far away to hunt big game, and they take it
out in hunting, or playing they are hunting, these miserable cows."

"I don't see any fun in that," said Miss Croffut.

"You haven't the imagination of an Indian. You see, they make believe
they are hunting buffalo again, and the chase is quite as exciting to
them as if they were doing the real thing."

By this time the prairie was covered with steers and cows, lumbering
along in front of the Indians, who were pursuing them with shrill cries,
shooting at them with bows and arrows or with rifles, striving always to
wound them, but not to kill them too soon, for if they killed them right
away they would miss the fun of the chase.

This made the beef issue a carnival of brutality, and Ted soon saw that
the girls were getting tired of it.

In the center of the great circle in which there were several dozen
cattle running around aimlessly, pursued by a yelling, exultant,
bloodthirsty band of Indians, were several wounded steers and cows,
which had gone down and were unable to rise. Several groups of Indians,
squatting on the rim of the circle, were shooting at them.

This was dangerous business, and the white spectators moved back out of
range.

The shooting was very reckless at times, and the Indian agent had to
protest to the soldiers, who, under Lieutenant Barrows, had the issue in
charge.

Ted and the two girls were sitting on their ponies, watching the show
from a position of safety, as they were out of line of any of the
shooting parties.

Without warning a ball sang through the air, clipped through the mane of
Ted's pony, and pierced the sleeve of Ted's jacket, passing out between
him and Miss Croffut, who was by his side.

As Ted looked up hastily he caught a gleam of blue across the circle as
it dodged behind the group of yelling and shooting Indians.

Ted glanced at Stella, and saw a look in her eyes which plainly said:

"Did you see it, too?" And Ted nodded.

Miss Croffut had screamed as the ball went past, and Ted's pony, burned
by it, reared.

"Let's get out of this," said Ted quietly. "Those Indians are beginning
to shoot wildly, and some one is going to get accidentally hit. I wonder
that the soldiers don't regulate it better."

"They are afraid of getting the Indians angry," explained Miss Croffut.
"The war department allows them to do as they please at this function,
to keep them quiet at other times."

But most of the poor dumb brutes had succu