiseless 

 as the panther's, crawled to the edge of the little 

 plateau of some hundred yards square, where the 

 five Indians in charge of the animals were seated 

 round the fire, perfectly unconscious of the vicin- 

 ity of danger. Several clumps of cedar-bushes 

 dotted the small prairie, and amongst these the 

 well-hobbled mules and horses were feeding. 

 These animals, accustomed to the presence of 

 whites, would not notice the two hunters as they 

 crept from clump to clump nearer to the fire, and 

 also served, even if the Indians should be on the 

 watch, to conceal their movements from them. 



This the two men at once perceived; but old 

 Killbuck knew that if he passed within sight or 

 smell of his mule, he would be received with a 

 whinny of recognition, which would at once alarm 

 the enemy. He therefore first ascertained where 

 his own animal was feeding, which luckily was at 

 the farther side of the prairie, and would not in- 

 terfere with his proceedings. 



Threading their way amongst the feeding mules, 



