Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/383

A RACE FOR LIFE. hi* blood up, and he resolves to continue the race until he drops, and settled dorn to a determined gt^t^ being content so long as he kept the retrieapng foe in view; soon he observes the runner cast oS his quiver of arrows from his back to lighten himselt, so his pursuer determined to do likewise, then the leader casts away his bow, and likewise did his pursuer; now both men have nothing to hamper them, but the hindermost can plainly see it is only a question of time until he will overtake his enemy; so heiiegins to formulate his line of attack, which is to reserve suf- ficient power to rush up to his foe and push him over while running; but as he nears, he finds the runner to be a slim, tall, undeveloped boy, so at once that glor- ious pleasure-giving feeling mounted into his breast, which denotes nobiUty of soul, causing grand thoughts of magnanimity unusual with his race; but he resolves to carry out the program; which succeeds, but when the boy is suddenly pushed over, his face has a smile of bravery which appeals to the Osage, for it plainly says: "You can kill me, but I am no coward," so that he forgoes the a<:t of cutting the vein, and meets smUe with smile. The boy, for such he is, being only sixteen, is so exhausted he could not have resisted whatever was done to him. These young men cannot comprehend each other by words, but by signs the bo.v informs the other that his father was killed while following the boat and that he was one of the chiefs, and also signifying that he wore around his neck the insignia of his chieftainship; then the Osage felt a joyous sensation that he had saved the son of the man he killed or helped to destroy.