The Warden of the Plains Part 15

"He'd got away just two days when it come up a terrible snow-storm. I tell ye it wur enough to freeze the hair off yer head. The folks got anxious about him, but they wur all afeard to go out in the storm.

"Bill ses to them, 'I'm goin' to find him;' but they ses, 'It's no use, ye'll get lost yerself.'

"Wall, without tellin' anybody, he started off one morning, an' it wur cold; but he never heeded that. He ses, 'I'm goin' to find him, dead or alive.' Ah, my Bill wus a brave fellow, an' as kind-hearted a fellow as ever lived.

"Two or three days went by, an' the storm kep' up, but Bill didn't turn up. The men in the Fort got anxious about him, an' so one night they talked together an' they agreed to wait another day, an' if he didn't turn up they'd send a party after him.

"It wur gettin' dark the next night when the men in the Fort see two ridin' on one horse, one in front o' the other, comin' over the prairie.

"They got out gla.s.ses an' made out that the one in front wus an Indian boy. He wus ridin' fast, an' the man behind him was m.u.f.fled up an' had a cloth over his eyes.

"The men in the village went out to meet them, an' as they rode up they saw it wus Bill. He was snow-blind, an' his hands and feet wur frozen.

He couldn't speak.

"The Indian boy told the men that as he wus comin' in from the Indian camp, he saw him ridin' slowly an' his reins wus thrown loose on his horse's neck, an' he wus trustin' to him to get to the Fort.

"The men in the Fort nursed him, but they thought he wouldn't get better.

"After lyin' still fur several hours, he ses, 'Is he gettin' better?'

"One o' the men sittin' beside his bed ses, 'Yes, ye're gettin' better.'

"Bill shook his head, but didn't say any thin'. After a while he cried out, 'I saved him. Is he gettin' better?'

"'Yes, yes, ye're gettin' better,' said another of the men.

"But a few minutes after Bill spoke again: 'The letter, the letter; read the letter!'

"'He is delerious, poor feller.'

"'Mebbe he had a letter from somebody,' spoke up one o' the men, an'

they searched his pockets, an' sure 'nuff, found a small piece o'

paper. It had some writin' on it with a pencil; something like this: 'Send some medicine as quick as ye can to save Jack's life. I left him at old Kootenay Brown's ranch. He wus nearly frozen to death when I found him.'

"The men got an Indian boy, and sent him off with medicine an' a supply o' provisions to Kootenay Brown's.

"After Bill got a little better, he told the men where he had found Jack. He had an idea of the trail he would take, and after he'd crossed St. Mary's River, the storm wus so bad that his horse wouldn't face it, so to save himself he struck toward the mountains. Wall, as he kep' travelling the storm quieted down an', wud ye believe, right ahead o' him he saw a man walkin' round an' round in a circle leadin'

his horse. The snow wur deep, but he went as fast as his horse would go, an' when he reached the place he saw it wus Jack.

"Both Jack an' the horse wur snow-blind, an' they wur wanderin' round on the prairie, lost. They couldn't get away from the spot."

[Ill.u.s.tration: SNOW-BLIND AND LOST ON THE PRAIRIE.]

"Bill's horse whinnied, an' the other stopped an' then answered. The poor thing wus glad o' company. Bill spoke to Jack, but the poor fellow didn't know him. He wus out o' his mind. Bill got him on his horse, and rode on to Kootenay Brown's ranch, where they rubbed poor Jack an' put him to bed. He wus badly frozen an' they feared he wouldn't get better.

"Bill stayed fur a day an' then started fur home to get help. It wus stormin' an' he thought he might get lef', so he wrote the letter afore he started out so that Jack might have his medicine.

"It wus a long time afore Jack wus well an' come back to the Fort, an'

my Bill lay four weeks in his bed; then he crawled round fur awhile, but he never got over his ride.

"Whenever anybody said anythin' to him, he would say, 'Never mind, it's all right: Jack got better.'

"All that winter an' the next summer he kep' about the Fort, coughin'

bad. Ah, my heart wur sore to see him go like the snow on a summer day.

"Jack wud come over to his shanty an' do all his ch.o.r.es fur him, an'

the two cronies would sit together fur hours.

"Jack wud look into Bill's face an' say, 'Bill, ye saved me, but lost yer own life,' an' then Bill, as best he could fur his cough, would say, 'Jack, it's all right; be a man an' help somebody else. One on us had to pa.s.s in his checks, an' it wus me this time. Yer turn will come too by an' by, mebbe afore ye think o' it. I've never done anything worth speakin' about. Ye know it's not because I wus unwillin', but, ye see, there's no chances o' doin' great things.'

"One day Jack an' Bill wur sittin' talkin', an' I went in ter see how he wus gettin' on, an' Jack wus talkin' like I never heard him afore.

Ye'd a thought he wur a preacher. I think he must hev ben a good lad, fur I wusn't expectin' to hear the like.

"'Bill,' ses he, 'I don't know much about the thing good folks call religion, but I min' my old mother tellin' me, "It's not long prayers an' talks, but it's just bein' like Himsel'." That wur what she called Him. I guess He'll no judge ye for the fine things ye say, but the gran' things ye do. He saw ye that day ye saved me when I wur frozen.

An' don't ye think He'll pay ye fur that? I'm sure He will. If I wur rich I'd give ye all I had, and they say He's honester than any o' us.

An' that means if I canna pay ye, He will. Ye see ye must get yer pay fur doin' that gran' deed, an' I'm too poor to pay ye, so ye must look to Him for it.'

"'I think it's all right, but it's not worth much,' says Bill.

"'Worth much! It's worth all the world to me.'

"'I wonder if He'll understand us when we get yonder. Ye see, we haven't been workin' much at religion, prayin', but, Jack, many's the time I have looked up at the stars an' said to myself, "Does G.o.d think about me?" Ye see the country is so big it wouldn't be strange if He forgot me.'

"'I've heard He lived on the prairie, and that makes me feel better, fur if He ever lived among the mountains an' on the prairies He'll know our rough ways an' not be hard on us. I don't think thur wus any fine churches an' fine clothes on the prairie when He wus livin'. If thur wus no prairie an' no mountains in heaven, an' all the folks talked fine language, I couldn't feel at home. I'd be like a stranger, an'

I'd want to go where I could see the buffalo an' talk some Indian once in a while.'

"'He wus a good man,' ses Jack, 'an' He wouldn't be unreasonable, an'

if we didn't talk fine here He wouldn't expec' us to talk fine yonder.

I don't understan' much about it, but mother told me He wus a gentleman; not a rich, proud fellow who'd pa.s.s ye by, but a man who treated all alike. He could tell a rogue in fine clothes an' a gentleman if he wus poor.'

"'I wonder, Jack, how I'll call on Him when I get yonder. Ye see, I've never been in company, an' I suppose a great many big folk will be crowdin' in the door, an' they'll be wantin' to keep me back. Will ye lift yer hat an' say, "Good day, sir," or will ye wait till He speaks to ye? I wish, Jack, ye'd go to the mission and ask the Sky Pilot that lives there; mebbe he can tell ye what to say. Mebbe he has books that'll tell ye, an' it's not the best thing to wait fur yer ticket till the last minute.'

"Before Bill could say any more Jack hobbled off, got on his horse, and rode fifteen miles to the mission house.

"The missionary wus at home, an' Jack wur surprised to see him wearin'

a buckskin just like the trappers, an' he'd ben cuttin' out rails fur his fences an' had a axe in his hand. He greeted Jack civil, an' asked him what he could do for him. Jack just told him about my Bill, an'

how he wanted to know what he wur to do.

"'Can ye giv' a poor fellow directions what to do after he's pa.s.sed in his checks, a kind o' pa.s.sport like, to cheat the old fellow when he would be bettin' on the game. Ye see, my pardner, Bill, that's nearly finished his game, an' you bet he's a good un, but he kind o' thinks he'd like to get posted afore he starts on the trip. Ye can mebbe giv'

us a prayer or a few words that we wouldn't be strangers. We might fine it hard to get an interpreter. Bill is pretty good at the Indian, an' he cud giv' them some Sioux or Cree, but the man at the door wouldn't understand. I'll pay ye for yer advice, fur he saved me, an'

I hate to see him go; but I'll giv' him a good send-off an' a big funeral.'

"Stranger, the missionary came right off to my Bill, an' Jack, he wur proud to have the Sky Pilot ridin' beside him, an' when they come into the Fort the men looked at the stranger goin' to Bill's shanty, an'

they ses, 'He's a rustler, that, an' don't ye forget it. Ye bet yer life he'll see Bill through. He'll treat him on the square!'

"Bill's comrades wur sittin' round his bed talkin' when the prophet in buckskin, fur that wus what they called the missionary right there, come in.

"'Good day, gentlemen,' ses he, an' takes off his hat, an' then sits down by Bill an' talks to him a bit to get a wee bit acquainted. He ses: