58 
NOT SCALPERS. 
Mr. Maxwell inquired. “ We didn’t dream of 
being near any one here.” 
“ There amt nobody else here but us. We. 
come up to cut that grass. You see there’s 
a good bit of it, and it’s worth something, and 
Bill here,” with a nod to his companion, “ and I 
jest made up our minds we’d have it. Whites 
have tried to get it a good many times afore, but 
the Injuns never’d let ’em be. By gorry ! there’s 
been enough of that, and we allow if they get our 
scalps it won’t be till there’s a few less of the 
ornery pests in the world than there is now ! 
We’ve done sworn we’d shoot the first one of ’em 
that puts his condemned mug inside this valley, 
no matter what he’s here for. You bet high, we 
keep ready for ’em ! ” 
“Did you take me for one of them?” Mrs. 
Maxwell asked. “ I didn’t know that I looked 
like an Indian ! 
“ Wal, you see, as for that,” he replied, looking 
rather embarrassed, “ we weren’t thinkin’ of no- 
body but Injuns. Gewhillikens ! when a feller 
expects to be scalped he don’t mind nothin’ ! I 
was out before I was awake enough to look par- 
ticular at anything. You see it’s dev’lish sorter 
lonesome here of an evenin’, and so Bill and I 
play cards jest to pass the time, and last night we 
got to playin’ and it was nigh on to two o’clock 
when we turned in. Je-rusalem ! the next thing 
