THE WOLF HUNTERS 



gade Englishman that they called * English Jim' 

 was living among the Kiowas at this time; but Jim 

 was a brute an' appeared to be so ignorant Pea- 

 cock must have supposed either that the fellow 

 would be unable to read writing or else that Sa- 

 tank would never doubt the genuineness of his 

 recommendation and would, therefore, take no 

 steps to test it. But there's where the trader 

 fooled himself. 



"The Kiowas were camped across the Arkansas, 

 a few miles south from the ranch. Charley Rath 

 an' his pardner, George Long, had just begun to 

 build them a ranch-house here at the Bend, close 

 to where we are now camped, an' could see the 

 Kiowas passing back an' forth across the river. 



'*When Satank received the paper from Pea- 

 cock he and a few men who was with him went 

 straight back to their camp, give the document to 

 'English Jim,' an' axed him to read it an' interpret 

 it into Kiowa, which he did. 



'*As soon as Satank heard the purport of the 

 paper an' understood the trick Peacock was trying 

 to play him, he an' the same gang mounted their 

 horses an' rode right back to Peacock's to settle 

 the account. On reaching the ranch, as an excuse 

 for their sudden return an' to keep Peacock from 

 suspecting what he was up to, Satank an' his men 

 never dismounted, but sat on their horses outside 

 the gate an' called to Peacock in Mexican — the 

 Kiowas an' Comanches can nearly all talk a little 



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