, and the face of Buffalo Bill was revealed to the astonished
gaze of Major Randall and Surgeon Powell, who both uttered an
exclamation of amazement, and then burst out into hearty laughter, at
the metamorphosis of old Huckleberry into the noted chief of scouts.

"Well, Cody, what does this masquerading mean?" cried Major Randall,
after he and Surgeon Powell had shaken hands with the scout.

"It is a part of a plot, major, for I have been driving stage," answered
the scout.

"Driving stage?"

"Yes, sir, I took the semimonthly coach running from W---- to Last
Chance, after the road-agents had killed Benton and Dockery, and no one
cared to drive the run, unless it was Doctor Dick, the gold-gambler of
Last Chance."

"Did he take the coach through, Cody?"

"Oh, yes, sir, he is not a man to scare, and he drove several runs; but
then his professional duties as gambler and doctor kept him busy, and I
rigged up as old Huckleberry, and drove the runs, to see what I could
find out."

"And what did you find out?"

"I believe I discovered sufficient, sir, to stretch several ropes with
human weights."

"That means you are on the right trail to bag those road-agents?"

"Yes, sir."

"They appear to be well handled?"

"They are, sir, for their chief is a man of remarkable pluck, cunning,
and skill, and he handles them in a masterly manner."

"Who is he?"

"I do not believe his own men could tell you, sir, for he goes masked
and robed in black, even covering up his horse from ears to tail."

"That is strange."

"It is the safest plan, sir."

"And who is driving now?"

"Harding, sir, the ex-soldier, and whom, I may confidentially say,
major, I have taken into my service, not as a scout, but as a spy, at
Last Chance."

"A fine fellow, but I fear he will be killed as driver on that trail."

"I hope not, sir, and he has escaped splendidly through great dangers
thus far."

"Well, what will be your plans now?"

"I have been hanging on the trail, sir, since my mysterious
disappearance as old Huckleberry, and have been hovering about the Death
Line, taking notes and seeing what I could discover. I have a camp in a
basin in the mountain range, and there I left my packhorse and outfit
while I came here."

"You have something to report to me, then?"

"No, sir, not particularly, though I came for a purpose."

"And that purpose, Cody?"

"I was aware, sir, that Surgeon Frank Powell was coming to the fort, to
relie