ud an' cheat him,
the Bob-cat, of his own revenge. The chance is too much; the Bob-cat
can't stand it an' resolves to get his stack down first. An' so it
happens that as Black Cloud an' the Lance, painted in their war
colours, is walkin' to their places, a nine-inch knife flickers like a
gleam of light from the hand of the Bob-cat, an' merely to show that he
ain't called the 'Knife Thrower' for fun, catches Black Cloud flush in
the throat, an' goes through an' up to the gyard at the knife-haft.
Black Cloud dies standin', for the knife p'int bites his spine.

"No, son, no one gets arrested; Injuns don't have jails, for the mighty
excellent reason that no Injun culprit ever vamoses an' runs away.
Injun crim'nals, that a-way, allers stands their hands an' takes their
hemlock. The Osages, who for Injuns is some shocked at the Bob-cat's
interruption of the dooel--it bein' mighty onparliamentary from their
standp'ints--tries the Bob-cat in their triboonals for killin' Black
Cloud an' he's decided on as guilty accordin' to their law. They
app'ints a day for the Bob-cat to be shot; an' as he ain't present at
the trial none, leavin' his end of the game to be looked after by his
reelatives, they orders a kettle-tender or tribe crier to notify the
Bob-cat when an' where he's to come an' have said sentence execooted
upon him. When he's notified, the Bob-cat don't say nothin'; which is
satisfactory enough, as thar's nothin' to be said, an' every Osage
knows the Bob-cat'll be thar at the drop of the handkerchief if he's
alive.

"It so turns out; the Bob-cat's thar as cool as wild plums. He's
dressed in his best blankets an' leggin's; an' his feathers an' gay
colours makes him a overwhelmin' match for peacocks. Thar's a white
spot painted over his heart.

"The chief of the Osages, who's present to see jestice done, motions to
the Bob-cat, an' that gent steps to a red blanket an' stands on its
edge with all the blanket spread in front of him on the grass. The
Bob-cat stands on the edge, as he saveys when he's plugged that he'll
fall for'ard on his face. When a gent gets the gaff for shore, he
falls for'ard. If a party is hit an' falls back'ards, you needn't get
excited none; he's only creased an' 'll get over it.

"Wherefore, as I states, the Bob-cat stands on the edge of the blanket
so it's spread out in front to catch him as he drops. Thar's not a
word spoke by either the Bob-cat or the onlookers, the latter openin'
o