ass to one side, it bore no threat for his comrades or himself.

The Panther did not stop his walk as from a distance of a few hundred
yards he watched the great buffalo herd go by. The sound was so steady
and regular that Ned and Obed were not awakened nor were the horses
disturbed. The buffaloes showed a great black mass across the plain,
extending for fully a mile, and they were moving north at an even gait.
The Panther watched until the last had passed, and he judged that there
were fully a hundred thousand animals in the herd. He saw also the big
timber wolves hanging on the rear and flanks, ready to cut out stray
calves or those weak from old age. So busy were the wolves seeking a
chance that they did not notice the gigantic figure of the man, rifle on
shoulder, who stood on the crest of the swell looking at them as they
passed.

The Panther's eyes followed the black line of the herd until it
disappeared under the northern rim of darkness. He was wondering why the
buffaloes were traveling so steadily after daylight and he came to the
conclusion that the impelling motive was not a search for new pastures.
He listened a long time until the last rumble of the hundred thousand
died away in a faint echo, and then he awakened his comrades.

"I'm thinkin'," he said, "that the presence of Urrea's band made the
buffaloes move. Now I'm not a Ring Tailed Panther an' a Cheerful Talker
for nothin', an' we want to hunt that band. Like as not they've been
doin' some mischief, which we may be able partly to undo. I'm in favor
of ridin' south, back on the herd track an' lookin' for 'em."

"So am I," said Obed White. "My watch says it's one o'clock in the
morning, and my watch is always right, because I made it myself. We've
had a pretty good rest, enough to go on, and what we find may be worth
finding. A needle in a haystack may be well hid, but you'll find it if
you look long enough."

They rode almost due south in the great path made by the buffalo herd,
not stopping for a full two hours when a halt was made at a signal from
the Panther. They were in a wide plain, where buffalo grass yet grew
despite the winter, and the Panther said with authority that the herd
had been grazing here before it was started on its night journey into
the north.

"An' if we ride about this place long enough," he said, "we'll find the
reason why the buffaloes left it."

He turned his horse in a circuit of the plain and Ned and Obed followed
th