ors, who could shoot
him from his horse in the twinkling of an eye.

"And they will do it, too," said Avon to himself, as the thought came to
him; "but I believe I shall take a hand in this business."

And, without waiting to observe the result of the interview, the young
man set out to execute an extraordinary resolution that was formed on
the spur of the moment.

CHAPTER XXXII.

DIPLOMACY.

Oscar Gleeson, the Texan, was correct in his suspicion of the purpose of
the Comanches in making Captain Shirril their prisoner; having secured
possession of him, they intended to force a liberal ransom on the part
of his friends, as a condition of his restoration to liberty.

The act was not only an audacious one on their part, but it will be
perceived that the fulfilment of the terms was certain to be attended
with the gravest difficulty. The cowboys were not to be trifled with,
and, since it was inevitable that a point would be reached where one
party must of necessity trust the pledges of the other, a violent
collision with serious consequences appeared unavoidable.

It has been shown that it was not until he arrived close to the hills,
among which the red men had fled with their captive, that there was any
response to the signal he displayed almost from the first.

The moment he caught sight of the two warriors, he stopped his mustang
and awaited their approach. It was not singular that a man who had
crossed the Indian Nation so frequently as this veteran, recognized the
couple as Wygwind, the chieftain, and Richita, whom he had met more than
once and knew to be two of the worst miscreants belonging to the
American race.

With no evidence, however, of his identification, he deliberately
lowered his flag of truce, and returning it to its place around his
brawny neck, secured it by tying the usual knot. Then with a half
military salute he asked:

"Is the white man with you hurt bad?"

"Hurt not much," replied Wygwind, who spoke English far better than his
comrade.

"Why did you take him away?"

The American Indian, as a rule, is of melancholy temperament, but at
this question the Comanche displayed an unmistakable grin which revealed
his even white teeth.

"We sell him--he worth good much."

"What price do you ask for him?" demanded Gleeson, coming to the point
with undiplomatic abruptness.

The expectation of the Texan was that these ambassadors would demand a
large number of cattle, probably five