dug his heels into the ground as he twisted the bull’s neck, throwing the animal over onto its side.
With the bull safely on the ground, Falcon quickly regained his feet, then swung back into the saddle of the horse that had stopped running and was now waiting for him. The bull, its initial charge stopped, got back to its feet, shook its head and snorted a few times. By now a couple of the cowboys from the show had come over and herded the bull, docile now, back to rejoin the others.
Buffalo Bill himself rode up to Falcon’s side and, reaching over, grabbed Falcon’s hand and lifted it up into the air.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” he shouted. “The cowboy who performed this thrilling rescue for your viewing pleasure is Falcon MacCallister!”
The crowd gave Falcon a thundering ovation.
“You are acting as if you had planned that,” Falcon said quietly.
“Why not?” Cody replied, still smiling and speaking without moving his lips. “It was a great act.”
Falcon laughed, shook his head, then rode the horse back to the policeman who, while angered by the “theft” a few minutes earlier, had now joined the crowd in applauding him.
Falcon swung down from the saddle and handed the reins to the police officer.
“Thank you for the loan of the horse,” he said.
“Well, I didn’t exactly lend the horse to you,” the policeman replied with a big smile. “But I’m glad Harry was here for you.”
“Harry, is it?” Falcon asked. He rubbed Harry behind one of his ears. “You did well, Harry.”
“I’ll say he did. I never knew he had that in him.”
“Treat him well.”
“He’ll get an extra ration of oats tonight,” the policeman promised.
“He’s a good horse,” Falcon said.
“And you are a good man,” the policeman responded. He stuck his hand out and Falcon shook it.
The waiters at Delmonico’s Restaurant on Number Two William Street vied for the opportunity to serve the handsome assemblage of guests in the private dining room on the upper floor. All the diners were well known personalities. There was Buffalo Bill Cody, easily recognizable by his flowing blond hair and his neatly trimmed moustache and goatee. In addition there were the MacCallister twins, Andrew and Rosanna, who were famous show business personalities. Andrew had what the newspapers called “rugged good looks,” handsome enough to play the most romantic lead, but manly enough to play the most gallant hero. Of Rosanna it was said that she had discovered the fountain of youth, for her skin was smooth and flawless, her dark hair luxuriant, and her eyes ablaze with still-youthful beauty.
The fourth diner was Falcon MacCallister, brother to the show-business twins. Falcon was over six feet tall with wide shoulders, a flat stomach, and powerful arms. Someone once described his face as “not weathered, but cured.” It bore a permanent tan, and his eyes had the suggestion of a squint as if he were outside in the sun. Unlike Buffalo Bill, Falcon wore his hair, which was the color of sun-ripened wheat, cut short.
The four were here at Delmonico’s because after the performance Buffalo Bill had insisted they be his guests. There was an empty chair available and when Rosanna asked who it was for, Cody was rather circumspect. Then, about fifteen minutes later, the mysterious guest arrived.
Cody’s guest was shorter than any of the other three men present, slender of build, with dark, piercing eyes and a sweeping moustache, but no beard.
“Friends, may I present Colonel Prentiss Ingraham? At least, that is the name he is going by today. He has also been called, at various times in his life, Dr. Noel Dunbar, Dangerfield Burr, and Colonel Leon Laffite. Of course, you can understand that, when you realize what an unsavory life he has lived. While training for the noble profession of medicine, Ingraham left school to become a soldier for the South. He was wounded and captured at Fort Hudson, but escaped only to be wounded for a second time at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.
“Then after the war ended, Ingraham, not content to return to civilized life, traveled the world to find another war to fight. He served under Juarez in the Mexican rebels’ revolution against Maximillian, then went to Europe to fight against the Turks, was in the Austrian army during the Austro-Prussian War, and was in Egypt with the Khedive’s army, then was a colonel in the Cuban army, and if that isn’t enough, he was also a captain in the Cuban navy. While fighting for the Cubans against Spain, he was captured and sentenced to death. But as they say, only the good die young, so once again he escaped.”
“Why, thank you, Cody. Never have I received a more eloquently delivered introduction,” Ingraham said, speaking in a soft Southern accent.
“But, surely, none of that can be true?” Rosanna said. “Have you really lived such a dangerous life?”
“I have had a terrible case of wanderlust for my entire life,” Ingraham said. “But I’m afraid my friend, Bill Cody, is making it sound much more romantic than it really is.”
“Romantic? Not a word of it,” Cody said with a scoffing sound. “Seedy you are, and seedy I report. And why, you may ask, would I be friends with such a seamy character?” Cody asked.
“Are you really going to tell them, Cody?” Ingraham asked. “I think they could accept a rebel, a soldier of fortune, and an escaped convict. But if you tell them the worst of my sins, they will rise as one and walk away from here.”
Rosanna laughed. “Surely it can’t be that bad. What sin is it?”
“Will you tell them, Ingraham, or shall I?” Cody asked.
Ingraham made a courtly bow, then held his hand out toward Cody. “I defer to my esteemed and famous friend, Buffalo Bill Cody.”
“I am famous,” Cody said, “because this gentleman made me famous. Indeed it was he who coined the
