Jondo

And when we went back to the waiting train Jondo reported, grimly:

Vanguards of the Plains Margaret Hill McCarter 1899

All day Jondo rode wide of the trail, sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other, watching for signs of an enemy.

Vanguards of the Plains Margaret Hill McCarter 1899

It was only Jondo, as he rode wide of the trail for two days, who could see any mark of an Indian's track.

Vanguards of the Plains Margaret Hill McCarter 1899

Jondo had never forgotten nor ceased to love the mother of Eloise St. Vrain.

Vanguards of the Plains Margaret Hill McCarter 1899

There were eight of us: Clarenden, the merchant; Jondo, the big plainsman;

Vanguards of the Plains Margaret Hill McCarter 1899

One October day, when the Kranes and Eloise sat with my uncle and Jondo in the soft afternoon air, looking out at the beauty of the Missouri bluffs, Aunty Boone loomed up before them suddenly.

Vanguards of the Plains Margaret Hill McCarter 1899

Then, turning to Jondo, he gazed into the strong, handsome face.

Vanguards of the Plains Margaret Hill McCarter 1899

Uncle Esmond had added three swift ponies to our equipment, which Jondo and Bill found time to tame for riding as we went along.

Vanguards of the Plains Margaret Hill McCarter 1899

Jondo had sent a spy by night into the Kiowa camp as if they were not to be trusted.

Vanguards of the Plains Margaret Hill McCarter 1899

There were Esmond Clarenden and Jondo, in the prime of middle life, the one a little bald, and more than a little stout; the other's heavy hair was streaked with gray, but the erect form and tremendous physical strength told how well the plains life had fortified the man of fifty for the years before him.

Vanguards of the Plains Margaret Hill McCarter 1899