ed Buttes, on the North Platte, to Three Crossings,
on the Sweetwater--seventy-six miles.

The wilderness was of the kind that is supposed to howl, and no person
fond of excitement had reason to complain of lack of it. One day Will
arrived at his last station to find that the rider on the next run had
been mortally hurt by Indians. There being no one else to do it, he
volunteered to ride the eighty-five miles for the wounded man. He
accomplished it, and made his own return trip on time--a continuous ride
of three hundred and twenty-two miles. There was no rest for the rider,
but twenty-one horses were used on the run--the longest ever made by a
Pony Express rider.

Shortly afterward Will fell in with California Joe, a remarkable
frontier character. He was standing beside a group of bowlders that
edged the trail when Will first clapped eyes on him, and the Pony
Express man instantly reached for his revolver. The stranger as quickly
dropped his rifle, and held up his hands in token of friendliness.
Will drew rein, and ran an interested eye over the man, who was clad in
buckskin.

California Joe, who was made famous in General Custer's book, entitled
"Life on the Plains," was a man of wonderful physique, straight and
stout as a pine. His red-brown hair hung in curls below his shoulders;
he wore a full beard, and his keen, sparkling eyes were of the brightest
hue. He came from an Eastern family, and possessed a good education,
somewhat rusty from disuse.

"Hain't you the boy rider I has heard of--the youngest rider on the
trail?" he queried, in the border dialect. Will made an affirmative
answer, and gave his name.

"Waal," said Joe, "I guess you've got some money on this trip. I was
strikin' fer the Big Horn, and I found them two stiffs up yonder layin'
fer ye. We had a little misunderstandin', and now I has 'em to plant."

Will thanked him warmly, and begged him not to risk the perils of the
Big Horn; but California Joe only laughed, and told him to push ahead.

When Will reached his station he related his adventure, and the
stock-tender said it was "good by, California Joe" But Will had
conceived a better opinion of his new friend, and he predicted his safe
return.

This confidence was justified by the appearance of California Joe, three
months later, in the camp of the Pony Riders on the Overland trail. He
received a cordial greeting, and was assured by the men that they had
not expected to see him alive again