civilization, he had ornamented
himself with dangling bits of cow-hide, with parts of tails dangling
from it. He carried behind him a collection of pans and camp
paraphanalia that rattled and banged about him as he rode forward. He
had stuck some feathers in his coarse black hair and he was a somewhat
laughable mixture of an American and Mexican Indian on the warpath.

"Ugh!" grunted Buck Tooth when he came within speaking distance. Not
that he ever spoke much, but this was his greeting.

"What'd you come away from the ranch for?" demanded Bud, for Buck Tooth
was a valued hand on a cattle place, and he had been left with the
somewhat small force to take charge of Happy Valley when the others had
started after the Yaquis. "What you doing here?" Bud wanted to know.

"Me after 'em too--Yaquis!" grunted the Indian. "Me catchum an'
shootum same like um shoot me!"

As he spoke, or, rather, grunted this out, he pointed to his left
shoulder. It was bound about with bloody rags, and in spite of his
stoicism the Indian winced as he moved in the saddle.

"Did the Yaquis shoot you?" cried Nort.

"Sure! I come after you--no could stay when fight to be done--and
Yaquis what you call plug me! But I plug one, two, three 'fore I quit!"

"Where was this?"

"Was there a fight?"

"Lead us there!"

"When did it happen?"

These were only a few of the questions hurled at Buck Tooth, whose name
was obviously well earned once you had looked at him. The old native
seemed stunned by the volley of interrogations, and sat stolidly in his
saddle while more were shot at him.

"Ugh!" he grunted in answer. "Fight yistidy--back there," and he waved
a dirty hand in the direction whence he had come.

"Sure they were Yaquis?" asked Snake.

"Sure; Me know--Me Yaqui once!"

"That's right!" fairly shouted Bud. "I forgot, for the time being,
that Buck Tooth is a sort of Yaqui Indian. But how comes it they fired
on one of their own tribe?" he asked.

"Bad Yaquis--no good!" was the answer.

"That's right--they sure are bad!" declared Rolling Stone. "I've had
dealings with 'em!"

"Did you see anything of their prisoners--young lady and young man?"
asked Snake. "Say, you'd better talk with him--you can sling his lingo
better than I can," and the cowboy appealed to Bud.

Thereupon the boy rancher talked to Buck Tooth in a way he knew his
Indian helper could understand, and Buck Tooth answered in like strain.
The Indian had be