Dead Man's Walk by Larry McMurtry Page A

and Buffalo Hump heard about it. Now he wants to find her and cut off her nose." "I'd think he had better things to do," the Major said. "She's old, she'll die. Why bother with her nose?" "Because she behaved bad to his father," Shadrach said, a little impatiently. Major Chevallie's ignorance of Indian habits often annoyed him.

"I don't like it that he's out there," Long Bill said. "Once he cuts this old woman's nose off he might keep cutting. He might cut a piece or two off all of us, before he stops." "Why, if you're worried, just go kill him, Bill," Bigfoot said.

"He's a swift runner, even with that hump," Gus informed them. "He almost caught me, and I'm fleet." Major Chevallie kept pacing back and forth, his pistol cocked.

"Let's mount up and go," he said abruptly. "We're not in a secure position here--I believe it would be best to ride." "Now, hold still," Shadrach insisted. "This is a vision woman talking. Let's see what else she has to say." He went to the fire, poured some coffee in a tin cup, and handed it to the old woman. The Major didn't like it that Shadrach had ignored his order--but he took it. He sat down by Matilda, who was still in a heavy mood.

"I still don't see why he would go to so much trouble just to cut off an old woman's nose," he muttered, mainly to himself. Bigfoot Wallace heard him, though.

"You ain't a Comanche," Bigfoot said.

"Comanches expect their wives to stay in the right tent." Major Chevallie thought of his own dear wife, Jane. If it had not been for the scrape in Baltimore, he could be home with her right then; they might be nestled together, in a nice feather bed.

How long would it be before he could return to their snug stone house in Loudon County? Would he ever return to it, or to his ardent Jane? He felt low, very low. It was too dusty in Texas.

Every bite of food he had attempted to eat, all day, had been covered with grit. The large whore beside him was rough; she would never smell as good as his Jane. But Matilda was there, and Jane wasn't. Matilda was likable, despite being rough; the Major was feeling desperate. The Comanche war chief was within earshot of his camp. A minute's relief with Matilda would be helpful, but of course it was not a time to suggest to the troop that he was unmilitary. It was clear already that Bigfoot and Shadrach had a low opinion of his leadership. Chevallie was an old name, much respected in the Tidewater, but it meant nothing west of the Pecos. Ability was all that counted, in the West, in such a country, among such men--out West the ability to waltz gracefully did not help a man keep his scalp.

The fact was, he himself had no great opinion of his own military skills. His three weeks at the Point had involved little study, and none that touched on the fine points of warfare with Comanche Indians.

Call went over and sat down by Gus--his friend seemed relaxed, if a little gaunt.

"I seen you in the lightning," Call said. "I seen he was after you. I shot, but I doubt I hit him. He was after you hard." "Yes, and he nearly got me," Gus said.

"I told you to stay put," Call reminded him, but in a low voice. He didn't want the Major to know that Gus had wandered off from his post, although if he hadn't they might never have known that Buffalo Hump was nearby.

"I didn't find no gold mine, just a badger and that big Indian," Gus admitted.

"He was just sitting there on a blanket. What was he doing just sitting there with all that lightning striking?" When Shadrach finished talking to the old Comanche woman, he seemed a little agitated.

"What's the news, Shad?" Bigfoot asked. He could tell there was some news.

Shadrach had his rifle in his hand and he was looking north.

"Bad news," Shadrach said. "We need to watch our hair for the next few days. If we don't, we won't be wearing it." "Why, Shad, I always watch my hair," Bob Bascom said. Ezekiel whooped when he said it, and Josh Corn smiled. The reason for their merriment was that Bob Bascom had