Page:Hugh Pendexter--Kings of the Missouri.djvu/243



HEN Lander came to his senses he was hanging across a pony, unable to move a limb, and the rapid motion of the animal caused him exquisite torment. His head felt as if it were about to burst and he tried to twist it up to relieve the blood-pressure.

There was the sound of many horses around him and it was night. There was a great roaring in his ears that was not made by nature or his unseen companions.

Finally he caught the guttural voices of Indians and vaguely comprehended his plight. Phinny had shot Porker; then the Indians came from ambush and knocked them in the head. Whether Phinny was a captive or dead he had no idea.

The Crows would rob white men but were loath to kill them. The fact he had been struck