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SOUGHING IT SERJii. 
 
 GEORGE AT THE FORT 
 
 OR, 
 
 LIFE AMONG THE SOLDIERS. 
 
 BY HARRY CASTLEMON, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE GUNBOAT SERIES," "THE SPORTSMAN S CLUB SERIES," 
 "THE BOY TRAPPER SERIES," ETC. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PORTER & COATES. 
 

 FAMOUS CASTLEMON BOOKS. 
 
 Each volume handsomely illustrated and bound in fine extra 
 cloth, black and- f/old stamp. 16mo. 
 
 GUNBOAT SERIES. 6 vols. 
 
 FRANK THE YOUNG NATURALIST. FRANK ON THE PRAIRIE. 
 
 FRANK ON THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI. FRANK IN THE WOODS. 
 
 FRANK BEFORE VICKSBURG. FRANK ON A GUNBOAT. 
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES. 3 vols. 
 FRANK AMONG THE RANCHEROS. 
 FRANK AT DON CARLOS RANCHO. 
 FRANK IN THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 SPORTSMAN S CLUB SERIES. 3 vols. 
 THE SPORTSMAN S CLUB IN THE SADDLE. 
 THE SPORTSMAN S CLUB AFLOAT. 
 Tin: SPORTSMAN S CLUB AMONG THE TRAPPERS. 
 
 PRANK NELSON SERIES. 3 vols. 
 
 SNOWED UP; OR, THE SPORTSMAN S CLUB IN THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 FRANK NELSON IN THE FORECASTLE. 
 
 THE BOY TRADERS ; OR, THE SPORTSMAN S CLUB AMONG THE BOEUS. 
 
 BOY TRAPPER SERIES. 3 vols. 
 
 THE BURIED TREASURE; OR, OLD JORDAN S HAUNT. 
 THE BOY TRAPPER ; OR, How DAVE FILLED THE ORDKR. 
 THE MAIL-CARRIER. 
 
 ROUGHING IT SERIES. 3 vols. 
 
 GEORGE IN CAMP; OR, LIFE ON THE PLAINS. 
 
 GEORGE AT THE WHEEL; OR, LIFE IN A PILOT HOUSE. 
 
 GEORGE AT THE FORT; OR, LIFE AMONG THE SOLDIERS. 
 
 GO AHEAD SERIES. 3 vols. 
 
 Go AHEAD; OR, THE FISHER BOY S MOTTO. 
 
 No Moss; OR, THE CAREER OF A ROLLING STONE. 
 
 TOM NEWCOMBE; OR, THE BOY OF BAD HABITS. 
 
 Other Volumes in Preparation, 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1882, BY PORTER & COATES. 
 
(IMS 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 DISCONTENTED RECRUITS 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP ....................................... 24 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 BOB S FIRST COMMAND ............................................. 45 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING ....................................... 66 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 THE NEW SCOUT ...................................................... 90 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 AN UNEXPECTED GUEST ........................................... 113 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 How BRYANT WAS CAPTURED ............... . ................... 137 
 
 3 
 
 M152541 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 GEORGE AT THE FORT 159 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING 179 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 How GEORGE SAVED THE CAMP 200 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES 222 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 ANOTHER FEATHER FOR BOB S CAP 242 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 HE WINS IT FAIRLY 262 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 "THREE CHEERS FOR THE BRINDLES !" 282 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 MORE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WENTWORTH 303 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 CONCLUSION .. 327 
 
GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 DISCONTENTED KECKUITS. 
 
 " pi APTAIN, this thing must be stopped. I say 
 ^ it must be stopped, even if we have to resort 
 to summary measures. We must find out who the 
 ringleaders are, and make an example of them." 
 
 The speaker was Colonel Brown, the command 
 ing officer of Fort Lamoine. As he uttered these 
 emphatic words he slammed a paper-weight down 
 upon a pile of reports which the adjutant had just 
 brought in, and,, settling back in his chair, looked 
 sharply at the officer who stood in front of the 
 table. The red sash the latter wore around his 
 waist proclaimed him to be the officer of the day. 
 
 " How many did you say there were in the party 
 who deserted last night?" continued the colonel. 
 
 " Seven, sir," replied the officer of the day, " and 
 there is a list of their names. They took no horses 
 
6 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 with them, but they each secured a carbine and a 
 box of cartridges." 
 
 " That makes thirty men who have deserted since 
 I took command of this post/ said the colonel, an 
 grily, " and not more than half of them have been 
 captured. Orderly, tell Corporal Owens I want to 
 see him. He is one of the few non-commissioned 
 officers in the command whom I am not afraid to 
 trust. Captain, have six picked men, with two 
 days rations, detailed to go with him in pursuit of 
 these deserters. He can find and arrest them if 
 anybody can." 
 
 The officer of the day closed the door of the col 
 onel s headquarters behind him, and in a few min 
 utes the orderly opened it again to admit a sturdy 
 young soldier, about eighteen years old, who wore 
 upon his arms the yellow chevrons of a corporal of 
 cavalry. This was Bob Owens the boy who stole 
 the mail-carrier s hard-earned money and ran away 
 from home to enjoy it. He had not changed much 
 in appearance. He had grown taller and his shoul 
 ders were broader, but any one who had known him 
 before he entered the army would have recognized 
 him now. The fact that he had been selected to 
 perform the hazardous duty of pursuing and arrest- 
 
DISCONTENTED KECRUITS. 7 
 
 ing the deserters who had left the fort the night 
 before fully armed, and who would not hesitate to 
 make a desperate resistance rather than allow them 
 selves to be taken back to stand the punishment that 
 would be inflicted upon them by a court-martial, and 
 the colonel s declaration that he was one of the few 
 non-commissioned officers in the command whom he 
 was not afraid to trust, seemed to indicate that our 
 old friend Bob had won a reputation since he en 
 listed in Galveston, nearly a year ago, and done 
 something to win the confidence of his superiors. 
 Let us go back and see what it was. 
 
 The last time we saw Bob Owens he was just 
 coming out of a recruiting- office, having enlisted in 
 the regular cavalry and sworn away his liberty for 
 a long term of years. He did not take this step of 
 his own free will, but was driven to it by force of 
 circumstances. 
 
 When Bob found Dan Evans in his camp in the 
 woods and stole from him the money that David, 
 with Dan and Bert Gordon s assistance, had earned 
 by trapping quails, he ran away from home, and 
 after escaping from the constable who arrested him 
 at Linwood on suspicion of being a horse-thief he 
 took passage on board the steamer Sam Kendall 
 
8 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 for St. Louis. While he was on the steamer 
 he made the acquaintance of George Ackerman, 
 who was one of the pilots, and whom he twice 
 saved from drowning. George owned an exten 
 sive cattle-ranche in Texas, which was held in 
 trust for him by his uncle, John Ackerman, who 
 was his guardian. After the Sam Kendall was 
 burned he tried to show his gratitude to his pre 
 server, whom he believed to be alone in the world, 
 by offering him a home at his house. At first Bob 
 was inclined to refuse. His imagination having 
 been excited by the cheap novels he had read, he 
 had left home intending to go on the Plains and 
 make himself famous as a hunter and Indian- 
 fighter; but George, who had seen more than one 
 professional hunter in his frontier home, said so 
 much against it, and painted the poverty and 
 worthlessness of this class of men, and the dangers 
 of the life they led, in such gloomy colors, that Bob 
 was finally induced to give up his long-cherished 
 idea, and to consent to accompany his new friend to 
 his home in Texas. As George had no money, Bob 
 footed all their bills, and in due time, in spite of the 
 efforts which Uncle John Ackerman made to sepa- 
 them in New Orleans, they arrived in Galveston, 
 
DISCONTENTED RECRUITS. . 9 
 
 They had scarcely stepped ashore before theii 
 troubles began in earnest. Bob s pocket was pick 
 ed while he was passing through the crowd on the 
 wharf, and the boys found themselves alone in a 
 strange city, without money enough in their posses 
 sion to pay for supper or lodging, and no friend 
 to whom they could go for assistance. They spent 
 the night on the streets, keeping constantly in mo 
 tion to avoid attracting the attention of the police, 
 and when morning came they found a good-natured 
 grocer who gave them a breakfast of crackers and 
 cheese, and provided George with the means of 
 writing to Mr Gilbert for money to pay his fare 
 and Bob s by rail and stage-coach to Palos. If 
 they could only reach that place, their troubles 
 would be over, for George was well known there, 
 and everybody would be ready to lend him and his 
 new friend a helping hand. But Mr. Gilbert lived 
 a long way from Galveston, the mail facilities be 
 tween Palos and his rancho were none of the best, 
 and the boys were utterly at a loss to determine 
 how they were going to exist during the two or 
 three weeks that must elapse before George could 
 receive an answer to his letter. 
 
 The two friends passed the day in roaming about 
 
10 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 the city looking for work, but nobody needed them. 
 When the afternoon began drawing to a close they 
 were almost tired out, and George talked of going 
 to some station-house to spend the night a proj 
 ect to which Bob could not bear to listen. The 
 idea of having a policeman s key turned upon him 
 was dreadful ; the bare thought of it was enough 
 to make him gasp for breath. As he walked along 
 the streets he was continually searching his pockets 
 in the faint hope of finding the missing money 
 tucked away in some unexplored corner, and finally 
 he discovered fifty cents in currency in the watch- 
 pocket of his trousers. His heart bounded at the 
 sight of it. It was enough to provide him with 
 supper and a night s lodging, but was not enough 
 to pay for the same comforts for George. 
 
 When Bob found this stray piece of currency he 
 was not long in making up his mind how to act. 
 He resolved to slip away from George, and accom 
 plished his purpose by gradually slackening his pace 
 and allowing the young pilot to get some distance 
 in advance of him, and then he turned down a 
 cross-street and took to his heels. He made his 
 way to a cheap lodging-house, ate a hearty supper 
 and went to bed, wondering how George was get- 
 
DISCONTENTED RECRUITS. 11 
 
 ting on and where he would pass the night. The 
 latter, as we know, fared much better than Bob did, 
 and the latter made a great mistake in deserting 
 him. His companion had not been gone more 
 than a half an hour before George encountered Mr. 
 Gilbert, the friend to whom he had written that 
 morning, and who had come to Galvestou on bus 
 iness. The two looked everywhere for Bob, but 
 were finally obliged to abandon the search. The 
 missing boy had disappeared as completely as 
 though the earth had opened and swallowed him 
 up. 
 
 The first question that forced itself upon the mind 
 of Bob Owens when he awoke the next morning 
 was, " What shall I do next ? A careful examina 
 tion of all his pockets showed him that there were 
 no more fifty-cent pieces in them, and he was obliged 
 to confess to himself that the future looked exceed 
 ingly dark. He walked the streets in a very dis 
 consolate frame of mind, and had almost decided 
 that he would step into the nearest grocery-store and 
 ask the proprietor if he would not give him a job 
 of sawing wood to pay for something to eat, when 
 he happened to pass a recruiting-office. A sign 
 posted up in front of the door conveyed to the 
 
12 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 public the information that men were wanted there 
 for the United States cavalry service, and suggested 
 an idea to Bob. He took a few minutes in which 
 to run it over in his mind, and then faced about 
 and entered the office. 
 
 The law against enlisting minors without the 
 consent of their parents or guardians is very strict, 
 but Bob got around it by repeating the story he 
 had told George Ackerman, that he was an orphan, 
 and that there was no one who had a right to con 
 trol his actions. The recruiting-officer was a young 
 man, not more than two or three years older than 
 himself, but he had seen service away up in the 
 Yellowstone country, and the scar on his forehead, 
 which was not yet fully healed, marked the track 
 of the Indian bullet which had come very near 
 putting an end to his career as a soldier. Being 
 unable to do duty in the field, he had been sent to 
 Texas to recuperate his health and to recruit men 
 to fill up some of the depleted cavalry regiments. 
 He questioned Bob very closely, but the latter gave 
 satisfactory replies, and, having passed the surgeon, 
 his "descriptive list" was taken and he was duly 
 sworn into the service. There were a number of 
 newly-enlisted men hanging about the office wait- 
 
DISCONTENTED RECRUITS. 13 
 
 ing to be ordered to some post, and one of them, 
 who acted as quartermaster-sergeant, took Bob into 
 a back room and served out a uniform to him. 
 
 " What shall I do with my citizen s rig ?" asked 
 Bob as he twisted himself first on one side and then 
 on the other to see how he looked in his new clothes. 
 " I suppose I can t keep it ?" 
 
 " Of course not," was the sergeant s quick reply. 
 " It would come too handy in case you should make 
 up your mind to desert." 
 
 " I shall never make up my mind to any such 
 thing," exclaimed Bob, indignantly. " I have gone 
 into this business with my eyes open, and I am go 
 ing to see it through." 
 
 " That s the right spirit," said the sergeant. " But 
 wait till you have ridden twelve hundred miles at a 
 stretch in pursuit of a band of hostiles, and per 
 haps you ll weaken." 
 
 " What do you know about hostiles ?" asked Bob. 
 
 " Well, I should think I ought to know all about 
 them, for I have been there. This is my third en 
 listment in the regular army." 
 
 " Is that so?" exclaimed Bob. " I should think 
 that after so many years service you ought to be an 
 officer." 
 
14 GEORGE AT THE PORT. 
 
 " I was a non-com, when I was discharged, and 
 that is as high as any enlisted man can get now," 
 replied the soldier. " I was a captain during the 
 war, but they don t take men out of the ranks and 
 make officers of them any more. When I enlisted 
 this time I had to go in as a private; but I have 
 my old warrants in my pocket, and perhaps they 
 will help me get a new one when I reach the post 
 where I am to serve." 
 
 " What s a non-com. ?" asked Bob. 
 
 " Why, a non-com missioned officer," answered 
 the soldier, staring at Bob as if he were surprised 
 at his ignorance. " You never did any soldiering, 
 I ll bet." 
 
 " No, I never did," replied the recruit ; " this is 
 my first experience." 
 
 " And before you get through with it you will 
 wish that you had never had any experience at 
 all." 
 
 " Don t you think I shall like the army ?" 
 
 " Well, I know I don t like it." 
 
 " Then why did you enlist again ?" 
 
 "Because I couldn t do anything else. A man 
 who has soldiered for nearly fourteen years isn t fit 
 for civil life. Now, make your citizen s clothes 
 
DISCONTENTED RECEUITS. 15 
 
 into a bundle and take them around the corner to 
 a little Jew store you will find there. Mose buys 
 all the recruits cast-off clothing. He ll not give 
 you much for them, but the little he will give you 
 will keep you in gingerbread as long as you stay 
 in the city." 
 
 " How long do you suppose that will be ?" 
 
 " I am sure I don t know, but if recruits keep 
 coming in as rapidly as they have during the last 
 few days, the lieutenant will probably take a squad 
 off next week." 
 
 " Where will he take it ?" 
 
 "That s a conundrum. A private never knows 
 where he is going until he gets there." 
 
 " Where do you cat and sleep ?" 
 
 " We take our meals at the restaurant next door, 
 and having no bunks we sleep on the benches in 
 the office. You can go about the city as much as 
 you please, but you must be sure and report at 
 meal-time. If you fail to do that, you will have 
 the police after you." 
 
 "Why will I?" asked Bob in surprise. 
 
 "Because the lieutenant will think you have 
 deserted." 
 
 Bob was "beginning to feel the tight rp n of mil- 
 
16 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 itary discipline already. At home he had always 
 been accustomed to go and come when he pleased, 
 and he did not like the idea of having his liberty 
 restricted or of being obliged to obey without 
 question the orders of a boy scarcely older than 
 himself. But it was too late to think of that 
 now. The youthful officer was backed up by the 
 entire military and police force of the United 
 States, and there was no such thing as getting out 
 of reach of his authority. 
 
 " I am in for it," thought Bob as he rolled up 
 his clothes and started for the little Jew store 
 around the corner, "but I don t know that I could 
 have done anything else. I shall have plenty to 
 eat and a place to sleep, and at the same time 
 I shall be earning money to pay off that debt I 
 owe Dave Evans. What an idiot I was to keep 
 that money ! To pay for that one act of folly and 
 dishonesty I am compelled to waste some of the 
 best years of my life in the army. I hope I shall 
 got a chance to show them that I am no coward, 
 if I am a greenhorn." 
 
 It was little indeed that Mose gave Bob for the 
 articles he had to offer for sale just four dollars 
 for clothing that had cost over thirty*; but those 
 
DISCONTENTED KECRUITS. 17 
 
 four dollars made him feel a little more independ 
 ent. They brought him a few delicacies to sup 
 plement the plain fare that was served up to him 
 and his companions at the cheap restaurant at 
 which they took their meals, and were the means 
 of gaining him the friendship of one of the recruits, 
 Bristow by name, who stuck to him like a leech 
 until the last cent had been expended. 
 
 Bob remained in Galveston nearly two weeks, 
 and during that time he saw everything of interest 
 there was to be seen in the city. Then he began 
 to grow tired of having nothing to do, and took 
 to hanging about the office as the others did, and 
 making comments upon those who presented them 
 selves for enlistment. He was glad indeed when 
 the lieutenant mustered all the recruits one night 
 and ordered them to report at the office the next 
 morning at nine o clock, sharp ; but he was pro 
 voked because the officer did not tell them where 
 they were going. This, however, only proved the 
 truth of the old sergeant s words that a private 
 never knew where he was going until he got there. 
 Bob knew that they were bound for Brownsville 
 when a steamer landed them there a few hours later, 
 and he found out that they were going from there to 
 
18 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 Fort Lamoine when they arrived at that post after 
 a weary tramp of more than three hundred miles. 
 
 The recruits camped beside the trail at night, 
 and during the daytime plodded along behind the 
 army-wagon which contained their tents, blankets, 
 rations and cooking-utensils. It was very fatigu 
 ing to all of them, and it was not long before Bob 
 began to learn something of the dispositions of the 
 men with whom he was to be intimately associated 
 during his term of enlistment. The majority of 
 them grumbled lustily, and even talking of desert 
 ing, and there were not more than two or three 
 besides himself who bore the discomforts of the 
 march with anything like patience. There was not 
 much restriction placed upon their actions, and, al 
 though they were not permitted to stray away from 
 the line of march during the daytime, they were 
 allowed to visit any ranches or farm-houses that 
 might be in the neighborhood of their camping- 
 grounds. The people they met along the route 
 were very liberal with the products of their gar 
 dens and with their milk, butter and eggs, and the 
 recruits fared sumptuously every day ; but it would 
 have been much better for some of them if they 
 had remained in camp at night and left the settlers 
 
DISCONTENTED RECRUITS. 19 
 
 entirely alone. Not a few of the men with whom 
 they exchanged civilities unconsciously sowed among 
 them seeds of discontent that were destined eventu 
 ally to bear a fruitful crop of trouble. By endeav 
 oring to live up to the sentiments they heard ex 
 pressed on every hand, more than one of the re 
 cruits found themselves landed in the military 
 prison at Fort Leaven worth. 
 
 " I don t see why you chaps swear away your 
 liberty, and work for thirteen dollars a month, 
 when you might just as well get forty and be free 
 men/ 7 said a rancheman one night, after he has 
 given Bob and three companions, one of whom was 
 Bristow, all the milk he had to spare. " You ll 
 soon get enough of soldiering, / tell you. I know, 
 for I have tried it. It is a heap easier to ride 
 around on your horse and watch your cattle while 
 they are fattening themselves for market on the 
 rich grass." 
 
 "But we don t happen to have any cattle to 
 watch," said Bob. 
 
 "Who would give us forty dollars a month?" 
 demanded Bristow, who was one of the loudest and 
 most persistent grumblers among the recruits. 
 
 " You could get it almost anywhere in this coun- 
 
20 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 try," replied the ranch eman. " I d give it to you, for 
 one, and I know of a dozen others who stand ready 
 to snap up the first man that comes along, no odds 
 whether he ever herded cattle or not. You have 
 made precious fools of yourselves, and you ll get a 
 fool s reward. You ll have mean grub, hard work 
 and poor pay, and be niggers to every little snipe 
 who wears a shoulder-strap." 
 
 " We ve found that out already haven t we, 
 boys ?" said Bristow, as he and his companions re 
 luctantly took leave of the hospitable rancheman 
 and retraced their steps toward the camp. " We are 
 precious fools to work for thirteen dollars, when 
 we might just as well earn three times that amount, 
 and be our own masters besides. There is no need 
 that anybody should tell us that our officers will 
 treat us like niggers, for we have found that out 
 too. Look at that lieutenant ! He rides in the 
 wagon every day, while we have to hoof it." 
 
 " But you must remember that he is not strong," 
 said Bob. "He has not yet fully recovered from 
 the effects of his wound." 
 
 " I don t believe a word of it," declared Bristow. 
 " He s just as able to march and cook his own grub 
 and pitch his own tent as we are. It makes me 
 
DISCONTENTED RECRUITS. 21 
 
 sick to see how that man Haskins waits on him." 
 (Haskins was the one who had served out clothing 
 to the recruits in Gal veston.) "Bat a blind man 
 could see what he is working for," added Bristow. 
 " He wants to get into the good graces of the lieu 
 tenant, hoping that he will be recommended for a 
 non-corn /s position when we reach the fort. I tell 
 you I have seen enough of soldiering already, and 
 the very first chance I get I am going to skip out." 
 
 " I ll go with you," said one of the recruits. 
 
 " All right ! Shake on that." 
 
 " You may depend upon me," said the recruit 
 as he grasped Bristow s proffered hand. i( Do you 
 remember that big- whiskered, loud-voiced ranche- 
 man who gave us the potatoes the other night? He 
 is sadly in need of help, and he told me that if I 
 would come to his house, bringing three or four 
 friends with me, he would give us citizens clothes 
 and hide us until the officers gave up looking for 
 us. All he asked was, that we should agree to 
 work for him for twelve months, and promise not 
 to leave without giving him due notice." 
 
 " I am in for that," exclaimed the recruit who 
 had not spoken before. " What do you say, 
 Owens?" 
 
22 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 " I say I am out of it," was the quick reply. 
 " If I did a thing like that, I never could look a 
 white man in the face again. I have been guilty 
 of a good many mean acts during my life some 
 that I would gladly recall if I could but I am 
 not mean enough to desert. Besides, I have no 
 desire to have a bullet sent into me." 
 
 Bob s companions did not know whether to be 
 surprised or angry at this plain speech. They stared 
 hard at him for a moment, and then Bristow said, 
 
 " Are you really afraid of being shot? Well, I 
 can set your fears on that score at rest. I know 
 that the penalty for desertion in the face of the 
 enemy is death, but we are not in the face of the 
 enemy now. The country is at peace." 
 
 " I know it is nominally so," answered Bob, 
 " but it is not so in reality, and never will be so 
 long as these hostile Indians and lawless Mexicans 
 continue to raid over the Texas border. If you 
 skip out, as you threaten to do, you may rest as 
 sured that you will be brought back by force of 
 arms, and if you resist you will be shot." 
 
 " How does it come that you know so much 
 more than the rest of us ?" demanded Bristow an 
 grily. "You are not an old soldier." 
 
DISCONTENTED RECRUITS. 23 
 
 " I am aware of that fact, but I have been talk 
 ing to an old soldier, and that was Haskins. He 
 told me that Major Elliot, one of General Ouster s 
 officers, pursued a party of deserters, and when they 
 resisted he shot three of them; and Haskins him 
 self was one of the squad that did the shooting." 
 
 "I don t believe a word of it," exclaimed 
 Bristow. 
 
 "Neither do I," said another of the recruits. 
 " Of course we expect to be pursued, but we shall 
 take good care that we are not caught. Any of 
 these ranchernen who want herdsmen will furnish 
 us with citizens clothing, and before our year is 
 out the thing will blow over, and then w r e ll go 
 home, and stay there." 
 
 " It won t blow over as easily as you think for," 
 said Bob. " It will be known to your home au 
 thorities and to everybody else that you are desert 
 ers, and all the detectives in the United States will 
 be on the lookout for you. If you want to live in 
 constant fear of arrest, you can do it, but I won t.* 
 
 Bob stuck to his resolution, and his discontented 
 companions stuck to theirs. We shall see in due 
 time which of the four made the wisest decision. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP. 
 
 ri^HE long, toilsome journey was completed at 
 last, and late one afternoon the weary and 
 footsore recruits found themselves drawn up in line 
 on the parade-ground at Fort Lamoine. After the 
 roll had been called and the colonel commanding 
 the post had hurriedly inspected them, they were 
 turned over to a sergeant, who marched them into the 
 barracks. There they found about two hundred or 
 more soldiers, who, as soon as the order was given 
 to " break ranks," crowded about them inquiring for 
 late papers and asking a thousand and one ques 
 tions in regard to what was going on in the States. 
 Learning from the sergeant that no duty would 
 be required of him that day, Bob spread his blan 
 kets in one of the empty bunks, and, stretching 
 himself upon them, placed his hands under his head 
 and looked about him with no little curiosity. 
 Presently a young trooper, a boy about his own 
 
 24 
 
AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP. 25 
 
 age, who looked as though he were just recovering 
 from a long siege of sickness, approached, and, seat 
 ing himself on the edge of Bob s bunk, began a 
 conversation with him. Those of our readers 
 who have met this boy before in citizen s dress 
 might have seen something familiar about him, but 
 still it is doubtful if they would have recognized in 
 him Well, we will let him reveal his identity. 
 After a few commonplace remarks Bob inquired, 
 as he nodded his head toward a soldier who was 
 hobbling about the room with the aid of a crutch, 
 
 " What s the matter with that man ?" 
 
 " Raiders," was the sententious reply. 
 
 "Been in a fight?" asked Bob. 
 
 The young soldier nodded his head. 
 
 "How long since?" 
 
 "Last full moon." 
 
 " I hope these fights don t occur very often." 
 
 " Well, they do much oftener than I wish they 
 did. I have been in two pretty hard ones, and 
 that s enough for me. I suppose we shall have 
 more of them now, for I understand that we have 
 received orders to follow the raiders across the river 
 and thrash them wherever they can be found." 
 
 "Were you wounded in one of those fights? 7 
 
26 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 asked Bob. " Then you must be sick/ he added 
 when the boy shook his head. 
 
 "Yes, I am sick," was the reply "homesick 
 and sick at heart. I have been in the army nearly 
 two years and a half, and I don t see how I can 
 live to serve out the rest of my time. I am dying 
 by inches." 
 
 " What did you come into the army for, any 
 how ?" 
 
 "Because I was a fool," answered the young 
 soldier bitterly. 
 
 " Shake," exclaimed Bob, extending his hand ; 
 " I came in for the same reason." 
 
 "Did your parents give their consent?" asked 
 his new acquaintance. 
 
 " No, they didn t. They live in Mississippi, 
 and don t know anything about it." 
 
 Bob s long tramp had taken a good deal of spirit 
 out of him, and somehow he could not muster up 
 energy enough to tell any more falsehoods concern 
 ing himself. 
 
 " My parents live in Ohio," said the soldier. 
 
 " Then how in the world did you happen to stray 
 down here to Texas ?" asked Bob. 
 
 " I ran away from home." 
 
AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP. 27 
 
 "Shake," said Bob, again extending his hand; 
 "that s just what I did." 
 
 The two runaways shook each other s hands in 
 the most cordial manner, and instantly all reserve 
 between them vanished. They were companions in 
 misery and united by a bond of sympathy. The 
 young soldier at once became very communicative. 
 Pie had closely guarded his secret for more than 
 two years, because there was not one among the 
 rough men by whom he was surrounded who could 
 understand or appreciate his feelings. But here was 
 one who could sympathize with him, and it was a 
 great relief to him to know that he could speak 
 freely and run no risk of being laughed at for his 
 weakness. 
 
 "My name is Gus Bobbins," said he, moving up 
 a little closer to Bob and speaking in a low, confi 
 dential tone. " I had as good a home as any boy 
 need wish for, but I wasn t contented there; still, 
 I don t believe that I ever should have left it as I 
 did if circumstances had not smoothed the way for 
 me. My father is the senior partner in the largest 
 dry-goods store in Foxboro , and he had in his em 
 ploy two persons, father and son, who are in a great 
 measure responsible for all the trouble I have got 
 
28 GEORGE AT THE FOIIT. 
 
 into. The boy was a clerk like myself, and his fa 
 ther was our bookkeeper. They had a very wealthy 
 relative, a rancheman, living here in Texas, and 
 when that relative died it was found that he had 
 willed his property to our bookkeeper, to be held in 
 trust for his (the rancheman s) son. They came to 
 Texas to take charge of the estate, and after a while I 
 received a letter from Ned (that was the boy s name) 
 inviting me to pay him a visit. As he sent me 
 money enough to bear the expenses of the journey, 
 I came ; and I am very sorry for it. We got our 
 selves into trouble by shooting some cattle that 
 had broken into Ned s wheat-field, and had to dig 
 out for Brownsville at a gallop. Ned went squarely 
 back on me, and as I had no money to pay my way 
 home, and hadn t the cheek to ask my father for it, 
 I did w r hat I thought to be the next best thing I 
 enlisted. I am very sorry for that too, for there 
 was where I made my mistake. I ought to have 
 gone back into the country and hired out to some 
 stock-raiser. Then I could have gone home as 
 soon as I had earned and saved money enough to 
 take me there; but now I must stay my time out; 
 that is, unless " 
 
 Gus paused and looked at Bob. The latter tin- 
 
AN OLD FKIEND TURNS UP. 29 
 
 derstood him. Here was another fellow who had 
 made up his mind to desert at the first opportunity. 
 
 " Don t do that," said Bob, earnestly. " You ll 
 only get yourself into trouble if you attempt it." 
 
 " I don t care if I am shot for it. I ll make a 
 break for liberty the very first good chance I get." 
 
 The tone in which these words were uttered satis 
 fied Bob that it would be of no use whatever to 
 argue the matter. It was plain that Gus had made 
 up his mind after mature deliberation, and that he 
 was not to be easily turned from his purpose. 
 
 " Where did your friend Ned go after you reach 
 ed Brownsville?" asked Bob, who was much inter 
 ested in the young soldier s story. 
 
 "I don t know; I left him at the hotel. He 
 will come to some bad end, and so will his father, 
 for they are both rascals. The property of which 
 they have charge, and which brings in a big for 
 tune every year, rightfully belongs to George 
 Acker man, Ned s cousin ; but Ned and his fa 
 ther" 
 
 " George Ackerman ?" exclaimed Bob, starting 
 up in his bunk. 
 
 Gus nodded his head, and looked at the recruit 
 in great surprise. 
 
30 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 "Is he a cub pilot?" continued the latter. 
 
 " A cub pilot ?" repeated Gus. "No, he s a 
 herdsman, or I ought rather to say he ivas a herds 
 man. He had stock of his own worth six thou 
 sand dollars. Where he is now I don t know, for 
 on the morning after we left his ranche, while we 
 were camped in the edge of the timber making up 
 for the sleep we had lost the night before, we were 
 surprised by a couple of Greasers, who made a pris 
 oner of George and carried him across the river 
 into Mexico. I don t know what they did with 
 him, for all George could induce them to say was 
 that Fletcher wanted to see him. " 
 
 " It s the same fellow," exclaimed Bob, rising 
 from his blanket and seating himself on the edge 
 of the bunk by his companion s side. " He told me 
 all about it, but his story was so very remarkable 
 that I didn t know whether to believe it or not. 
 He gave those Greasers the slip, secured a berth as 
 cub pilot on a Mississippi River steamer, and that 
 was where I found him." 
 
 With this introduction Bob went on to tell how 
 he had saved George from going to the bottom 
 when Uncle John Ackerman pushed him over 
 board from the Sam Kendall ; related all the thrill- 
 
AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP. 31 
 
 ing incidents connected with the burning of the 
 steamer; described how Uncle John had tried to 
 separate them in New Orleans; in short, he gave 
 a truthful account of his intercourse with the cub 
 pilot up to the time he deserted him in Galveston. 
 Bob was heartily ashamed of that now, and could 
 not bear to speak of it. 
 
 " I became separated from him in some way it 
 is very easy to lose a companion in the crowded 
 streets of a city, you know and that was the last 
 I saw of him," said Bob in conclusion ; and when 
 he told this he forgot that he had afterward seen 
 George go into a hotel accompanied by Mr. Gilbert, 
 " Then I didn t know what to do. I had no 
 money ; I was hungry and sleepy, utterly discour 
 aged ; and, like you, I sought to end my troubles 
 by enlisting. I see now that I made a great mis 
 take, but I am going to serve faithfully during my 
 term of enlistment, if I live. Is George s ranche 
 far from here?" 
 
 " I don t know, for I am not much acquainted 
 with the country east of here, never having scouted 
 in that direction. It is about one hundred and 
 fifty miles from Palos, if you know where that is. 
 As you are George s friend, I am sorry that you 
 
32 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 enlisted, for I know that you are going to have a 
 hard time of it; but since you did enlist, I am 
 glad you were ordered to this post, for misery loves 
 company, you know. Let s walk out on the pa 
 rade, where we can talk without danger of being 
 overheard. Perhaps you would like to take a look 
 at the place which will always be associated in your 
 mind with the most unhappy days of your ex 
 istence." 
 
 It was plain that Gus took a very gloomy view 
 of things, and of course his discouraging remarks 
 made an impression upon Bob, although they did 
 not take away the interest he felt in his surround 
 ings. Everything was new to him, and he asked 
 a great many questions as he and Gus walked slow 
 ly around the parade toward the stables. 
 
 Fort Lamoine was situated on a high, rocky 
 eminence which overlooked the surrounding coun- 
 tiy for half a dozen miles or more in every di 
 rection. The stockade, which enclosed about two 
 acres of ground, was built of upright logs deeply 
 sunk in the earth. The tops were sawed off level, 
 and a heavy plate of timber, through which stout 
 wooden pins had been driven into the end of each 
 log, held them firmly in their place. The officers 
 
AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP. 33 
 
 quarters, barracks, store-houses and stables were 
 built in the same manner. On the outside of the 
 parade were long rows of stately cotton wood trees, 
 interspersed with shrubs and flowers. In one cor 
 ner, on the right-hand side of the principal gate, 
 was the well that supplied the garrison with water, 
 and in the other was the flagstaff, from which float 
 ed the Stars and Stripes. 
 
 " Emblem of liberty !" said Gus with a sneer as 
 he pointed up at the flag" emblem of tyranny, 
 rather." 
 
 "What do you mean by that?" demanded Bob 
 quickly. 
 
 "Oh, you will find out before you have been 
 here long," replied Gus, shaking his head and 
 looking very wise. " A bigger lot of tyrants than 
 the officers who command us were never crowded 
 into any one post." 
 
 " Perhaps you don t do your duty as well as you 
 might?" mildly suggested Bob. 
 
 "I know I don t. I do no more than I am 
 obliged to do, I tell you, and for the simple reason 
 that I didn t enlist to act as lackey to a lot of 
 shoulder-straps. I am just as good as they are, but 
 they say I am not. Why, the last time the pay mas- 
 
34 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 ter was here his little snipe of a clerk remarked in 
 my hearing that enlisted men were nothing more 
 than servants to the officers. What do you think 
 of that?" 
 
 Bob did not know what to think of it, so he 
 said nothing in reply. He simply resolved that he 
 would not pass judgment upon his superiors until 
 he had had some experience with them himself. 
 
 "This is by no means the gloomy place that I 
 expected to find it," said Bob as he and Gus re 
 sumed their walk. 
 
 " Oh, the fort itself is good enough," replied 
 Gus ; " it s the people who live in it that I object 
 to. If one could pick his own company, and could 
 do as he pleased, he might manage to live here for 
 a few years very comfortably ; but we have to as 
 sociate with some rough characters there in the bar 
 racks, and the officers hold us with our noses close 
 to the grindstone all the time. They look upon a 
 private as little better than a dog, and they ll slap 
 him into the guard-house on the slightest provo 
 cation. Now, this is one of the stables; it will 
 accommodate seventy horses. Those you see in 
 here are blooded animals, and they belong to the 
 officers. The government horses are always picket- 
 
AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP. 35 
 
 ed outside, except when there is danger of a visit 
 from the raiders, and then they are brought in for 
 safe-keeping. Now, take a good look at the sta 
 ble, and then come out and take another look at the 
 stockade. Every night there are two sentries placed 
 over this stable one at the front, and the other at 
 the rear, between the stable and the stockade and 
 a guard sleeps inside. Would you believe that, after 
 all these precautions, it would be possible for any 
 body to come into the fort and steal a horse?" 
 
 Bob said he would not. 
 
 " Well, it was done not more than two weeks 
 ago," continued Gus. "One stormy night these 
 two logs were removed from the stockade, and four 
 of the best horses in the stable were run off. It 
 must have taken hours to do the work, and al 
 though the sentries were changed while it was go 
 ing on, no one knew that a theft had been com 
 mitted until the next morning." 
 
 "Who did it?" inquired Bob. 
 
 "A couple of Comanches, who were surprised 
 and killed by the squad that was sent in pursuit 
 of them. The Comanches are acknowledged, even 
 by the Indians themselves, to be the most expert 
 horse-thieves on the Plains. Why, one night, when 
 
36 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 a scouting-party to which I was attached were in 
 camp and fast asleep, a Comanche crept up and 
 stole the lieutenant s horse; and in order to do 
 it he had to cut the lariat that was tied to the of 
 ficer s wrist. He got away with the horse, and 
 never awoke one of us." 
 
 Gus Robbins had accumulated an almost inex 
 haustible fund of such anecdotes as these during 
 his two and a half years of army-life, and he re 
 lated a good many of them to Bob while they were 
 walking about the fort examining the different ob 
 jects of interest. From some of them Bob gained 
 a faint idea of what might be in store for him 
 self. 
 
 The next morning the newly-arrived recruits 
 were formed into an awkward squad and turned 
 over to the tender mercies of a grizzly old sergeant, 
 who proved to be anything but an agreeable and 
 patient instructor. He drilled them for four hours 
 without allowing them a single moment s rest, abus 
 ing them roundly for every mistake they made; 
 and when at last he marched them to their quar 
 ters, it was only that they might eat their dinner 
 and take half an hour s breathing-spell preparatory 
 to going through the same course of sprouts again 
 
AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP. 37 
 
 in the afternoon. This routine was followed day 
 after day until the members of the awkward squad 
 were declared to be sufficiently drilled to warrant 
 their appearance on dress-parade. After that they 
 were assigned to the different troops (or companies) 
 that stood the most in need of men, Bob, to his 
 delight, finding himself in the same troop to which 
 his new friend, Gus Robbins, belonged. But even 
 then their troubles did not cease. Instead of drill 
 ing eight hours each day, they drilled six, and were 
 obliged to do guard-duty besides. Among the three 
 hundred and eighty men who composed the garrison 
 there were not a few old soldiers who hated this 
 hard work as cordially as some of the new-comers 
 did, and there was a good deal of grumbling among 
 them ; but Bob Owens never uttered a word of com 
 plaint. Firmly adhering to the resolution he had 
 made when he first enlisted, he set himself to work 
 to learn just what was required of him, and when 
 he found out what his duty was, he did it cheer 
 fully and faithfully. Pie was always on hand when 
 ho was wanted, his equipments were always r<? \y 
 for inspection, and his horse shone like satin. 
 When his own steed had been fed and groomed, he 
 turned his attention to the horse belonging to the 
 
38 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 lieutenant who commanded the troop to which he 
 belonged, and thereby aroused the indignation of 
 some of his brother-soldiers. 
 
 " What are you doing that for ?" demanded 
 Gus Bobbins one day as he and Bristow entered 
 the stable and found Bob busy at work grooming 
 the lieutenant s horse. " You are in pretty busi 
 ness, I must say !" 
 
 "Yes, I rather like it," answered Bob. "I always 
 liked to work about horses, and I am doing this 
 because I haven t anything else to do just now." 
 
 "Well, I wouldn t do it any more if I were in 
 your place," continued Gus. " The law express 
 ly prohibits an officer from compelling, or even 
 hiring, an enlisted man to do his dirty work." 
 
 "It does, does it?" exclaimed Bob. "Didn t 
 you tell me when I just came here that enlisted 
 men were nothing but servants to their officers?" 
 
 " I didn t mean that, exactly," stammered Gus. 
 " What I did mean was, that they don t treat us 
 like human beings. If an officer wants a servant, 
 he must hire a civilian and pay him out of his 
 own pocket; that s what the law says." 
 
 " I am aware of that fact ; but the law doesn t 
 say that I shall not groom the lieutenant s horse 
 
AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP. 39 
 
 if I choose to do it of my own free will, does 
 it?" 
 
 "Let the toady alone, Bobbins," said Bristow 
 angrily. "The troop hasn t got all the non-coms, 
 that it is entitled to, and Owens is working for 
 chevrons. You know the lieutenant said the 
 other day that there were four corporals and two 
 duty sergeants warrants waiting for those who 
 were willing to win them; and this is the way 
 Owens is going to work to get one of them." 
 
 Bob straightened up, looked sharply at Bristow 
 for a moment, and then drew back the brush he 
 held in his hand, as if he had half a mind to throw 
 it at his head. 
 
 "That s what all the boys say, Bob," observed 
 Gus. " If you want to keep on the right side 
 of the privates, you must not try to curry favor 
 with the officers." 
 
 " If you want a non-com. s warrant, why don t 
 you wait until you get a chance to win it in bat 
 tle ?" added Bristow. " That s what I intend to 
 do, and I shall think much more of a promotion 
 earned in that way than I should of one I had 
 gained by cleaning an officer s horse." 
 
 " Look here, fellows," said Bob earnestly : " I 
 
40 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 don t do this work for the lieutenant because I 
 hope to gain any tiling by it. I do it simply to 
 pass away the time, for I can t see any fun in 
 loafing about the quarters doing nothing. If 
 the boys don t like it, let s see them help them 
 selves." 
 
 " If the lieutenant was a decent man, I wouldn t 
 say a word," answered Bristow. " But he is so 
 mean that I wouldn t turn my hand over to save 
 his life." 
 
 "Anybody with half an eye could see what is 
 the matter with you," retorted Bob. "You have 
 been in the guard-house about half the time since 
 you have been here, and spent the other half in 
 doing extra duty ; and that s the reason you don t 
 like the lieutenant. If you will wake up and at 
 tend to business, he will treat you well enough." 
 
 Bob s prompt and soldier-like way of perform 
 ing the work that was required of him very soon 
 attracted the attention of Lieutenant Earle (that 
 was the name of the officer in command of the 
 troop to which Bob belonged), and he took his 
 own way to reward him for it. If he was ordered 
 off on a scout, Bob Owens was always one of the 
 u picked men " who accompanied him. If he was 
 
AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP. 41 
 
 sent out with a squad during the full of the moon 
 to watch the ford a few miles below the fort, Bob 
 was one of the members of that squad. This did 
 not excite the jealousy of the good soldiers, for 
 they were always glad to have a brave comrade 
 to back them up in times of danger, no matter 
 whether he was a greenhorn or a veteran ; but 
 the grumblers and the discontented ones, especially 
 those who belonged to his own troop, had a good 
 deal to say about it, and declared that the lieuten 
 ant took Bob with him on his expeditions to pay 
 him for grooming his horse. They disliked him 
 cordially, and it was not long before an incident 
 happened that caused the dislike of at least one 
 of them to grow into positive hatred. 
 
 One pleasant afternoon some of the men receiv 
 ed permission to go outside the gates for a short 
 stroll. They wandered off in squads, some going 
 one way and some another, and Bristow and two 
 companions one of whom was Gus Robbins 
 bent their stops toward the crumbling remains of 
 an old adobe outpost which marked the spot where 
 more than one desperate fight with the Apaches 
 had taken place in the days gone by. There they 
 seated themselves and entered into conversation, 
 
42 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 Bristow s first words indicating that they were about 
 to discuss a subject that had before occupied their 
 attention. 
 
 " I tell you, Robbins," said he, " if you are 
 in earnest in what you say, now is the time to 
 prove it." 
 
 " I certainly am in earnest," answered Gus ; 
 " but, to tell you the honest truth, I am 
 afraid." 
 
 " Afraid !" repeated Bristow in a tone of 
 contempt. " What in the world are you afraid 
 of?" 
 
 " Of pursuit," replied Gus. " If we resist, we 
 run the risk of being shot; and if we are cap 
 tured, we stand an excellent chance of going to 
 prison*" 
 
 " Now, Bobbins," said Bristow earnestly, " let 
 me once more explain our arrangements to you, 
 and you will see that we do not risk anything. 
 In the first place, the horses are left picketed 
 outside the stockade every night. They are never 
 brought in, as you know, unless there is danger 
 of a visit from the raiders. Four of the six men 
 who are to act as horse-guards to-night belong to 
 our party. When the time for action arrives, these 
 
AN OLD FRIEND TURNS UP. 43 
 
 four men will go to work on the other two and 
 try to induce them to accompany us. If they don t 
 succeed, they ll bind and gag them, and so put it 
 out of their power to give the alarm. The sentry 
 who will be on duty between the stable and the 
 stockade is also one of us, and of course he will 
 raise no objection when we slip out of the quarters, 
 one by one, and climb the stockade. As fast as 
 we get over we will select our horses Fve got 
 mine picked out, and I could put my hand on him 
 in the darkest of nights and when the last one 
 has made his escape we ll mount and put off. 
 Of course we hope to escape by running, but if 
 we can t do that, we shall turn at bay and make 
 a fight of it. We have all sworn to stand by one 
 another to the last, and thirty determined, well- 
 armed men can make things lively for a while, 
 I tell you." 
 
 Bristow continued to talk in this strain for half 
 an hour, his companion now and then putting in a 
 word to assist him; and he talked to such good 
 purpose that Gus Bobbins finally consented to make 
 one of the large party that was to desert the post 
 that very night. Bristow then gave him the names 
 of the other members there were several non- 
 
44 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 commissioned officers among them and after urg 
 ing him to be very careful of himself, and to say 
 and do nothing that might arouse the suspicions 
 of " outsiders," the three got upon their feet and 
 walked toward the fort. 
 
 They had scarcely left the ruins when a fatigue- 
 cap arose from behind a pile of rubbish scarcely a 
 dozen feet from the place where the three con 
 spirators had been sitting, and a pair of eyes look 
 ing out from under the peak of that cap watched 
 them as they moved away. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 BOB S FIRST COMMAND. 
 
 rilHE eyes that were so closely watching the 
 movements of Bristow and his companions be 
 longed to Bob Owens. The latter had strolled off 
 alone, and thrown himself behind an angle of the 
 ruined wall to indulge in a few moments quiet 
 meditation, and thus unwillingly placed himself in 
 a position to overhear the details of the plot which 
 we have just disclosed. If Bristow had not so 
 promptly entered upon the discussion of the sub 
 ject of desertion, Bob would have made his pres 
 ence known to him ; but after he had listened to 
 the first words that fell from his lips he thought it 
 best to remain quietly in his place of concealment, 
 for he knew that if he revealed himself, then he 
 would be accused of playing the part of eaves 
 dropper. 
 
 "Now, here s a go!" thought Bob, rising to his 
 feet when he saw Bristow and his two friends walk 
 
 45 
 
46 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 through the gate into the fort, " and I wish some 
 body would be kind enough to tell me what I 
 ousrht to do about it. Shall I stand quietly by and 
 let them go, or shall I tell the officers what I have 
 heard ? If I let them go, they will run the risk of 
 being gobbled up by that party of Kiowas who are 
 now raiding the country north of us ; and if I tell 
 the colonel, and it should ever be found out on me, 
 I should lead a hard life in the quarters. I wish 
 I had been somewhere else when they came here." 
 
 Thrusting his hands deep into his pockets, Bob 
 left the ruins, and, walking slowly around the 
 stockade, entered at a gate on the opposite side. 
 His first care was to hunt up the sergeant-major 
 of his regiment, whom he found in the quarters. 
 This man had grown gray in the service, and he 
 was a soldier all over-r- brave, faithful and untiring 
 in the performance of his duty. He readily re 
 sponded to Bob s significant wink, and followed 
 him out on the parade. 
 
 " Sergeant," said Bob as soon as they were be 
 yond earshot of everybody, "I have accidentally 
 come into the possession of a secret, and I don t 
 know what to do with it. There are thirty men in 
 the garrison who are going to desert to-night." 
 
47 
 
 The old fellow took a fresh chew of tobacco ; 
 pushed his cap on the back of his head and looked 
 at Bob, who, after telling him where he had been 
 and how he happened to overhear the plot, con 
 tinued : 
 
 " It would never do to let them go. You know 
 I was detailed to act as the colonel s orderly this 
 morning, and I heard that scout who came in just 
 before noon tell him that there is a large party of 
 hostiles between here and Fort Tyler. These de 
 serters intend to take their weapons with them, 
 and think they can make a good fight ; but those 
 Kiowas are strong enough to annihilate them." 
 
 " Small loss that would be to us!" growled the 
 veteran. " We are going to have some hot work 
 to do before long, and such men are no good in a 
 
 fight." 
 
 " It would never do to let them go," repeated 
 Bob, " but there is only one way to prevent it that 
 I can see; and that is by telling the colonel all 
 about it. If I do that, and they should find it out, 
 they would go back on me, sure." 
 
 " Of course they would," said the sergeant. 
 
 " Well, what would you do if you were in my 
 place?" asked Bob. 
 
48 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 "What would I do? I would go straight to 
 the officer of the day and tell him the whole thing. 
 The good-will of such men don t amount to any 
 thing, any way, and what do you care if they do 
 go back on you? There s only thirty of them, 
 and that leaves three hundred and fifty good fel 
 lows who will always be ready to befriend you. 
 Do you know who these deserters are ? I ll report 
 the matter if you are afraid, and then let s see one 
 of them open his head to me." 
 
 Bob repeated the names of the would-be deserters 
 which Bristow had given as nearly as he could re 
 call them, and the sergeant hurried off to hunt up 
 the officer of the day, while Bob went back into 
 the quarters. He had been there but a few min 
 utes when the orderly appeared at the door and 
 sung out, 
 
 " Owens, the colonel wants to see you." 
 
 " Aha !" exclaimed Bristow, " our good little boy 
 has been doing something bad at last. There are 
 no bunks in the guard-house, Owens." 
 
 Bob made no reply. He followed the orderly 
 across the parade and into the colonel s head-quar 
 ters, where he found the officer of the day, the 
 sergeant-major and all the ranking officers of the 
 
49 
 
 garrison. The colonel questioned him closely in 
 regard to the plot he had discovered, and finally 
 dismissed him and the sergeant without making 
 any comments. Half an hour later the entire 
 cavalry force of the garrison was drawn up in 
 line, the names of forty men who were ordered to 
 the front and centre were read off, and the rest of 
 the troopers were sent back to their quarters. 
 Then the bugle sounded "Boots and saddles!" and 
 in a few minutes more these forty men one of 
 whom was Bob Owens rode out of the gate, led 
 by the scout who had brought the information 
 concerning that war-party of Kiowas. The squad 
 was commanded by Lieutenant Earle. 
 
 " That s all right," whispered Bristow to one of 
 his fellow-conspirators as they stood in front of their 
 quarters and saw their comrades ride away. " There 
 will be just so many men less to follow us to 
 morrow morning. But I wish we knew which 
 way they are going," he added in a tone of anxiety ; 
 "and we must find out if we can. We don t want 
 to run into them if we can possibly avoid them, for 
 there are some of the best men in the garrison in 
 that party." 
 
 " I suppose we are off after the hostiles," said 
 
50 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 the soldier who rode by Bob s side. " The scout 
 told the colonel that there were three hundred 
 braves in that party, didn t he ?" 
 
 Bob answered that that was what he understood 
 him. to say. 
 
 "Then I wish we had a hundred men instead 
 of forty," continued the trooper. " Our squad is 
 too large to conceal itself, and too small to make a 
 successful fight against such overwhelming odds. 
 Well, if worst comes to worst " 
 
 The speaker thrust his hand into his boot-leg 
 and drew out a loaded Derringer. He intended 
 to send its contents through his own head rather 
 than fall alive into the hands of the hostiles. 
 Probably nine out of ten men in that squad were 
 provided with weapons just like it, and which they 
 intended to use in the same way should circum 
 stances require it. Veteran Indian-fighters never 
 fail to give this advice to a recruit : " When it 
 comes to a fight, save the last shot for your 
 self." 
 
 But, as it happened, Bob and his companions 
 were not out after hostiles on this particular after 
 noon, for that raiding-party of Kiowas was already 
 beyond the reach of any force that the commander 
 
51 
 
 of Fort Lamoine could have sent in pursuit of it. 
 They found out in due time that their mission 
 was of an entirely different character. They rode 
 at a sharp trot until it was nearly dark, and then 
 they went into camp in a belt of post-oaks and 
 cooked and ate their supper. After an hour s rest 
 they mounted and rode back toward the fort again. 
 Arriving within a mile of the stockade, a halt was 
 ordered, the men were dismounted, and, every 
 fourth trooper being left to hold the horses, the 
 others marched off through the darkness, armed 
 only with their revolvers. Then Bob began to 
 understand the matter. The object of the expedi 
 tion was to capture the deserters. It had been led 
 away from the fort simply as a " blind/ and in 
 order to lull the malcontents into a feeling of se 
 curity no change whatever had been made in 
 the guards who were to do duty that night. 
 
 After the lieutenant had marched about half a 
 mile another halt was ordered, and sixteen men, 
 divided into squads of four men each, were told off 
 to begin the work. The officer approached each 
 squad in turn, and after designating some one to 
 take charge of it, gave him his instructions in a 
 whisper. When he walked up to Bob he asked, 
 
52 GEORGE AT THE .FORT. 
 
 "Do you know where post No. 4 is? and can 
 you go straight to it without making any mis 
 take?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, to both your questions," was the 
 prompt reply. 
 
 "Very well. Take command of this squad and 
 go and arrest Dodd, whom you will find on guard 
 there. Then put Carey in his place, and come back 
 and report to me at post No. 1, and I will tell you 
 what else to dx>. The countersign, 7 added the lieuten 
 ant, coming a step nearer to Bob and speaking in a 
 tone so low that no one else could catch his words, 
 "is Ouster. 7 Be quick and still. Forward, march !" 
 
 As Bob moved away with his squad he told him 
 self that fidelity is sometimes appreciated. This 
 was his first command, and he knew that much de 
 pended upon the way in which he executed the or 
 ders that had been given him. If they were faith 
 fully and skilfully carried out, he might hope to 
 be entrusted with other commands in future, and 
 so be given opportunities to distinguish himself and 
 win promotion ; for Bob, like every ambitious boy, 
 was anxious to get ahead as rapidly as possible. 
 
 "What s the matter, Owens?" asked all the 
 members of his squad in concert as soon as they 
 
53 
 
 were out of the lieutenant s hearing. They were 
 all in the dark, and so was every man belonging 
 to the expedition with the exception of the lieuten 
 ant, the sergeant-major and Bob Owens. The lat 
 ter explained the state of affairs in as few words 
 as he could, and the general verdict was that it 
 would have been no loss to the garrison, or to the 
 service either, if Bristow and his companions had 
 been permitted to depart in peace. 
 
 In a few minutes Bob and his men arrived with 
 in sight of the place where the horses were staked 
 out, and a hoarse voice broke the stillness. " Halt ! 
 Who comes there ?" was the challenge. 
 
 " Friends, with the countersign/ 7 answered Bob 
 after bringing his squad to a halt. 
 
 " Advance, one friend, and give the countersign," 
 was the next command. 
 
 " Now, boys," said Bob in a low whisper, "you 
 stay here, and when I call out Advance, squad/ 
 come up briskly and surround Dodd, so as to be 
 ready to overpower him if he shows the least dis 
 position to resist or cry out." 
 
 So saying, Bob moved off in the direction from 
 which the hail sounded, ami presently discovered 
 the sentry, who stood at " arms port." 
 
54 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 " Halt !" commanded the guard when Bob had 
 approached within a few feet of him. "Give the 
 countersign." 
 
 Bob whispered the magic word. 
 
 " The countersign is correct/ said the sentry, 
 bringing his carbine to a carry. " It s you, is it, 
 Owens? What s the matter?" 
 
 " Advance, squad," said Bob in a low tone. 
 " You haven t seen anything suspicious going on 
 about your post, have you ?" he added, wishing to 
 occupy the sentry s attention until his men could 
 come within supporting distance of him. "No? 
 Well, I am sorry to say that there is something 
 suspicious about you, and I am ordered to put you 
 in arrest." 
 
 He laid hold of the carbine as he said this, and 
 at the same moment two of his men placed their 
 hands upon the sentinel s shoulders. The latter, 
 seeing that resistance was useless, promptly gave up 
 his piece and dropped his hands by his sides. " It s 
 all that Bristow s work," said he in angry tones. 
 " I knew he wouldn t do to tie to." 
 
 "Don t say too much," interposed Bob. "You 
 don t want to condemn yourself. Carey, take 
 this post until relieved." 
 
BOB S FIRST COMMAND. 55 
 
 As Bob marched his squad and his prisoner to the 
 | *ace where he was to meet his commanding officer, 
 he found the intervening posts in the charge of 
 trusty men. Four of the discontented ones had 
 been secured, and it only remained for the lieuten 
 ant to perfect arrangements for seizing the others as 
 fast as they came out of the fort. He had already 
 decided upon his plan of operations, and Bob 
 Owens was called upon to take the first step toward 
 carrying it out. After he had listened to some 
 very explicit instructions from his commander, he 
 stole off into the darkness, and, creeping along the 
 outside of the stockade until he reached a point oppo 
 site the place where the sentry was posted behind 
 the stables, he stopped and waited to see what was 
 going to happen. About ten feet from him on his 
 left was another soldier, standing upright and mo 
 tionless in the shadow of the stockade. Ten feet 
 beyond this soldier was another. These were all 
 that Bob could see, but he knew that there were 
 good men and true stationed at regular intervals all 
 along the stockade, waiting to act the several parts 
 that had been assigned to them. 
 
 Bob waited and listened for a quarter of an hour 
 or more, and then he heard a conversation carried 
 
56 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 on in a low tone on the other side of the stockade. 
 He could not catch the words, but he knew that 
 the deserters were beginning to bestir themselves, 
 and that one of their number was talking with the 
 sentry. Presently a scratching, scrambling sound, 
 accompanied by heavy, labored breathing and those 
 incoherent exclamations that men sometimes use 
 when they are exerting themselves to the utmost, 
 told Bob that somebody was making his way up 
 the logs. Keeping his eyes fastened on the top, lie 
 saw a soldier climb up and seat himself on the 
 plate. He could see him very plainly against the 
 light background of the sky, and he recognized 
 him at once. It was Bristow. He was about to 
 swing himself off when he discovered Bob stand 
 ing beneath him. He stopped, peered down into 
 the darkness for a moment, and then called out 
 in a frightened whisper, 
 
 "Who is it?" 
 
 " It s all right," whispered Bob in reply ; " come 
 on." 
 
 "Who is it, I say?" repeated Bristow in still 
 more earnest tones. 
 
 " Why, don t you know Dodd ? Hand me your 
 carbine." 
 
BOB S rmsT COMMAND. 57 
 
 " Oh !" said Bristow with a great sigh of re 
 lief. "It is all right, isn t it? Here you are." 
 
 Holding his carbine by the strap, Bristow pass 
 ed it down to Bob, who promptly slung it upon 
 his back. The latter then pushed up his sleeves, 
 moved back a little from the stockade, and when 
 Bristow swung himself down by his hands and 
 dropped lightly to the ground, Bob stepped up 
 and took him by the arm. 
 
 " I don t need any help," said Bristow, who 
 had landed squarely on his feet. " But I say, 
 Dodd " 
 
 " We ll talk about it as we go along," interrupted 
 Bob. "But not a loud word out of you, unless you 
 want to be gagged." 
 
 " Why, good gracious, it s Owens ! gasped Bris 
 tow, reeling back against the stockade. He did 
 not ask what Bob was doing there or why he had 
 seized him, for he knew without asking. 
 
 "Yes, it is Owens, and the men you saw ride 
 out of the gate with me this afternoon are with 
 me now. Here s one of them," added Bob as a 
 soldier named Loring stepped up and took his 
 place in readiness to catch the next deserter who 
 came over the stockade. 
 
58 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 Just then the sentry on the inside placed his 
 mouth close to one of the cracks between the logs 
 and asked, in a cautious tone, 
 
 " How is it, Bristow ? Is the coast clear ?" 
 
 "All clear," replied Loring, speaking through 
 the same crack. "Tell the boys to hurry up; 
 we ve no time to waste." 
 
 If Bob s captive had any idea of attempting to 
 escape or of alarming his companions by crying 
 out, he abandoned it very quickly when he saw 
 the soldiers that were stationed along the stockade. 
 There was a trooper for every deserter, and as fast 
 as the man at the head of the line caught one, an 
 other moved up and took his place. 
 
 " This bangs me !" said Bristow, in great disgust. 
 " Now comes a court-martial of course, and Good 
 ness only knows what will come after that the 
 guard-house and a heavy fine, or the military 
 prison at Fort Leavenworth. I say, Owens, how 
 did the colonel find it out?" 
 
 "Do you suppose he tells his secrets to us pri 
 vates? asked Bob in reply. 
 
 " We spoke to somebody who was not worthy of 
 the confidence we placed in him," continued Bris 
 tow. " The thing never could have become known 
 
59 
 
 unless one of our own number had proved treach 
 erous. But we can easily find out who he is. There 
 are just thirty of us, and if there are only twenty- 
 nine arrested, the missing man is the guilty one. 
 When I find out who he is, I shall take particular 
 pains to see that the next battle he gets into is his 
 last." 
 
 This threat was uttered in a very low tone of 
 voice, for Bristow and his captor had by this time 
 reached the place where the lieutenant had stationed 
 himself to receive his men when they came in with 
 their prisoners. Bob reported, " Your orders have 
 been obeyed, sir," and took his stand close behind 
 his officer. 
 
 " I counted only twenty-six," said Bristow when 
 the sergeant-major came up and announced the com 
 plete success of the undertaking. " There must be 
 four traitors among us." 
 
 " Have you counted in the horse-guard^ ?" ask 
 ed Bob. "There they are on the top* of that 
 ridge." 
 
 No, Bristow had not counted them in, for he 
 did not know until that minute that they had 
 been arrested. He was very much astonished when 
 he learned that every one of his party had been 
 
60 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 secured, and could not for the life of him imagine 
 how the colonel had found out about it ; for that 
 he knew all about it was evident from the manner 
 in which the arrests had been effected. 
 
 Having sent one of his men back to order up 
 the horses, the lieutenant formed his captives in 
 line, threw a guard around them and marched them 
 into the fort. Halting them on the parade, he went 
 in to report to the colonel, and when he came out 
 again he put every one of them into the guard 
 house ; after which Bob and his companions went 
 to the quarters and tumbled into their bunks. 
 
 Great was the astonishment among the soldiers 
 the next morning when it became known that the 
 expedition, which they supposed had gone out 
 in search of the hostiles, had returned to the fort 
 and captured thirty armed men, and that the 
 work had been done so quietly that the sentry 
 at the gate never knew anything about it until 
 it was all over. Of course they were quite at 
 a loss to determine who it was that told the col 
 onel about it; and the general impression seemed 
 to be that if there were a traitor among the 
 deserters, he had allowed himself to be captured 
 with the others in order to avoid suspicion. 
 
61 
 
 Among the non-commissioned officers who had 
 attempted to desert was one of the corporals be 
 longing to Bob s troop, and the next morning Bob 
 was ordered to take his place and do duty as cor 
 poral of the guard. He saw the prisoners served 
 with breakfast, and the numerous orders he had 
 to give opened the eyes of one of them, who be 
 gan to think he had made a discovery. And so 
 he had, but he could not prove it. 
 
 " I ll tell you what s a fact, boys/ 7 said Bristow 
 as he walked to a remote corner of his prison with 
 a cup of coffee in one hand and some cracker and 
 bacon in the other : " I know whom we have to 
 thank for our arrest." 
 
 "Who is it?" asked a dozen voices at once. 
 
 "Fd like to send him my compliments in the 
 shape of a bullet from my carbine," said the cor 
 poral whose place Bob was then filling. "Tell us 
 who he is, so that we can improve the first chance 
 to get even with him." 
 
 " There he is," said Bristow, shaking his piece 
 of cracker at Bob. " Pie has been trying to get 
 on the blind side of the officers for a long time, 
 as you all know, and he has accomplished his 
 jbject at last by going back on his comrades." 
 
62 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 The prisoners looked at Bob as if they expected 
 him to deny the accusation ; but, to the disappoint 
 ment of some of them who really liked him, he 
 had nothing to say. 
 
 u Why don t you speak up and declare that 
 it isn t so?" demanded the corporal. 
 
 " Because he dare not/ 7 exclaimed Bristow. " He 
 couldn t without telling a lie, and, as he is a good 
 little boy, he wouldn t do that for the world." 
 
 " I don t believe he did it," said another of the 
 culprits. " He is not one of us, and how could he 
 have found it out? I believe that the traitor is 
 right here in the guard-house under arrest." 
 
 " I know he isn t," declared Bristow. " Bob 
 Owens is the only traitor there is, and you may 
 depend upon it. Now, let me tell you just what 
 is going to happen when the court-martial comes 
 off: it will be proved to the satisfaction of all of 
 you that Owens found out about our plans in some 
 way or other, and went straight to the colonel with 
 them. You will be disrated, Corporal Jim, and 
 Lieutenant Earle, in order to reward Bob for car 
 rying tales and to encourage him to carry more, 
 will give him your place. Why, he has just as 
 good as got the stripes on his arm now." 
 
BOB S FIRST COMMAND. 63 
 
 Corporal Jim looked daggers at Bob, and de 
 clared that if he was the one who had disclosed 
 their plot to the colonel, he was too mean for any 
 use, and ought to be drummed out of the foi-t. 
 
 "I promised that if I ever found out who the 
 informer was I would serve him worse than that," 
 said Bristow in savage tones. " I shall keep my 
 promise, too, if I ever get the chance, for I am 
 one who never forgets an injury." 
 
 Bob Owens who, as we know, was not wanting 
 in physical courage was not at all alarmed by this 
 threat and a good many others like it to which he 
 listened during the fifteen minutes the prisoners 
 were occupied in eating their breakfast. He be 
 lieved that he was able to take care of No. 1 ; and 
 when the critical time came, as it did a few weeks 
 later, he proved to the satisfaction of everybody 
 that his confidence in himself was not misplaced. 
 
 The court-martial was not long delayed, and 
 the findings being approved by the proper au 
 thorities, the sentences were promptly carried out. 
 The culprits were confined in the guard-house for 
 different periods of time, those who had been the 
 most active in inducing their comrades to desert 
 serving a longer sentence than their victims, and 
 
64 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 fines were imposed upon all of them, Bristow s 
 being by far the heaviest, as he was proved to be 
 the ringleader. He and Gus Robbins both of 
 whom had been almost constantly in trouble ever 
 since they arrived at the post were given to un 
 derstand that if they were detected in another at 
 tempt at desertion they could make up their minds 
 to see the inside of the military prison at Fort 
 Leavenworth. Bristow proved to be a first-class 
 prophet. During the progress of the trial it came 
 out that Bob Owens was the one who discovered the 
 plot, and that through him it was communicated 
 to the colonel. Corporal Jim was of course re 
 duced to the ranks, and Bob was promoted to fill 
 the vacancy. 
 
 During the next few weeks nothing of interest 
 happened at the fort. The deserters were released 
 as fast as the terms for which they were sentenced 
 expired, some of them penitent and fully resolved to 
 do better in future, while the others were more than 
 ever determined to escape from military control, in 
 spite of all the officers and guards that could be 
 placed around them. They carried out their deter 
 mination, too, at every opportunity, deserting in 
 parties numbering half a dozen or so, and they gen- 
 
65 
 
 erally succeeded in eluding persuit. It was a singu 
 lar fact that when the pursuers were commanded 
 by commissioned officers they very often returned 
 without having accomplished anything, but when 
 they were commanded by sergeants or corporals they 
 were almost always successful. Luck was on the 
 side of the "non-coms.," and the colonel finally 
 learned to put a great deal of confidence in them. 
 Bob Owens was particularly fortunate in this re 
 spect, and that was the reason his superior sent for 
 him one morning after the officer of the day had 
 reported that seven men had deserted during the 
 previous night, taking their arms and a supply of 
 ammunition with them. 
 
 6 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 
 
 " /CORPORAL," said the commandant, taking 
 ^ off his eye-glasses with a jerk, as he always 
 did when he was about to say something emphatic, 
 " there are the names of seven men who deserted last 
 night. I want you to take command of a squad and 
 follow them up and arrest them." 
 "Very good, sir," replied Bob. 
 " I don t know which way they went, or anything 
 about it," continued the colonel. " That is some 
 thing you will have to find out for yourself. I do 
 know, however, that they went on foot, and that 
 they are armed and well supplied with ammunition. 
 I want you to capture them at all hazards at all 
 hazards, I say," repeated the colonel, bringing his 
 open hand down upon the table with a ringing 
 slap. " If you come back without them you need 
 not offer any excuses, for I shall not listen to them. 
 Arrest anybody you catch outside the stockade 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 67 
 
 wearing a United States uniform, no matter who 
 he is. There have been no passes granted this 
 morning, and no one except the guards and the 
 officer of the day has any business outside. That s 
 all." 
 
 Bob saluted and hurried from the room. As 
 he passed through the hall he glanced at the list he 
 held in his hand, and saw that it was headed by the 
 names of Bristow and Gus Bobbins. 
 
 " This is about the easiest job I have had yet, 
 and these fellows are just as good as captured 
 already," said he to himself. " I know right where 
 to look for them, and I wouldn t be in their shoes 
 for all the money the paymaster had in his safe the 
 last time he was here. They are booked for Leav- 
 enworth, sure. May I go out, Willis ?" he asked 
 of the sentry at the gate ; " I am acting under 
 orders." 
 
 " That s all right," was the reply ; " the officer 
 of the day told me to pass you. You are going 
 after those deserters, I suppose? Well, now, look 
 here," added the sentry, after looking all around to 
 make sure that there was no officer in sight : " you 
 remember those mulewhackers who brought that 
 freight here the other day, don t you ? Well, Bris- 
 
68 GEORGE AT THE* FORT. 
 
 tow and the rest have gone off to join them. I am 
 certain of it, for I heard Bristow talking with them, 
 and they assured him that the wagon-master would 
 give him steady work and good wages if he would 
 hire out to him. Bristow didn t hesitate to talk 
 with them about it in the presence of a dozen of 
 us." 
 
 " That was only a ruse on his part/ said Bob 
 confidently. " If I followed the trail of those 
 teamsters I should have my trouble for my pains. 
 I am going as straight toward Brownsville as I 
 can go, and I shall have my hand on Mr. Bristow s 
 collar before I have gone thirty miles. You may 
 rest assured that I shall not come back without 
 him, for if I do I don t know what the colonel 
 will say to me." 
 
 Bob hastened toward the place where the horses 
 were picketed, and there he found the officer of the 
 day and the six picked men who had been detail 
 ed to accompany him. It was the work of but a 
 few minutes to lead their horses into the fort and 
 put the saddles and bridles on them ; and when this 
 had been done, and Bob and his men had secured 
 their carbines, sabres and revolvers and put two 
 days * rations in their haversacks, they mounted and 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 69 
 
 rode through the gate at a sharp trot. They were 
 quiet and orderly enough as long as they remained 
 within sight of the fort, but when the first ridge 
 over which they passed shut them out from view 
 they abandoned their efforts to keep in column, 
 threw off all restraint and shouted and sang at 
 the top of their voices. They looked upon an 
 expedition like this as a " lark," and enjoyed it 
 as much as a schoolboy enjoys a picnic. 
 
 Bob did not stop at the first ranches he passed, 
 for he knew that the deserters (provided, of course, 
 that they had fled along that trail) must have gone 
 by them in the night, and that consequently their 
 inmates could give him no information. Besides, 
 Bob had learned by experience that there was very 
 little confidence to be placed in anything the ranche- 
 men might say regarding a deserter. A good many 
 of them had served in the army during the war, 
 and, knowing how very hard is the life a soldier 
 leads, they sympathized with him in his efforts to 
 escape, and aided him by every means in their 
 power. Where there was one farmer or stock- 
 raiser who would give a squad like Bob s any 
 information that could be relied on, there were a 
 dozen who would conceal the deserter in their 
 
70 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 houses and send his pursuers off on the wrong 
 trail 
 
 After Bob and his troopers had ridden about 
 fifteen miles, and had shouted and sung off a lit 
 tle of their surplus enthusiasm, they relapsed into 
 siknce and settled down to business. They halted 
 on the top of every ridge to survey the country be 
 fore them, and called at every ranche that lay along 
 their route ; but nothing was to be seen or heard of 
 Bristow and his party. About noon they came with 
 in sight of a squatter s cabin, and Bob decided to 
 stop there and eat dinner. The owner of the cabin 
 was at home, and he welcomed the horsemen with 
 every appearance of cordiality. 
 
 "Alight an hitch, strangers/ said he, when he 
 had succeeded in quieting the small army of dogs 
 which came out from under the cabin to dispute 
 the further advance of the troopers. "You re as 
 welcome as the flowers in May." 
 
 " Thank you," said Bob as he swung himself from 
 his saddle. " We intend to stop here and rest for 
 an hour or so. We ll boil our coffee and cook our 
 rations on your stove, if you have no objections." 
 
 " I ain t got no stove," replied the squatter hasti 
 ly " leastways, none that you can do cookin on/ 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 71 
 
 he added, with some confusion, when he saw Bob 
 and one or two of his men look up at the stove 
 pipe which projected above the roof. 
 
 "All right !" replied the corporal, silencing by 
 a look one of the troopers who was about to say 
 something. "Then we shall have to build a fire 
 outside; but that will do just as well, for we are 
 used to cooking our grub in that way. Now, 
 Carey, if you and Loring will skirmish around 
 and find some wood and start the coffee-pot go 
 ing, we will look out for your nags." 
 
 " Corporal," whispered one of the troopers, 
 "there s a bug under that chip. In other words, 
 this old rascal has some reason for wishing to keep 
 us out of his cabin." 
 
 "Say nothing out loud," replied Bob with a 
 warning gesture. "We are on the right track, 
 and I know it. If we fail now, it will be through 
 our own blundering." 
 
 Having seen the horses staked out, Bob walked 
 back to the cabin, and found the squatter in con 
 versation with Carey and Loring. His first words 
 indicated that he had been trying to pump them, 
 but without success. 
 
 "Say, soldier, where might you be a-travellin 
 
72 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 to ?" he asked as Bob came up. " I asked them 
 two fellows, an 7 they told me I had better ask 
 you." 
 
 " We are looking for seven deserters who passed 
 this way some time this morning," answered Bob. 
 "They were on foot and carried carbines. Seen 
 anything of such a party?" 
 
 The squatter brought his hands together with a 
 loud slap before he replied. 
 
 "I jest knowed them fellows wasn t what they 
 allowed they was," said he. " In course I seed em, 
 an they told me they was a-lookin for deserters 
 themselves. They went off that way, toward the 
 old Brazos trail," added the squatter, pointing in 
 a direction which lay exactly at right angles with 
 the course Bob had been pursuing. 
 
 " Did they ?" exclaimed the corporal with a great 
 show of eagerness. " Thank you for the informa 
 tion. We will go that way too as soon as we 
 have eaten dinner. How long ago did they pass 
 this way?" 
 
 "Jest at daylight," 
 
 "That s another lie," said Bob to himself. "They 
 didn t desert until after midnight, and they couldn t 
 have travelled between fifteen and twenty miles in 
 
A PEEILOUS UNDERTAKING. 73 
 
 less than five hours on foot. An infantryman might 
 do it on a pinch, but a trooper couldn t." 
 
 "You ll have to hurry up if you want to ketch 
 em/ continued the squatter, who seemed to grow 
 nervous when he saw how deliberately the troopers 
 went about their preparations for dinner. " They 
 was a-lumberin along right peart." 
 
 " Oh, there s no need that we should throw our 
 selves into a perspiration," replied Bob indiffer 
 ently. " We don t care if we don t find them for 
 a week. You see, when we are out on an expedi 
 tion like this we are not obliged to drill, and our 
 pay goes on just the same. If you have anything 
 good to eat, trot it out ; we re wealthy." 
 
 But the squatter protested that he had nothing in 
 his cabin except bacon and crackers, and his supply 
 of these necessary articles was so small that he 
 could not possibly spare any of it. He said so 
 much on this point that the troopers would have 
 been dull indeed if they had not suspected some 
 thing. 
 
 " He wants to get us away from here, doesn t 
 he?" said Carey as soon as he had a chance to 
 speak to Bob. "He thinks that if he provides us 
 with a good dinner we will spend a long time in 
 
74 GEORGE At THE FORT. 
 
 eating it. Now, corporal, I will bet you anything 
 you please that " 
 
 " I know," interrupted Bob, " and I want you to 
 take a look into the matter at once. This is my 
 plan." 
 
 Here Bob whispered some rapid instructions to 
 the trooper, who winked first one eye and then the 
 other to show that he understood them. Pulling 
 his pipe from his pocket, he proceeded to fill it 
 with tobacco, while Bob walked up to the squatter, 
 and, taking him confidentially by the arm, said, 
 as he led him out of earshot of the men, who had 
 seated themselves about the fire, 
 
 "May I have a word with you in private? 
 You see, I am an officer, and it won t do for me 
 to talk too freely in the presence of those I com 
 mand." 
 
 So saying, Bob led the squatter behind the cabin 
 and began making some very particular inquiries 
 concerning Bristow and his party : What sort of 
 looking fellows were they ? What did they say ? 
 Did they get anything to eat at the cabin? and did 
 his friend the squatter really think they had gone 
 toward the old Brazos trail ? The man was very 
 uneasy, and seemed impatient to go back to the fire 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 75 
 
 again ; but by holding fast to his arm, and plying 
 him with such questions as these, Bob managed to 
 keep him behind the cabin for about five minutes, 
 and that was long enough for Carey to carry out 
 the orders that had been given him. 
 
 As soon as Bob and the squatter disappeared 
 around the corner of the cabin, Carey put his pipe 
 into his mouth, and, enjoining silence upon his 
 comrades by shaking his fore finger at them, he 
 quickly mounted the steps that led to the porch 
 and walked into the cabin. As he did so there was 
 a faint rustling in one corner of the room, and, look 
 ing over his left shoulder without turning his head, 
 Carey saw a man who was lying on a rude couch 
 draw a blanket quickly over his face. In his eager 
 ness to conceal his features the man probably for 
 got that he had a pair of feet, for he pulled the 
 blanket up a little too high. 
 
 " Aha ! my fine lad," said the trooper as he noise 
 lessly opened the stove-door and looked into it, as 
 if he were searching for a live coal with which to 
 light his pipe, " I see a pair of No. 1 2 army bro- 
 gans, and also the lower portions of a pair of light 
 blue breeches with a yellow stripe down the seams. 
 Bryant, my boy, that s you. I see also that this 
 
76 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 stove is in perfect order, but as there are no coals 
 in it, I ll have to get a light at the fire outside." 
 
 When Carey came out of the cabin his comrades 
 fa ,es were full of inquiry, but the trooper only 
 winked at them and nodded his head, as if to say 
 that he could tell something that would astonish 
 them if he only felt so disposed. 
 
 By this time dinner was ready, and Loring s 
 loud call of " Coffee !" brought Bob and the squat 
 ter from behind the cabin. The latter accepted 
 Loring s invitation to drink a cup of coffee with 
 " the boys," but he disposed of it in great haste, 
 hot as it was, as if he hoped by his example to in 
 duce them to do likewise. But Bob and his com 
 panions were in no hurry. They lingered a long 
 time over their homely meal, and then the smokers 
 were allowed to empty a pipe apiece before the or 
 der was given to " catch up." The squatter began 
 to breathe easier after that, and when he saw the 
 troopers in their saddles and ready to start, his de 
 light was so apparent that they all noticed it. 
 
 " Wa l, good-bye, if you must go," said he cheer 
 ily. "Will you stop when you come back?" 
 
 " Oh, you needn t expect to see us here again," 
 said Bob. " If we go to Brazos City, we shall 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 77 
 
 take a short cut across the country when we re 
 turn to the fort." 
 
 " That s where I reckon they re goin , as I told 
 you ; an my advice would be for you to go straight 
 to Brazos, without stoppin on the way, an when 
 they get there you ll be all ready to take em in. 
 See?" 
 
 " Yes, I see," answered Bob, " and it s some 
 thing worth thinking of. Forward, column left ! 
 Trot! gallop!" 
 
 The troopers moved rapidly away from the cabin, 
 and, to the intense surprise and indignation of all 
 his followers, who thought that their corporal had 
 been deceived by the squatter, Bob led them off 
 toward the old Brazos trail. At length one of them 
 ventured to remonstrate. 
 
 "Corporal," said he, "you re going wrong." 
 
 " I know it," answered Bob. " Carey, tell us 
 what you saw in that cabin. Were our suspicions 
 correct ?" 
 
 " Indeed they were," was Carey s reply. " In 
 the first place, that stove was all right, but the 
 squatter didn t want us to use it, for Bryant was 
 hiding in the cabin. He was lying on the floor, 
 covered up with a blanket." 
 
78 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 " How do you know it was Bryant ?" asked Bob. 
 "Did you see his face?" 
 
 " No, I didn t ; it was concealed by the blanket. 
 ] saw his feet," said Carey; and his answer was 
 received by the troopers with a sigh of satisfac 
 tion. It was all that was needed to establish he 
 identity of the man who had taken refuge in the 
 squatter s cabin. 
 
 "I didn t think I could be wrong," observed 
 Bob, " for that man condemned himself before we 
 had been in his presence ten minutes." 
 
 " Why don t you go back and snatch Bryant?" 
 demanded one of the troopers, seeing that the 
 corporal did not slacken his pace. " Why didn t 
 you do it while we were at the cabin ?" 
 
 " Because I had no right to do it," answered 
 Bob. " If I should go to searching houses, I 
 might get myself into trouble with the colonel. 
 Another thing, boys : J shouldn t care to enter 
 that man s castle to look for anything unless I 
 was a civil officer and armed with a search-war 
 rant. He is a hard one, unless his looks belie 
 him." 
 
 " I thought so myself," said Loring. " But 
 you are not going back without Bryant, are you ? 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 79 
 
 What do you suppose he is doing there, any 
 way?" 
 
 " Of course I shall not go back without him," 
 answered Bob quietly. " He has probably hired 
 out to that squatter, and we must watch our chance 
 and catch him out of doors before we can arrest 
 him." 
 
 "Well, are you going to Brazos City?" 
 
 " Not by a long shot. Bristow and the fellows 
 who are still with him have not gone that way. 
 As soon as we get behind that belt of post-oaks 
 you see in advance of us, I intend to circle around 
 and go back toward the river again." 
 
 Although the troopers rode at a rapid gait, it 
 took them nearly three hours to carry out this 
 programme. At the end of that time they struck 
 the old stage-road, which, in the days gone by, 
 had served as a highway between Brownsville and 
 some of the remote frontier-towns; but when the 
 raiders forced the settlements back into the interior 
 the stage-route was abandoned, and all that now 
 remained to tell of the business that had once been 
 done on it were the half-ruined stations which were 
 scattered along the road at intervals of fifteen or 
 twenty miles. 
 
80 GEORGE AT THE FOET. 
 
 These stations were built of stone, and were 
 large enough to accommodate a dozen horses and 
 half as many stable-men and drivers, besides the 
 necessary food for both men and animals. Each 
 station was provided with a "dug-out," a minia 
 ture fort, into which the employes of the route 
 could retreat in case they were attacked by hos 
 tile Indians or Mexican raiders. It was simply a 
 cellar of sufficient size to shelter nine or ten men 
 at close quarters, covered with logs and dirt, and 
 furnished with loopholes on all sides at the height 
 of a foot or more above the ground. It looked 
 like a mound of earth supported on logs about two 
 feet high. The only way of getting into one of these 
 little fortifications was through an underground pas 
 sage-way which led from the stables. With these 
 arrangements for their defence a few well-armed 
 and determined men could hold their own against 
 all the raiders that could get around them. 
 
 About four o clock in the afternoon Bob and his 
 troopers came within sight of one of these stations, 
 and as soon as their eyes rested upon it they drew 
 up their horses with a jerk, at the same time ut 
 tering exclamations of astonishment and delight. 
 Standing in front of the open door were several 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 81 
 
 men dressed in the uniform of the regular army. 
 They seemed to be holding a consultation, and so 
 deeply engrossed were they with their deliberations 
 that they did not notice the approach of the troop 
 ers, although the latter had stopped their horses 
 on the summit of a high ridge in plain view f 
 them. 
 
 " T wonder if those are our men ?" said Carey, 
 with some excitement in his tones. 
 
 "We shall soon know," was Bob s calm reply. 
 " Whoever they are, they will have to give an 
 account of themselves, for I am instructed to ar 
 rest everybody I meet wearing a uniform." 
 
 "If they are our fellows, we ve got them cor 
 ralled/ 7 remarked Loring. 
 
 " Yes, but I don t much like the way we have 
 corralled them," returned Carey. " Do you see 
 that dug-out about twenty yards from the north 
 west corner of the station ? If they go in there 
 they can laugh at us. The only way we could 
 get them out would be to starve them out." 
 
 " That would take too long," said Bob ; and 
 the tone in which the words were uttered made 
 his comrades look at him with some curiosity. 
 "Let s go down there and interview them, and 
 
 6 
 
82 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 then we shall know how to act. Forward ! 
 Trot!" 
 
 Just as these commands were given a commotion 
 among the men in front of the station indicated that 
 somebody had sounded an alarm. They gazed at 
 the troopers for a moment as if they were thunder 
 struck, and then made a simultaneous rush for the 
 entrance. This action on their part told Bob as 
 plainly as w r ords that they were the men of whom 
 he had been sent in pursuit, and that they did not 
 intend to go back to the fort if they could help it. 
 A moment later a loud slamming and pounding 
 indicated that the deserters were trying to close 
 and barricade the door. This had scarcely been 
 accomplished when the troopers dashed up to 
 the station and swung themselves out of their 
 saddles. 
 
 Leaving two of his men to hold the horses, Bob 
 and the rest walked around the corner of the sta 
 tion and looked at the dug-out. There was a face 
 in front of every loophole. Anybody could see 
 that the deserters had the advantage of position, 
 and the troopers wondered what Bob was going 
 to do about it. They glanced at his face, but could 
 see nothing there to tell them whether he was ex- 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 83 
 
 cited, afraid or discouraged. It wore its usual ex 
 pression. 
 
 " Well, boys," said Bob at length, " if you have 
 grown tired of roaming about the country, come 
 out, and we will go back to the post. The colonel 
 wants to see you." 
 
 " We don t doubt it, but we don t want to see 
 him/ replied a voice that Bob recognized at once. 
 " We think we see ourselves going back ! We 
 didn t desert for that." 
 
 "Gus Bobbins, I am sorry that you are in there," 
 said Bob. " What will you say to your father and 
 mother when you see them again ?" 
 
 " Don t know, I am sure," answered Gus. 
 " Haven t had any time to think about that. But 
 you know yourself that I can t go back to the 
 post. The colonel said that if I were ever court- 
 martialled again for desertion, I should go to pris 
 on; but I ll fight till I drop before I ll do 
 that." 
 
 "Say, Bob," shouted another voice, "do you 
 remember what I said I would do to that inform 
 er if I ever found out who he was? You are 
 the fellow, and here s your pay." 
 
 It was Bristow who spoke, and as lie uttered 
 
84 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 these words he thrust the muzzle of his carbine 
 through the loophole in front of him. The chorus 
 of ejaculations and remonstrances which arose from 
 the inside of the dug-out showed that the rest of 
 the deserters were not yet ready to resort to the 
 use of their firearms; but Bristow was almost 
 half crazed by rage and fear, and just as some 
 body seized him from behind and jerked him 
 away from the loophole, his carbine roared, and 
 Bob Owens turned halfway round and staggered 
 back a step or two, as if he were struck and 
 about to fall. 
 
 This unexpected act excited Bob s troopers 
 with whom he was an especial favorite almost 
 to frenzy. Believing that he had been seriously 
 if not fatally injured it did not seem possible that 
 anybody could miss a mark of the size of his body 
 at the distance of ten paces one of them sprang 
 forward to support him, while the others discharg 
 ed their carbines at the loopholes in rapid succes 
 sion. Their volley was not entirely without effect,. 
 for a loud yell of agony came from the inside of 
 the dug-out, bearing testimony to the fact that 
 one bullet at least had found a target somewhere 
 on the person of one of the deserters. 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 85 
 
 "Cease firing!" shouted Bob. 
 
 He gently released himself from the embrace of 
 the strong arms that had been thrown around him, 
 and looked down at the gaping rent Bristow s bul 
 let had made in the breast of his coat. The mis 
 sile had passed through his thick carbine-sling and 
 breast-belt, had cut into his coat, vest and shirt, 
 and ploughed a deep furrow through a well-filled 
 wallet which he carried in his inside pocket. For 
 tunately, it was a glancing shot, but the force with 
 which it struck him was almost sufficient to knock 
 him off his feet. 
 
 " I m not hurt at all," said he as his men crowd 
 ed about him, " but I shall have to put a patch on 
 my coat when I get back to the post. I say, there," 
 he shouted, addressing himself to the inmates of 
 the dug-out, " was there anybody hurt in there ? 
 I thought I heard a yell." 
 
 " Yes, and you ll hear another yell if you don t 
 go away and let us alone," replied Bristow. " I ll 
 make a better shot the next time I pull on you." 
 
 " All right !" said Bob. " I ll give you a chance 
 in just about five minutes. Loring, " he added in 
 a lower tone, " you and Phillips stay here and hold 
 the horses, and the rest of you follow me." 
 
86 GEOEGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 " Are you going to storm them ?" asked Loring. 
 
 " I am," was the decided reply. " It is the only 
 way I can get them out, for they ll not come of 
 their own free will." 
 
 " Then I shaVt stay here and hold the horses ; 
 that s flat," declared Loring. 
 
 "Neither will I," chimed in Phillips. "The 
 picket-pins will hold them as well as we can." 
 
 "All right!" replied Bob. "Stake them out, 
 and while you are doing it Carey and I will see 
 how we are going to get into the station." 
 
 The door to which Bob now turned his attention 
 did not prove to be a very serious obstacle. It 
 was made of heavy planks, and if it had been in 
 good condition it would have taken a good deal of 
 chopping with a sharp axe before one could have 
 forced his way through it; but the hinges had rust 
 ed off, and the planks had shrunk to such a degree 
 that the bar which held the door in its place could 
 be seen and reached with a sabre. A few blows 
 with one of these weapons knocked this bar from 
 its place, and when that was done, the door, hav 
 ing nothing to support it, fell back into the stable 
 with a loud crash. Bob entered, with Carey at his 
 heels, and, making his way to a small apartment 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 87 
 
 which had once been used as a sleeping-room by the 
 stablemen and drivers, he found there a trap-door, 
 which he threw open, revealing a flight of rude steps 
 leading into the underground passage that com 
 municated with the dug-out. By this time the rest 
 of the troopers arrived on the scene. They looked 
 dubiously at the dark passage-way, and then they 
 looked at Bob. 
 
 " Do you really mean to go down there, Owens?" 
 asked Loring. " It s sure death." 
 
 " I believe so myself, but I am going all the 
 same," replied Bob, who was thoroughly aroused by 
 the attempt that had been made on his life. " If 
 we are not willing to face death at any moment, we 
 had no business to enlist. Must I go alone?" 
 
 "Not much," was the unanimous response. "If 
 you are bound to go, we are going too." 
 
 "Leave your sabres and carbines here," com 
 manded Bob. "They will only be in the way. 
 Draw revolvers, but don t shoot except in self- 
 defence." 
 
 Bob knew as well as his men did that he was 
 about to enter upon a very perilous undertaking. 
 Bristow had shown that he was desperate enough 
 to shoot, and he had even threatened that if he got 
 
88 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 another chance at Bob he would make a better shot 
 than he did before. Some of the men who were with 
 him were known to be hard characters, and it was 
 very probable that they would back him up in the 
 resistance he seemed determined to make. But Bob, 
 having made up his mind as to the course he ought 
 pursue, never once faltered. He was a soldier, and 
 a soldier s first duty was to obey orders. He had 
 been commanded to find the deserters and arrest 
 them at all hazards ; and, having obeyed the first 
 part of his instructions, he was resolved to carry 
 them out to the letter or perish in the attempt. 
 
 " Now I think we are all ready," said Bob, aftei 
 the sabres and carbines had been laid in the empty 
 bunks and the revolvers drawn and examined. 
 " Stick close to me, and remember that if we don t 
 take them they will kill us. Bristow, Sandy and 
 Talbot are the only men we have to fear, and if we 
 can only get the drop on them we are all right. 
 Come on." 
 
 Although Bob was the youngest soldier, he was 
 the calmest one of the seven troopers who descend 
 ed those steps. When he reached the bottom he 
 looked along the passage-way toward the dug-out, 
 which was dimly lighted by the sunbeams which 
 
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING. 89 
 
 streamed in through the loopholes on the western 
 side, and saw the deserters standing in line awaiting 
 his approach. 
 
 " Halt !" cried a voice. " Come a step nearer 
 and you are all dead men." 
 
 It was Bristow who spoke, and the words were 
 followed by the ominous click of the lock of his 
 carbine. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE NEW SCOUT. 
 
 " TTALT !" cried Bristow again. It was so dark 
 in the passage-way that he could not see 
 the troopers, but the sound of their footsteps told 
 him that they were still advancing toward the dug 
 out. " That s twice/ he continued. " If I have 
 to halt you the third time, I ll send a bullet out 
 there." 
 
 " Bristow, you had better not try that," answered 
 Bob, without the least tremor in his voice. " You 
 have already done more than you will want to 
 stand punishment for. Besides, I have got you 
 covered, and if you move that carbine a hair s 
 breadth you are a gone deserter." 
 
 " And I ve got the drop on you, Sandy," said 
 Carey, thrusting his cocked revolver over Bob s 
 shoulder, "so don t wink. I say, corporal," he 
 added in a whisper, " I don t see Talbot any 
 where." 
 yo 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. 91 
 
 "Neither do I," answered Bob. "Keep youi 
 eyes open, for he may be up to playing us some 
 trick." 
 
 Whether it was the cool determination exhibited 
 by Bob and his men, or the consciousness that they 
 were in the wrong that took all the fight out of 
 the deserters, we cannot tell ; but they were cowed 
 by something, and when Corporal Owens and his 
 troopers filed into the dug-out, and the former 
 sternly commanded them to " throw up," every 
 carbine was dropped to the ground and five pairs 
 of hands were raised in the air. 
 
 "Where s the other?" demanded Bob. "There 
 ought to be six of you." 
 
 " Here I am," said a faint voice. 
 
 Bob looked in the direction from which the voice 
 came, and saw Talbot sitting in a dark corner, his 
 carbine lying by his side and both his hands raised 
 above his head. He wore a handkerchief around 
 his forehead, and, dim as the light was, Bob could 
 see that it was streaked with blood. 
 
 "Are you badly hurt?" he asked with some 
 anxiety. 
 
 "No, he isn t," exclaimed Bristow, before the 
 wounded man could speak. " A glancing ball cut 
 
92 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 a little crease in his scalp, and he thinks he is 
 killed." 
 
 " I wish you had this little crease in your own 
 scalp/ said Talbot, looking savagely at Bristow. 
 " If it hadn t been for you I never should have 
 been here. 7 
 
 " And if it hadn t been for you, and a few cow 
 ards just like you, we never should have been cap 
 tured," retorted Bristow. " We could have held 
 our own against a squad four times as big as the 
 one Owens has brought with him ; but now " 
 
 " That ll do," interrupted Bob. " I am not go 
 ing to have any quarrelling here ; and, Bristow, 
 there s a court-martial coming, and you had better 
 keep a quiet tongue in your head. Carey, stand in 
 the mouth of that passage-way. Phillips, pick up 
 the carbines, and the rest of you sound them." 
 
 These orders were promptly obeyed, and when 
 the " sounding " had been completed the deserters 
 had not even a pocket-knife left. 
 
 " Now, boys," continued Bob, " as you seem to 
 like these quarters so well, you can stay here to 
 night all except you, Talbot ; you will come up 
 and have your wound examined. We didn t come 
 prepared to take care of injured men, but we will 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. 93 
 
 do the best we can for you. We will get some 
 supper for you men, and when you feel so inclined 
 you can spread your blankets on the floor and go 
 to sleep. Go on, Carey." 
 
 At a sign from Bob the troopers followed Carey, 
 who led the way along the passage ; then Talbot 
 fell in, carrying his blanket over his shoulder, and 
 Bob brought up the rear. The trap-door was shut, 
 and Talbot was informed that the sleeping-room 
 was to be his prison for the night. His wound was 
 dressed with some cold coffee that Bob happened 
 to have in his canteen, and the deserter was as 
 sured that there was no cause for apprehension. The 
 wound, which was scarcely an inch long, was only 
 skin-deep, but it bled profusely, and that was 
 probably the reason why Talbot was so badly 
 frightened. When two sentries had been posted 
 one at the door of the stable to keep an eye on 
 Talbot, and the other at the dug-out to see that 
 the deserters who were confined there did not at 
 tempt to work their way out during the night 
 Brb ordered supper to be served at once. He had 
 performed a brave act, and now that the danger 
 was over he began to realize that lie had passed 
 through something of an ordeal. Pie lifted his 
 
94 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 cap, and found that his forehead was covered with 
 great drops of perspiration. 
 
 "You have done well," said Carey, extending 
 his hand to Bob when the latter came out of the 
 sleeping-room. "I didn t know you had so much 
 pluck. I shall take particular pains to see that 
 the lieutenant hears of this day s work." 
 
 " He will tell you that I did nothing but my 
 duty," replied Bob, who was very glad to know 
 that his men were satisfied with his conduct. 
 
 " But it isn t everybody who is brave enough 
 to do his duty," said Carey as he touched a match 
 to the light- wood he had piled in the fireplace ; 
 "and perhaps the lieutenant will say that you 
 ought to be a sergeant. That was Bryant back 
 there in that squatter s cabin, wasn t it? I looked 
 for him the minute we entered the dug-out." 
 
 "So did I," answered Bob, "and I saw at a 
 glance that he wasn t there. We will attend to 
 him to-morrow." 
 
 "But perhaps he won t be there." 
 
 "I think he will. It is my opinion that he 
 has hired out to that squatter, and that he intends 
 to trust to disguise to escape recognition. A man 
 in citizen s clothes doesn t look much like the same 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. 95 
 
 man in uniform; did you ever notice that? But 
 even if he isn t there, what odds does it make to 
 us? We are having a good time, and I would 
 just as soon stay out here on the plains for a 
 week or ten days as to go back to the fort and 
 drill." 
 
 "I say, corporal," exclaimed the sentry who was 
 stationed at the door, " here s somebody coming, 
 and unless my eyes are going back on me he is 
 dressed in uniform." 
 
 "Who in the world can it be?" exclaimed 
 Carey. 
 
 "We ll soon find out," replied Bob, "for if he 
 has got any of our uncle s clothes on we are bound 
 to take him in, unless he proves to be an officer." 
 
 Bob and his men hurried to the door, and, 
 looking in the direction in which the sentry was 
 gazing, saw a horseman about a quarter of a 
 mile away. He had halted on the top of a ridge, 
 and Loring, who had good " Plains eyes," declared 
 that he was looking at them through a field-glass. 
 He certainly was dressed in uniform, and had with 
 him a small black mule which bore a good-sized 
 pack on its back. 
 
 "I can t make him out," said Bob, waving his 
 
96 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 hand in the air and beckoning the horseman to 
 approach. " He is a soldier, but what is he doing 
 with that pack-mule ? It isn t Bryant, is it ? If 
 it is, where did he get that mule and that field- 
 glass? Loring, you and Phillips put the bridles 
 on your horses never mind the saddles and stand 
 by to give him a race if he tries to run away. Don t 
 mount until I give the word." 
 
 But the horseman had no intention of running 
 away. He replied to Bob s signal by waving his 
 hand over his head, and after putting away his 
 field-glass rode down the ridge and came toward 
 the station at a gallop. As he approached nearer 
 the troopers saw that he was a stranger, and a 
 very good-looking one, too. He was almost as 
 dark as an Indian, his hair was long enough to 
 reach to his shoulders, and the eyes that looked 
 out from under the peak of his fatigue-cap were 
 as black as midnight and as sharp as those of an 
 eagle. He rode a magnificent horse, and his seat 
 was easy and graceful. His only weapon that is, 
 the only one that could be seen was a heavy Win 
 chester rifle, which was slung at his back. If he 
 was a soldier, he was a very fancy one, for his 
 cavalry uniform, although in strict keeping with 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. 97 
 
 the regulations, was made of the finest material; 
 he wore white gauntlet gloves on his hands; and 
 instead of the ungainly, ill-fitting army shoe he 
 wore fine boots, the heels of which were armed 
 with small silver spurs. The troopers thought 
 from his dress and carriage that he must be an 
 officer, and when he drew rein in front of the 
 station they stood at " attention " and saluted him. 
 
 " I don t deserve that honor, boys," said the 
 stranger with a laugh ; " I am not a shoulder- 
 strap." 
 
 " You are not?" exclaimed Bob, who was not a 
 little astonished as well as provoked at the mistake 
 he had made. "Well, it seems to me that you are 
 throwing on a good many frills for a private. 
 Where do you belong?" 
 
 " At Fort Lamoine," said the stranger ; and the 
 answer was given in a tone quite as curt as was 
 that in which the question was asked. 
 
 " So do I, but I don t remember to have seen you 
 there, and so I shall have to ask you to give an ac 
 count of yourself. Dismount." 
 
 "I shall do as I please about that," replied the 
 stranger, who had all the while been staring very 
 
 hard at Bob. 
 r 
 
98 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 " Well, you won t do as you please about it," re 
 turned the corporal, while Carey walked up and 
 took the stranger s horse by the bit, " You will 
 do as I please. If you belong at Fort Lamoine 
 you will go there with me in the morning, and 
 then I shall be sure you get there. I am acting 
 under orders." 
 
 The horseman thrust his hand into the inside 
 pocket of his jacket, and pulling out a bill-book 
 took from it a paper which he opened and handed 
 to Bob to read. 
 
 " If you are acting under orders I have no more 
 to say," said he, " but there is something which 
 I think will see me through until day after to 
 morrow. It is my furlough. Look here, part 
 ner," he added suddenly, "isn t your name Bob 
 Owens?" 
 
 The latter started as if he had been shot, his un 
 der jaw dropped down, and for a few seconds he 
 stood looking at the speaker as if he could hardly 
 believe his ears. Then a light seemed to break 
 in upon him, and springing forward he grasped the 
 horseman by the arm and fairly pulled him out of 
 the saddle. After that lie shook one of his hands 
 with both his own and executed a sort of war-dance 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. 
 
 around him, while the troopers stood and looked 
 on in speechless amazement. 
 
 " George Ackerman, I am delighted to see you 
 again," cried Bob as soon as he could speak. " I 
 take it all back, George : I didn t mean to insult 
 you." 
 
 " It s Owens, isn t it ?" said George, for it was he. 
 
 " Of course it is; and if you hadn t been blind 
 you would have known it as soon as you saw me," 
 replied Bob. 
 
 "I don t think my eyesight is any worse than 
 your own, for you didn t know me until I called 
 you by name/ retorted George. "Your uniform 
 tells me where you have been and what you have 
 been doing since I last saw you, but it doesn t tell 
 me how I came to lose you in Galveston so sudden 
 ly and mysteriously. If we had kept together a 
 little while longer we should have been all right, 
 for I had scarcely missed you befoje I ran against 
 Mr. Gilbert the friend to whom I wrote for 
 money, you know. If you belong at Fort La- 
 moine, what are you doing here?" 
 
 "Stake out your horse and mule and I will tell 
 you all about it," answered Bob. "But first tell 
 me what right you have to wear those clothes." 
 
100 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 "I am a United States scout," replied George. 
 "At least, that was the title under which I was 
 sworn in, but it does not clearly explain the duties 
 that are expected of me. I am to act as guide to 
 the troops when they cross the river in pursuit of 
 the raiders." 
 
 " Oh yes," exclaimed Bob ; " I remember all 
 about it now. I was off after the hostiles when 
 you came to the post and offered your services to 
 the colonel. When I came back I found that the 
 men had a good deal to say about our new scout, 
 who, they said, looked about as much like a scout 
 as they looked like the queen of England ; but I 
 had no idea who he was ; and, seeing it s you, I ll 
 not arrest you," he added with a laugh. "Great 
 Csesar ! that was the second close call I have had 
 to-day." 
 
 " If I had had any idea that you were going to 
 touch him I should have warned you," said George. 
 " It won t do for a stranger to come within reach of 
 him, and it s the greatest wonder in the world that 
 he didn t knock your brains out." 
 
 While the two friends were talking, George Ack- 
 erman, with the dexterity acquired by long expe 
 rience, relieved the mule of his heavy pack and slip- 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. 101 
 
 ped the halter over his head, leaving the animal at 
 liberty. Bob, judging the mule by those unruly 
 members of his species that were employed in the 
 quartermaster s department at the fort, stepped up 
 and attempted to lay hold of his foretop ; but the an 
 imal dodged him very cleverly, and, wheeling like 
 lightning, sent both his heels at the boy s head. 
 The latter dropped just in time to escape the blow, 
 but he felt the " wind " of the heels in his face and 
 heard them whistle close by his ear. 
 
 " Does he always act that way when strangers 
 approach him ?" asked Bob as he picked up his cap. 
 " If he does, you need not be afraid that anybody 
 will steal him. I tried to catch him because I was 
 afraid he would run off." 
 
 " Oh, he ll not do that. I never think of stak 
 ing him out, for he always stays by my horse, and 
 I <?an catch him anywhere. There s a horse for 
 you, Bob, and the best one I ever owned. He is 
 a present from Mr. Gilbert, who bought him in 
 Kentucky for his own private use, but when he 
 found that I was going into the army he gave 
 him to me, with the assurance that Fletcher and 
 his band could never make a prisoner of me while 
 I was on his back. I lost my old horse, Ranger, 
 
102 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 at the time I was captured by the Greasers, and he 
 was killed at the battle of Queretaro. Now, what 
 are you doing so far away from the fort ?" asked 
 George as he picked up his picket-pin and led 
 the horse around the station to find a good place 
 to stake him out. " How did you come to go into 
 the army, anyway, and what have you been doing 
 to win those stripes?" 
 
 " It would take a long time to answer your last 
 two questions/ 7 answered Bob, "and so we will 
 leave them until the rest of the boys have gone 
 to bed. I came here in pursuit of seven men who 
 deserted last night." 
 
 " You did ? Well, Bob, your superiors must 
 have a good deal of confidence in you to send you 
 off on such an expedition. Where do you expect 
 to find them?" 
 
 " I have found them already, and arrested them 
 too; that is, I have caught six of them, and I 
 know where the other one is. I intend to take 
 him in hand to-morrow, though, to tell the truth, 
 I don t know just how I am going to do it. I 
 could have arrested him to-day if I had had 
 authority to take him out of a house ; but I 
 wasn t sure on that point, and so I let him go 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. 103 
 
 until I could have time to make up my mind to 
 something. I got that about fifteen minutes before 
 you came up/ 7 said Bob, directing his friend s atten 
 tion to the hole in his coat that had been made by 
 Bristow s bullet. " My men returned the fire and 
 slightly wounded one of the deserters, who is now 
 laid out on his blanket in the sleeping-room. By 
 the way, do you know Gus Robbins?" 
 
 " I should say I did," replied George, after he 
 had followed the course of the bullet through Bob s 
 clothing and expressed his surprise at his friend s 
 narrow escape. " Pie ran away from his home in 
 Foxboro , and came down here to visit my cousin, 
 who was at that time living with his father at my 
 ranche. He and Ned, who were constantly plum 
 ing themselves on the numerous scrapes from which 
 they had narrowly escaped, could not rest easy until 
 they kicked up a row in the settlement, and they 
 did it by shooting Mr. Cook s cattle. The conse 
 quence was, that I had to show them the way out 
 of the country. Don t you remember I told you 
 all about it on the morning we walked from that 
 trapper s cabin to White River Landing? I say, 
 Bob, have you any idea of becoming a trapper when 
 your term of service expires ?" 
 
104 GEOBGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 "Nary idea," was the emphatic reply. "A 
 soldier s life is hard enough for me, and there is 
 quite as much danger in it as I care to face." 
 
 "What do you know about Gus Bobbins?" 
 continued George. " He left my cousin Ned very 
 suddenly in Brownsville, and none of us ever heard 
 of him afterward. It can t be possible that he en 
 listed too ?" 
 
 " Yes, he did. He belongs to my troop, and is 
 just as fond of getting into scrapes as he ever was. 
 When he is not in the guard-house he is almost sure 
 to be doing extra duty for some offence against mil 
 itary discipline. He was one of the deserters I was 
 ordered to capture, and he is in the dug-out now. 
 But I almost wish he had got away. You know 
 him, and when I was arresting him I almost felt 
 as if I were doing something against you. I 
 haven t forgotten that you offered me a home, 
 and" 
 
 " The obligation is all on my side," interrupted 
 George. "You saved my life twice. Let s sit 
 down here and talk a while. Go ahead and tell 
 me something." 
 
 The boys threw themselves on the grass near 
 the place where George had staked out his horse, 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. 105 
 
 and Bob began and described some of the inter 
 esting incidents that had happened since he last 
 saw the cub pilot. He told the truth in regard 
 to everything, not even excepting the parting in 
 Galveston. His experience in the army was rap 
 idly working a change in him, and he had not 
 told a wilful lie since he assured the recruiting- 
 officer that he was an orphan and that there was 
 no one in the world who had a right to say whether 
 he should enlist or not. 
 
 " I have done a good many mean things in my 
 life, I am sorry to say," Bob added in winding up 
 his story, " but about the meanest trick I ever play 
 ed upon anybody I played upon you on the day 
 we parted. I found fifty cents in my watch-pocket, 
 which I had carelessly shoved in there when mon 
 ey was plenty, and I knew it would buy me sup 
 per and lodging. It wasn t enough for both of us, 
 so I ran away from you and went off by myself. 
 That s the way we became separated, and I tell 
 you of it at the risk of losing your friend 
 ship." 
 
 " You risk nothing at all," replied George, 
 extending his hand. " I couldn t expect that you 
 would take care of me and pay my way at the 
 
106 GEORGE AT THE PORT. 
 
 sacrifice of all your own personal comfort; but 
 I do wish you had waited just a little longer, 
 for then you never would have had to enlist. 
 I am ready to prove that I think as much of you 
 now as I ever did. I shall keep an eye on you 
 until your term of service expires, and then you 
 must go home with me. I am sole master there 
 now Mr. Gilbert is my guardian, but he never 
 has a word to say and as you have no home of 
 your own " 
 
 " That was a lie, George/ interrupted Bob. " I 
 have a home at Eochdale, a few miles below Lin- 
 wood, where I first pulled you out of the river 
 you know where it is and as kind a father and 
 mother as any scoundrel of my size ever had. 
 When I ran away I intended to drop my identity 
 altogether, and that was the reason I told you 
 I was alone in the world. What do you think of 
 me now?" 
 
 George was greatly astonished at this confession, 
 for he had put implicit faith in Bob s story. He 
 was strictly truthful himself, and he could not 
 understand how a boy as physically brave as Bob 
 Owens had showed himself to be could be cow 
 ard enough to tell a lie. 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. 107 
 
 " I feel sorry for you/ said he at length ; " and 
 if I were in your place I would go home as soon 
 as I received my discharge if you keep on as 
 you have begun you may rest assured that it will 
 be an honorable one and try to make amends 
 for my misdeeds. Remember that 
 
 ]S"o star is ever lost we once have seen; 
 We always may be what we might have been/ 
 
 and go resolutely to work to live it down. 7 YouVe 
 got the pluck to do it, I know. 7 
 
 " Coffee !" shouted Carey, thrusting his head 
 around the corner of the station. 
 
 " By the way/ 7 continued George as he and 
 Bob arose to their feet, "what did you mean by 
 saying that, seeing it was I, you wouldn t arrest 
 
 " Oh, the colonel was mad when he started me 
 out this morning, and ordered me to gobble up 
 everybody that is, privates and non-commission 
 ed officers I caught outside the stockade. But 
 of course I couldn t touch you if I wanted to, 
 foi your leave of absence protects you. You will 
 stay here to-night and ride to the fort with us 
 to-morrow, will you not?" 
 
108 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 "Certainly I will. Having found you again, 
 I am not going to leave you in a hurry. Say, 
 Bob, would you have any objections to bringing 
 Gus Robbins up to eat supper with us?" 
 
 " None whatever. I am sorry to be obliged to 
 keep him and the rest so closely confined, but I 
 know that they are a slippery lot every one of 
 them has deserted before and if I should let 
 them get away now that I have got a grip on 
 them, the colonel would give me Hail Columbia. 
 Gus has got himself into a mess, George. The 
 first time he deserted he was simply put into the 
 guard-house and fined, but this escapade is going 
 to land him at Leavenworth. Now I will make 
 you acquainted with our boys, and then I will 
 go down and tell Gus that you want to see 
 him." 
 
 After the new scout had been introduced to 
 the troopers, Bob raised the trap-door and descend 
 ed into the dug-out, while George opened his 
 pack-saddle and took out of it a tin cup and 
 plate, a can of condensed milk, a box or two of 
 sardines and a few other delicacies, which he laid 
 upon the table beside the simple fare that Carey 
 had just served up. By the time he had finished 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. 109 
 
 the work of opening the cans with the aid of a 
 formidable-looking hunting-knife which he drew 
 from his boot-leg, Bob returned, followed by a 
 soldier who looked so unlike the dashing, fash 
 ionably-dressed Gus Bobbins he had seen in com 
 pany with his cousin Ned that George could hard 
 ly bring himself to believe that he was the same 
 boy. He looked pale and haggard ; and that was 
 not to be wondered at, for the prison at Fort Leav- 
 enworth was constantly looming up before him. 
 
 George, as we know, had a very slight ac 
 quaintance with Gus Robbins, having passed only 
 a few hours hi his company, and he was under 
 no obligations whatever to interest himself in his 
 behalf; but when he saw how utterly miserable 
 he was, his heart bled for him, and he at once 
 hit upon a plan for getting him out of the trouble 
 he had brought upon himself. He greeted Gus 
 very cordially, gave him a seat beside himself 
 at the table, and tried to put a little life into him 
 by talking about almost everything except life in 
 the army. 
 
 The deserters must have thought that their cap 
 tors felt very much elated over their success, for 
 a noisier party than that which was gathered about 
 
110 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 that rough board table was never seen anywhere. 
 Being almost entirely free from military restraint 
 sergeants and corporals do not hold their men 
 with so tight a rein as the commissioned officers 
 do, although they exact just as prompt obedience 
 to their commands they told stories and said 
 witty things and sung songs until they were 
 hoarse. The additions to their larder which 
 George had been able to supply gave them a 
 better supper than they were accustomed to, and 
 they were merry over it. 
 
 None of the members of Bob s squad had ever 
 seen the new scout before, and, although they treat 
 ed him with the greatest respect, they were sadly 
 disappointed in him. The scouts with whom they 
 were familiar were great, rough, bearded men, 
 strong of limb and slovenly in dress, who had 
 lived among the Indians all their lives, and had 
 the reputation of being able to whip their weight 
 in wild-cats; but this one looked as though he 
 had but just come out of a fashionable tailor s 
 shop, and, moreover, he was nothing but a boy 
 in years. What could the colonel have been 
 thinking of when he engaged this stripling to 
 lead men across the river and into the midst of 
 
THE NEW SCOUT. Ill 
 
 the desperadoes who were known to have their 
 strongholds there ? It was dangerous work, and 
 the guide ought to be a person of courage and 
 experience; and George didn t look as though he 
 had either. That was what the troopers thought 
 as they sat at the table casting furtive glances at 
 the new scout, who was talking earnestly with 
 Gus Bobbins ; but it was not long before they 
 found out that it took a brave man to follow 
 where he dared lead. 
 
 The first trooper who finished his supper took 
 the place of the sentry at the door, and the next 
 relieved the one who was standing guard over 
 the dug-out. When these two had satisfied their 
 appetites the dishes were washed, the table was 
 laid again and the deserters were ordered up. 
 Some of them appeared to be very much disheart 
 ened, and would scarcely look their comrades in 
 the face, while the others were so defiant, and 
 had so much to say about the colonel who had 
 ordered their arrest and the men who had carried 
 those orders into execution, that Bob was obliged 
 to warn them that if they did not eat more and 
 jaw less he would put them back into the dug 
 out without any supper. 
 
112 GEOKGE AT THE FOUT. 
 
 When the deserters had had all they wanted 
 to eat they were sent down to their prison, the 
 outside sentry was relieved, and Bob stood guard 
 at the door, with George for company. They 
 had much to talk about, and it was long after 
 midnight when they went to bed. They slept 
 on the same blankets, and the new scout went 
 off into the land of dreams with his arm thrown 
 lovingly around the boy who had twice saved 
 his life, and whom he had never expected to see 
 again. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. 
 
 ELL, old fellow, what do you think of 
 
 It was George Ackerman who uttered these 
 words, and the question was addressed to his 
 herdsman, Zeke. The former stood in front of 
 a full-length mirror that hung against the Avail 
 (among other extravagant and useless things for 
 which Uncle John had spent his nephew s money 
 were two elegant pier-glasses, one for his own 
 room and the other for Ned s), and Zeke was 
 sitting on the edge of a chair, with his elbows 
 resting on his knees and his chin supported by 
 his hands. 
 
 When the commander of Fort Lamoine accept 
 ed his proffered services, George had asked for and 
 received a furlough for thirty days to enable him 
 to procure an outfit and to consult with his guar 
 dian in regard to the management of the ranche 
 
 8 113 
 
114 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 during his absence. That furlough had nearly 
 expired, and George was about to start for the 
 fort. The honest fellows who had so long been 
 employed on the ranche that they began to look 
 upon themselves as members of the Ackerman 
 family could not bear the thought of parting 
 from him, and Zeke especially felt very gloomy 
 over it. He had often denounced, in the strong 
 est terms, the circumstances which seemed to ren 
 der it necessary that his young friend should cast 
 his lot among the soldiers for a season, and on 
 this particular morning he looked as though he 
 had lost everything that was worth living for. 
 
 George had just put on his new uniform for 
 the first time, and no one, except a very intimate 
 acquaintance, would have recognized in him the 
 rough-looking cowboy whom we introduced to 
 the reader in the first volume of this series of 
 books. During the eighteen months he had lived 
 in the pilot-house he had fallen in with some of 
 the ways of those by whom he was surrounded, 
 and grown very particular in regard to his per 
 sonal appearance, although he did not by any 
 means go to extremes, as his cousin Ned had done. 
 As he placed the jaunty fatigue-cap over his long, 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. 115 
 
 curly hair he looked rather complacently at the 
 handsome face and figure that were reflected from 
 the polished surface of the mirror. 
 
 " Come, Zeke, don t be cross/ 7 said he, walking 
 up to his herdsman and giving him a slap on the 
 back. "Say just one kind word to me before I 
 go." 
 
 " I won t," growled Zeke in reply. 
 
 "Then wish me good luck in my new calling/ 
 added George. 
 
 " I won t," repeated the herdsman in a still loud 
 er tone. "You re always going off on some new 
 callin or another, an I don t see no sort of sense 
 in it. Didn t I stay home here, quiet an peaceable, 
 takin care of your critters, while you was a-phil- 
 anderin up and down the river on boats that was 
 likely at any minute to burn up or bust their 
 boilers ? Now that you have got safe home again, 
 why in creation don t you stay here? Good land 
 o Goshen!" shouted Zeke, jumping up, spreading 
 out his feet and flourishing both his huge fists in 
 the air, " of all the fool notions that ever a livin 
 boy got into his head " 
 
 "That ll do, Zeke," interrupted George with a 
 laugh. " I have heard that a thousand times, more 
 
116 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 or less, already. You will bid me good-bye when 
 T get ready to go, I suppose?" 
 
 " I s pose I won t do nothin of the kind," ex 
 claimed Zeke. " Of all the fool notions that ever 
 a livin boy " 
 
 " I understand. Come here and pack my clothes- 
 bag for me ; you can do it better than I can." 
 
 "I won t. Them things is goin to hang you 
 higher n the moon the first you know," said Zeke, 
 scowling savagely at the elegant Mexican costume 
 which George lifted from the bed. " Don t you 
 never go crost the river with them duds on, cause 
 if you do Fletcher*!! string you up for a spy." 
 
 " Not in peace-times, I guess," answered George. 
 
 " What odds does it make to sich as him whether 
 it s peace-times or not ? You ll see." 
 
 " Well, he will have to catch me before he hangs 
 me. Go and tell the cook that I am getting tired 
 of waiting for breakfast." 
 
 " I won t ; I won t never do nothin for you no 
 more, nor say another word to you, nuther." 
 
 "I am sorry you feel so bad about it," said 
 George as he proceeded to pack his clothes away 
 in a canvas bag he had provided for that purpose ; 
 ".but the thing is done, and it can t be undone." 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. 117 
 
 "I don t care if the Greasers come over here 
 next full moon an steal every huf an 7 horn you ve 
 got/ exclaimed the angry herdsman. 
 
 " I do/ replied George ; " I don t want them to 
 do anything of the kind. I don t want them to 
 steal another steer from me or anybody else, and 
 that is the very reason I became a scout. Our 
 troops are going to teach those fellows to stay on 
 their own side of the river, and I am going to help 
 them do it." 
 
 " There s enough without you, growled Zeke. 
 
 " Suppose that everybody thought so ; where 
 would we get the men to fight our battles ? What 
 in the world is that?" 
 
 For just then there was a terrific uproar on the 
 porch. Above the stamping of heavy boots and 
 hoarse but subdued ejaculations of rage, such as 
 men sometimes utter when they are engaged in a 
 fierce struggle, arose the voice of one who spoke 
 in pleading accents, but whose words suddenly 
 ceased with a kind of gasping sound, as if his 
 throat had been seized by a strong hand. Zeke sat 
 up on his chair and looked at George, whose face 
 expressed the utmost bewilderment. Before either 
 of them could speak the door was thrown open with 
 
118 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 great violence, and a dishevelled and half-stran 
 gled man, dressed in a dingy blue .jacket and a pair 
 of dirty leather trousers, was pitched into the room, 
 with such force that when he brought up against 
 Zeke that worthy herdsman was knocked out of his 
 chair, and the two came to the floor together. 
 
 " What do you mean by such work as this ?" 
 demanded George, looking first at the prostrate 
 man and then toward the door, where stood Jake 
 and Bob with their hands clenched and their faces 
 flushed with anger. 
 
 " Jest take a good squint at that feller s figger- 
 head an 7 answer the question for yourself, Mr. 
 George," answered Jake, shaking his fist at the man 
 who had been so unceremoniously introduced into 
 the room. " Give it to him good an strong, Zeke ! 
 -Well! I ll be blessed ! Won t you, Bob?" 
 
 This exclamation was called forth by an action on 
 the part of George Ackerman that astonished Jake 
 and Bob beyond measure. Zeke had instantly rec 
 ognized the man who had so unexpectedly prostrated 
 him, and, seizing him by the back of the neck in 
 his iron grasp, began shaking him as a dog would 
 shake a rat. George also recognized the man after 
 he had taken a second look at him, and springing 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. 119 
 
 forward he seized Zeke s arm and tore his grasp 
 loose. Then he assisted the man to his feet, and 
 taking his hand in his own shook it cordially. 
 
 " Well, I will be blessed !" repeated Jake, who 
 stood looking the very picture of astonishment. 
 " Won t you, Bob ?" 
 
 " I should say I would/ replied the latter, who 
 was equally amazed. " That s something I never 
 expected to see an Ackerman shaking hands with 
 a cattle-thief!" 
 
 " Springer," exclaimed George, " I am glad to 
 see you again ; and without your crutches, too ! 
 I hope you have entirely recovered." 
 
 Yes, the man who had made his entrance into 
 George s room in so unusual a manner was Springer, 
 whom we have often spoken of as the wounded 
 cattle-thief. He had, as we know, once been in 
 the employ of George s father ; but proving to be 
 utterly unfit for the position he held, Mr. Acker 
 man had discharged him, and Springer had sought 
 revenge by making an unsuccessful effort to burn 
 the ranche. Of course he could not stay in Texas 
 after that, so he fled across the river and joined his 
 fortunes with the Contra-Guerrillas, a regiment of 
 desperadoes in the employ of the ill-starred Max- 
 
120 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 imilian. He belonged, with other renegade Amer 
 icans, to Fletcher s band, who were the principal 
 foragers for Maximilian s army ; but instead of 
 robbing the adherents of Juarez, who probably 
 had no stock worth stealing, they made numerous 
 raids across the river and ran off the cattle belong 
 ing to the Texans. Springer was one of the band 
 who stampeded George s herd at Catfish Falls, and 
 during the short skirmish that followed Zeke sent 
 a bullet through each of his legs, wounding him 
 severely. He managed to keep up with the band 
 a few miles, but the rapid motion was too much 
 for him, and he was finally abandoned by his com 
 panions, who hurried the captured cattle toward the 
 river, leaving Springer to look out for himself. 
 
 The pain occasioned by the wounds that had 
 been inflicted upon him by Zeke s Winchester was 
 so intense that the raider was forced to travel very 
 slowly. Arriving on the banks of a little stream 
 that ran across the trail he was pursuing, he roll 
 ed out of his saddle to quench his thirst, which had 
 became almost unbearable ; but his bridle slipping 
 from his hand, his horse wandered away, and, as 
 Springer was not able to walk, he could not cateh 
 him again. He sank helplessly down beside a tree, 
 
AX UNEXPECTED GUEST. 121 
 
 where he was presently discovered by George Ack- 
 erman, who was making his way on foot toward Mr. 
 Gilbert s ranche. The boy ministered to his wants 
 by bringing him water in his hat and sharing with 
 him his slender stock of provisions, and Springer 
 showed his gratitude by warning George of a plot 
 which his uncle John and cousin Ned had laid 
 against him. He went into all the details, but 
 George refused to believe a word of it until sub 
 sequent events, which we have already described, 
 proved to his entire satisfaction that the thief had 
 told him nothing but the truth. 
 
 After spending half an hour in the man s com 
 pany, George caught his horse, assisted him into 
 the saddle, and Springer succeeded in crossing into 
 Mexico without being discovered by any of the 
 settlers whom Zeke had gathered together to re 
 capture George s herd. He made his way to Don 
 Miguel s ranche, and there our hero found him 
 when he was captured by Fletcher s men. The 
 raider seemed to be sorry for his misdeeds, and 
 George had assured him that if he ever made up 
 his mind to turn over a new leaf and lead a dif 
 ferent sort of life, he would assist him by every 
 means in his power. 
 
122 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 "Springer," said George, drawing up an easy- 
 chair for the use of his guest, " what brought you 
 over on this side of the river? Have you aban 
 doned Fletcher for good?" 
 
 The cattle-thief gasped and coughed three or 
 four times, as if he were trying to clear his throat 
 of something that stuck there and choked his utter 
 ance, and finally nodded his head in reply. 
 
 " Don t pay no attention to him, Mr. George!" 
 exclaimed Bob. " Pie don t know nothin but 
 stealin an 7 lyin , that feller don t, an I wouldn t 
 trust him as far as I could sling a yearlin ." 
 
 " If it wasn t for sich fellers as him you could 
 stay to hum quiet an peaceable like, an not have 
 to go off fur a soldier," added Jake. 
 
 "When I was a prisoner among the Greasers 
 he gave me advice that assisted me in making 
 my escape, and why should I not treat him kind 
 ly?" demanded George, turning indignantly upon 
 the speakers. " No visitor at the Ackerman ranche 
 was ever treated so shamefully before, and I tell 
 you I don t want the thing repeated." 
 
 "Why, Mr. George," stammered Jake, "he rid 
 up to the porch an said he wanted to speak to 
 you, an so we brung him in me an Bob did." 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. 123 
 
 "Go and tell the cook to put another plate on 
 the table and to hurry up breakfast/ said George 
 with an air of disgust. 
 
 " Mr. George/ said Zeke solemnly, " do you 
 mean by that that you re goin to break bread 
 with this this varmint?" 
 
 "I mean that Springer is going to eat a good 
 breakfast with me, if that is what you want to 
 know/ 7 replied George. 
 
 "Then, Bob, you needn t say nothin 7 about 
 that there other plate/ continued the herdsman, 
 picking up his hat and moving toward the door. 
 " Springer can have the one I was goin to use." 
 
 " Zeke, sit down and behave yourself/ exclaim 
 ed George. 
 
 "No, I won t. I ain t agoin to eat salt with 
 a man what tried to burn this ranche over your 
 dead father s head, an you a little babby at the 
 time, without no power to help yourself. I don t 
 know what this family is comin to, anyhow." 
 
 " No more do I," chimed in Bob, while he and 
 Jake looked daggers at their employer s new guest. 
 " Things ain t as they used to be in the good 
 ole days. I won t wait on no table that he sets 
 at." 
 
124 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 As if moved by a common impulse, the three 
 men left the room, Zeke closing the door behind 
 him with no gentle hand. The cattle-thief seemed 
 to be greatly relieved to see them go, but their 
 extraordinary conduct made him very uneasy, and 
 he looked toward George to see what the latter 
 thought about it. 
 
 " Never mind them," said the boy encouraging 
 ly. " They were employed on this ranche before 
 I was born, and have finally come to think that 
 they have more rights here than I have. Now, 
 what did you want to see me for? How can 
 I help you ? If I were going to stay at home, 
 so that I could stand between you and the set 
 tlers, I would give you *a herdsman s berth, if 
 that is what you want; but I am going to Fort 
 Lamoine as soon as I have packed my things and 
 disposed of my breakfast, and I may not be back 
 for a year. I am a United States scout." 
 
 " I wondered what you were doin with them 
 soldier-clothes on ; an that explains it," said 
 Springer, speaking with difficulty. " I don t reck 
 on you can help me none jest now, but mebbe I 
 can help you by puttin you on your guard agin 
 Fletcher." 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. 125 
 
 " Is he after me again ?" cried George. " I was 
 in hope I had seen and heard the last of him;" 
 
 " Them kind of fellers is always turnin up when 
 they isn t wanted," replied Springer. " He s come 
 back to his ole hole at that there ranche, bringin 
 a good many of his ole men with him, an some 
 new ones that would be wusser than he is, only 
 that ain t possible. Amongst them all, they have 
 laid a plan to visit you next full moon." 
 
 "Let them come," said George, snapping his 
 fingers in the air ; " they ll not get me, or any 
 stock either." 
 
 " He wants you more n he wants stock," con 
 tinued Springer. " That is, he wants you first. 
 Your uncle John put the very mischief into that 
 there feller s head, an he s goin to make a pris ner 
 of you, like he did afore. He knows that you 
 are master here now that you ve got more money 
 an cattle than you know what to do with ; an he 
 thinks you would rather give em all up than lose 
 your liberty." 
 
 "No doubt I would," answered George, " but 
 before he can make any demands upon me he 
 must catch me. That he will never do, for the 
 next time " 
 
126 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 He was about to say that the next time he saw 
 Don Miguel s ranche he would be so strongly back 
 ed up that he would stand in no fear of the boss 
 cattle-thief and his band. But he didn t say it, 
 for he did not know how far it would be safe to 
 trust his friend Springer. He need not have been 
 so particular on this point, however, for the cattle- 
 thief knew as much about the contemplated move 
 ments of General Ord s forces as George did him 
 self. The Mexican authorities had been notified 
 that if the raids from their side of the river were 
 not stopped our troops would take the matter in 
 hand and punish the thieves wherever they could 
 be found ; and those same authorities had been 
 accommodating enough to warn Fletcher, and so 
 put him on his guard. 
 
 " Where have you been since I last saw you ?" 
 inquired George, " and what has become of my 
 horse ? What did the boss say when he found 
 I had slipped through his fingers? I told you 
 I shouldn t stay there and allow myself to be 
 robbed. Did he follow me?" 
 
 " No, he didn t foller you, cause nobody knowed 
 till mornin come that you had skipped out," an 
 swered Springer. "When Fletcher went to call 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. 127 
 
 you to breakfast, an you wasn t there, he thought 
 you was a-loafin around somewheres about the 
 ranche; but when somebody told him that the 
 hoss with the four white feet, that follered us 
 acrost the river on the night we tried to get the 
 strong-box out of this house, was gone, he knowed 
 in a minute what was up, an he was about the 
 maddest man you ever see. But he couldn t take 
 time to hunt you up, an all he could do was to 
 swear that he d hold fast to you the next time he 
 got his hands on to you." 
 
 " He ll never get his hands on me again," said 
 George confidently. 
 
 " I hope he won t, but if he does it ll be worse 
 for you. That there black hoss of your n is dead," 
 continued Springer ; " he was shot at Quere taro. 
 You see, when we got down to the place where the 
 fightin was goin on, we knowed in a minute that 
 Max couldn t hold out much longer, so we started 
 one dark night to cross over to Juarez. His sol 
 diers seen us comin , an , thinkin that we were 
 up to some trick or another, they turned loose on 
 us an cut us up fearful." 
 
 " It served you just right," said George, with 
 honest indignation , " You had no business to go 
 
128 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 in with Maximilian in the first place, but having 
 joined him you ought to have stood by him to 
 the last." 
 
 " We did stand by him after that, cause we had 
 to," answered Springer. "But it didn t take ? em 
 long to captur the place, an 7 it didn t take them 
 long either to say what should be done with Max. 
 He an Mejia an Miramon were took out on a hill 
 near the ruins of an old stone fort an shot. I 
 didn t see it, cause I was under guard with Fletch 
 er an the rest; but I heared some of em who did 
 see it say that just before the shooting was done 
 Max he says to Miramon, The bravest man should 
 have the post of honor; so he puts Miramon in 
 the middle, an Max he stood on the left. It was 
 a mean piece of business all the way through," said 
 Springer, drawing his hand nervously across his 
 forehead, " an I am powerful glad that I am well 
 out of it. Now, Mr. George, seein as how you 
 belong to the army, mebbe I had oughter tell you 
 something. You remember them two Greasers 
 who shot that cowboy down to Rio Grande City, 
 an was put in jail for it, don t you ? Well, they 
 belong to our gang, an Fletcher an the rest are 
 getting ready to go clown there an take em out." 
 
AN UNEXPECTED VUEST. 129 
 
 "Very well. Go right down to the command 
 ing officer at Eagle Pass and tell him of it," said 
 George promptly. " Then come up to Fort La- 
 moine, and we ll see if the colonel won t do some 
 thing for Fletcher when he comes over here to cap 
 ture me." 
 
 " An 7 there s another thing I had oughter tell 
 you, Mr. George," continued Springer, sinking his 
 voice almos/ to a whisper. " I come over here as 
 a sort of spy, like. I am to find out all I can about 
 your ways where you go of nights, an all that, 
 you know an then I am to go down to Rio City, 
 take a look about the jail, see how many guards 
 there are, an everything else that is worth knowin , 
 an after that I am to go back an tell Fletcher." 
 
 " I am glad you didn t say so while my men 
 were in here," observed George. 
 
 " I was just a trifle too sharp for that," said 
 Springer, shaking his head and looking very wise. 
 " I don t want to make them any madder at me 
 than they be now." 
 
 " But you are not going back to Fletcher with 
 any news, are you ? You told me you had left him 
 for good." 
 
 " Mr. George," said Springer earnestly, " I \vin t 
 
130 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 agoin to take no news acrost the river that will do 
 anybody there any good. I ain t forgot that you 
 helped me when I was a-starving for grub an wa 
 ter, and I ain t likely to forget it, nuther. I did 
 say I had quit them fellers for good, an when I 
 said it I meant it; but you can see by the way 
 your own men used me, right here under your 
 nose, that I couldn t stay here without nobody to 
 back me up. I can t starve, so I ll have to go 
 back till you come home again." 
 
 " If you will stay on this side of the river I will 
 see that you don t starve," replied George. " After 
 you have told the commanding officer at Eagle 
 Pass of the attempt that is to be made to release 
 those murderers, come up to Fort Lamoine and I 
 will find some honest work for you to do. The 
 soldiers at the post are not acquainted with you, 
 and consequently there will be no one to trouble 
 you. I will say that you used to work for my 
 father, and that will help you to a position." 
 
 While Springer was trying to make the boy un 
 derstand how grateful he was to him for his kind 
 ness, there was a rap at the door, and Bob thrust 
 his head into the room to announce in a surly tone 
 that breakfast was readv. 
 
UNEXPECTED GUEST. 131 
 
 " Where s Zeke ?" asked George. 
 
 " Gone," was the laconic reply. 
 
 " All right ! If he is foolish enough to go off 
 with nit any breakfast, let him go. He ll meet me 
 somewhere along the trail and say good-bye, I 
 know. Bob," added George, pointing to the clothes- 
 bag, which he had packed while he and his visitor 
 were conversing, " put this into the pack-saddle, 
 and have everything ready, so that I can start 
 as soon as I have eaten breakfast. Come on, 
 Springer." 
 
 George led the way into an adjoining room, and 
 found an excellent breakfast waiting for him. The 
 cook, knowing that this was the last meal the young 
 master of the ranche would eat at that table for long 
 months to come, had exhausted all his knowledge 
 of the cuisine in the effort to serve up a breakfast 
 that would tempt George to eat, no matter whether 
 he was hungry or not. 
 
 True to his promise, Bob kept out of the break 
 fast-room, and George and his guest were obliged 
 to wait on themselves; but as they were used to 
 that, they got on very well. While they were eat 
 ing George once more repeated the instructions he 
 had given Springer, and reiterated his promise to 
 
132 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 furnish him with steady employment and give him 
 a chance to make an honest living. 
 
 Breakfast over, George accompanied his guest to 
 the door, and saw him ride away toward Eagle Pass. 
 As soon as he was out of sight the boy went into 
 the house after his weapons and to take leave of 
 the servants, who were good-natured enough now 
 that Springer was gone. After shaking them all 
 by the hand, and listening to their hearty wishes 
 for his safe and speedy return, he mounted his 
 horse, which stood at the porch saddled and bri 
 dled, took his pack-mule by the halter and rode 
 away toward Mr. Gilbert s ranche. The first per 
 son to greet him as he drew rein in front of the 
 door was Zeke, who had so emphatically declared 
 that he would not have another word to say to 
 him. 
 
 "Where s that pizen varmint? 7 demanded the 
 herdsman in no very amiable tones. 
 
 "Look here, Zeke," replied George, "if you 
 should happen to meet that man while I am 
 gone, I want you to treat him civilly; do you 
 understand ? If you see him in trouble, I want 
 you to help him out. He is sorry for what he 
 has done, and intends to lead a better life; and 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. 133 
 
 if you don t assist him in every way you can, 
 you arc not the fellow I take you for." 
 
 " Humph !" exclaimed Zeke contemptuously. 
 * Sorry, ain t he? Wants to lead a better life, 
 don t he? Well, it s mighty little chance he ll 
 have if he makes a business of bumpin up agin 
 me the way he did this mornin , I bet you." 
 
 " He couldn t help it ; Jake and Bob threw him 
 against you. I know he is in earnest, for he has 
 proved it. He came to the ranche to tell me that 
 my old friend Fletcher is coming over to capture 
 me next full moon, and he has now gone down 
 to warn the officer in command at Eagle Pass that 
 an attempt will soon be made to liberate the 
 murderers who are in jail there. Good-morning, 
 Mr. Gilbert. I have stopped to say good-bye." 
 
 "Why don t you slap your foot down an tell 
 him he sha n t go, Gilbert?" demanded Zeke. 
 
 "I am as sorry to have him go as you are," 
 replied Mr. Gilbert. " But it is to our interest 
 to do all we can to break up this raiding business, 
 and George can do more than any of us. In fact, 
 he is the only one in the settlement who can do 
 anything, for you know the colonel wouldn t ac 
 cept the services of our company of Rangers when 
 
134 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 we offered them to him. Come in, George, and 
 say good-bye to Mrs. Gilbert and the girls." 
 
 This was soon done, for the boy did not like 
 to linger over the parting ; but still, it was much 
 harder for him to take leave of these good friends 
 than he thought it would be. The whole family 
 accompanied him to the door, and when he came 
 out Zeke turned his back to him. 
 
 "Say good-bye to me," said George, giving 
 him a pat on the shoulder ; " it s your last 
 chance." 
 
 " I don t care if it is," shouted the old fellow ; 
 " I won t do it." 
 
 " Then I will say it to you : Good-bye, Zeke. 
 It will be a long time before I see you again, if 
 indeed I ever do, but I never shall forget you. 
 You have been a good friend to me." 
 
 This was altogether too much for the honest 
 herdsman. He faced quickly about, and, seizing 
 George s hand with a grip that brought tears to 
 his eyes, churned it up and down like a pump- 
 handle. Then he dropped it and turned away, 
 while George, without saying another word, vault 
 ed into his saddle and rode off. Zeke watched him 
 as long as he remained in sight, and then in bro- 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. 135 
 
 ken accents addressed the silent group who stood in 
 the doorway : 
 
 " Thar s that there boy " here he waved his 
 hand in the direction in which George had disap 
 peared " he was all I had, an now he s gone off 
 to fight them Greasers without askin me would 
 I let him go. I toted him in them there arms 
 when he was a yellin babby not knee-high to a 
 duck ; I put him on the fust hoss he ever rid ; 
 I slept under the same blanket an herded cattle 
 with him when he got bigger; I larnt him how 
 to throw the lasso an shoot the rifle ; an now 
 he s went off an left me alone ! Dog-gone them 
 pizen Greasers !" roared Zeke, flourishing both 
 his fists in the air. 
 
 He lingered a moment, looking rather sharply at 
 Mr. Gilbert, as if he had half a mind to take him 
 to task for giving his consent to George s " fool 
 notion," and then, thinking better of it, he lum 
 bered down the steps, mounted his horse and gal 
 loped off toward the place where he had left his 
 herd in charge of an assistant. 
 
 George camped two nights on the prairie, and on 
 the third afternoon, an hour or two before sunset, he 
 arrived within sight of one of the stage-company s 
 
136 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 deserted stables. Or, rather, it was deserted the 
 last time he saw it, but now there was an armed 
 soldier in front of the door, and he was presently 
 joined by others, one of whom, by signs, invited 
 him to approach. George complied, and presently 
 found himself surrounded by a squad of troopers 
 under the command of Corporal Bob Owens, who 
 greeted him as we have described. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW BRYANT WAS CAPTURED. 
 
 T) EVEILLE was sounded the next morning by 
 -*-^ Corporal Owens, who, having no drum or 
 bugle at his command, sprang up at daylight and 
 aroused his slumbering companions by shouting out 
 the order, " Catch up !" More from the force of 
 habit than anything else, he called the roll while 
 he was bundling up the blankets on which he and 
 George had slept, and, making the sergeant s salute 
 to an imaginary officer, he announced : " All pres 
 ent or accounted for." Then Carey was ordered to 
 boil the coffee, and Bob and the three troopers who 
 were off duty went out to groom the horses. Hav 
 ing brought no brushes or currycombs with them, 
 they were obliged to content themselves with rub 
 bing the animals down with handfuls of grass ; but 
 they " went through the motions," as Bob expressed 
 it, and that was all the most exacting officer could 
 have expected of them under the circumstances. 
 
 137 
 
138 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 As soon as breakfast had been eaten the troopers 
 and their prisoners set out on the return march, 
 Bob and the new scout leading the way. Behind 
 them came the deserters, guarded on each flank and 
 in the rear by two cavalrymen. Their advance 
 was necessarily slow, for the captives had travelled 
 rapidly the day before in order to put a safe dis 
 tance between themselves and the fort, and they 
 were weary and footsore. Gus Robbins, especially, 
 was nearly " done up." He was in a worse con 
 dition than Talbot was, for the latter seemed to 
 have slept off the effects of his wound. George 
 felt the greatest compassion for Gus, and offered 
 to lend him his horse; but Bob, who had grown 
 somewhat hardened to suffering during his expe 
 rience in the army, positively forbade it. 
 
 " It wouldn t do, George/ 7 said he, looking ad 
 miringly at his friend s sleek, well-conditioned 
 animal, which was constantly champing his bit and 
 tossing his head as if he were growing impatient 
 at the slow progress they were making. " Gus 
 would make a break for liberty sure, and as that 
 nag of yours is able to distance anything in my 
 party, I d have to Here Bob tapped his car 
 bine significantly. " That s something I don t 
 
HOW BRYANT WAS CAPTTJEED. 139 
 
 want to do. Gus isn t so nearly exhausted as he 
 seems to be. He is more distressed in mind than 
 lie is in body, for he is thinking of the prison at 
 Fort Leaven worth. After we have gone a few 
 miles we will rest them by taking them up behind 
 us, but it wouldn t be a very bright trick to give 
 one of them a horse to himself." 
 
 About eleven o clock a halt was ordered, and 
 the deserters, who were riding behind the troopers, 
 having dismounted, Corporal Owens took Carey 
 off on one side and gave him some very emphatic 
 instructions. Then he and George also dismounted, 
 and, leaving their horses behind, made their way 
 cautiously toward a ridge a short distance in ad 
 vance of them. As they neared the top they threw 
 themselves on their hands and knees and crept up 
 until they could look over it. They were in plain 
 view of the squatter s cabin at which the troopers 
 had stopped to eat their dinner the day before. 
 Bob took just one look at it, and then hastily 
 backed down the ridge again. 
 
 " Did you see that fellow chopping wood in front 
 ol* the shanty?" said he, addressing himself to 
 George. " That s the man I am looking for." 
 
 "Are you sure?" 
 
140 GEOEGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 " Am I sure that I have a pair of good eyes ?" 
 asked Bob in reply. "Of course I am. I rec 
 ognized him in spite of his citizen s clothes. That 
 squatter has rigged him out in some of his own 
 duds, but they ll not save him if I can manage in 
 some way to get between him and the cabin." 
 
 " Perhaps, in order to make assurance doubly 
 sure/ you had better take my field-glass and have 
 another look at him," said George. " A false 
 move might prove fatal to you, for it would show 
 the squatter that you suspect him of harboring one 
 of your men, and that would put both him and the 
 deserter on their guard. But if that is your man, 
 I am sorry for it." 
 
 " Why are you ?" demanded Bob, looking at his 
 companion in great surprise. 
 
 " I mean that I am sorry you found him here," 
 George hastened to explain, " for the chances are 
 that you will not take him without a fight. Peas- 
 ley that s the name of the owner of the cabin is 
 a notorious rough, and he would think no more of 
 putting a bullet into you, if he thought he could 
 escape the consequences, than he would of knocking 
 over an antelope for breakfast." 
 
 " I thought he looked like that kind of a chap," 
 
HOW BKYANT WAS CAPTURED. 141 
 
 said Bob. " Well, if lie wants a tight he can be 
 accommodated at very short notice. That s my 
 man, and I am going to have him, squatter or no 
 squatter." 
 
 As Bob gave utterance to this emphatic declara 
 tion he took the field-glass, which George handed 
 over to him, crept up to the top of the ridge, and 
 after taking a short survey of the cabin and its sur 
 roundings came back to his friend s side again 
 
 " I knew I couldn t be mistaken," said he. " I 
 had a fair view of his face, and as I have seen him 
 every day for the last year, of course I couldn t 
 fail to recognize him. The squatter is sitting on 
 the porch smoking his pipe. Now, how shall I go 
 to work to nab him? That s the question." 
 
 " Ride straight up to him and tell him that you 
 want him," answered George. "I know of no 
 easier way. I will go with you and see that Peas- 
 ley doesn t double-team on you." 
 
 " But Bryant will run into the house the moment 
 he sees me," said Bob. 
 
 "Then run right in after him and pull him out 
 again," answered George promptly. 
 
 "I am almost afraid to do it. You see, the 
 civil law is supposed to be supreme, and we soldiers 
 
142 GEOKGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 have to mind wliat we are about, or else there ll be 
 a big row raised about ( military despotism 5 and all 
 that. I d have to surround the house and keep 
 him in there until I could send to the post and 
 get authority from the colonel to go in after him. 
 That is something I shouldn t like to do, for I 
 have carried this thing through so far without help 
 from anybody, and I want to complete the work 
 myself. If I should ask for advice, the colonel 
 would probably send a shoulder-strap down here 
 to rob me of all the glory I have won," added Bob 
 with a smile. 
 
 "Oh, you needn t laugh over it," exclaimed 
 George. " You have covered yourself with glory. 
 It isn t every fellow who would go down into a 
 dug-out to capture six armed men after one of them 
 had given positive proof that he was not afraid to 
 shoot. That bullet-hole in your coat is a badge of 
 honor. Now, I have just thought of something: 
 I have brought with me a full suit of Mexican 
 clothes, and also a saddle and bridle of the Mex 
 ican pattern. You are just about my size " 
 
 " That s the very idea nothing could be better," 
 exclaimed Bob, as he arose to his feet and led the 
 way toward the place where he had left his men. 
 
HOW BRYANT WAS CAPTURED. 143 
 
 "It will disguise me completely, won t it? lean 
 ride up and get between him and the house before 
 he suspects anything, can t I ? But how about the 
 squatter ?" 
 
 " I ll join you as soon as I see that you have 
 corralled your man," replied George. "And you 
 had better tell your followers to hold themselves 
 in readiness to come up promptly when I signal to 
 them from the top of the ridge." 
 
 The troopers awaited the boys return with no 
 little impatience, for the long consultation they had 
 held on the ridge convinced them that their officer 
 had discovered something on the other side of it. 
 Bob gave them a wink and a nod, which instead 
 of satisfying their curiosity only increased it, and 
 then, to the surprise of all of them, began to di 
 vest himself of his outer clothing, while George 
 threw off the canvas covering that protected his 
 pack, and drew out of it an elegant silver-mounted 
 saddle and bridle, and also a suit of clothes made 
 in the height of the Mexican fashion. 
 
 " If that man of yours is at all sharp he will 
 notice those army-brogans the first thing, and so 
 you had better pull them oif and put on these," 
 said George, tossing a pair of light patent-leather 
 
144 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 shoes toward Bob. "There are the spurs. You 
 had better take my horse too, for that ( U. S. 
 brand on your own nag would give you away in 
 a minute. Now go easy, like an honest Greaser 
 who is going about his legitimate business. Take 
 my mule with you, for if you try to separate him 
 from the horse he ll raise row enough to scare all 
 the deserters out of the State." 
 
 It is wonderful what an alteration is sometimes 
 made in one s appearance by a mere change of 
 clothing. After Bob had got into the Mexican 
 suit and exchanged his cap for the wide sombrero 
 with its gaudy cord and tassel, it was doubtful if 
 there was one among his brother-troopers who 
 would have recognized him if he had chanced to 
 meet him unexpectedly. Although he was not 
 quite yellow enough for a Mexican, he was never 
 theless pretty well tanned, and George assured him 
 that all he needed was a black moustache and a 
 long goatee to transform him into a very good- 
 looking Greaser. 
 
 Everything being in readiness, Bob mounted 
 George s horse, took the pack-mule s halter, which 
 his friend passed up to him, and, after giving 
 Carey instructions to bring up the squad and the 
 
HOW BRYANT WAS CAPTURED. 145 
 
 prisoners promptly when he was signalled to do 
 so, he rode slowly away, the new scout following 
 a short distance in his rear, mounted on Bob s 
 nag. 
 
 Arriving at the top of the ridge, Corporal Owens 
 rode over it without pausing, and had not pro 
 ceeded far before he became aware that he was 
 discovered. The squatter got up and came to the 
 end of the porch, the deserter ceased his chop 
 ping and leaned on his axe, and both shaded 
 their eyes with their hands and looked at him. 
 It was plain that they were not very well pleased 
 with the result of their observations, for, after 
 gazing at him for a few seconds, the squatter re 
 turned to his seat and puffed furiously at his pipe, 
 and the deserter resumed his chopping. At the 
 same moment the dogs appeared in force from 
 under the cabin, their every action indicating that 
 they had been summoned by the voice of their 
 master. They looked up at him, wagging their 
 tails vigorously, and then, encouraged, no doubt, 
 by a low hiss or an order to " hunt em up," be 
 gan running about with their heads high in the 
 air. Discovering the approaching horseman, they 
 
 started for him on the instant, each one striving 
 10 
 
146 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 to lead in the race and to growl and bark louder 
 than his companions. 
 
 "They don t think much of Greasers in this 
 part of the country/ 7 said Bob to himself ; " and 
 I don t blame them. If I were a stock-raiser I 
 shouldn t feel very hospitably inclined toward a 
 class of men who are always on the watch for a 
 chance to jump down on me and steal my cattle. 
 I wonder if I shall have pluck enough to dis 
 mount in the midst of all these dogs and make 
 the arrest ?" added Bob as the fierce brutes closed 
 about him, all of them with their ears laid back 
 close to their heads and their hair turned the 
 wrong way, and some crouching at his side as 
 if they were about to spring up and pull him 
 out of his saddle. " Get out ! If you interfere 
 with my business there won t be as many of you 
 to-night as there were this morning. Aha ! there s 
 one of you out of the muss already." 
 
 For just here the mule gave a tug at his hal 
 ter, and Bob, looking over his shoulder to see what 
 was the matter, caught a momentary glimpse of a 
 tawny body as it rose in the air, and, turning a 
 complete somersault, landed on the ground all in 
 a heap. One of the dogs, in his eagerness to do 
 
HOW BRYANT WAS CAPTURED. 147 
 
 something grand, bad approached a little too close 
 to the mule s heels an impertinence which that 
 sagacious quadruped promptly resented by kicking 
 out with both hind feet and knocking his would- 
 be assailant into a cocked hat. The dog was not 
 killed, but he was terribly demoralized, and his 
 howls of anguish did much to dampen the ardor 
 of his companions, who quickly withdrew to a 
 more respectful distance. 
 
 Bob rode straight up to the house, but the 
 squatter never looked at him, nor did the deserter 
 stop his work. He drew rein in front of the porch, 
 swung himself out of the saddle as quick as a flash, 
 and, paying no attention to the dogs, which bayed 
 him at a distance, but were too cowardly to assault 
 him, he walked up to the deserter and tapped him 
 on the shoulder. 
 
 "Bryant, I want you/ said he. 
 
 The deserter, whose back was turned toward Bob, 
 wheeled on the instant, revealing a face that was as 
 white as a sheet. Bob backed around a little, so 
 that he could keep one eye on Bryant while lie 
 watched the squatter with the other, and saw the 
 man spring to his feet in the greatest astonishment, 
 his pipe dropping from his mouth as he arose. 
 
148 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 "You didn t expect to see me again so soon, 
 did you?" said Bob, addressing himself to nobody 
 in particular. 
 
 " Corporal Owens !" gasped the deserter, re 
 treating a step or two, at the same time grasping 
 his axe firmly in both hands and lifting it over 
 his head. " Keep away from me ; if you come 
 a step nearer I ll " 
 
 " Drop it !" commanded Bob sternly; and Bryant 
 obeyed, for he saw the muzzle of a cocked revol 
 ver looking him squarely in the face. 
 
 All this happened in less time than we have 
 taken to tell it, but meanwhile the squatter had 
 not been idle. Quickly recovering from his amaze 
 ment, he darted into the cabin, and just as Bryant 
 dropped the threatening axe he appeared upon the 
 porch with his rifle in his hand. Cocking it as he 
 drew it to his face, he covered Bob s head with the 
 weapon, and said, in a voice that trembled with rage 
 and excitement, 
 
 " Look a here, young fellow, that s a game two 
 can play at. Lower your shootin -iron or I ll make 
 daylight shine through you." 
 
 "Plump him over, Peasley !" cried Bryant, 
 "plump him over! You are not going to stand 
 
HOW BRYANT WAS CAPTURED. 149 
 
 there and let him take me back to the fort, are 
 you? You promised to protect me. Plump him 
 over ! put the dogs on him ! Do something, and 
 be quick about it." 
 
 Bob bore himself with surprising courage dur 
 ing this trying ordeal. He did not know at what 
 instant the squatter might comply with Bryant s 
 frantic order to "plump him over" or to "put 
 the dogs on him," but he never flinched. He did 
 not even change color ; and there is every reason 
 to believe that his bold front saved his life. 
 
 "Bryant," said he in a calm voice, "don t you 
 know that the colonel will be sure to hear of 
 this, and that you are only making a bad matter 
 worse by holding out against the inevitable ? 
 As for you, Peasley, you ve got the drop on me, 
 and you can shoot if you feel like it ; but if you 
 do you are a gone squatter. Look there," he 
 added, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. 
 
 Peasley looked, and saw George Acker man 
 coming down the ridge at a furious gallop. 
 
 "That is one of my backers, and there are 
 six more who will be along in a minute. What 
 did I tell you ?" exclaimed Bob as the troopers 
 and their prisoners came into view over the top 
 
150 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 of the ridge. "Now, Peasley, if you don t be 
 have yourself I ll take you to the fort under 
 arrest. I am in the discharge of my duty, and I 
 am not going to puf up with any more nonsense." 
 
 The squatter lowered his rifle, looked first at 
 Bryant and then at the troopers, and seemed un 
 decided how to act. While he hesitated George 
 Ackerman dashed up to the porch, jumping out 
 of his saddle before his horse had fairly stopped, 
 and, knocking the dogs right and left with the 
 heavy cavalry sabre which he had found fastened 
 to Bob s saddle, he mounted the steps and laid 
 hold of the squatter s rifle. 
 
 " Peasley, what are you about ?" he exclaimed 
 as he twisted the weapon out of the man s unre 
 sisting grasp. "Are you a born idiot? If you 
 are not, don t you know that if you raise a fuss 
 here you won t have any roof left over your head 
 in less than five minutes?" 
 
 The squatter, muttering something under his 
 breath, went back to his seat and picked up his 
 pipe, and in a few minutes more the troopers and 
 their prisoners arrived. At a sign from his officer, 
 Loring dismounted and stood guard over Bryant, 
 while Bob walked up to the porch. 
 
HOW BRYANT WAS CAPTURED. 151 
 
 " What do you think of the situation now, friend 
 Peasley?" said lie cheerfully. "I can t take that 
 man to the fort in those clothes, and so I would 
 thank you to trot out his uniform." 
 
 " Don t know nothing bout no uniform," growl 
 ed the squatter ; " ain t none here." 
 
 " I know better," answered Bob. " There is 
 one here, and I must have it. You can either 
 bring it out yourself or I shall search for it; and 
 I give you fair warning that if I turn my boys 
 loose in your shanty they ll handle things rough. 
 Now, what shall I do if that threat doesn t start 
 him?" said Bob to himself. "I ll search the 
 cabin and take the consequences; that s what I ll 
 do." 
 
 " Come, Peasley, save yourself trouble by bring 
 ing out the uniform," said George. "There s no 
 use in being a fool." 
 
 The squatter evidently began to think so too, 
 for he sullenly rose from his seat and went into 
 the cabin, coming out again in a few minutes with 
 a bundle of clothing, which he threw spitefully 
 down upon the porch. Bob quietly picked it up, 
 and, carrying it down to Bryant, commanded him 
 to pull off the squatter s clothes and put on his 
 
152 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 own ; and Bryant at once complied, for he knew 
 that if he did not Bob would detail two or three 
 men to make the exchange for him. The new 
 prisoner was then ordered to fall in with the rest, 
 and the cavalcade once more took up its line of 
 march for the fort; but a short stop was made as 
 soon as they were out of sight of the squatter s 
 cabin, during which Bob pulled off his disguise 
 and put on his own garments. 
 
 " If I am ever obliged to wear this suit, I hope 
 it will serve me as well as it has served you to 
 day," said George as he stowed the Mexican cos 
 tume away in his pack and placed the silver-mount 
 ed saddle and bridle on top of it. "I didn t think 
 it would so soon be brought into use." 
 
 " If it hadn t been for that same suit I might 
 
 o 
 
 have got myself into trouble," said Bob. " Know 
 ing where Bryant was, I never should have gone 
 back to the fort without him, and if he had taken 
 refuge in the house I might have gone in after 
 him. What the colonel would have said to me if 
 I had done that, I don t know." 
 
 During the ride to the fort Bob Owens, to quote 
 from the troopers, "laughed all over." It was 
 plain to everybody that he was highly elated over 
 
HOW BRYANT WAS CAPTURED. 153 
 
 the results of the expedition, as he had an undoubt 
 ed right to be. The pursuit and capture of the 
 deserters had been conducted with considerable 
 skill, and with as much determination as any vet 
 eran officer could have exhibited. Now that the 
 danger was over, and his efforts to carry out the 
 orders of his superior had been crowned with com 
 plete success, Bob was rather proud of that bullet- 
 hole in his coat. 
 
 The next time the order was given for the troop 
 ers to take the prisoners on their horses, George 
 beckoned to Gus Robbins, who quickly mounted be 
 hind him. After conversing a while upon the vari 
 ous exciting incidents that had transpired while 
 Gus was Ned Ackerman s guest at George s ranche, 
 the latter said, 
 
 " I never expected to meet you again, and I 
 would rather not have met you at all than see you 
 in this scrape." 
 
 " Well, it can t be helped now," answered Gus, 
 witn a weak unsuccessful attempt to appear defiant. 
 "The colonel told me just what I might expect if I 
 were ever again court-martial led for desertion, and 
 I went at it with my eyes open. I am not sorry I 
 tried it, but I am sorry I didn t get away. If they 
 
154 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 don t watch me pretty closely, they will never have 
 a chance to take me to Leavenworth." 
 
 " What do you suppose your father will say when 
 he finds it out ?" asked George. 
 
 "He will never find it out if I can help it." 
 
 " Don t you correspond with him ?" 
 
 "Not by a great sight. He doesn t know 
 whether I am dead or alive. I wish I had 
 changed my name when I enlisted." 
 
 " He lives in Foxboro , Ohio, I believe ?" said 
 George. 
 
 Gus replied that he did. 
 
 " Is his name Gus too ?" 
 
 " No ; his name is Thomas, and he is I say," 
 exclaimed Gus suddenly, " what are you asking so 
 many questions for? Do you intend to write to 
 him about me?" 
 
 " Why, what object could I possibly have in do 
 ing that ?" asked George, turning a very innocent- 
 looking face toward the deserter. " I am sure it 
 is none of my business what you do. Let s talk 
 about something else. We are getting over the 
 ground pretty rapidly now, and if Bob would let 
 me I could land you in the fort in four hours. I 
 don t suppose that you are in any hurry to get 
 
HOW BRYANT WAS CAPTURED. 155 
 
 there, but what I meant was, that your additional 
 weight would not prevent this horse of mine from 
 travelling from here to the fort at his very best 
 licks." 
 
 " No, I don t weigh much now," said Gus with 
 a sigh. "Hard work, hard fare, hard treatment 
 and constant worry have brought me down to a 
 hundred and ten pounds." 
 
 " That s not very heavy for a seventeen-year-old 
 boy." 
 
 "Oh, I am nineteen,"- said Gus, "but just now 
 I feel as though I were forty." 
 
 "And you look so, too," said George to him 
 self. "That was the reason I wanted to know 
 your exact age." 
 
 George had now learned all he cared to know 
 about Gus Robbing. He was a minor, his father s 
 name was Thomas and he lived in Foxboro , Ohio. 
 He had gone to work in a roundabout way to gain 
 this information, because he was afraid that if he 
 asked Gus leading questions and told him what use 
 he intended to make of his answers, the deserter 
 would refuse to open his head. He had gained his 
 point by strategy, and he did not intend that Gus 
 should go to Leavenworth if he could help it. 
 
156 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 Bob s supply of rations being nearly exhausted, 
 his men and the deserters had a very scant dinner, 
 and they did not get anything more to eat until 
 they reached the fort. About ten o clock that 
 night they were challenged by one of the sentries, 
 and, not knowing the countersign, were obliged to 
 wait until the corporal of the guard was called. 
 Having at last been admitted inside of the stock 
 ade, Bob marched up in front of head-quarters, 
 where he ordered a halt, and he and George dis 
 mounted and went in to report to the colonel. 
 Bob was very much astonished at the manner in 
 which the officer greeted the new scout, and so was 
 the orderly. They had never before seen him un 
 bend to anybody as he did to George. Having 
 never been admitted into head-quarters except when 
 they had business there some report to make, some 
 orders to receive or some sharp reprimand to listen 
 to they knew the commandant only as a stern, 
 exacting officer who seemed to care for nothing 
 but the " regulations/ 7 and they had never im 
 agined that he could be cordial or friendly with 
 any one. But now they saw their mistake. The 
 colonel got up from his seat, shook the boy warm 
 ly by the hand, told him he was glad to see him, 
 
HOW BKYANT WAS CAPTURED. 157 
 
 called him by his Christian name and pointed him 
 to an easy-chair, while Bob was left to stand at at 
 tention until the colonel got ready to attend to 
 him. 
 
 " You are all ready for business I ee, George/ 7 
 said the colonel as he resumed his seat at the table. 
 " Well, I ll give you a taste of army-life by send 
 ing you out on a scout to-morrow. I will tell you 
 about it pretty soon. There s your room," he add 
 ed, pointing to an apartment adjoining his own, 
 "and when you get ready you can bring in your 
 luggage. The officer, of the day will show you 
 where to put your horse. You will have to be 
 your own servant, unless you are willing to hire 
 a civilian and pay him out of your own pocket. 
 I saw that you came in with Corporal Owens : 
 did he arrest you?" 
 
 "He was going to, sir," replied George, "but 
 let me off when I showed him my furlough." 
 
 "Corporal," continued the colonel, turning to 
 Bob, who stood lost in wonder, " what report 
 have you to make?" 
 
 " I have the honor, sir, to report my entire 
 success," was Bob s reply; "I ve got them all." 
 
 " Where are they now ?" 
 
158 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 " On the parade, under guard, sir." 
 "Very good. Keep them there until further 
 orders. Tell the officer of the day I want to 
 see him." 
 
 George thought this was rather hard. Bob had 
 risked his life and displayed most commendable 
 zeal and ability in carrying out the colonel s or 
 ders, and now the latter dismissed him without 
 one single word to indicate that he appreciated 
 his services. Why did he not question the cor 
 poral in regard to the manner in which the cap 
 ture of the deserters had been effected, and reward 
 him for his gallantry by making him a sergeant 
 on the spot? That was what George thought he 
 would have done if he had been commandant of 
 the post, and he then and there resolved that a 
 full history of Bob s exploit should be laid be 
 fore the colonel before he went to sleep that 
 night. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 "/COLONEL, that young fellow has had a very 
 hard time of it," said George when Bob had 
 closed the door behind him. 
 
 " I expected it," replied the officer carelessly. 
 " It is a wonder to me that the deserters didn t 
 kill him, for there were some hard characters 
 among them and they were well armed." 
 
 This remark would seem to indicate that the 
 colonel was a most unfeeling man, and that he 
 did not set much if any value upon the life of a 
 non-commissioned officer ; but such was not really 
 the case. When he was a subaltern his superiors 
 had often assigned to him some very hazardous 
 undertakings, and when he attained to a rank 
 that entitled him to a command he sent others 
 into danger and thought nothing of it. A soldier s 
 first and last duty was to obey any orders he might 
 receive, and if he lost his life while in the act of 
 
 159 
 
160 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 executing those orders, why, it was nothing more 
 than might be expected. 
 
 " They did try to kill him," said George. 
 "Didn t you notice that hole in the breast of his 
 coat?" 
 
 "I did, and I thought it looked as though it 
 had been made by a bullet." 
 
 a So it was. Bristow shot at him. He wanted 
 to be revenged on Bob for telling you about those 
 thirty men who tried to desert some time ago, and 
 if he had been a little better marksman you would 
 have been put to the trouble of appointing a new 
 corporal in the place of as brave a boy as ever 
 swung a sabre." 
 
 "Why, George," exclaimed the colonel, becom 
 ing interested, " you are quite enthusiastic. Do 
 you know Corporal Owens ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir. He is the one who pulled me out 
 of the river on the night the old Sam Kendall 
 was burned." 
 
 " Oh yes ; you told me about that the first 
 time you were here. Where did the corporal find 
 Bristow and his party?" 
 
 George answered this question by giving the 
 colonel a circumstantial account of the pursuit, as 
 
GEORGE AT THE FORT. 161 
 
 he had heard it from Bob s lips, and the manner 
 in which he had gone to work to secure the de 
 serters after he had discovered their place of ref 
 uge. His description of Bryant s arrest amused 
 the officer, who declared that it was a very neat 
 piece of strategy. 
 
 Having placed Bob s case in the most favorable 
 light possible, George then went on to tell the col 
 onel about Springer s unexpected visit to his ranche, 
 and described in detail the intended movements of 
 Fletcher and his band. The officer said he had 
 done right in sending the cattle-thief to warn the 
 commandant at Eagle Pass, and had no doubt that 
 that officer would take measures to assist the civil 
 authorities at Bio Grande City in protecting the 
 jail and giving Fletcher and his men a warm 
 reception when they came across the river; but, in 
 order to explain what happened afterward, we must 
 here say that he did nothing of the kind. Un 
 fortunately for Springer, he was recognized by some 
 ranchemen who happened to be hanging about the 
 post, and in spite of his protestations he was arrested 
 and turned over to the marshal, who locked him up. 
 No attention whatever was paid to his warning, and 
 
 so positive was the marshal that there was " some- 
 11 
 
162 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 thing back of it" that he would not even permit 
 the prisoner to tell his story. 
 
 The cattle-thief remained in jail until the next 
 full moon, and then Fletcher and his men sudden 
 ly made their appearance, just as Springer said they 
 would. As no precautions had been taken to guard 
 the prison, the raiders had an easy victory, and be 
 fore assistance could arrive from the Pass, Springer 
 and the murderers of the cowboy had been released 
 and Fletcher was safe across the river. Springer, 
 of course, was much too sharp to tell how he came 
 to be an inmate of the jail, and the boss cattle-thief, 
 believing that he had been arrested while trying to 
 carry out his instructions, treated him with the 
 greatest consideration. 
 
 " What did you mean by saying that you would 
 give me a taste of army-life by sending me out on 
 a scout to-morrow?" asked George after he had 
 finished his story. " Any raiding going on about 
 here?" 
 
 " Well, yes. I am going to send Clinton out to 
 punish a war-party of Kiowas if he can catch them. 
 I am aware you are used to roughing it, but you 
 know nothing about campaigning with troops, and I 
 thought I would give you a chance to get your hand 
 
GEORGE AT THE FOUT. 163 
 
 in before I call upon you to lead us across the river. 
 Some young bucks belonging to Satanta s band, the 
 most of them mere boys, have broken away from 
 their agency and come down here in pursuit of scalps 
 and fame. Among other outrages which they have 
 committed, they jumped down on a poor fellow the 
 other day, killed or scattered his herdsmen, drove 
 off his stock and carried his two children into cap 
 tivity. I should like to be the .means of ridding 
 the frontier of that villain, for he is dangerous. 
 During a peace-council that was held at Fort Dodge 
 some time ago, Satanta talked so glibly about his 
 desire to cultivate friendly relations with us, and 
 his unalterable determination to follow the white 
 man s road in future, that he really succeeded in 
 making the commissioners believe that he was sin 
 cere in what he said. To encourage him in his 
 good resolutions, the department commander and 
 staff presented him with a uniform coat and sash 
 and a brigadier-general s hat. How the wily old 
 scoundrel must have laughed in his sleeve when he 
 saw how completely he had bamboozled some of 
 our best soldiers !" 
 
 "How long did he keep his promise?" asked 
 George. 
 
164 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 " About three weeks, and then he led an attack, 
 dressed in his new uniform, against the fort in 
 which the council was held. Oh, he s a good one ! 
 I know you didn t come here to fight Indians, but 
 you ll have to hold yourself in readiness for any 
 thing that turns up." 
 
 " You will always find me around when you 
 want me," replied George. " May I write a letter 
 here?" he continued, seeing that the colonel pick 
 ed up his pen and turned to his table to resume 
 some writing in which he had been interrupted 
 when Bob and the new scout came in to re 
 port. 
 
 "Certainly. There are pens, ink and paper; help 
 yourself. There s the letter-box over there. The 
 mail-carrier goes out to-morrow." 
 
 Before George could begin work on his letter 
 the officer of the day came in. He shook hands 
 with the new-comer, to whom he had been intro 
 duced on the occasion of the boy s first visit to 
 the fort, and was told by the colonel to put the 
 deserters into the guard-house, to show George 
 whore to stake out his horse and mule, and to 
 see that he had somebody to help him bring in 
 his pack-saddle. 
 
GEORGE AT THE FORT. 165 
 
 The work of bringing in his luggage and taking 
 care of his animals was soon performed, and then 
 George came back and began his letter. It took 
 him a long time to write it, for he wanted to make 
 it one that would produce an impression upon the 
 person to whom it was addressed. It was to Gus 
 Robbing s father. It conveyed to that gentleman 
 the information that although his son was alive 
 and in fair bodily health, he had brought himself 
 into serious trouble, having been detected in two 
 attempts at desertion, and unless his friends at 
 home interested themselves in his behalf he had 
 a fair prospect of going to prison. If Mr. Rob- 
 bins would move in the matter he could easily pro 
 cure the culprit s discharge from the service, for he 
 was a minor and had enlisted without his father s 
 consent; but if there was anything done it must 
 be done quickly, for it was probable that a court- 
 martial would be convened in a very few days. 
 Having sealed and addressed the letter, he bade 
 the colonel good-night and went to bed, feeling 
 satisfied that he had done all he could for the 
 unfortunate Gus. 
 
 George slept soundly, as he always did, but the 
 morning gun and the first notes of reveille awoke 
 
166 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 him. While he was making his toilet with his 
 usual care and deliberation as we have said, his 
 long intercourse with river-dandies had made him 
 very particular on this point his friend, Bob 
 Owens, and the men who occupied the quarters 
 with him, were hurrying on their clothes in order 
 to get into line in time to answer to their names 
 at roll-call. While they were dressing they talked, 
 and this was a portion of the conversation that 
 took place between the corporal and one of the 
 colonel s orderlies the same one who had been 
 on duty when Bob went in to report his arrival 
 with the deserters. 
 
 " I say, Owens," exclaimed the orderly, " who 
 was that nobby young officer who came in with 
 you last night? What is his name, and what rank 
 does he hold ? I know he is green, for he didn t 
 know enough to put on a dress-coat before he went 
 into the colonel s presence." 
 
 " His name is George Ackerman," answered Bob, 
 " but he not an officer ; he s a scout." 
 
 " A scout !" repeated the orderly in a tone of 
 contempt. " He is a pretty-looking scout, I must 
 say. What does he know about life on the 
 Plains?" 
 
GEORGE AT THE FORT. 167 
 
 " He knows a good deal more about it than any 
 body in this room, for he was born right here in 
 Texas/ 7 was the reply. 
 
 "Has he ever seen service?" 
 
 " No, but he knows what danger is, and he has 
 been in some situations that you wouldn t care to 
 be placed in. During long months of his life he 
 lived in constant fear of a violent death." 
 
 " I don t doubt that he told you so, but I don t 
 believe it, all the same," observed the orderly. 
 
 " I can t help that. I am personally acquainted 
 with him, and you are not. I was with him when 
 the steamer to which he belonged was burned on 
 the Mississippi River, and came to Texas with him. 
 He owns a big cattle- ranch e a few miles from here, 
 and has an income of about forty thousand dollars 
 a year." 
 
 "Aha! that accounts for the milk in the cocoa- 
 nut," exclaimed the orderly. " I know now why 
 it was that the colonel met him in so friendly a 
 manner. Even those stern old regulars soften in 
 the presence of one who was born with a silver 
 spoon in his mouth, don t they?" 
 
 " But George Ackerman s money didn t get him 
 the position he holds," said Bob quickly. " He 
 
168 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 has been a prisoner among the cattle-thieves on 
 the other side of the river, and knows where they 
 hang out. He is here to act as our guide when 
 we pursue the raiders across the river." 
 
 " What did the cattle-thieves take him prisoner 
 for?" 
 
 " Because they were promised twenty thousand 
 dollars for it by George s guardian, who wanted 
 to get him out of the way, so that his son could 
 inherit George s property. But he managed to 
 escape from them, went up North and became a 
 pilot, and it was while he was serving in that ca 
 pacity that I made his acquaintance." 
 
 " That s a very pretty story," remarked the or 
 derly, " but doesn t it sound almost too much like 
 a dime novel?" 
 
 " If you don t believe it ask Gus Bobbins, if 
 you get a chance to speak to him. He knows 
 George, and has reason to be grateful to him too. 
 Gus came down here to visit Ned Ackerman while 
 the latter s father was acting as George s guardian, 
 and got himself into trouble that would have end 
 ed seriously if George had not befriended him. 
 It was through that same visit that Gus got into 
 the army." 
 
GEORGE AT THE FORT. 169 
 
 "Did you hear what the colonel said to him 
 about a servant ?" asked the orderly. " Whoever 
 saw a scout with a servant? I never did, and 
 neither did I ever before see a man holding that 
 position treated with so much consideration by a 
 post-commander. I can t account for it." 
 
 Bob could not account for it either, and so he 
 attempted no explanation. We may tell the reader 
 that there were two good reasons for it. In the 
 first place, George was not a regular scout; he 
 might, with more propriety, have been called a 
 volunteer aide. It is true that he was sworn into 
 the service, and that he was bound to do his duty 
 faithfully "during the pleasure of the command 
 ing officer" of Fort Lamoine, but he drew no 
 pay from the government. He did not even ask 
 that he should be fed while he lived at the fort, 
 but stood ready to pay his share of the mess-bill. 
 He had freely offered his services as guide to the 
 troops because he, in common with every ranch e- 
 man and farmer in that country, wanted the raid- 
 ing-parties broken up, and he believed that he 
 could do as much, if not more, toward accomplish 
 ing that object than any other single civilian. He 
 was not obliged to wear a uniform (being sworn in, 
 
170 GEORGE AT THE FOET. 
 
 he had a right to wear it), but he had purchased it 
 for the same reason that he had purchased the 
 Mexican costume and the other clothing lie had 
 brought with him because he believed it might 
 some day be of use to him. We have already 
 seen how one of his disguises came into play. If 
 he had not brought with him that Mexican suit, 
 it is hard to tell how Bryant would have been 
 captured. 
 
 In the next place, the colonel was an old ac 
 quaintance and friend of George s father. He 
 had often enjoyed Mr. Acker man s hospitality, and 
 he could say, with Zeke, that he had carried George 
 in his arms when the latter was a "yelling baby 
 not knee-high to a duck, and when he himself 
 was nothing but a second lieutenant. Since that 
 time a great many things had happened. Mr. 
 Ackerman and his wife were dead, the second 
 lieutenant had passed through a terrible war, had 
 worn a major-general s shoulder-straps in the 
 volunteer army and won a brevet colonelcy in 
 the regulars, and George had grown almost to 
 manhood. Neither of them knew of the presence 
 of the other .in that country un^til George, accom 
 panied by Mr. Gilbert and a few other ranchemen, 
 
GEORGE AT THE FORT. 171 
 
 came to the fort to offer his services. The colonel 
 knew the boy as soon as he heard his name, and it 
 was on account of the respect and affection he cher 
 ished for the memory of his father that he extended 
 so cordial a greeting to him ; but, like all the other 
 soldiers who had seen him, the colonel did not think 
 that George was just the guide he wanted. 
 
 " I need somebody with age and experience, 
 George," said he, " and you have neither. I know 
 you can handle a herd of cattle and manage your 
 ranche in good style, but I am not so certain of 
 your ability to act as guide to my troops. I ad 
 mire your pluck, and I should be glad to have you 
 come here and live unti] you get tired of it ; and 
 in order to make it lawful for you to stay here, I 
 will give you a position as forage-master." 
 
 "I am very much obliged to you, sir, but that 
 is a berth I don t want," answered George. "I 
 want to help put down those raiders." 
 
 "But just think of the responsibility that would 
 rest upon you," protested the colonel. " A single 
 blunder on your part might cripple me fear 
 fully." 
 
 " You need have no fears on that score," said 
 Mr. Gilbert. " George is good wherever you put 
 
172 GEOEGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 him. He is acquainted with Fletcher, who is the 
 most active of all the raiders who trouble us ; he 
 knows where he hangs out, and he is the only 
 one on this side of the river who does. When 
 it comes to trailing, he is at home there too. 
 Can you look at a trail and tell how old it is 
 and how many men or horses made it?" 
 
 No, the colonel couldn t do that. He always 
 looked to his scouts for information on those 
 points. 
 
 "George can do it," said Mr. Gilbert. "He 
 has served his time under one of the best trailers 
 in the country ; and that is Zeke, his herds 
 man." 
 
 After a little more conversation the colonel, 
 although not without many misgivings, accepted 
 the oifer of George s services ; and he never had 
 occasion to regret it. During the very first ex 
 pedition that was sent out of the fort after he 
 reported there for duty he showed what he was 
 made of, and gave the colonel reason for placing 
 almost unlimited confidence in his judgment. 
 Acting as Bob Owens s counsellor, he enabled 
 the latter to perform an exploit that made him 
 the lion of the post. 
 
GEORGE AT THE FORT. 173 
 
 Having dressed himself, George passed through 
 the colonel s office and out through the hall to 
 the parade. In the outer door was seated a man 
 who was bent half double, with his elbows rest 
 ing on his knees and his face buried in his hands. 
 Hearing the sound of the boy s footsteps, he raised 
 his head, revealing a countenance so haggard and 
 sorrowful that George was startled at the sight of 
 it. The man moved aside to allow him room to 
 pass, and then covered his face with his hands 
 again, and as George walked out he was sure 
 he heard him utter a suppressed moan. The 
 man was not a soldier, for he was ^ dressed in 
 citizen s clothes. He looked like a rancheman ; 
 and as George was a rancheman himself, he nat 
 urally felt some sympathy for the unknown suf 
 ferer. After hesitating a moment, weighing in 
 his mind the propriety of the step he Avas about 
 to take, he turned back and asked, 
 
 "What is the matter with you, sir? Are you 
 ill?" 
 
 " 111 ?" repeated the man, without looking up. 
 "Worse than that worse than that." 
 
 " Is there anything that I can do for you ?" ask 
 ed George. " You seem to be in great trouble." 
 
174 GEOKGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 As these words fell upon his ear the man 
 straightened up, and, gazing at George with a pair 
 of wild-looking eyes, said, in a voice that was ren 
 dered husky by some strong emotion, 
 
 " I am in trouble, partner, and although I do 
 not think you can help me in any way, I feel 
 grateful to you for your sympathy. I have been 
 bounced by the hostiles and cleaned out com 
 pletely cleaned out." 
 
 " That is bad/ 7 returned George, who told him 
 self that the man took his loss very much to heart. 
 He knew a good many stock-raisers who had been 
 " bounced "^and "cleaned out," but he had never 
 before seen one who seemed to be so utterly bro 
 ken down by his misfortunes as this one did. 
 The stranger s next words, however, explained it 
 all. 
 
 "The loss of my ranche and stock I don t 
 mind," said he; "that s nothing. But when one 
 sees his two motherless boys carried off by the red 
 fiends, while he is powerless to help them, it s 
 pretty rough, it s pretty rough." 
 
 " Why, this must be the man the colonel told 
 me about last night," said George to himself. 
 
 " I should not fear that the savages would raise 
 
GEOKGE AT THE FORT. 175 
 
 their hands against the lives of the boys (they are 
 too young to be put to torture, one being eight and 
 the other ten years of age) if it were not for one 
 thing/ continued the bereaved father, jumping to 
 his feet and pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. 
 " I made a hard fight of it, and dropped a Kiowa 
 for every year of my oldest boy s age. Of course 
 the death of those warriors will have to be avenged 
 by their relatives. Perhaps you don t know it, 
 but that is Indian law." 
 
 "I do know it," interrupted George. " I 
 couldn t have lived so close to these raiders, both 
 Indians and Mexicans, nearly all my life without 
 learning something about their ways, could I ? I 
 am a Texan, like yourself." 
 
 " You are ? I took you for a Yankee soldier." 
 
 "There s where you made a mistake," replied 
 George. " I was born in Miller county in this 
 State, and I am here to act as guide to the troops 
 when they cross the river in pursuit of the cattle- 
 thieves." 
 
 "Good ! Put it there !" exclaimed the man, ex 
 tending his hand, while his face for the moment 
 showed the pleasure he felt at the meeting. " My 
 name is Wentworth ; what is yours ?" 
 
176 GEOKGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 George told him, and Mr. Wentworth said he 
 Lad often heard the name, and in a roundabout 
 way had learned something of the family his 
 tory. 
 
 " I have heard of you too," said George. " You 
 have often been obliged to run in order to save 
 your life and stock, have you not?" 
 
 "Yes, and I have always succeeded in getting 
 safely away ; but there is a first time for every 
 body, and mine came three days ago. I was go 
 ing on to say that I am afraid the savages will 
 take vengance on my helpless little boys for the 
 braves I shot in the fight," continued Mr. Went 
 worth. " If they don t do that, they will proba 
 bly hold them for ransom ; but they might as 
 well tomahawk the boys at once and put them 
 out of their misery, for I haven t a horn nor a 
 hoof nor a cent of money to give in exchange 
 for them. I know I have seen them for the last 
 time, but won t I make it hot for those who stole 
 them?" 
 
 George could not say anything comforting. The 
 sight of the strong man s overwhelming grief struck 
 him dumb. 
 
 "I know some of the bucks who were in the 
 
GEORGE AT THE FORT. 177 
 
 fight," continued Mr. Wentworth, grinding his 
 teeth and rubbing his hands nervously together. 
 "They have often camped on my ranche when 
 they came down here buffalo-hunting. I don t 
 care what treaties our government may make with 
 that tribe ; there will be eternal Avar between me 
 and them. No Kiowa shall ever cross my trail 
 and live no, not if I hang for it. I only wish 
 that some of those peace commissioners those 
 lunatics who believe that an Indian is a human 
 being and needs only kind treatment to make 
 him peaceable and friendly could stand in my 
 boots this minute. I tell you, Acker man, if one 
 of them were here now I d stand and see an 
 Indian shoot him, and never lift a hand in his 
 defence. I got in last night and told the colonel 
 about it, and he said he would send out a couple 
 of companies this morning with orders to over 
 take and punish them if possible; but he might 
 as well save his men and horses, for it isn t pos 
 sible. They have reached the Staked Plains by 
 this time, and are safe from pursuit. This is a 
 lovely government for a white man to live under, 
 isn t it? It is too cowardly to protect us from 
 the Mexicans, and too tender-hearted to hang 
 
 12 
 
178 GEOKGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 an Indian for murder unless he happens to kill 
 some one high in authority, like General Canby." 
 Mr. Wentworth seemed almost beside himself 
 when he thought of his boys, who were now so 
 many miles away from him, for then it was that 
 he realized how powerless he was to help them. 
 He went on in this strain until he had talked 
 himself out of breath, and then he went back 
 to his seat on the doorstep and covered his face 
 with his hands. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 
 
 is a hard case," said George to himself 
 as he walked slowly toward the gate, "and 
 I believe, as Mr. Wentworth does, that he has 
 seen his children for the last time. In the first 
 place, the chances are that the Indians, having so 
 long a start, will not be overtaken; but if they 
 go out of their way to attack other isolated 
 ranches, and the troops should come up with 
 them, their very first act, if they saw that they 
 were likely to be whipped, would be to kill their 
 captives, so that they could not be rescued. It 
 is a hard case, that s a fact, and I don t see that 
 anything can be done about it. I wish Zeke were 
 here to give his opinion on the subject." 
 
 The troopers, having answered to the names, were 
 going out to bring in their horses preparatory to 
 grooming them, and George went with them to 
 bring in his own. Nearly an hour was devoted 
 
 179 
 
180 GEORGE AT THE FOET. 
 
 to this important duty, which was performed un 
 der the watchful eye of an officer, and although 
 George often saw his friend Bob, the latter did 
 not speak to him. There were a good many shoul 
 der-straps around, and work, and not talk, was the 
 order of the day. Even those of the officers who, 
 having no servants, were obliged to act as their 
 own grooms, had very little to say to one another; 
 but when these same officers were gathered around 
 the breakfast-table half an hour later, they were 
 lively and talkative enough. There they met 
 on a footing of perfect equality, like the members 
 of a private family, although the juniors did not 
 forget to say " sir " when addressing their superiors. 
 There were no orders issued during the progress 
 of the meal, and in fact very little was said about 
 military matters ; but still, George heard enough 
 to satisfy him that active operations against the 
 thieving Kiowas were to be commenced immedi 
 ately, and that he was to make one of an ex 
 pedition upon whose success a good deal de 
 pended. 
 
 The appearance of the officers as they passed 
 into the hall after rising from the breakfast-table 
 must have been a signal to the bugler who stood 
 
WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 181 
 
 in front of the door of head-quarters, for as soon 
 as he saw them he raised his instrument to his 
 lips and blew a shrill call. The clear, ringing 
 notes had scarcely ceased when there was a com 
 motion in the barracks, and a crowd of men came 
 pouring out and hurried toward the stables. There 
 were a hundred and twenty of them, and they 
 belonged to the troops A, E and L the latter 
 commonly called the " Brindles " of which Cap 
 tain Clinton s scou ting-party was to be composed. 
 
 "That s Boots and saddles/ George," said the 
 colonel, who stood in the doorway appearing to 
 notice nothing, but in reality keeping a close watch 
 over the movements of the men to see that every 
 thing was done in accordance with the "regula 
 tions." " You are to go with Clinton, you know. 
 Are you ready?" 
 
 "I will be in half a minute," replied the 
 boy. 
 
 The stirring notes of the bugle, or the prospect 
 of soon meeting face to face some of the blood 
 thirsty savages who had devastated Mr. Went- 
 worth s home, must have excited George, so that 
 he did not readily lay his hand upon the articles 
 he wanted, for considerably more than half a 
 
182 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 minute elapsed before he again appeared with 
 his Winchester on his back, a bag of cartridges 
 slung over his shoulder and a revolver buckled 
 about his waist. He ran to the stable, and had 
 just put the saddle and bridle on his horse when 
 another call of the bugle was heard. This was 
 a To horse," and in obedience the troopers left 
 the stable and fell into line on the parade, each 
 man standing at the head of his nag. George 
 did not belong in line in fact, he did not know 
 where he did belong so he kept his eye on Cap 
 tain Clinton, and when he saw that officer mount 
 the horse which an orderly brought up to him, 
 George at once placed himself in his own saddle, 
 and, riding up to the steps where the colonel 
 was standing, awaited further developments. 
 
 " Prepare to mount !" commanded Captain Clin 
 ton as he rode up in front of his own troop, and 
 the words were immediately repeated by the other 
 two company commanders. 
 
 In obedience to this order each trooper placed 
 his left foot in the stirrup, and at the command 
 " Mount !" which was given soon after, they all 
 rose from the ground as if moved by the same 
 set of springs, and seated themselves in the saddles 
 
WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 183 
 
 at the same instant, ^so man was a half a second 
 ahead or behind his companions. The three com 
 pany officers then rode back to the colonel to re 
 port that their respective companies were ready to 
 march, and after they had listened to some verbal 
 instructions from him, they bade him and the rest 
 of the officers good-bye, the bugle sounded the 
 " Advance/ and the troopers, moving four abreast 
 or, as a soldier would have expressed it, in column 
 of fours rode out of the gate. There they found 
 Wentworth seated on a wiry little mustang, which 
 looked altogether too small to carry so heavy a 
 rider. Recognizing George, who rode by Captain 
 Clinton s side, he gave him a friendly nod, and 
 without saying a word turned his horse and rode 
 away, the troopers following a short distance in 
 his rear. 
 
 When soldiers are on the march and in no dan- 
 g^r of immediate contact with the enemy, they are 
 anowed numerous privileges, of which the troopers 
 composing this particular scou ting-party were not 
 slow to avail themselves. Some of them drew 
 their pipes from their pockets and filled up for a 
 smoke, others threw one leg over the horns of their 
 saddles and rode sideways, " woman-fashion," and 
 
184 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 conversation became general all along the line. 
 But this talking and smoking did not interfere 
 with their marching, for they rode rapidly, and 
 made such good progress that by three o clock in 
 the afternoon they were within sight of the ruins 
 of Mr. Wentworth s ranche. And a sorry sight 
 it was, too. Nothing but a pile of blackened sun- 
 dried bricks remained to mark the spot on which 
 few days ago had stood a happy home. Household 
 furniture of every description was scattered around, 
 but every article had been smashed beyond all hope 
 of repair. What the savages had not been able to 
 carry away with them they had ruthlessly destroy 
 ed. George did not wonder that Mr. Wentworth 
 felt vindictive. The man did not have a word to 
 say, but the expression that came to his face as he 
 sat in his saddle gazing sorrowfully at the ruins of 
 his home spoke volumes. 
 
 When the troopers came within sight of the 
 ranche. George discovered that there was a horse 
 staked out near the ruins, and that he had an 
 owner in the person of a tall, gaunt man, who rose 
 from the ground and rubbed his eyes as if he had 
 just awakened from a sound sleep. His dress was 
 an odd mixture of the civilized and savage. He 
 
WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 185 
 
 wore a pair of infantryman s trousers, a ranch e- 
 man s red shirt, and an Indian blanket of the 
 same color was thrown over his shoulders. His 
 head was covered by a Mexican sombrero, and his 
 feet were protected by a pair of gaudily-ornament 
 ed moccasins. While waiting for the troopers to 
 come up he filled a short black pipe and lighted it 
 at the smouldering fire beside which he had been 
 sleeping. 
 
 "That s Mountain Mose," said Captain Clinton 
 in reply to George s inquiring look. "He no 
 doubt gave himself the name because he has lived 
 on the Plains all his life. He is a lazy, worthless 
 vagabond, but what he doesn t know about Indians 
 isn t worth knowing. If he would only wake up 
 and display a little energy, he would be invaluable 
 as a scout." 
 
 " What is he doing here ?" asked George. " He 
 seems to be waiting for us." 
 
 "Yes, I expected to find him at this place. He 
 has been out to take a look at the trail of that war- 
 party who did all this damage. Well, Mose, any 
 news ?" 
 
 "Not much, cap," drawled the scout. "You 
 put straight for the Staked Plains, an if you are 
 
186 GEOEGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 lively enough to ketch em anywhar, you ll ketch 
 em thar." 
 
 " Then we shall never get the cattle/ said the 
 japtain. " If the Indians are going in there, they 
 intend that the stock shall die of thirst rather than 
 fall into our hands." 
 
 " That s jest their little game, cap," said the 
 scout, puffing at his pipe. "You see, they ll keep 
 along on the edge of the desert, so t they can have 
 grass an water in plenty, an if you don t pester 
 em none they won t go into the Staked Plains at 
 all ; but if you push em hard they ll run the crit 
 ters in thar an leave em, hopin that you will 
 run your bosses an men to death while you are 
 huntin em up. You won t never see the young 
 ones, nuther ; an I don t see why the colonel sent 
 out sich a party as this so late in the day, anyhow. 
 We d oughter been a hundred miles along that thar 
 trail by sun-up this mornin ." 
 
 George felt the deepest sympathy for Mr. Went- 
 worth, who listened attentively to what the scout 
 had to say, although he said nothing in return. 
 His almost overwhelming sorrow showed itself 
 in hi-? face, but did not take the form of words. 
 
 As Captain Clinton had made no halt for din- 
 
WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 187 
 
 ner, the colonel having instructed him to find and 
 receive the report of the scout as soon as possible, 
 he decided to stop here and allow his men an hour 
 or two for rest and refreshment. Giving their 
 horses into the charge of some of the troopers, 
 lie and his two company commanders walked 
 away with the scout, while George rode off to 
 hunt up Bob Owens. He staked his own horse 
 out beside Bob s, and then walked back with him 
 to take a nearer view of the ruins. 
 
 " How do you suppose that that man in the 
 sombrero and moccasins knows that the Indians 
 who did this have fled toward the Staked Plains ?" 
 asked Bob after he and his friend had spent some 
 moments in silent contemplation of the savages 
 handiwork. " He certainly hasn t had time enough 
 to follow the trail clear to those plains." 
 
 "Of course not/ answered George. "But he 
 probably followed it far enough to see that it 
 leads in that direction." 
 
 " Well, explain another thing while you are 
 about it," continued Bob. " I have been out on 
 a scout before now after the hostiles, following a 
 trail that was as plain as the nose on one s face, 
 when all at once the scout would leave that trail 
 
188 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 and strike off over the prairie where there wasn t 
 a sign of a pony-track." 
 
 "He was taking a short cut on the Indians/ 
 observed George. 
 
 " I know that, and sooner or later he would 
 bring us back to that trail again ; and sometimes 
 we would have gained so much on the hostiles 
 who had perhaps been twenty-four hours journey 
 ahead of us when we left the trail that we would 
 find their camp-fires still smoking. Now, what 
 I want to know is this : How did that scout know 
 that those Indians were going to that particular 
 spring or creek or ravine near which we found 
 the trail?" 
 
 " Have you ever hunted foxes ?" asked George. 
 
 "I should say I had. When I left home I 
 owned a hound that couldn t be beaten in run 
 ning them, for he was posted in all their tricks. 
 But what have foxes to do with hostile In 
 dians ?" 
 
 "1 am simply going to use the tricks of the 
 one, which you understand, to explain the tricks 
 of the other, which you do not understand," re 
 plied George. " They are a good deal alike in 
 some respects. A fox, when he finds himself hard 
 
WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 189 
 
 pressed, will resort to all sorts of manoeuvres to 
 throw the hounds off the trail. One of his tricks 
 is to run over a newly-ploughed field, if he can 
 find one, where the scent will not lie. What would 
 that brag hound of yours do in such a case? Would 
 he waste valuable time in running about over that 
 field trying to pick up a scent that wasn t there ?" 
 
 "No, he wouldn t. He would run around the 
 outside of the field until he found the place where 
 the fox left it." 
 
 "Exactly. Now, an Indian is just as full of 
 tricks as a fox is. When he is afraid of pursuit 
 he will break his party up into small bands, and, 
 although the trails made by these bands will lead 
 in different directions at the start, you will find, 
 if you break up your own party and follow them 
 for a while, that they all tend toward the same 
 points, where these little bands will all be reunited. 
 Of course each of the trails wijl be obliterated 
 as much as possible. Some of them will lead over 
 rocky ground, where the hoof of a pony will 
 leave no imprint ; others will come to an abrupt 
 termination on the bank of some stream; and 
 others still will end at a place where the prairie 
 has been burned over. When these war-parties 
 
190 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 break up in the way I have described, a place of 
 meeting is always agreed on beforehand ; and if 
 a scout understands his business he can tell pretty 
 nearly where that place is, for it is sure to be on 
 the straightest and most direct route to the agencj 
 if the raiders belong to a friendly tribe, or to 
 their principal village if they belong to a tribe 
 that is openly hostile. If these Kiowas take to 
 the Staked Plains, they will probably enter it 
 directly north of here, at its widest part. Then 
 this Mountain Mose, if he is the scout he pretends 
 to be, will leave their trail to take care of itself 
 and draw a bee-line for the nearest water ; and it 
 will take thirty hours rapid inarching to reach it, 
 too." 
 
 " How do you know ? Have you ever been 
 there?" 
 
 " No, bat my herdsman Zeke has ; and he has 
 described the course to be followed so minutely 
 that I can go there any day the sun shines or any 
 night when the stars shine." 
 
 Bob did not say anything, but his friend noticed 
 that he looked a little incredulous. 
 
 " It is not so difficult as it appears to be at first 
 glance," George hastened to say. " Why, when 
 
WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 191 
 
 a party of young Indians want to go into a strange 
 country for plunder and scalps, they gather around 
 some old warrior, who traces on the ground the di 
 rection in which they must travel in order to reach 
 that country, describes all the water-courses and 
 locates the principal landmarks to be found along 
 the route; and with nothing but these verbal in 
 structions to guide them, these little rascals, some 
 of them not more than thirteen or fourteen years 
 of age, will make a journey of hundreds of miles 
 through a region that none of them have ever 
 visited before. My bump of locality is not so 
 large as an Indian s, but still I have a pretty good 
 memory, and I have travelled many a mile through 
 a strange country without going a step out of my 
 way." 
 
 " What sort of a looking place is Staked Plains, 
 anyhow ?" asked Bob. " I have heard so many ter 
 rible stories told about it that I am almost afraid 
 of it. What gave it that name? Are there any 
 stakes there?" 
 
 Bob was inclined to be facetious when he said 
 this, and consequently he was not a little aston 
 ished to hear George say in reply, 
 
 " There may not be any stakes there now, but 
 
192 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 there used to be. It is a terrible place, and many 
 a wagon-train has left its bones there. It is big 
 enough to get lost in, for it lacks only about six 
 thousand square miles of being as large as the State 
 of New York ; and although it is not exactly a 
 desert, as we understand the word, it is a barren 
 waste, where nothing living permanently resides 
 on account of the great scarcity of water. A long 
 time ago the Mexican traders marked out a route 
 with stakes across the plain where they found a 
 few small fountains, and that was what gave it the 
 name it bears. Zeke says it is a perfect bake-oven. 
 There are no trees to shelter you, no grass for your 
 horses, no fuel to build a fire with, and an almost 
 unearthly silence broods over it. I am not super 
 stitious, but Zeke always speaks of it with a shud 
 der, and I tell you I don t want to see any place 
 that he is afraid of." 
 
 The two friends continued to talk in this way 
 until Captain Clinton s cook came up and told 
 George that dinner was ready. They rested half 
 an hour after the meal was over, and then set out 
 again, Mountain Mose leading the way and Mr. 
 Wentworth, as before, riding by himself. As 
 George was a sort of supernumerary, he was under 
 
WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 193 
 
 little restraint, and consequently he rode where he 
 pleased sometimes in company with the scout, 
 sometimes beside Captain Clinton, and then fell 
 back to exchange a few ideas with Bob. He did 
 not, however, waste much time with the scout. 
 The latter was talkative enough until he learned 
 that George held the same position that he did, 
 and then he froze up at once. 
 
 " You re a pretty-looking scout, you be !" he ex 
 claimed, moving his eye over the boy s trim fig 
 ure. " Do you reckon you could tell the trail of 
 a Kiovva from the track of a coyote?" 
 
 " Yes, I reckon I could," answered George with 
 a smile. " But you need not be jealous of me, for 
 I shall not interfere with you in any way. I came 
 to the post to hunt Greasers, and not to trail In 
 dians." 
 
 "Oh, you did, eh? So you re the chap that s 
 goin to show the boys the way acrost the Rio, be 
 you ?" 
 
 " I am," replied George. 
 
 "Well, all I ve got to say is, that them that 
 
 follers you is fools. I thought mebbe you was 
 
 agoin to poke your nose into my business ; and 
 
 that is something I won t put up with from no- 
 
 13 
 
194 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 body. If thar s anything I do understand, it s 
 Indians." 
 
 This was true, but it sometimes happens that luck 
 is not on the side of those who know the most. 
 The scout would have given anything he possessed 
 if he had been fortunate enough to perform the ex 
 ploit that George assisted in performing before 
 two days more had passed over his head. 
 
 Bob Owens did not fail to notice that there was 
 not the least semblance of a trail to be seen any 
 where. They had left it at the ruins of Mr. 
 Went worth s ranch o, and he waited with no little 
 impatience to see where they would pick it up 
 again. He found out about sunset, for at that 
 time the column reached the banks of a small 
 water-course, and there they struck the trail, which 
 was so broad and plain that it could be followed 
 at a gallop. George, in company with some of the 
 officers and the scout, spent a few minutes in look 
 ing it over, and then rode back to report the re 
 sult of his observations to Bob Owens. 
 
 " There are not many warriors in the party," 
 said he, " but they are so well supplied with horses 
 that they can have a fresh mount every day if 
 they want it." 
 
WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 195 
 
 "How do you know that?" asked Bob. 
 
 "Because I saw their tracks," replied George. 
 
 " That s not explicit enough. I suppose you 
 did see the tracks of the horses, and so did I ; but 
 how in the world is a fellow going to tell wheth 
 er or not those horses had riders on their backs? 
 That s something that can t be done." 
 
 " Don t be too sure of that. Look here ! Would 
 you believe it if I should tell you that those In 
 dians passed along here after daylight on Thurs 
 day morning?" 
 
 "No, I wouldn t," replied Bob bluntly. He 
 could not, for the life of him, understand how 
 anybody could draw such conclusions as these by 
 simply looking at the print of a pony s hoofs in 
 the grass ; and if he had not been so well acquaint 
 ed with George he would have inclined to the be 
 lief that his friend was "spreading it on" in order 
 to make himself out a wonderful trailer. " I can t 
 make head or tail of this business, and I don t 
 believe you can, either; that is, I mean I don t 
 see how you can." 
 
 " Well, listen while I explain," said George 
 good-naturedly. "In the first place, I noticed, 
 Avhile we were passing through that belt of post- 
 
196 GEOKGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 oaks back there, that some of the horses left a very 
 devious trail, passing through thick bushes and un 
 der trees whose branches were so low that they would 
 have swept a rider out of his saddle if he had not 
 been on the alert to avoid them. Those horses were 
 all loose." 
 
 " Perhaps not," exclaimed Bob. " The Indians 
 might have passed through there when it was too 
 dark to see where they were going." 
 
 " I know they might, but they didn t, as I shall 
 presently show you. The horses which made those 
 crooked trails were not mustangs. They were 
 American horses, and their presence proves anoth 
 er thing that I didn t think to speak of before ; and 
 that is, that the Indians raided other ranches be 
 sides Mr. Wentworth s. How do I know that they 
 were American horses ? Because their tracks were 
 larger than a pony s, and some of them were shod. 
 The tracks made by the mustangs led through the 
 open part of the timber, where there were no bushes 
 and low branches; and this is one proof that the In 
 dians did not pass through there in the night-time. 
 If they had, they could not have kept in such open 
 ground. I found further proof that these mustangs 
 were all mounted by noticing that they did not stop 
 
WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 197 
 
 to graze, as the loose horses did, being kept in con 
 stant motion by their riders. What do you think 
 now?" asked George, seeing that Bob began to open 
 his eyes. 
 
 " It reads like a book, don t it?" was Bob s reply. 
 tf But you have forgotten one very important thing. 
 You said that the Indians passed through those post- 
 oaks early on Thursday morning. How do you know 
 that they didn t pass late on Thursday afternoon or 
 early on Friday morning?" 
 
 " You think you have got me there, don t you ? 
 Well, you haven t. If there are sermons in stones 
 and books in running brooks, as the poet tells us 
 there are, what is the reason that the print of an In 
 dian pony s hoof may not contain a page of infor 
 mation that will prove to be useful to him who has 
 the skill to read it? On Wednesday night there was 
 a very heavy dew, if you remember." 
 
 " I don t remember," replied Bob ; " I never pay 
 any attention to such things." 
 
 " But you must pay attention to such things, and 
 a good deal of it too, if you are going to be a Plains 
 man. During the last two nights there has been no 
 do\v at all. I noticed that some blades of grass, 
 which had been pressed down by the hoofs of the 
 
198 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 horses and cattle, were covered with sand which 
 stuck fast to them, having been dried on. This 
 told me that the tracks were made while the grass 
 was wet, and that the Indians had passed that way 
 early on Thursday morning, or before the sun had 
 risen high enough to dry oif the dew. There were 
 not more than fifteen or twenty of them. I didn t 
 have time to see just how many, but they have 
 stolen over a thousand head of steers and horses. 
 Now, remember all I have told you, and see if I 
 haven t made a pretty good guess." 
 
 "Do you think we shall catch them?" asked 
 Bob. 
 
 " Well," answered George slowly, " raiding In 
 dians have been overtaken and neatly whipped be 
 fore now, but I have always believed that it was 
 more by good luck than good management. These 
 fellows will begin to show their tactics as soon as 
 they find out that they are pursued. Then they 
 will probably leave behind a few of the best mount 
 ed of the band to attract our attention and lead us 
 away from the others, who will make all haste to 
 take the prisoners and the stolon stock to a place 
 of safety. If we bite at that bait, we shall lose 
 everything, for as soon as the decoys have led us 
 
WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING. 199 
 
 as far out of our way as they care to have us go, 
 they will disappear all of a sudden, and we shall 
 never see them again. If we keep on after the 
 main body, and travel fast enough to gain on them, 
 they will drop the stock in the desert, break up into 
 squads of twos and threes, and we shall have noth 
 ing to do but to turn about and go home again/ 7 
 
 The Indians did manoeuvre pretty nearly as George 
 said they would, but Captain Clinton and his scout- 
 ing-party did not go back to the fort until they 
 had accomplished something. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 HOW GEORGE SAVED THE CAMP. 
 
 rnHE troopers went into camp about midnight, 
 having been nineteen hours in the saddle, 
 during which time they had marched more than 
 seventy miles. They halted on the bank of a 
 small stream near a ford over which the Indians 
 had passed during their retreat. The trail was 
 plain, and some of the troopers, who did not know 
 quite as much about trailing as they thought they 
 did, declared that they were close upon the heels 
 of the raiders. 
 
 " How is that, George ?" asked Bob Owens, who 
 had been detailed as one of the corporals of the 
 guard. " Some of the boys say that if we should 
 follow the Indians for an hour or two longer we 
 would be within sight of their camp-fires." 
 
 " What makes them think so ?" asked George. 
 
 " Because they have found tracks with the sand 
 
 200 
 
HOW GEORGE SAVED THE CAMP. 201 
 
 still running into them. Is that one of the signs 
 by which to tell the age of a trail ?" 
 
 " Under some circumstances, yes ; in the present 
 case, no. You could tell the age of a trail in that 
 way if the ground around it had not been disturb 
 ed. This country about here is all quicksand, and 
 you can take your stand almost anywhere along the 
 banks of this stream, and by jumping up and down 
 shake the ground for ten feet on all sides of you. 
 When our heavy column crossed the ford and 
 climbed this bank, it shook the earth, and that 
 was what set the sand to running down into the 
 tracks." 
 
 " I declare !" exclaimed Bob, gazing admiringly 
 at his friend ; " is there anything a trailer isn t 
 obliged to know?" 
 
 " If he wants to be an expert he must keep his 
 eyes and ears wide open, and pay strict attention 
 to little things which almost anybody else would 
 consider to be beneath his notice. It is wonderful 
 what proficiency a person who has a talent for such 
 things can acquire by practice. For example, this 
 scout of ours could learn more about a trail in two 
 minutes than I could in an hour. But he is fear 
 fully jealous," added George with a laugh, " and 
 
202 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 you ought to have seen how mad I made him while 
 we were passing through that belt of post-oaks this 
 afternoon. Seeing that Captain Clinton was wait 
 ing very impatiently for information, I volunteered 
 the statement that the hostiles had passed that way 
 early on Thursday morning, and that Mr. Went- 
 worth was not the only one who had suffered at 
 their hands. The captain asked Mose what he 
 thought of that, and Mose replied, I think jest 
 this here, cap: if that kid is agoin to lead this 
 yere party he had better say so, an 7 I will go back 
 to the post. He s a most too fresh, an he d better 
 go back in the woods an practise at holdin his 
 chin. But he did not contradict my statement, 
 and that was all the evidence I needed to prove 
 that I was right in what I said. The tracks here 
 on the bank are not as fresh as you suppose. If 
 they were wet, it would be a sign that the In 
 dians crossed the ford since three o clock this 
 afternoon." 
 
 "Why since three o clock?" asked Bob. 
 
 " Because the sun went under a cloud at that 
 hour, and hasn t showed himself since to dry off 
 the water that the horses and cattle brought out 
 of the stream on their feet and legs." 
 
HOW GEORGE SAVED THE CAMP. 203 
 
 While the two boys were talking in this way 
 George was getting ready to go to bed. The camp 
 was located at the foot of a perpendicular bluff 
 which was perhaps twenty feet in height. On the 
 top of this bluff the horses were picketed, and be 
 yond them were the sentinels who were to look out 
 for the safety of the animals and keep guard over 
 their slumbering companions. Everything outside 
 of the circle of light made by the camp-fires was 
 concealed by the most intense darkness. Not even 
 a star twinkled in the sky. George spread his 
 blankets in a sheltered nook at the foot of the 
 bluff and courted the " drowsy god " in vain. 
 He was tired and his eyes were heavy, but he 
 could not go to sleep. After rolling and tossing 
 about for nearly two hours, he became too nervous 
 to remain inactive any longer, so he slung his rifle 
 on his back and climbed to the top of the bluff, 
 where he found Bob Owens and two other non 
 commissioned officers sitting beside a fire and con 
 versing in low tones. At another fire a short dis 
 tance away sat Lieutenant Earle, the officer of the 
 guard, nodding over his pipe. 
 
 " Hallo !" exclaimed Bob, " what brought you 
 out here?" 
 
204 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 "Oh, I want somebody to talk to," replied 
 George, throwing himself on the ground by his 
 friend s side, " Somehow, I can t sleep, and that s 
 a new thing for me." 
 
 " You are not afraid of the hostiles, are you ?" 
 asked a corporal from the other side of the fire. 
 
 " Oh no, because I know that we have nothing to 
 fear from them on such a night as this. If there 
 were any hostiles in the neighborhood, they might 
 slip up and steal a few horses, if they thought they 
 could get away with their booty, but they wouldn t 
 attack a party of the size of ours and bring on an 
 open fight. It is too dark." 
 
 " Why, that is just the reason they would attack 
 us," exclaimed the corporal, who, although he had 
 often been on a scout, had never participated in a 
 battle. "They rely upon the darkness to cover 
 their movements and to assist them in effecting a 
 surprise. I have read it a hundred times." 
 
 " Ah, yes," replied George " story-book Indians 
 make attacks at all hours of the day and night, but 
 live Plains Indians don t. The reason for it is 
 this : They believe that they will go into the hap 
 py hunting-grounds with just the same surround 
 ings that attend their departure from this world. 
 
HOW GEORGE SAVED THE CAMP. 205 
 
 If an Indian is crippled or blind or ill, he will be 
 ju/=t the same Indian in the spirit-land. If he 
 dies from the effects of disease, he will suffer from 
 that disease for ever ; but if he is killed in battle 
 on a pleasant day, and while he is in the possession 
 of all his strength and faculties, he will go straight 
 to the Indian s heaven under the most favorable 
 circumstances." 
 
 "Suppose he is killed on a rainy day?" said the 
 corporal on the other side of the fire. 
 
 "Or a snowy one?" chimed in a sergeant. 
 
 "Then he is doomed to paddle through rain or 
 snow through all eternity," replied George ; " and 
 that he doesn t like either is proved by the fact 
 that he will not stir out of camp while it is raining 
 or snowing if he can help it. If an Indian is hang 
 ed, like Captain Jack or those thirty-seven warriors 
 who were executed at Mankato in 1863 for parti 
 cipation in the Sioux massacre, he loses all chance 
 o ever seeing the happy hunting-grounds. So he 
 does if he is scalped ; and that s the reason Indians 
 make such efforts to carry off the body of a fallen 
 comrade. A Plains Indian never willingly goes 
 into a fight during the night. If he did, he would 
 make it much warmer for us here on the frontier 
 
206 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 than he does now. He may make use of a night 
 like this to get into position for an attack, but if 
 left to himself he will not raise the war-whoop be 
 fore daylight, because he believes that if he is kill 
 ed during the dark he will be condemned to pass 
 all eternity in darkness." 
 
 " Well, that is something I never knew before," 
 said the corporal, " and I have been on the Plains 
 a good many years. Now that I think of it " 
 
 " Corporal of the guard, No. 7 !" came the call 
 through the dense darkness, whereupon Bob Owens 
 jumped to his feet. 
 
 "What s the trouble out there, I wonder?" 
 said he. 
 
 " Go and see," replied the sergeant with a sleepy 
 yawn : " that s the only way to find out." 
 
 " Sergeant," said the officer of the guard, " if 
 those horses have had grass enough, have them 
 brought in and tied to the stable-lines. Look well 
 to their fastenings." 
 
 " Corporal of the guard, No. 7 !" came the call 
 again ; and this time it was uttered in a louder and 
 more earnest tone. 
 
 Bob, who was walking toward post No. 7 with 
 a very deliberate step, now broke into a run, and 
 
HOW GEOEGE SAVED THE CAMP. 207 
 
 George jumped up and followed him. A fortunate 
 thing it was for that camp and its inmates that he 
 did so. His thorough acquaintance with the ways 
 of some of the inhabitants of the Plains enabled 
 him to prevent a catastrophe which would certainly 
 have resulted in a serious loss of life, and brought 
 Captain Clinton s scout to an inglorious end then 
 and there. When he and the corporal reached post 
 No. 7 they found the sentry on duty there lying 
 flat on his stomach and gazing earnestly toward 
 the horizon. 
 
 " What s the matter, Sprague ?" demanded Bob. 
 
 " I don t know, I am sure/ replied the sentry. 
 " If the hostiles had made up their minds to pay 
 us a visit, they wouldn t make such a racket as that, 
 would they? There ! don t you hear it? Some 
 thing s coming this way, I tell you, and coming on 
 a keen jump, too." 
 
 The three held their breath and listened intently. 
 A second later the breeze brought to their ears the 
 sound that had attracted the attention of the sentry 
 a deep, rumbling sound, faint and far off, but in 
 creasing perceptibly in volume. It resembled the 
 constant muttering of distant thunder, but they all 
 knew it was not that. Bob s face brightened at once, 
 
208 GEORGE AT THE FOET. 
 
 but George s grew pale. The corporal did not know 
 the danger that threatened them, but his companion 
 did; he had heard something like it before. He 
 had heard it on the night that Fletcher and his band 
 of raiders stampeded his stock, and he had thrown 
 himself into an old buffalo- wallow and allowed 
 three hundred frantic cattle to gallop over his 
 head. 
 
 "Why, it must be cavalry from Fort Tyler," 
 said Bob at length. "But I ll tell you what s a 
 fact, boys," he added, as a fresh gust of wind 
 brought the sound more plainly to his ears : " there 
 must be lots of them, for I never heard such a roar 
 of hoofs before. They are coming this way, too. 
 I hope they ll not run over us." 
 
 "Well, they will run over us," said George, 
 speaking quickly but calmly, " unless you take 
 immediate steps to prevent it. They are not 
 cavalry ; they are buffaloes." 
 
 " Oh ! ah !" exclaimed Bob. 
 
 "Humph!" ejaculated the sentry, jumping to 
 his feet. " Don t tell the boys what I called you 
 out for, will you, corporal? To tell the truth, I 
 was just a little bit " 
 
 He finished the sentence by shrugging his shoul- 
 
HOW GEORGE SAVED THE CAMP. 209 
 
 ders, and Bob, who knew what he meant by that, 
 was about to assure him that he would say noth 
 ing in the hearing of the "boys" that would enable 
 hem to "get the laugh 77 on him, when George 
 Ackerman broke in with 
 
 "You had good reason to be alarmed, and this 
 is not a matter to be dropped with an t ah ! and an 
 oh ! and a humph ! You are in great danger, 
 if you only knew it. Those buffaloes are stam 
 peded, and will not stop until they are all out of 
 breath." 
 
 " Well, if they don t want to stop, let them run," 
 said Bob. " Who cares ? They don t owe us any 
 thing. They will of course turn aside when they 
 see us." 
 
 " But they will not see you unless you do some 
 thing to attract their attention," exclaimed George 
 impatiently. " They will be in among us in five 
 minutes more, and men and horses will be trampled 
 into the ground like blades of grass. Wake up and 
 do something, can t you ? The safety of the camp 
 depends upon you, and if you don t move, I will." 
 
 " Great Moses !" ejaculated Bob. He was thor 
 oughly aroused by the earnest words of his com 
 panion, but having never been placed in a situation 
 U 
 
210 GEOEGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 like this before, he did not know how to act. " You 
 don t mean that I never heard of " 
 
 "Yes, I do mean that they will trample the whole 
 camp to death unless you prevent it ; and I don i 
 care whether you ever heard of such a thing being 
 done or not," cried George, seizing the corporal by 
 the arm and shaking him as if he wanted to put 
 a little energy into him. 
 
 "But what shall I do? Shall I order up the 
 reserve and get the horses out of the way?" 
 
 "You haven t got time to get them out of the 
 way. The buffaloes will be upon us before you 
 could take half a dozen of them to a place of safe 
 ty. Arouse the camp the first thing, and then call 
 up a few good men to go out and split the herd the 
 moment it comes in sight." 
 
 Bob, who was still in the dark, was about to ask 
 how he should go to work to " split " the herd after 
 he had selected the men, but George did not give 
 him the opportunity. The rumbling of the ap 
 proaching hoofs grew louder and louder, and every 
 moment was precious. It sounded before them and 
 to the right and left of them, indicating that the 
 herd was an immense one, and that it was advan 
 cing with a front broad enough to overwhelm the 
 
HOW GEORGE SAVED THE CAMP. 211 
 
 entire camp. Knowing that no more time could 
 be wasted in debating the matter, George unslung 
 his Winchester and fired two shots into the air. 
 The effect was almost magical. The camp, which 
 had been so quiet a second before, was aroused into 
 instant life and activity. Loud cries of " Indians !" 
 and " Fall in !" arose on the still air, followed by 
 blasts from the bugle and stern notes of command. 
 The officer of the guard was promptly on the ground, 
 and to him Bob reported that a herd of stampeded 
 buffaloes was bearing down upon them. The an 
 nouncement startled the lieutenant, but he acted with 
 the greatest coolness. As fast as the men came up 
 he ordered them back to take care of the horses- 
 all except a dozen or so of the best soldiers known 
 to him, whom he ordered to follow him. By the 
 time he had taken up his position, which was on a 
 little rise of ground about fifty yards from post No. 
 7, Captain Clinton came up. Taking in at a glance 
 the arrangements which his subordinate had made 
 to avert the terrible danger that threatened the camp 
 he left him and his picked men to carry out those 
 arrangements or perish in the attempt, while he 
 hastened back to see that the horses were well 
 secured. 
 
212 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 " Steady !" commanded Lieutenant Earle, speak 
 ing in his loudest tones, in order to make his voice 
 heard above the roar of the threatening hoofs, which 
 sounded like the noise made by an approaching 
 hurricane. " We are here to conquer or die. If 
 we don t split that herd they will trample us out 
 of sight in the ground. We can do tt if we are 
 only cool enough to hold our position. Don t fire 
 until I give the word, and then put in the shots 
 as rapidly as you know how." 
 
 Bob s hair fairly stood on end, and not even the 
 calm bearing of George Ackerman, who was con 
 stantly by his side and who knew their danger bet 
 ter than he did, or the lieutenant s assurance that 
 the herd could be split if they did their full duty, 
 could relieve Bob s mind of the positive conviction 
 that he and his comrades were doomed to certain 
 and speedy death. But his courage never faltered, 
 and to show that he did not intend to allow him 
 self to be outdone in steadiness even by a shoulder- 
 strap, he walked up and kneeling beside his officer 
 (the men in the front rank were all kneeling, so 
 that those in the rear rank could shoot over their 
 heads) waited for the order to fire. 
 
 Nearer came the terror-stricken buffaloes, louder 
 
HOW GEORGE SAVED THE CAMP. 213 
 
 grew the thunder of their hoofs, and, as if to add 
 to the horror of the situation and to test the cour 
 age of the lieutenant and his devoted little band to 
 the very utmost, the horses behind them began to 
 grow unmanageable from fright and to struggle 
 desperately to escape from their fastenings. 
 
 At length, after a few moments of dreadful sus 
 pense, the time for action arrived. A rapidly- 
 moving mass, which was plainly visible, owing to 
 the fact that it was blacker than the darkness of 
 the night, burst into view and bore down upon the 
 camp and its little band of defenders. So loud 
 was the noise made by their hoofs at this moment 
 that the troopers did not hear the order to fire, 
 which the lieutenant shouted out with all the pow 
 er of his lungs; but they saw the flash of his re 
 volver, and lost no time in opening a hot fire upon 
 that portion of the herd which was directly in 
 front of them. To Bob it seemed that the rapid 
 discharges of their breech-loaders had no effect 
 whatever. The black mass before him was as 
 black and as dense, apparently, as it was when he 
 first saw it, but, strange to say, instead of plung 
 ing upon him and his companions and trampling 
 them out of all semblance to humanity, it seemed 
 
214 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 to remain stationary, although the deafening roar of 
 those countless hoofs told him that the frantic herd 
 had not in the least slackened its pace. In fact, 
 his eyes and ears seemed to have suddenly become 
 at " outs/ for they did not endorse each other as 
 they usually did. His eyes told him that his car 
 bine was fired rapidly, for they showed him the 
 flashes that followed the pulling of the trigger; 
 but his ears took no note of the fact, for he could 
 not hear the faintest report. The reason for this 
 was, that the herd, having been split in two by the 
 first volley, was moving by on each side of them 
 with a roar and a rush that would have drowned 
 the discharge of a section of artillery. 
 
 How long the buffaloes were in passing Bob 
 never knew, for he took no note of time. It was 
 probably not more than two or three minutes, but 
 during that brief period he passed through an or 
 deal that he never could think of afterward with 
 out feeling the cold chills creep all over him. But 
 he did not flinch, and neither did his companions. 
 When the last of the buffaloes passed to the right 
 and left of them, and the lieutenant jumped up 
 and stretched his arms and legs as if to assure 
 himself that he had not been stepped on anywhere, 
 
HOW GEORGE SAVED THE CAMP. 215 
 
 he found that not one of his men had moved from 
 hi* place. The front rank was still kneeling, the 
 rear rank was standing, and they were both as well 
 aligned as they were before the firing commenced. 
 
 After ordering the front rank to rise, and be 
 stowing upon them all a few hearty words of com 
 mendation, the lieutenant marched his men back to 
 the camp, where they found some of their compan 
 ions under arms, and the rest engaged in bringing 
 in the horses and making them fast to the stable- 
 lines. The animals were in such a state of alarm, 
 and showed so strong a desire to run off with the 
 retreating buffaloes, that Captain Clinton thought 
 it advisable to put a strong guard over them for 
 the rest of the night, with instructions to examine 
 their fastenings every few minutes. When this 
 guard had been detailed and the sentries had been 
 changed, the rest of the troopers went back to 
 their blankets. 
 
 Bob and George were proud of the part they had 
 acted in saving the camp from destruction, and con 
 sequently when they spread their blankets beside 
 one of the fires they were somewhat provoked to 
 hear the man who was piling fresh fuel upon it 
 attribute their narrow escape to " luck." But still 
 
216 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 there was nothing very surprising in this, for it not 
 unfrequently happens that a soldier stationed in one 
 end of a camp does not know what is going on in 
 the other end of it, especially in times of excite 
 ment. The same thing happens in a fight. A 
 soldier may be able to give a clear statement of the 
 part his company took in it, but he knows nothing 
 of the general plan of the battle or of the number 
 of the killed, wounded, captured or missing, until 
 he has had time to talk the matter over with his 
 comrades or to read a published account of it. 
 During the war it was a common saying among 
 the soldiers in the field that they never knew any 
 thing about the fights they had been in until they 
 saw the papers. 
 
 " I have been on the Plains nearly three years," 
 said the trooper who was punching up the fire, "and 
 that was the first time I ever saw a herd of stam 
 peded buffaloes." 
 
 " I never saw one," said another trooper. " I 
 heard this one, but my horse kept me so busy that 
 I couldn t take time to look at it." 
 
 " I had a fair view of it," said the one who had 
 first spoken. " My horse was quiet enough after 
 I got the bit between his teeth, so that I could 
 
HOW GEOKGE SAVED THE CAMP. 217 
 
 manage him, and I stood up there by that farthest 
 fire and took it all in. I tell you, it was a sight ! 
 a regular cataract of buffaloes a hundred feet wide, 
 tumbling over a bank twenty feet high. I have 
 always heard that when buffaloes become frightened 
 and get to running they turn aside for nothing; but 
 this night s experience gives the lie to all such 
 stories, don t it? When they saw our camp they 
 turned to the right and left, and crossed the stream 
 above and below us, and never did us the least 
 damage. Luck was on our side, wasn t it?" 
 
 " i Luck !" repeated Bob in a tone of disgust ; 
 " I guess not. There were about a dozen men, of 
 whom George Ackerman and I made two, who 
 stood between you fellows and certain death. If 
 we hadn t held our ground as if we had grown 
 there, there wouldn t have been one of you left 
 to tell the story of this night s work." 
 
 The troopers lying about the fire were greatly 
 astonished at these words, and called for an im 
 mediate explanation. Bob told the story in a few 
 words, adding, as he directed the attention of his 
 auditors to George Ackerman, who was lying at 
 his ease on his blanket, 
 
 " There s the fellow you have to thank for your 
 
218 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 Muck. 7 Sprague heard them coming, and so did 
 I after he called me out to his post, but we didn t 
 know what it was until Ackerman told us. He was 
 the one who alarmed the camp. I know I did some- 
 tlrng toward splitting that herd, for I could see the 
 fire come out of my carbine and my cartridge-box 
 is empty, but I never heard a report. I didn t hear 
 anything but the thunder of those hoofs, and I shall 
 hear it to my dying day." 
 
 " I wonder what started them ?" said one of the 
 troopers, after he and his companions had asked a 
 few questions concerning the behavior of the vari 
 ous members of the squad. " Indians?" 
 
 " Probably they did," answered a sergeant, who 
 just then came up to the fire to light his pipe, 
 being unable to go to sleep until he had taken a 
 smoke to quiet his nerves. 
 
 " Probably the Indians had nothing to do with 
 it," said George. " Don t you know that a herd of 
 buffaloes will feed within a mile or two of an Indian 
 camp for days at a time, while half a dozen white 
 men would scare them out of the country in less 
 than an hour? Well, it s a fact," 
 
 " What is the reason for it ?" asked Bob. 
 
 " The reason is to be found in the different modes 
 
HOW GEORGE SAVED THE CAMP. 219 
 
 of hunting them. The Indian, who depends large 
 ly upon them for food and clothing, kills no more 
 ol them during a run than the squaws can take care 
 of. He hunts them almost altogether with the bow 
 and arrow, which are not only very effective weap 
 ons at short range, but they make no noise to scare 
 away the game. He hunts according to long-estab 
 lished rules, none but the best men in the tribe being 
 permitted to take part in a run, and in this way the 
 game is secured before the buffaloes get frightened 
 enough to break into a stampede. The white man, 
 who hunts principally for profit, keeps up the kill 
 ing as long as he can hold the herd within range of 
 his gun. He follows them persistently during the 
 daytime, and at night lies in wait to shoot them as 
 they come to the streams to quench their thirst. A 
 buffalo is a very stupid animal, but, after all, it 
 doesn t take him long to get some things through 
 his head." 
 
 Fresh, purty fresh !" murmured a voice. 
 
 George looked over his shoulders and saw the 
 
 o 
 
 scout lying close by on his blanket. He had come 
 up to the fire and arranged his bed without attract 
 ing the attention of any one. 
 
 "Do you think there is nobody in this party 
 
220 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 who knows anything except yourself?" demanded 
 George. 
 
 "Well, no; judging by the way you sling your 
 chin, you know it all," replied the scout. 
 
 " What do you suppose first put this herd in 
 motion ?" asked one of the troopers, who had not 
 yet gained all the information he wanted. 
 
 " That s a question that nobody can answer unless 
 he was on the ground and saw them start," answer 
 ed George. "You ll not dispute that, will you, 
 Mose ? Our Texas cattle will often get stampeded 
 by the sight of a little cloud of dust that is sudden 
 ly raised by the wind; or some night a careless 
 herdsman may step between them and the fire and 
 throw his shadow upon them ; or some of the young 
 and foolish members of a drove will fall to skylark 
 ing, and that will frighten the others, and the first 
 thing you know they are all off like the wind. 
 Buffaloes have just as little sense. My herdsman 
 has told me that he has seen hundreds of them, 
 when they were suffering for water, walk into a 
 stream that was literally choked with the bodies 
 of their companions who had been caught in the 
 quicksand." 
 
 "Say," growled a drowsy trooper from his 
 
HOW GEOKGE SAVED THE CAMP. 221 
 
 blanket, "suppose you boys go somewhere and 
 hire a hall?" 
 
 George laughed, and, taking the hint thus del 
 icately thrown out, brought his lecture on buffa 
 loes to a close. The remembrance of the thrilling 
 scene through which he had just passed did not 
 keep him awake. On the contrary, sleep came to 
 his eyes almost immediately, and the last sound he 
 heard as he was about to pass into the land of 
 dreams was the subdued voice of the scout mur 
 muring, " Fresh, very fresh !" 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES. 
 
 camp was aroused at an early hour the 
 next morning, and by the time it was fairly 
 daylight breakfast had been disposed of and the 
 column was again in motion. The firing-squad 
 had brought down a goodly number of buffaloes^ 
 in their efforts to split the herd enough to furnish 
 the whole camp with a hearty meal and to enable 
 each trooper to carry two days cooked rations in 
 his haversack. During the first few miles of their 
 march there was no trail for them to follow, all 
 traces of the thieving Kiowas having been oblit 
 erated by the hoofs of the stampeded buffaloes ; but 
 this did not interfere with the movements of the 
 scout, who, from the start, led the way at a rapid 
 pace. He knew the general direction in which the 
 trail led, and that was enough for him. 
 
 "Where do you think we shall pick it up 
 222 
 
TELEGKAPHING BY SMOKES. 223 
 
 again ?" asked Captain Clinton of George, who 
 rode by his side. 
 
 "Do you see that butte?" asked George in reply, 
 directing the officer s attention to a single high 
 peak in the distance, which marked the south-east 
 ern boundary of the dreaded Staked Plains. " We 
 shall not see another drop of water until we reach 
 that mountain, and we shall find some traces of the 
 Indians there, if we do not find them before." 
 
 " Purty fresh !" exclaimed the scout, who had 
 overheard every word of this conversation. 
 
 " Well, if you know better, why don t you say 
 so ?" demanded George. " Every prediction I have 
 made so far has turned out to be correct. Xow, 
 see how far I miss it when I tell you that the In 
 dians camped beside that butte last night." 
 
 " Then we are gaining on them ?" said the 
 captain. 
 
 " We are," was the boy s confident reply. " And 
 for the reason that we have followed a direct course 
 and ridden rapidly, while the Indians took a round 
 about way and moved slowly, being hampered by 
 their stolen cattle." 
 
 George s calculations proved to be correct. About 
 three o clock in the afternoon they again took up the 
 
224 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 trail, and followed it at a gallop. They reached the 
 peak just before dark, and found abundant evidence 
 that the Indians had recently camped there. The 
 troopers halted here too to get a little rest and a 
 wink of sleep, but at nine o clock they were once 
 more on the move. The next halt was made about 
 two in the morning, and at daylight they were again 
 in their saddles and riding ahead as rapidly as ever. 
 The trail led them along the borders of the Staked 
 Plains, giving some of the troopers, who had never 
 before scouted so far in this direction, their first view 
 of that desolate region. A gloomy-looking place it 
 was. As far as their eyes could reach they could 
 see nothing but sandhills, with stunted weeds and 
 clumps of grass which seemed to be struggling 
 hard to maintain a foothold in the arid soil. 
 
 They had marched perhaps ten miles from 
 their last camp when George Ackerman, who was 
 riding by Captain Clinton s side, discovered some 
 thing. He looked at it for a moment, and then 
 called the officer s attention to it. 
 
 " They have begun their tricks at last," said lie. 
 "Do you see that dark streak out there in the grass? 
 That s a new trail. There ! Mose lias discovered it, 
 and is going out to see what it looks like." 
 
TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES. 225 
 
 Bringing the column to a halt, the captain, ac 
 companied by George and some of the officers, rode 
 forward to the place where the scout, who had got 
 down from his horse, stood bending over the trail. 
 After he had taken plenty of time in which to make 
 his investigations, he straightened up to announce 
 the result. 
 
 " Four of them varmints has gone this way, cap," 
 said he. " They ve left a plain trail, on purpose to 
 coax you to foller em." 
 
 " They shall be gratified," answered the captain 
 promptly. " As my party is larger than theirs, I 
 can stand more divisions than they can. I would 
 as soon whip them in detail as to whip them in a 
 lump. Earle, take a dozen men from your troop 
 and follow it up." 
 
 "Very good, sir," replied the lieutenant. 
 
 " Have you brought your signal-code with you ? 
 All right! If you discover anything startling, send 
 a courier to me with the fullest details. I will fol 
 low along after the main body. Be cautious, but 
 at the same time keep moving, for we ought to be 
 within striking distance of those rascals in a few 
 hours more." 
 
 The lieutenant saluted and rode back to the 
 
 15 
 
226 GEOEGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 column, drawing his sword as he went. Dropping 
 the weapon behind the third column of fours, he 
 gave the order, " The first three fours, right by 
 twos march ! Column left march !" 
 
 This brought the selected twelve alongside the 
 new trail, which they at once began to follow up 
 at a gallop, waving their caps to their comrades as 
 they rode away. By selecting his men in this way 
 the lieutenant did not happen to take Bob Owens, 
 who rode farther back in the column. The young 
 soldier, who was not in the habit of being slighted 
 when there was anything of this kind going on, was 
 both surprised and provoked at his officer ; but he 
 afterward thanked him for choosing his men as he 
 did, and congratulated himself on having been left 
 behind. Mr. Went worth gazed longingly after the 
 lieutenant, and sometimes seemed on the point of 
 riding in pursuit of him ; but he finally made up 
 his mind to stay with the main column. 
 
 The troopers presently resumed the march, keep 
 ing up the same rapid pace as before , and in a few 
 minutes lost sight of Lieutenant Earle and his party, 
 who disappeared among the sandhills. The latter 
 must have ridden very swiftly, for shortly after 
 noon they were a long distance from the main 
 
TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES. 227 
 
 body, their position being pointed out by a slender 
 column of white smoke that suddenly arose in the 
 air. 
 
 "That s them varmints, cap," said the scout, 
 whose eye was quick to detect the signal. " They re 
 talkin to each other." 
 
 "I know there is somebody where that smoke 
 comes from, but I am not sure that they are hos- 
 tiles," replied Captain Clinton. " On the contrary, 
 I am of the opinion that the men who built that 
 fire want to talk to me. At any rate, I shall soon 
 know." 
 
 As the captain said this he pulled his watch from 
 his pocket with one hand, and with the other pro 
 duced a note-book, which he held ready for refer 
 ence. The column was not halted, but the eye of 
 every man in it was fastened upon the distant smoke. 
 When it had ascended to such a height that its top 
 seemed lost in the clouds, it was suddenly cut 1 ose 
 from the ground by some mysterious agency, and 
 floated off into space. A few seconds passed, and 
 then two balloon-shaped clouds arose in quick suc 
 cession from the same spot, and George took note 
 of the fact that when the last one arose the captain 
 looked at his watch. Another short interval elapsed, 
 
228 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 and then two more clouds arose, and finally two 
 more ; whereupon the captain gave his knee a ring 
 ing slap and consulted his note-book. 
 
 "I knew I couldn t be mistaken/ said he. 
 " That s from Earle, and he is about to communi 
 cate with me by courier. Push ahead now, scout, 
 for he is on a hot trail. Hallo ! have you found 
 another?" he added as the scout, instead of obey 
 ing the order to " push ahead," suddenly drew up 
 his horse and threw himself from his saddle. 
 "How many have gone off this time?" 
 
 " The same number," answered the scout, " an 
 they were goin somewhar too, for their ponies 
 were movin at full jump when they turned off 
 here. They re up to some trick or another, but I 
 can t tell yet what it is." 
 
 " Then we must find out, for it is our business 
 to look into these little things. I should like to 
 know where this trail leads to, and I want Let 
 me see." 
 
 The captain turned about and ran his eye over 
 the column, which came to a halt as soon as the 
 commanding officer was seen to stop his horse. He 
 seemed to be in a quandary, out of which he was 
 helped almost immediately by the sight of a sol- 
 
TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES. 229 
 
 dierly figure upon which his gaze rested for a 
 moment. 
 
 " He s the man I want," said the captain aloud. 
 "Ackerman, will you tell Lieutenant Smith, who 
 is now in command of Earle s troop, that I want 
 to see Corporal Owens?" 
 
 " Certainly, sir. May I go with him ?" replied 
 George, who knew in a moment that there was 
 something in the wind. 
 
 The captain nodded assent, and George galloped 
 back to the column. When he returned Bob 
 Owens rode at his side. The captain was writ 
 ing copying something upon a piece of paper 
 from his note-book but he stopped long enough 
 to return Bob s salute, although he did not say any 
 thing to him. Seeing that the officer s horse was 
 growing restive at the delay, and that by his con 
 stant pawing and tossing of his head he disturbed 
 his rider, who did his writing while seated in the 
 saddle, Bob dismounted and took the animal by 
 the bridle, and the troopers who remained in col 
 umn seized the opportunity to fill and light their 
 pipes. 
 
 "There !" said the captain at length. "Step up 
 here, corporal, and I will explain this to you. 
 
230 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 Ackerman, tell Lieutenant Smith to pick out 
 twelve good men to follow this new trail." 
 
 By the time the lieutenant had received and 
 obeyed this order, Captain Clinton, who was a fast 
 talker, had told the corporal just what he wanted 
 him to do, and explained to him the contents of 
 the paper he had copied from his note-book ; and 
 Bob, who was quick to comprehend, had caught and 
 weighed all his words as fast as they were uttered. 
 He then put himself at the head of his men and 
 led them away, George Ackerman riding by his 
 side. 
 
 " Now we are off for another lark," exclaim 
 ed Carey as soon as he and his companions had 
 left the column out of hearing. By some chance, 
 he and Loring and Phillips had been selected to 
 accompany Bob on every one of his expeditions, 
 and as they had never failed to accomplish the 
 object for which they were sent out, they began to 
 think that there was nothing too hard for them to 
 undertake. 
 
 " But this may not be so much of a { lark as 
 you think," said Bob ; and Carey afterward recall 
 ed the words when he found himself debarred 
 from accompanying other scouting-parties on ac- 
 
TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES. 231 
 
 count of a painful wound in his sword-arm. " We 
 are not out after deserters now, but Indians." 
 
 " What are you going to do with them if you 
 find them?" asked Loring. 
 
 "I shall make things as lively for them as I 
 can," replied Bob. "But I don t think I shall 
 come up with them ; and the captain doesn t expect 
 me to. He is going to follow every trail and force 
 the Indians to go back to their agency, whether 
 they want to go or not; that is, unless we can 
 overhaul them before they get there." 
 
 " I know we are not out on a lark/ " said 
 George Ackerman. "What would you say if we 
 had to go into camp to-night without water?" 
 
 " Gracious !" exclaimed Phillips, looking around 
 at the sandhills, which now shut them in on all 
 sides. "The prospect of finding a stream or a 
 spring is not very flattering, is it? I wish we 
 could find one now, for the water in my canteen 
 is just ready to boil." 
 
 " You had better be careful of it," said George, 
 " for it is much better than none at all." 
 
 "Is there any water to be found in this coun 
 try?" 
 
 "Oh yes ; and this trail will take us to it by the 
 
232 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 shortest route. An Indian can t live without wa 
 ter any more than we can, and he knows just where 
 to find it." 
 
 " Say, George," exclaimed Bob suddenly, " didn t 
 I hear Mose say that when the four horses that made 
 this trail turned off the big trail, they were going at 
 full speed ?" 
 
 George replied that he did say so. 
 
 "How did he know it?" continued Bob. 
 
 " By the looks of the tracks and the distance be 
 tween them. When a horse is walking his hind foot 
 covers about half the print made by his fore foot, 
 and the tracks are from two and a half to three feet 
 apart. When the horse is trotting the tracks are not 
 so distinct, the one made by the fore foot being near 
 ly covered up, and they are from seven to eight feet 
 apart. When he is running the print of only one 
 foot can be seen, as a general thing the ground about 
 the tracks is considerably disturbed, and they are 
 from seven to twelve feet apart." 
 
 If Carey and the rest of the squad did not learn 
 to their entire satisfaction that they were not out en 
 a picnic this time, the horses on which they were 
 mounted certainly did, for before an hour had pass 
 ed they were very much in need of water so much 
 
TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES. 235 
 
 so that Bob brought them down to a trot, and at last 
 to a walk. At the end of another hour their riders 
 began to suffer in the same way, and it was not long 
 before every drop in their canteens, warm as it was, 
 had disappeared. Whether it was the parched ap 
 pearance of things around them ; or the effects of 
 the wind, which came into their faces as hot as a 
 blast from a furnace ; or the reflection of the sun s 
 rays from the sandhills around them ; or the sand 
 itself, which arose in the air when disturbed by their 
 horses hoofs, and settled in their mouths and nos 
 trils, whether it was one or all of these causes com 
 bined that made them so very thirsty they did not 
 think to inquire, but certain it was that they would 
 have welcomed the discovery of a water-course more 
 heartily now than at any other time during their 
 march. Just how long this state of affairs was to 
 continue they did not know, for there was not one 
 among them who could tell whether water was five 
 or twenty miles off. The only thing they could do 
 was to follow the trail and await the issue of events 
 with all the patience they could command. 
 
 After they had been separated from the main 
 column for about three hours, two incidents hap 
 pened which served to relieve the monotony of the 
 
234 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 march, and caused them, for the time being, to for 
 get how uncomfortably hot and dusty and thirsty 
 they were. As they were riding silently along be 
 hind George Ackerman, whose fast-walking nag had 
 carried him some distance in advance of the squad, 
 they saw him draw rein all of a sudden and raie 
 his hand with a warning gesture. Then he backed 
 his horse under cover of a convenient sandhill, and 
 pulling his field-glass from the case he carried slung 
 over his shoulder, he levelled it at some object that 
 had attracted his attention, but which could not be 
 seen by the troopers. 
 
 Bob at once ordered a halt, and rode forward to 
 inquire into the matter. When he reached George s 
 side he found himself on the outskirts of a sort of 
 basin in the plain, which looked as though it might 
 have been scooped out by the wind. It was cover 
 ed with sand, and dotted here and there with little 
 bunches of yellow grass and weeds. On the oppo 
 site side of this basin, which was perhaps a mile and 
 a half wide, was a single horseman, who was riding 
 toward them at a rapid pace. 
 
 " I couldn t make out, at that distance, whether 
 he was a friend or foe, so I thought it best to warn 
 you," said George. 
 
TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES. 235 
 
 " That was all right, of course. Can you make 
 him out with your glass?" 
 
 "Very plainly. He s a soldier one of Lieu 
 tenant Earle s men, probably." 
 
 " That s just who he is," exclaimed Bob after he 
 had taken a look at the horseman through the field- 
 glass. "I know him. That signal-smoke we saw 
 just before we left the column was sent up to in 
 form the captain that Earle had despatched a courier 
 to him with some important news, and now we will 
 find out what it is. Come on, fellows," he added, 
 waving his hand to the squad; "it is one of our 
 own company, boys." 
 
 Bob and his companion rode out in plain view, 
 and a few seconds later the troopers joined them. 
 Their sudden appearance must have astonished the 
 approaching courier, and perhaps alarmed him too, 
 for he pulled up his horse with a jerk, and, shad 
 ing his eyes with his hand, gazed at them long and 
 earnestly. They waved their caps to reassure him, 
 and in a few minutes he came up. The first words 
 he uttered showed that he had already had quite 
 enough of scouting in the Staked Plains. 
 
 "Did anybody ever see so dreary a hole as 
 this?" said he as he lifted his cap and drew his 
 
236 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 handkerchief across his forehead "nothing but 
 sandhills as far as you can see, and one looks so 
 much like another that a fellow don t know how 
 to shape a course. It must be just fearful in here 
 when the wind blows. I say, corporal, where am 
 I ? and what are you doing out here ?" 
 
 " I can t answer your first question, for I don t 
 know myself," answered Bob. " I was sent out 
 to follow a new trail we found just after you sent 
 up that smoke. What was the meaning of it? 
 Carey, climb up to the top of that sandhill and 
 tell us if you can see anything." 
 
 " Lieutenant Earle sent up that smoke to let the 
 captain know that he was about to send him some 
 news," replied the horseman; "and I don t see 
 why the captain didn t send up a reply, for I don t 
 know where to find him." 
 
 " I will point out his position as near as I can 
 before you leave us," said Bob. " Is that news of 
 any importance ?" 
 
 " I should say it was," exclaimed the courier. 
 " We ve struck it hot, I tell you. On the banks 
 of a little stream we found somewhere off in that 
 direction " 
 
 " Look here, Aleck !" exclaimed Loring ; " I 
 
TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES. 237 
 
 thought that canteen of yours looked as though 
 it had been dipped in water not so very long ago. 
 Why don t you pass it around ? We haven t got 
 a drop left." 
 
 " Is that so ?" said the courier, who promptly 
 unslung his canteen. " You are welcome to it, but 
 touch it easy, so that everybody can have a taste, 
 and don t forget to save some for Carey. As I 
 was saying, on the banks of that stream the scout 
 discovered the tracks of little boots." 
 
 The troopers all uttered exclamations when they 
 heard this, and Loring was so anxious to hear more 
 that he forgot he was thirsty, and after holding the 
 canteen in his hand for a moment passed it to a 
 comrade without tasting of its contents. 
 
 " Mr. Wentworth acted as though he thought 
 he ought to go with Lieutenant Earle s squad, and 
 when he hears that he will be sorry that he stayed 
 behind," observed Bob. 
 
 Won t he, though !" said the courier. 
 
 " I suppose there is no doubt that the tracks 
 were made by his boys ?" said George. 
 
 "None whatever. How could there be? The 
 Indians have no other prisoners with them." 
 
 " They have none that we know of," said 
 
238 GEOKGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 George. " But as they visited other ranches, they 
 may have taken other boys captive." 
 
 " How do you know that they did visit other 
 ranches ?" demanded the courier. " Mr. Went- 
 worth didn t say anything about it in my hear- 
 ing." 
 
 " Nor in mine, either," replied George. " But 
 he did say in my hearing that he had lost not more 
 than half a dozen horses, and the trail shows that 
 they have more than fifty with them." 
 
 " Well," said the courier, looking down at the 
 horn of his saddle in a brown study, " if that s the 
 case, the Indians may have No, they didn t, 
 either," he added, brightening. " Mr. Wentworth 
 told the colonel, in Lieutenant Earle s hearing, that 
 the Indians jumped down on his ranche just after 
 he had finished mending his oldest boy s boots. 
 He put a patch on each one of them just under 
 the ball of the foot, and those patches showed in 
 the tracks." 
 
 " Ah !" exclaimed George, " that will pass for 
 evidence." 
 
 "At any rate," continued the courier, "I was 
 ordered to tell the captain that we were on the 
 trail of the party who had the children. That s 
 
TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES. 239 
 
 all the news I have, I believe. What shall I tell 
 the captain for you, corporal ?" 
 
 " Say to him that you found me following up 
 my trail as fast as the condition of my horses 
 would permit," answered Bob. " It is as plain as 
 daylight, and if I could only get some water now 
 and then, I could follow it at a gallop. What is 
 it, Carey?" 
 
 "A smoke away off to the south-east," replied 
 the soldier, who was lying flat on the top of the 
 nearest sandhill. 
 
 Bob at once dismounted and made his way up 
 the hill, followed by George and the courier. They 
 did not expose their full height to view, but crept 
 up on their hands and knees, and when they reach 
 ed the top pulled off their caps before they looked 
 over it. They knew that Indians, when they are 
 retreating, always leave some of their number to 
 watch the trail, and they adopted these precautions 
 in order to avoid discovery by these rear-guards 
 should there chance to be any in the neighborhood. 
 The reflection of the sun s rays from the brass or 
 naments on their caps would have been seen by a 
 watchful Indian at an almost incredible distance. 
 
 " I see the smoke," said Bob, pulling from his 
 
240 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 pocket the paper which Captain Clinton had given 
 *iim " Where is your watch, George ? Now look 
 for the signal." 
 
 The smoke, like the one Lieutenant Earle had 
 sent up a few hours before, ascended in a straight, 
 slender column for a few seconds, and then floated 
 away out of sight. A few seconds later three little 
 columns, shaped like the clouds which are thrown 
 out by the discharge of a cannon, arose in the air 
 in quick succession, followed after a little delay by 
 three others. Bob waited and watched, but as no 
 more clouds appeared, he knew that the signal had 
 been made. The next thing was to find out what 
 it meant. 
 
 " George," said he, " after those first three smokes 
 appeared how long was it before the others were 
 seen ?" 
 
 " Just thirty seconds," replied the time-keeper. 
 
 Bob ran his eye over the paper he held in his 
 hand, and presently found the following, which he 
 read aloud : " Three smokes, followed at the in 
 terval of half a minute by three others, are intend 
 ed to point out the position of the signalling-party." 
 "There you are !" said he, turning to the courier. 
 "Fix in your mind the place from which that 
 
TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKES. 241 
 
 smoke arose, and then travel a little to the north 
 of it, so as to allow for the captain s progress, and 
 you will find him." 
 
 " How far away was that smoke ?" asked the 
 courier as he and his companions crept back down 
 the hill. 
 
 " Fifteen miles," replied George. 
 
 " Whew ! Well, I ll get there if I can. Who s 
 got my canteen ? Why, you have left some in it !" 
 he added as one of the squad handed him the ar 
 ticle in question. "Don t any of you want another 
 taste?" 
 
 Yes, there were plenty there who could have 
 drained the canteen to the last drop and then call 
 ed for more, but knowing that the courier would 
 have need of it before he had galloped fifteen miles 
 under that broiling sun with the hot wind blowing 
 upon him, they all declared that they had had 
 enough. 
 
 After Carey and Loring had moistened their 
 parched lips the courier sprang upon his horse 
 and waved his farewell, while Bob and his men, 
 feeling somewhat refreshed, took up the trail again 
 and followed it at a trot. 
 
 16 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ANOTHER FEATHER FOR BOB S CAP. 
 
 second diversion of which we have spoken 
 occurred about an hour after Lieutenant Earle s 
 courier left them. It was nothing more nor less 
 than the discovery of the fact that the party of 
 whom they were in pursuit had been joined by 
 another warrior, whose pony s tracks came from 
 the direction in which the lieutenant was supposed 
 to be scouting. Bob and his men did not seem to 
 attach much importance to this, but George did. He 
 looked the ground over very carefully, and reached 
 conclusions that astonished himself. 
 
 " Bob Owens," said he in a low tone as they re 
 sumed the march, " you ve got another chance to put 
 a feather in your hat a big one, too. Lieutenant 
 Earle will never rescue Mr. Wentworth s boys, but 
 you can if you re smart." 
 
 Bob, who always listened in the greatest amaze 
 ment (and with some incredulity, too, it must be 
 
 242 
 
ANOTHER FEATHER FOR BOB*S CAP. 243 
 
 confessed) to his friend s predictions, could only 
 look the surprise he felt. How any one, by 
 simply looking at a pony s track, could tell what 
 a party of men whom he had never seen were go 
 ing to do, he could not understand. 
 
 " To begin with," continued George, " our In 
 dians expected to have an addition made to their 
 party, and they expected also that it would be made 
 just where it was made. How do I know that? 
 By the looks of things. The ponies were all hud 
 dled together in one place, and they must have stood 
 there a good while, judging by the stamping they 
 did. Their riders must have dismounted there, for 
 I saw the prints of their moccasins in the sand. I 
 noticed also that the side of the nearest sandhill had 
 been disturbed, and that told me that one of their 
 number had climbed up there to watch for the ex 
 pected warrior." 
 
 "Perhaps he was watching for us," suggested 
 Bob. 
 
 "If he was, he wouldn t have watched for us 
 with his feet, would he?" demanded George. 
 
 " With his feet ?" echoed Bob. 
 
 " Yes. He would have been more likely to 
 watch for us with his eyes." 
 
244 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 "How do you know that he didn t?" 
 " Because he climbed up on our side of the hill, 
 and that would have exposed his whole body to our 
 view if we had been anywhere within sight of him. 
 His eyes were turned the other way ; that is, in 
 Lieutenant Earle s direction. He wasn t afraid of 
 being seen by us, but he took all due precautions to 
 conceal himself from the gaze of any one who might 
 happen to come that way from Lieutenant Earle s 
 command ; for near the place where the ponies were 
 standing I saw the tufts of grass he had pulled up 
 to tie around his head." 
 
 "Well, I am beat!" exclaimed Bob. 
 " What beats you ?" 
 
 "You do: I didn t see any of those things." 
 " Probably you didn t, for the reason that you 
 didn t look for them. You see, I have passed a 
 good many years on the Plains, and I have learned 
 that eternal vigilance is the price of a cowboy s life 
 and liberty. When his scalp depends upon the cor 
 rect reading of such signs as those which I have 
 just described to you, he is not often caught nap 
 ping. My long association with Zeke, whose eyes 
 seemed to be everywhere, has got me into the habit 
 of keeping my own eyes open. Probably there 
 
ANOTHER FEATHER FOR BOfi s CAP. 245 
 
 were other things there that would have been 
 perfectly plain to Zeke or Mountain Mose which 
 I didn t see. 
 
 "Now, of course I don t know that this new 
 warrior brought Mr. Wentworth s children with 
 him when he came over to join our Indians, but 
 everything seems to point that way. One of the 
 proofs and the strongest, in my humble opinion 
 is found in the fact that the Indians allowed their 
 captives to dismount on the banks of that stream 
 the courier told us of. I am inclined to believe that 
 they went farther than that, and compelled the boys 
 to walk in the mud and leave their tracks there." 
 
 " I don t see why they did that," observed Bob. 
 "I should think they would want to keep everybody 
 from knowing where the boys were." 
 
 " So they would if they had intended to keep the 
 boys with them, but they did not. This is their 
 plan, as near as I can get at it; and in order to 
 make my explanation clearer I will call the party 
 of which Lieutenant Earle is in pursuit No. 1, 
 that which we want to find No. 2, and that the 
 captain is following up No. 3. The warriors in 
 No. 1 are doubtless the best mounted of all the 
 raiders. When they separated from the main 
 
246 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 body they left a broad trail, so that they could be 
 easily followed, taking the children with them, and 
 leaving now and then a sign of their presence, for 
 no other purpose than to coax the captain to follow 
 them with his whole force. As soon as they reach 
 ed a piece of rocky ground, where a pony s feet 
 would leave no track, one of their number picked 
 up the boys and brought them over here, where 
 party No. 2 was waiting for him. Those he left 
 behind will show themselves to Lieutenant Earle 
 occasionally, and perhaps open a little fight with 
 him, just to induce him to continue the pursuit. 
 Party No. 3 will drive the stock ahead as fast as 
 possible, and get away with it if they can ; but if 
 they find that they are likely to be overtaken, they 
 will drop the cattle and do everything they can to 
 keep the captain on their trail, so as to give party 
 No. 2 a chance to escape with the prisoners. Now, 
 that s a long story, and no doubt it is a hard one to 
 believe; but I don t think I am far from right when 
 I tell you that it is quite in your power to carry off 
 the honors of this expedition. Captain Clinton will 
 have his hands full until he recovers that stock ; so 
 will Lieutenant Earle as long as he follows those 
 will-o -the-wisps in front of him ; and to you will 
 
ANOTHER FEATHER FOR BOB S CAP. 247 
 
 be left the duty, as well as the privilege, of look 
 ing out for the safety of Mr. Wentworth s little 
 boys." 
 
 " Whew !" panted Bob, who was very much im 
 pressed, although not wholly convinced, by his com 
 panion s clear and forcible reasoning. " Then I am 
 the chief man in this scout, am I? Suppose I 
 say, just suppose I should be lucky enough to 
 rescue those boys alive and unharmed, what would 
 the fellows say? What would Mr. Wentworth 
 say?" 
 
 "The boys would cheer you, and you would 
 win Mr. Wentworth s everlasting gratitude," re 
 plied George. " But, Bob, the prisoners have not 
 been rescued yet, and I warn you that unless you 
 are as sly as a fox you will be the means of their 
 death. If the Indians discover you, and find them 
 selves unable to escape, their very first act will be 
 to kill those boys." 
 
 " Good gracious !" exclaimed Bob, dropping his 
 reins upon the horn of his saddle and pulling off 
 his cap with one hand while he scratched his head 
 vigorously with the other. " Good gracious ! The 
 captain never thought of that when he sent me 
 off with this squad, did he ? George, the responsi- 
 
248 GEORGE AT THE PORT. 
 
 bility is too heavy for me. I think I ll ask the 
 captain where he is, and then go and report to 
 him." 
 
 " That wouldn t be a very smart trick/ protested 
 George. "You would not only be taken to task 
 for wasting valuable time, but the Indians, seeing 
 a smoke that they couldn t understand arise on 
 their trail, would take the alarm at once, and you 
 would lose a fine chance of distinguishing your 
 self." 
 
 "Don t you suppose they saw the smoke that 
 Lieutenant Earle sent up?" 
 
 " Of course they did the captain s too. Those 
 same smokes were a good thing for us, for I am of 
 the opinion that they threw our party off their 
 guard by leading them to believe they are not pur 
 sued. You mustn t send up a smoke along this 
 trail if you want to catch those Indians. AVhat 
 are your orders, anyhow ?" 
 
 "To follow the trail until I am recalled or un 
 til the Indians throw me off entirely," replied 
 Bob. 
 
 " Then don t you see that you would be disobey 
 ing orders by marching your squad back to the 
 column without a recall?" asked George. "You 
 
ANOTHER FEATHER FOR BOB S CAP. 249 
 
 would surely get yourself into trouble by doing 
 that, and besides, you would be hauled over the 
 coals for not taking better care of your men and 
 horses. They couldn t stand twenty miles more 
 to-night without a rest, and how much of a rest 
 could they get here in this oven, with no grass 
 or water? Don t do it, Bob." 
 
 "But the prisoners -just think of the prison 
 ers !" exclaimed the perplexed corporal. " I don t 
 want to feel that I am responsible for any harm 
 that may befall them." 
 
 " I don t see how you are going to shirk it." 
 
 "Well, \vill you take command?" 
 
 " Certainly not," answered George quickly. 
 " Don t confess your incapacity by surrender 
 ing your authority. Besides, a scout never com 
 mands he only advises; and I will help you in 
 that way all I can. Go on, and say that you will 
 do your best." 
 
 " I will," said Bob, slamming his cap upon his 
 head and seating himself firmly in his saddle. 
 " If we can only place ourselves in a position to 
 cover those boys, the Indians will not have a 
 chance to touch them, I ll bet you. My men are 
 all good marksmen." 
 
250 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 " And I am a tolerable one myself/ said George. 
 " A single hair of those boys heads is worth the 
 lives of all the Indians that ever saw the Staked 
 Plains, and if it becomes necessary to shoot in their 
 defence, I am ready. There is a high sandhill, and 
 if you will stop here for a few minutes I will go 
 up and see if I can discover anything." 
 
 Bob raised his hand to halt the squad, and 
 George swung himself out of his saddle. His 
 first care was to lay aside his cap and rifle, and his 
 next to pull up a quantity of grass and weeds to 
 be used as a screen. With these in one hand 
 and his field-glass in the other he crept slowly to 
 the top of the sandhill, and, holding the screen a 
 few inches above the ground, he pushed his field- 
 glass under it and looked around. 
 
 " Aha !" was his mental exclamation, " I shall 
 have good news to carry back to the boys. There s 
 a deep gully about five miles off, and there must be 
 a stream of water running through it, or else those 
 willows would not be growing there. I wish we 
 had got here an hour earlier, for then I should have 
 had daylight to aid me in making my observa 
 tions. The Indians probably halted in that gully 
 a few hours ago, and the question to be decided 
 
ANOTHER FEATHER FOR BOB S CAP. 251 
 
 now is Hal-lo! If that isn t smoke rising 
 among those trees, what is it? And didn t that 
 little cluster of bushes over there on the top of 
 that hill shift its position just now?" 
 
 George s heart beat wildly as he propounded these 
 inquiries to himself. He took another long look, 
 and then with a very slow and gradual motion he 
 deposited his screen upon the sand and backed 
 down to the plain. His stealthy movements told 
 the troopers that he had seen something. 
 
 "Corporal/ said he as they rode up to him, 
 " before you ask any questions let me suggest that 
 you order your men to remove their sabres as 
 quietly as possibly." 
 
 Bob quickly unhooked his own sabre from his 
 belt, and looked at his men, who made all haste to 
 follow his example. They knew that there could 
 1>? but one reason for this order. A steel scabbard 
 hanging by the side of a careless rider will strike 
 against his spurs with every step his horse takes, 
 or rattle against his leg as the trooper walks about, 
 giving out a clear ringing sound that will betray 
 his presence to foes far less watchful and sharp- 
 eared than Indians. 
 
 " So we have run them into their holes, have 
 
252 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 we?" said Bob when be had acted upon George s 
 suggestion. 
 
 " That remains to be seen. They are camped 
 about five miles from here, and one of their look 
 outs is watching the trail." 
 
 The troopers looked at Bob as if to ask what he 
 was going to do about it, and Bob, who had as little 
 idea of the orders he ought to give under the cir 
 cumstances as he had of the Greek language, looked 
 at George. The latter did not say anything, for lie 
 wanted the troopers to hold fast to their belief that 
 the corporal was able to act for himself in any and 
 every emergency ; but he gave his friend a look 
 that was plainly understood. 
 
 " Dismount/ 7 commanded Bob ; " we ll rest here 
 until we can determine upon something. Let every 
 man keep fast hold of his horse, for a neigh from 
 one of them would make dough of our cake in a 
 little less than no time. Eat and whisper as much 
 as you please, but 
 
 " Don t smoke," put in George. 
 
 " Oh, Moses !" ejaculated the troopers in subdued 
 tones. 
 
 " An Indian will smell smoke from a pipe or a 
 camp-fire a long distance," added George. 
 
ANOTHER FEATHER FOK BOfi s CAP. 253 
 
 "Then keep your pipes in your pockets, where 
 they can t do any mischief/ said Bob. " George, 
 I d like to take a look at that camp." 
 
 George at once led the way up the hill, but when 
 lie neared the top he said in a whisper, 
 
 " Perhaps you had better trust to my eyes instead 
 of your own ; not but that you can see as far as I 
 can, but you might be a little careless in handling 
 that screen, and the least false motion on your part 
 would be seen by that lookout, whose eyes are as 
 good as a telescope." 
 
 " All right !" replied Bob, who wondered what 
 he should have done if George had not been there 
 to advise him. "What shall we do?" 
 
 " Let me take another look, and then I will talk 
 to you." 
 
 So saying, George crept back to the top of the 
 hill and looked under his screen as before. It was 
 rapidly growing dark, but he could see that the 
 sentry still kept his position, and that the camp- 
 fre was burning brightly. 
 
 " They do not stand in the least fear of pursuit/ 7 
 said he as he backed down to Bob s side, " but they 
 have taken measures to prevent surprise, as they 
 always do when they are on the war-path." 
 
254 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 " How long do you suppose that sentry will stay 
 there?" 
 
 "Just as long as his friends stay in the gully. 
 I do not mean by that that this particular Indian 
 will act as lookout all the time, but that some 
 member of the party will be constantly on the 
 watch." 
 
 The first thing to be done was to decide upon 
 a plan of operations, and this took a goo d deal of 
 hard thinking, for there was a good deal depend 
 ing upon it. George made the most of the sugges 
 tions, and Bob accepted every one of them without 
 argument. The camp was to be attacked as soon as 
 they could get within reach of it: both were agreed 
 upon that. Bob advised a surround, in order to 
 prevent the escape of any of the Indians; but 
 George objected, urging as a reason for his objec 
 tions that no one but an Indian could work his 
 way through those thick bushes and trees without 
 making a good deal of noise, and that would knock 
 the whole thing in the head. 
 
 " Don t be too ambitious," said he. " Don t try 
 to grab too big a handful, and so run the risk of 
 losing everything. Keep your men near you, so 
 that you can have an eye on every one of them. 
 
Look out for the boys; and if by so doing you 
 give the Indians a chance to escape, as you will 
 most likely, let them go and welcome." 
 
 An immediate advance having been resolved 
 upon, and the part that each man was to play 
 in the coming fight (provided the Indians decided 
 to make a fight of it) having been thoroughly dis 
 cussed, Bob and his companion returned to the 
 place where they had left the troopers. The former 
 issued his orders in a few brief words, and in a very 
 short space of time eight barefooted men, armed only 
 with their carbines and revolvers, were drawn up in 
 line ready to do his further bidding ; while the four 
 troopers who were to be left behind to hold the horses 
 and to take care of the sabres, shoes and stockings 
 which their lucky comrades had thrown upon the 
 ground, listened with as good grace as they could 
 to a few parting words from their corporal. 
 
 " Now, boys," said th : latter, " keep quiet and 
 don t smoke. We have been following the trail of 
 only five Indians, but we don t know how many may 
 have joined them since they went into camp; so you 
 must hold yourselves in readiness for any emergen 
 cy. Keep a good lookout for the signal, and if you 
 don t see it by the time the moon rises, which will be 
 
256 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 about midnight, take care of yourselves. Draw as 
 straight a course for the column as you can, and tell 
 the boys, when you find them, that the reds got the 
 best of us while we were trying to do our duty. Good 
 bye. Lead on, George." 
 
 Although our hero had passed his life amid scenes 
 of danger, and more than once listened to the sound 
 of hostile bullets (that was during the " neighbor 
 hood row " of which we have spoken in the first 
 volume of this series), he had never before taken 
 part in a scout after Indians, and it may be readily 
 imagined that Bob s parting words did not serve to 
 encourage him in any great degree. Bob seemed to 
 think that there was a possibility that their attempt 
 ed surprise might end in utter defeat. The bare 
 thought was enough to make George s hair stand 
 on end, but it did not make him lose any of the 
 sympathy he felt for the boy-captives or falter in 
 his resolve to do all he could toward effecting their 
 release. In obedience to Bob s order to " lead on " 
 he raised his rifle to his shoulder and glided off into 
 the darkness, the troopers following in single file. 
 Before he had marched half a mile Bob hurried up 
 and placed himself by his side. 
 
 " Say, George," he whispered, "you are not going 
 
ANOTHER FEATHER FOR BOB*S CAP. 257 
 
 toward the camp. If you follow this course, you 
 will miss it by half a mile or more." 
 
 " I don t want to go toward the camp," was the 
 reply. " We must circle around so as to come up 
 in the rear of that sentry, who, as I told you, will 
 stay on the top of that hill as long as his friends 
 stay in the gully." 
 
 "Do you think we can capture him without 
 alarming the others?" 
 
 " We are not going to try ; at least, I shaVt 
 advise it. If we can save the boys, we ought to 
 be satisfied. That sentry will dig out as soon as 
 he scents danger, and all we can do is to let him 
 go." 
 
 " How awful still it is, and how fearful dark !" 
 continued Bob. "I hope you won t get confused 
 and miss your way." 
 
 "There is no danger of that," replied George 
 confidently. " I can see the stars, and they are as 
 good as a compass to me. I have often travelled 
 by them, and they have never fooled me yet." 
 
 "Where are the wolves, I wonder?" said Bob, 
 
 who was so impatient and so highly excited that 
 
 he could not long hold his peace. " They keep up 
 
 their unearthly howls every night when we Avish 
 
 17 
 
258 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 them a thousand miles away, but now, when a yelp 
 from one of them would be a relief, they don t put 
 in an appearance." 
 
 "And I am glad of it," said George. "Don t 
 you know that a pack of wolves are the best 
 sentries a camping-party can have?" 
 
 Yes, Bob said he was aware of that fact. 
 
 " Well," continued George, " don t you see that 
 the little breeze there is stirring is blowing from 
 us toward the camp? If there were any wolves 
 around, they would probably be on the other side 
 of the gully, for it would be a waste of time for 
 them to prowl around here among these sandhills, 
 where they couldn t find even a rabbit to eat. The 
 moment they caught our wind they would scamper 
 off, and then Good-bye, prisoners. I wish I knew 
 where those Indians have staked out their ponies, 
 for I stand more in fear of them than I do of that 
 sentry. If we should get to windward of them, 
 they would kick up a rumpus directly." 
 
 The longer Bob talked with George the more 
 clearly the difficulties attending his undertaking 
 seemed to stand but before him, and the greater 
 grew his anxiety and impatience. If his attempt 
 to surprise the Indian camp failed, there was no 
 
ANOTHER FEATHER FOR BOB^S CAP. 259 
 
 telling when Mr. Wentworth s boys would be heard 
 of again. If it suited their captors to spare their 
 lives, they would doubtless be sold to some band 
 who lived at a great distance from the agency, and 
 who would take the greatest pains to keep their ex 
 istence a profound secret. If they were ever given 
 up at all, it would only be after that particular band 
 had been soundly thrashed for some outrage, and 
 then they would be brought forward as an element 
 in the " peace negotiations," their captors demand 
 ing a heavy ransom and taking great credit to them 
 selves for surrendering them. But this might not 
 happen for years, and during that time a great many 
 things might happen to the boys. They might be 
 come so completely broken down by cruel treatment 
 that their death would be a blessing, or else so 
 thoroughly infatuated with the Indian mode of 
 life that, if left to themselves, they would choose 
 to go back to the wigwams of their savage masters 
 rather than return to the home of their father. 
 
 " It s now or never," said Bob to himself after 
 he had thought the matter over. " I don t wonder 
 that Mr. Wentworth feels so spiteful, for if these 
 Indians are not killed during this scout, they will 
 never be punished for what they have done to him. 
 
260 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 The government is too tender-hearted to touch 
 them, and if Mr. Wentworth takes the law into 
 his own hands, he will be sure to suffer for it. 
 They will go back to their agency to grow fat on 
 government grub and be kept warm in winter by 
 government blankets ; and their agent, in order to 
 prevent an investigation that might take a few 
 dollars out of his pocket, will be ready to swear 
 that they have never been off their reservation. 
 I wonder how he would feel if he saw his own 
 children carried into captivity ?" 
 
 For two long hours the weary troopers continued 
 the march, stopping for rest only when Bob and 
 George climbed some sandhill to reconnoitre the 
 ground before them. The deep silence that brood 
 ed over the Staked Plains was almost oppressive. 
 The bare feet of the troopers gave out no sound as 
 they sank into the yielding sand, and all that could 
 be heard was their labored breathing as they walk 
 ed behind their leader, trusting implicitly to his 
 guidance. They never uttered a word, but Bob s 
 impatience and nervousness would have kept his 
 tongue in constant motion had it not been for 
 George, who gave him an energetic prod in the 
 ribs whenever he showed a disposition to become 
 
ANOTHER FEATHER FOR BOB ? S CAP. 261 
 
 colloquial. He felt that he must do something 
 pretty soon or sink under his burden of responsi 
 bility, which seemed to grow heavier the longer he 
 walked ; consequently, when George stopped all of 
 a sudden and silently pointed his finger at a dense 
 wall of trees that ran across their path, his delight 
 knew no bounds. The ravine in which the In 
 dians were encamped was close in front of them. 
 The murmuring of the waterfall which came up 
 from its wooded depths was a pleasant sound to 
 his ears, but he and his troopers had much to 
 do before they could quench their thirst at that 
 rippling stream. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HE WINS IT FAIKLY. 
 
 A S it was not necessary to waste any precious 
 -fr" time in giving verbal orders, a complete code 
 of signals having been decided upon before they 
 left their horses, George at once threw himself 
 upon his hands and knees, and worked his way 
 along the edge of the bluff until he reached a 
 position directly above the camp, the location of 
 which was pointed out by a little blaze, scarcely 
 larger, apparently, than the flame of a candle. He 
 looked in vain for the sentry, and would have giv 
 en something handsome if there had been some one 
 at hand to tell him just where he was. 
 
 " If he still holds his position on the top of that 
 sandhill, we are all right," said George to himself, 
 "but if he has taken the alarm, we are all wrong. 
 In that case the Indians have done one of two 
 things: they have either made ready to ambush 
 
 262 
 
HE WINS IT FAIKLY. 263 
 
 us, or else they have fled, taking their prisoners 
 with them. Well, we shall soon know, for here 
 goes for the fight that none of us may ever come 
 out of alive." 
 
 As these thoughts passed through George s mind 
 he seized Bob s waist-belt and gave it two jerks, 
 which meant " Follow me." Then he crept back 
 along the line, and as he passed each trooper 
 he took him by the arm and pulled him around, 
 so that his head pointed toward the camp-fire. 
 This meant a movement by the right flank. Af 
 ter this he and Bob placed themselves in the cen 
 tre of the line, the men giving way right and left 
 to make room for them, and at a given signal Bob 
 stuck his elbow into the ribs of the trooper to the 
 left of him, while George in a similar manner ad 
 monished the one on the right of himself; and the 
 advance began, the guide being centre. We mean 
 by this that the men on Bob s left kept themselves 
 in their proper place in line by touching the shoul 
 der of the man next on their right, while those on 
 George s right hand kept within easy reach of the 
 men next on their left, each member of the line 
 moving no whit slower or faster than the guides 
 in the centre, Bob and George. If they stopped 
 
264 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 and listened and tried to peer through the bushes 
 in front of them to obtain a view of the camp, the 
 whole line stopped and listened and peered. When 
 the guides advanced the troopers did the same, 
 their movements being conducted without a whis 
 per, and with such extreme caution that scarcely a 
 leaf was heard to rustle. It took them almost an 
 hour to descend the bluff, which was probably 
 not more than a hundred feet in height, but the 
 sight that greeted them when the final halt was 
 made more than repaid them for all their toil. 
 They had crept up within less than a dozen yards 
 of the fire, and the camp and all its inmates were 
 in plain vie\v of them. 
 
 Their first care was to find the boys, and the next 
 to ascertain the number and position of their adver 
 saries. The boys were there, lying side by side on 
 a bed of leaves, with their arms thrown around each 
 other, and wrapped in slumber as peaceful, appar 
 ently, as ever came to their eyes while they were 
 safe under their father s roof. Every one of the 
 troopers shut his lips tightly at the sight of them, 
 and half a dozen cocked carbines were pointed over 
 their unconscious heads, ready to send to kingdom- 
 come the first thing in the shape of a Kiowa that 
 
HE WINS IT FAIRLY. 265 
 
 dared approach them. They were not protected in 
 any way from the night air save by the branches 
 of the trees which waved gently above them, while 
 every one of the four Indians who were lying 
 around them was wrapped up head and ears in 
 a quilt or blanket which he had stolen during 
 the raid. 
 
 One sweeping glance was enough to enable Bob 
 and George to take in all these little details, and it 
 is scarcely necessary to say that they were highly 
 elated over the promise of success which the situa 
 tion seemed to hold out to them. Bob would have 
 been a little better satisfied if he could have seen 
 any way of taking the Indians alive, and so making 
 a " finished job of it," as he afterward told his friend 
 George; but, knowing that this was entirely beyond 
 his power, he was about to give the signal to ad 
 vance when a most unexpected interruption occur 
 red. They heard the snapping of twigs behind them, 
 accompanied by a slight rustling among the leaves, 
 such as might be made by some heavy body work 
 ing its way cautiously through the thick under 
 growth. The astonished troopers hugged the ground 
 closely, holding their breath in suspense ; and in a 
 second more, without a single footstep being audible, 
 
266 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 the bushes parted and the form of an Indian war 
 rior could be dimly seen through the darkness. 
 
 " Beyond a doubt it is the sentry coming in to 
 call his relief/ thought Bob. "Now, how am I 
 going to act? Shall I let him go into the carnp, 
 or not?" 
 
 Without pausing an instant, the Indian, all un 
 conscious of danger, approached the line, and might 
 have passed through it between Bob and Carey with 
 out discovering anything to excite his suspicions, had 
 not the former, acting upon the impulse of the mo 
 ment, made up his mind that he would not go back 
 to his comrades without at least one prisoner to re 
 ward him for his long and tiresome scout. Throw 
 ing out his arm, he caught the warrior around the 
 legs and lifting him from the ground threw him 
 upon his back. He fell across Carey and Loring, 
 both of whom turned like lightning and seized 
 him, one trying to secure his arms, so that he could 
 not draw a weapon, and the other taking him by 
 the throat. Everything was done quickly, but not 
 quickly enough to shut off the wild yell with which 
 the captive Indian awoke the echoes of the gully. 
 Seeing that all further attempts at concealment were 
 useless, Bob and George jumped to their feet. 
 
HE WINS IT FAIRLY. 267 
 
 " Forward with a cheer I" yelled the former. 
 "Cover the boys, everybody." 
 
 This last order was hardly necessary, for each 
 individual member of the squad had secretly re 
 solved to do that very thing, leaving his compan 
 ions to act as they pleased. 
 
 The Indians were wide awake and moving be 
 fore their unlucky comrade s yell had fairly left 
 his lips. So quickly did they spring to their 
 feet that the troopers might have thought, if they 
 had been allowed time to think at all, that the 
 savages had been merely keeping up an appearance 
 of sleep, so as to be ready to jump from their blank 
 ets at the very first note of alarm. So well school 
 ed were they, and so ready to act, and to act quickly 
 and intelligently in any emergency, that they did 
 not hesitate an instant. They did not even look 
 to see from which way the danger that threatened 
 them was coming, but made a simultaneous rush for 
 their captives, intending, no doubt, to carry them 
 away if they could, or to kill them if they found 
 themselves surrounded so that they could not escape. 
 But no Indian s hand touched those boys again that 
 night. Three of them fell dead before they had 
 fairly left their tracks, and the other, taking warn- 
 
268 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 ing by their fate, dived into the bushes in much the 
 same way that a boy takes a " header " from a log, 
 and got safely off, in spite of the bullets which whis 
 tled about his ears and scattered the leaves all over 
 him. The troopers knew that he had got off un 
 hurt, because there was no blood on the trail which 
 George took up the next morning and followed to 
 the place where the Indians had left their horses a 
 little glade about a quarter of a mile from the camp 
 in which grass was abundant and water easy of 
 access. 
 
 George at once made his way to the side of the 
 captives, who were sitting up on their bed of leaves, 
 rubbing their eyes and looking about in a bewilder 
 ed sort of way, and throwing his arm around them 
 spoke soothing and encouraging words in their ears; 
 while Bob, after ordering one of his men to mend 
 the fire, seized a brand from it and ran back to see 
 what had become of Carey and Loring. The fight 
 was over, and Carey was growling lustily over a 
 wound in his arm which the slippery savage had 
 inflicted upon him, having managed in some mys 
 terious way to gain momentary possession of his 
 knife; but Loring was unharmed and the Indian 
 was insensible. He had been knocked out of 
 
HE WINS IT FAIRLY. 269 
 
 time by a vicious whack from the butt of a car 
 bine held in the hands of the enraged Carey. The 
 blow was not, however, as effective as the trooper 
 intended it should be, for it had expended a good 
 deal of its power upon the bushes which happened 
 to be in the way, and instead of sending the Indian 
 out of the world altogether, it had only stunned him. 
 He was powerless now. His hands were securely 
 confined by Loring s carbine-sling, and the latter, 
 having passed the Indian s blanket under his arms 
 and brought the ends together behind his back, was 
 ready to drag his captive into camp. 
 
 " I am no slouch there isn t a boy in the troop, 
 young or old, who can take my measure on the 
 ground but if this fellow gave us a fair specimen 
 of an Indian s way of rough-and-tumble fighting, 
 I don t want to get hold of any more Indians. He 
 was a hard one, wasn t he ?" said Loring, appealing 
 to his wounded comrade, who grunted out an em 
 phatic assent. " He didn t seem to be so very strong, 
 but he was just a trifle quicker than chain-light 
 ning, and as slippery and wiry as as Why, an 
 eel isn t nowhere alongside of him." 
 
 " I wish I had whacked him over the head before 
 he gave me this prod," said Carey, shaking his fist 
 
270 GEOKGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 at the unconscious object of his wrath. " It s my 
 sword-arm too, and I ll just bet that the doctor 
 won t let me go on another scout for a mouth." 
 
 With Bob s aid the Indian was dragged into 
 camp, and thrown down there as if he had been 
 a sack of corn. The fire was burning brightly (an 
 Indian builds a small fire and gets close to it, while 
 a white man builds a big one and backs away from 
 it), the bodies of the slain warriors had been drag 
 ged into the bushes out of sight, and their weapons, 
 saddles and bridles, which the troopers intended to 
 carry back to the fort with them as trophies of their 
 prowess, had been collected and deposited in a safe 
 place. 
 
 George had been devoting himself to the boys, 
 who did not seem to be at all afraid, and were by 
 no means so excited as he was. Their astonishing 
 courage called forth the unbounded admiration of 
 the troopers, and the pert answers they gave to the 
 questions that were asked them made them smile. 
 
 " Say, Bob, if you want to see what Texas boys 
 are made of, come here," said George. " The older 
 one answers to the name of Sheldon, and the lit 
 tle fellow is Tommy. Sheldon says that if his 
 brother had been a little older and stronger the 
 
HE WINS IT FAIRLY. 271 
 
 Indians never would have taken them to their 
 village, for they would have killed them and made 
 their escape." 
 
 " Humph !" grunted Carey, whose wound seemed 
 to put him in very bad humor. 
 
 " What makes you say that ?" demanded Bob, 
 turning upon him somewhat sharply. "Don t 
 you know that such things have been done before 
 now?" 
 
 "By boys?" asked Carey. 
 
 "Yes, by boys," replied Bob. 
 
 " No, I don t know it," said the wounded 
 trooper. 
 
 " It s a matter of history, any way," said George. 
 "Two brothers, John and Henry Johnson, aged 
 respectively thirteen and eleven years of age, were 
 captured by two Delaware Indians on Short Creek, 
 West Virginia, in October, 1788. That very night 
 they killed their captors by shooting one and tom 
 ahawking the other." 
 
 " Did they get away ?" asked Sheldon eagerly. 
 
 " Yes, sir, they got away. Now, I want to ask 
 you a few questions and, Bob, I want you to pay 
 attention to his replies. Where have you been to 
 get so much mud on your boots?" 
 
272 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 " Why, back there in the plains we came to a 
 little bayou, and the banks of it was all muddy; 
 and the Injins they pulled us off the ponies and 
 made us walk into all that there mud, and then 
 they laughed at us because we didn t like it," an 
 swered the boy ; and his ludicrous display of rage 
 over the indignity that had been put upon himself 
 and his brother made the troopers smile again. 
 
 " Go on/ 7 said George. " What did you do 
 next?" 
 
 " Well, they took us out of the mud after a 
 while, the Injins did, and then one of em he took 
 us on a pony and rode off by himself until he found 
 this party ; and we ve been with them ever since." 
 
 "What did I tell you?" exclaimed George, hit 
 ting Bob a back-handed slap on the chest. " What 
 do you think of my guessing now ?" 
 
 " I think you are pretty good at it," answered 
 Bob. " And seeing you are, I wish you would 
 try your hand in a new line. Suppose you take a 
 couple of men with you, and all our canteens and 
 coffee-pots, and guess your way down the bluff to 
 the stream, and bring us back a supply of water ? 
 We ll have a good fire going by the time you re 
 turn, and then we ll boil a cup of coffee." 
 
HE WINS IT FAIRLY. 273 
 
 " I ll do it," said George readily. 
 
 "And while you are guessing, guess at the 
 probable movements of that Indian who got 
 away," continued Bob. " Will he be likely to 
 trouble us to-night?" 
 
 " He will not," was the confident reply. " Our 
 party is too large. He will make the best of his 
 way home, you may depend upon it." 
 
 While George and the two troopers whom Bob 
 detailed to accompany him were gone after the 
 water, those who remained in camp were not idle. 
 One bound up Carey s wounded arm, another 
 brought in a bountiful supply of fire-wood, others 
 stood guard, and one assisted the corporal in col 
 lecting a quantity of leaves and light branches, and 
 went out with him to signal to the four men who 
 had been left behind with the horses. They read 
 ily found the hill which had served as a lookout- 
 station for the warrior who was now a captive in 
 their hands ; and they knew it when they found it, 
 for there was the pile of bushes through which he 
 had looked while watching the trail, and the print 
 of his body in the sand. A fire was speedily light 
 ed on the summit, and kept burning brightly to 
 guide the absent troopers to the captured camp. 
 
 18 
 
274 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 That little beacon shining through the darkness 
 must have been a welcome sight to their eyes, 
 for it told of the complete success of their com 
 panions and of the rest and water that were to 
 be found where they were. 
 
 When George returned to the camp after nearly 
 half an hour s absence he found the fire blazing 
 cheerily,- and the two rescued boys, who seemed 
 almost exhausted by their long journey, sleeping 
 soundly beside it, covered by a quilt which some 
 kind-hearted trooper had thrown over their shoul 
 ders. The troopers were laughing heartily but 
 silently at Carey and Loring, who seemed to bear 
 their merriment with very bad grace. 
 
 " What s the matter now ?" inquired George as 
 he distributed the canteens among them and placed 
 the coffee-pots beside the fire. 
 
 " Come here and see for yourself/ replied Lor 
 ing, taking George by the arm and leading him 
 to the place where the captive Indian lay, all the 
 troopers following at his heels. 
 
 " Me good Injun/ 7 grunted the prisoner, who 
 seemed to have recovered his senses. 
 
 " So I perceive/ replied George. " Good In 
 dians steal stock and carry off white boys, don t 
 
HE WINS IT FAIRLY. 275 
 
 they? But I don t see anything about him to 
 laugh at." 
 
 " Why, he s nothing but a kid," exclaimed Phil 
 lips, "and yet Carey and Loring are both willing 
 to confess that it was all they could do to handle 
 him. They told us a wonderful story about the 
 terrible fight they had before they could tie him, 
 and so we took a look at him, expecting to find 
 him a giant; but instead of that Well, you 
 can see that lie s only a pappoose." 
 
 George looked down at the boyish face and 
 slender figure of the young warrior, then at the 
 two grizzly old veterans who had fought so hard 
 to capture him, and felt more than half inclined 
 to laugh himself. Either one of them could have 
 strangled him with a finger and a thumb if he 
 could have got hold of him; but getting a good 
 hold was the trouble. An Indian makes up in 
 suppleness and activity what he lacks in strength, 
 and it takes a good man to handle one. Of course 
 the troopers were sorry for their wounded comrade, 
 but they had " got a joke " on him, and it was a 
 long time before he heard the last of it. 
 
 The men who had been left to take care of the 
 horses arrived in about an hour, and then George 
 
276 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 had another disagreeable task to perform, which 
 was to pilot the animals down to the water and 
 find a feeding-ground for them. Being entirely 
 unacquainted with the gully and surrounding coun 
 try, it took him a long time to do this ; but he ac 
 complished it at last, in spite of the darkness, and 
 about one o clock in the morning he was at liberty 
 to go to his blanket. 
 
 The troopers slept later than usual the next 
 morning, for they were all tired out; but Bob s 
 loud call of " Catch up !" brought them to their 
 feet before the sun had risen high enough to send 
 any of his rays into the camp. As there was a 
 good deal to be done and but little time to do it 
 in, four details were made, and certain duties as 
 signed to each. The first, which consisted solely 
 of Loring, was ordered to dish up a cup of coffee 
 in a little less than no time; George and Phillips 
 were instructed to follow up the trail of the miss 
 ing Indian and see where it led to ; Bob and a 
 companion bent their steps toward the sandhill to 
 ascertain the whereabouts of the main body of the 
 expedition ; and the others brought in the horses 
 and gave them the grain that was left in the sad 
 dle-pockets. 
 
HE WINS IT FAIRLY. 277 
 
 Before ascending the hill Bob and his compan 
 ion gathered each an armful of dry grass and weeds. 
 These were deposited upon the highest part of the 
 hill and lighted by a match which Bob struck on 
 his coat-sleeve. As soon as the blaze was fairly 
 started, but before the whole pile was ignited, Bob 
 smothered it by throwing on more grass and weeds; 
 and when this was done a column of smoke that 
 could be seen at the distance of fifty miles began 
 to rise in the air. 
 
 "Now let me see," said Bob, pulling out the 
 paper which Captain Clinton had copied from 
 his note-book when he started him on the trail. 
 "I want to say, Where are you, captain? and 
 how shall I say it?" 
 
 He ran his eye down the page and finally found 
 these instructions : 
 
 " A detached party desiring to ascertain the posi 
 tion of the main body will signal as follows : A long 
 smoke of a minute s duration ; three short smokes, 
 followed by half a minute s interval; two short 
 smokes, with half a minute s interval; one short 
 smoke, followed immediately by a long one. If 
 the signal is observed, the reply will be the same. 
 If no reply is received in five minutes, repeat from 
 
278 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 some other and, if possible, higher point, and so 
 continue until an answering signal is seen." 
 
 As the reader may not quite understand this, we 
 will tell just how Bob made the signal. He al 
 lowed the column of smoke to ascend just one 
 minute by his watch, then took a blanket from his 
 shoulder and with a quick movement threw it over 
 the smouldering pile, holding two of the corners 
 tight to the ground, while his companion held the 
 opposite corners. This, of course, confined the 
 smoke so that no more arose. At the end of half 
 a minute he raised the blanket three times in quick 
 succession, and three balloon-shaped clouds floated 
 off over the sandhills. Waiting half a minute, he 
 lifted the blanket twice, and two more little clouds 
 arose. At the end of another half a minute he 
 permitted a single cloud to escape, and then threw 
 the blanket off altogether; whereupon a long, 
 slender column, like the one that arose when the 
 fire was first started, shot up into the air. Then 
 Bob seated himself on the ground and waited 
 rather anxiously for a reply ; but he was not ob 
 liged to wait long. Before the five minutes had 
 elapsed an answering smoke was seen; and though 
 it was a long distance off, the atmosphere was so 
 
HE WINS IT FAIRLY. 279 
 
 clear, and the white clouds showed so plainly 
 against the blue sky, that the signal could be 
 plainly read. It was the same as the one Bob 
 had just sent up, and so he knew that it was in 
 tended for him. 
 
 This mode of signalling, which is usually called 
 u telegraphing by smokes," is in general use among 
 the Plains Indians, and it was from them that our 
 army-officers serving on the border caught the idea. 
 Of course they have a system of their own, which 
 is very different from that of the Indians. The 
 latter cannot read an army-signal, and neither can 
 the officers, with all their striving and scheming, 
 gain a key that will enable them to read the In 
 dian code. It is as much of a mystery as the 
 manner in which a chief conducts a drill of his 
 warriors or controls them in battle without appear 
 ing to hold any communication with them. Both 
 these secrets are closely guarded, the Indians con 
 sidering that it would be " bad medicine " to reveal 
 them to the white man. 
 
 "Did you see the exact spot from which 
 that smoke arose?" Bob asked of his companion. 
 
 "Yes," answered the trooper. 
 
 " Then fix it in your mind, so that you can point 
 
280 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 it out to George Ackerman. Now that our work 
 is done we will go back to camp." 
 
 Breakfast was soon despatched, and in less than 
 half an hour the squad was again on the move, 
 three of the troopers, in order to accommodate the 
 rescued boys and the Indian captive, being obliged 
 to " carry double." Their route lay along the edge 
 of the bluff, within easy reach of water, only three 
 halts being made one for dinner, and two for the 
 purpose of sending up signals to Captain Clinton. 
 As his replies, which were promptly made, came 
 from the same place, Bob became satisfied that the 
 captain was waiting for him. Of course this caused 
 much speculation among the troopers. Had the 
 captain given up the pursuit, or had he overtaken 
 and scattered the thieves and recovered Mr. Went- 
 worth s stock? Bob was inclined to hold to the 
 latter opinion. 
 
 " The captain is a hard man to get away from 
 when he once makes up his mind for business." 
 said he; "and I just know that he s got those 
 cattle, or the most of them. If he has, Mr. Went- 
 worth is all right, for we have got his boys. If 
 your theory is correct and I begin to believe it is, 
 for everything else has turned out just as you said 
 
m 
 
 TELEGRAPHING BY SMOKE. 
 
HE WINS IT FAIRLY. 281 
 
 it would Lieutenant Earle will come out at the 
 little end of the horn, won t he?" 
 
 "Some officer almost always has to do that," 
 answered George. " But the lieutenant will have 
 some honor reflected upon him, if he doesn t win 
 any for himself, for it was a portion of his own 
 troop, commanded by one of his own non-com 
 missioned officers, who rescued the boys." 
 
 About two hours before sunset the troopers be 
 gan to call one another s attention to the fact that 
 the sandhills, among which they had been march 
 ing all day long, were growing less in number and 
 height, and to congratulate themselves on drawing 
 near to their journey s end. An hour later they 
 came to the last hill, and as they were riding by 
 it a sentry who had been stationed there presented 
 himself to their view. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 "THKEE CHEERS FOR THE BRINDLES !" 
 
 " TT ALLO, Buel !" exclaimed Bob, recognizing 
 in the sentry one of his own company boys, 
 " you ll let us in, won t you?" 
 
 " Well, I am beat !" replied the man. " Corporal, 
 you re a brick. Three cheers for the Brindles !" 
 
 He stood in the " position of a soldier," with his 
 carbine at a " carry," and spoke in a low tone, for 
 he knew that there were officers with field-glasses 
 not far away, and that he had no business to ex 
 change compliments with anybody after this fash 
 ion while he was on post. But when he saw the 
 captive Indian and Mr. Wentworth s boys he 
 could not restrain himself. 
 
 " Bob, the boys ought to give you a benefit," he 
 added. 
 
 "We ve got something to show for this scout, 
 even if we are Brindles, haven t we?" said the 
 corporal, holding himself very stiffly in his saddle 
 
 282 
 
"THREE CHEERS FOR THE BRINDLES !" 283 
 
 ind looking straight before him, so as not to " give 
 the sentry away." " Have you beaten us any ?" 
 
 " Not by a great sight," 
 
 " What have you done, anyway ?" 
 
 " We ve got the most of the stock back, but nary 
 red. Where s Lieutenant Earle?" 
 
 " Haven t seen him," answered Bob. 
 
 " We haven t seen him either, nor have we heard 
 from him since that courier arrived." 
 
 The troopers now found themselves on the bor 
 der of a wide plain, whose opposite side was 
 bounded by a long line of willows, which fringed 
 the banks of a water-course. On the edge of the 
 willows were gathered the members of the main 
 body, who, having been apprised by their sentinels 
 of the approach of Bob and his party, had assem 
 bled to see them come in. Bob began to grow ex 
 cited at once. He and his men had performed no 
 ordinary exploit, and so impatient was he to have 
 his success known to his comrades that he could 
 not wait until he reached the camp to tell his story. 
 
 "You fellows who carry double, ride out there 
 and square yourselves around, so that they can see 
 that we have not returned empty-handed," com 
 manded Bob, who forthwith proceeded to ex- 
 
284 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 ecute his own order by placing the three men 
 who " carried double " one behind the other, broad 
 side to the camp, so that the officers with their field- 
 glasses could observe that each horse had two riders 
 on his back. " I declare I feel like one of those 
 old Roman conquerors on a small scale ; but in 
 order to carry out the role I ought to make one 
 end of a lariat fast to that Indian s neck and drag 
 him into the camp, oughtn t I ? That s the way 
 the Romans used to do with their captives, only 
 they chained them to their chariot-wheels. There 
 you are ! Swing your caps, you kids, and holler, 
 to let your father know you are here." 
 
 The boys obeyed with alacrity, swinging their 
 caps around their heads and laughing and shouting 
 by turns, while the two soldiers behind whom they 
 rode raised their own caps on the muzzles of their 
 carbines and joined in with a wild soldier yell. 
 George Acker man kept watch of the camp through 
 his glass to note the movements of its inmates and 
 make reports of the manner in which this demon 
 stration was received by them. 
 
 " There s the captain," said he. " He is coming 
 out in front of the men, in company with some 
 of the officers. Now they are all looking at us 
 
"THREE CHEERS FOR THE BRINDLES !" 285 
 
 through their glasses. Now the captain has taken 
 down his glass and is saying something. Here 
 they come!" 
 
 It was evident that the captain had reported the 
 result of his observations, for as George uttered 
 these last words and lowered his glass the men 
 broke into a run and dashed across the plain, rais 
 ing their charging-yell as they came. 
 
 "You fellows who carry double, take the post 
 of honor," commanded Bob; "ride at the head 
 of the squad. Say, boys," he added, facing about 
 in his saddle and speaking to the men behind him, 
 " look out for Went worth. There was a look in 
 his eye the last time I saw him that I didn t at all 
 like, and when he finds out that we have captured 
 one of the Indians, he may " 
 
 " There he comes now !" exclaimed one of the 
 troopers. 
 
 Bob looked toward the camp, and saw that his 
 man had not been mistaken. Behind the troopers, 
 who were still running forward to meet their re 
 turning comrades, but rapidly overhauling them 
 with every jump of his horse, was the father of 
 the rescued boys. He rode without saddle, bridle 
 or hat, his long hair was streaming straight out be- 
 
286 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 hind him, he carried in his hand the rifle with 
 which he had done such deadly work while he 
 was defending his home, and he was constantly 
 digging his heels into the sides of his horse, as if 
 he were trying to make him go faster. The man 
 could have but one object in view : that was Bob s 
 opinion, and it must have been Captain Clinton s 
 opinion too, judging by his actions. The latter 
 had raised both hands to his face and stood with 
 his head thrown back, as if he were shouting out 
 some orders ; but if he gave any they were drown 
 ed in the lusty cheers of the approaching troopers, 
 who ran as if they were engaged in a foot-race. 
 
 "That man certainly means mischief," said 
 George. 
 
 "I am sure of it," replied the corporal. "But 
 I should act in just the same way if I were in his 
 place. I d put an end to that Indian in spite of 
 all the soldiers that ever wore the honored blue ; 
 but that, I know, would be very wrong, for this 
 red imp is one of the government wards, and no 
 body must presume to lay an ugly hand on him." 
 
 " What would be done with Mr Wentworth if 
 he should shoot your prisoner?" asked George. 
 
 " What would be done with him ? " repeated 
 
" THREE CHEERS FOR THE BRINDLES !" 287 
 
 Bob, bitterly. " Why, he would be put in arrest 
 before he could say Jerusalem I and the agent 
 of the Kiowas would insist on his being tried for 
 murder, notwithstanding the fact that this same 
 Indian was one of the party that burned Mr. 
 Wentworth s house and carried his children into 
 captivity. Why, George, unless you are posted 
 you have no idea But I will tell you a short 
 story by and by. Just now I must attend to our 
 friend Mr. Wentworth. Stand by me, for I believe 
 I shall need a helping hand before I get through 
 with him." 
 
 While this conversation was going on Bob had 
 kept a watchful eye upon the movements of Mr. 
 Wentworth, who had by this time passed the troop 
 ers and was guiding his horse so as to come up on 
 the left flank of Bob s squad. As soon as the lat 
 ter became satisfied that this was the man s inten 
 tion, he rode out of the line and placed himself be 
 side the captive Indian, who was riding on Loring s 
 horse and was by no means an uninterested spec 
 tator of what passed before him. He too was 
 keeping his gaze directed toward Mr. Wentworth, 
 whom" he doubtless recognized. 
 
 " White man very angry heap mad as mad, 
 
288 GEOKGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 in fact, as a wet hen," said Bob, trying to imitate 
 an Indian s way of talking, but making a sad mess 
 of it in his excitement. " He s mad at you for car 
 rying his boys off, and he s going to shoot you dead 
 heap dead as dead as a door-nail ; and he ll serve 
 you just right, too." 
 
 " I hope he won t miss the red and hit me," said 
 Loring. 
 
 " You needn t be afraid of that, for these Tex- 
 ans are all good shots," answered Bob; adding in 
 a lower tone, " I ll just tell you what s a fact, Lor 
 ing: I wouldn t interfere with him if I could 
 help it." 
 
 The young savage understood what Bob said, 
 but not a muscle of his face changed. If he had 
 been an old warrior, he would probably have be 
 gun his death-chant; but having performed no 
 deeds of which he could boast, he remained silent 
 and calmly awaited the fate that would have been 
 inevitable had it not been for George Ackerman s 
 skill in horsemanship. 
 
 The animal on which Mr. Wentworth was mount 
 ed was evidently accustomed to being ridden with 
 out a bridle, for his master guided him with the 
 greatest ease. When he had almost reached the 
 
"THKEE CHEERS FOR THE < BRINDLES !" 289 
 
 squad he suddenly swerved from his course, in 
 obedience to a signal conveyed to him by a quick 
 movement of his rider s body, and galloping swift 
 ly around the head of the line stopped short on the 
 other flank. By this unexpected change of tactics 
 the enraged father had gained a position on the un 
 guarded side of the prisoner, and if he had acted 
 as soon as his horse came to a standstill he would 
 have accomplished his purpose in spite of every 
 thing; but he could not resist the temptation to 
 talk for just a moment, and that moment s delay 
 defeated him. Cocking his rifle with great de 
 liberation, he said fiercely, 
 
 " You have eaten salt in my house, you have slept 
 by my fire, you have drunk from my spring when 
 you were thirsty, you Indian dog, and now 
 
 When the man had gone thus far rage choked 
 his utterance, and he could not say another word. 
 He drew his rifle to his shoulder, but the muzzle, 
 instead of covering the head of the Indian, cover 
 ed the person of George Ackerman, who was com 
 ing toward him with all the speed his horse could 
 put forth. 
 
 The boy had sprung into life and activity the 
 instant he witnessed Mr. Wentworth s cunujng 
 
 19 
 
290 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 manoeuvre, for he knew what it meant. Giving 
 a pull at his left rein, at the same time touching 
 his horse lightly with the spurs, the animal wheeled 
 like a flash on his hind feet, and, dashing through 
 the line behind Bob Owens (some of the troopers 
 afterward declared that he jumped clear over Bob s 
 horse), brought his rider to the right side of the 
 Indian just in time to intercept the deadly aim. 
 In another second George had seized the rifle 
 with both hands, and a terrific struggle began be 
 tween him and Mr. Wentworth for the possession 
 of the weapon. In less time than it takes to tell 
 it the man, having no stirrups to support him, was 
 jerked off his horse, and before he could recover 
 himself and plant his feet firmly on the ground 
 the rifle was twisted out of his grasp, and the 
 bullet contained in the chamber was sent whistling 
 harmlessly off over the sandhills. 
 
 "No more of that!" exclaimed Bob, who rode 
 up just half a minute too late to be of any as 
 sistance. "Keep quiet now, or you ll go back to 
 camp with a guard over you." 
 
 "Mr. Wentworth," said George, bending down 
 from his saddle and laying his hand upon the 
 man s shoulder, "your good sense must 
 
"THREE CHEERS FOR THE < BRINDLES !" 291 
 
 tell you that the corporal can t stand peaceably 
 by and see his prisoner shot. What are you 
 thinking of?" 
 
 " Give me that gun/ 7 panted Mr. Wentworth, 
 who was white to the lips and trembling in every 
 limb. "Til I ll " 
 
 "You ll do nothing but behave yourself," in 
 terrupted Bob. " You can t have that rifle again 
 until Captain Clinton says so, for you don t know 
 how to act when you have it in your hands; you 
 point it around too loose and reckless. Haven t 
 you something besides revenge to think of now? 
 Can t you see that we have brought your boys 
 back to you safe and sound?" 
 
 The man s face softened at once. Tears came 
 to his eyes, and darting quickly around Bob s 
 horse he ran up to his children, and, pulling them 
 both to the ground at once, folded them in his arms. 
 But we will not say any more about that meeting, 
 will we? The joy of a family reunited under 
 circumstances like these is something too sacred 
 to be intruded upon even by a sympathizing pen, 
 isn t it ? Even the troopers, some of whom had 
 witnessed many an affecting scene, could not stand 
 it, but turned away their heads and drew their 
 
292 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 hands hastily across their eyes, as if to brush away 
 something that seemed to be obscuring their vision. 
 One of them caught Mr. Wentworth s horse, and 
 after the latter had mounted and taken his boys 
 up with him, one in front and the other behind, 
 the squad continued its march toward the camp. 
 
 When Bob came to look in front of him, he 
 found that the appearance of things had changed 
 somewhat. The comrades who had started out to 
 meet him were no longer advancing in a compact 
 body. They had halted and drawn themselves up 
 in two parallel lines, facing each other, and leav 
 ing room enough between them for Bob and his 
 squad to pass through. 
 
 " Hallo !" exclaimed the delighted corporal. 
 "The boys have got up a reception for us, and 
 we must meet it in good shape. Attention, squad ! 
 Draw sabres ! Loring, ride on ahead with Mr. 
 Wentworth. George, come up on my right." 
 
 When these orders were issued the men promptly 
 fell into line, conversation ceased on the instant, 
 tobacco was knocked out of pipes that had but 
 just been filled, carbines were adjusted in sol 
 dier-fashion, caps that had been worn with the 
 peak behind were turned right side in front, and 
 
"THREE CHEERS FOR THE < BRINDLES !" 293 
 
 twelve bright blades leaped from their scabbards. 
 In this order the successful troopers rode by their 
 comrades, who cheered them loudly, and then fell 
 in behind and followed them into camp, marching 
 in column of fours. Bob at once rode up to Cap 
 tain Clinton s fire, and dismounted to make his 
 report, which he did in this way: 
 
 "I have the honor, sir, to report that we sur 
 prised five Indians in camp last night, captured 
 one, killed three and released Mr. Went worth s 
 boys." 
 
 " Good for you, corporal !" exclaimed the cap 
 tain, his astonishment getting the better of him 
 for the moment. " Anybody hurt on your side ?" 
 
 "One wounded, sir. Private Carey received a 
 knife-thrust in the right arm while assisting Pri 
 vate Loring to capture the Indian." 
 
 "Very good/ 7 said the captain, resuming his 
 official tones and dignity at the same time. " Stake 
 out your horses, and then come back here. I want 
 to hear all the particulars. What was the cause of 
 that disturbance out there on the plain?" 
 
 " I was the cause of it, cap, you bet," ex 
 claimed Mr. Wentworth, whose face did not look 
 much as it did when he galloped out to meet Bob 
 
294 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 and his squad. Then it was disturbed with pas 
 sion ; now it was beaming with joy. " I d ha 
 sent that Injin to the happy land o Canaan in a 
 little less than the shake of a buck s tail if Ack- 
 erman hadn t stopped me, you bet." 
 
 " It was a good thing for you that he did stop 
 you," said the captain quietly. " You would have 
 brought yourself into serious trouble by such a 
 proceeding." 
 
 "I know that," said Mr. Wentworth, "but who 
 cares for trouble when his dander s up? Say, cap, 
 may I have my rifle? Ackerman took it away 
 from me." 
 
 "You may have it on condition that you will 
 make no more attempts on the life of this pris 
 oner," replied the captain. " There is a law to 
 deal with such fellows as he is." 
 
 " Where in the world is it, I d like to know ?" 
 exclaimed Mr. Wentworth fiercely. "It hasn t got 
 out here to Texas yet. If I had shot him, as I 
 meant to do, you would have had a guard over 
 me in no time; but he came with a band of his 
 friends and set fire to my house, and carried off 
 my little boys, and killed my herdsmen, and drove 
 off my stock; and you, knowing it all, stand here, 
 
"THREE CHEERS FOR THE BRTXDLES !" 295 
 
 with your hundred and twenty blue-coats, and tell 
 me that I must not touch him. Your colonel will 
 give him up when his agent makes a demand for 
 him, and he ll go back to his reservation, and 
 the government will feed him on good food and 
 give him good clothes, and some rascally trader 
 will sell him more powder and balls to kill white 
 folks with ; but if / Dog-gone my buttons ! 
 Ackerman, give me that rifle. " 
 
 It was plain that Mr. Wentworth s "dander" 
 was still "up"- - way up. The listening troopers 
 exchanged glances of approval with one another, 
 and would have cheered him if they had dared. 
 Being a civilian, the man was at liberty to talk 
 pretty much as he pleased ; but if one of their own 
 number had made such an exhibition of temper 
 in the presence of an officer, he would have been 
 punished for it. 
 
 "We will not discuss that matter," said the 
 captain calmly. "I know my business and at 
 tend to it strictly, leaving the agents to look out 
 for their own affairs. They are not responsible 
 to me, or to you either, for the manner in which 
 they do the work entrusted to them." 
 
 "All right, cap," said Mr. Wentworth, picking 
 
296 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 up one of his boys and then lowering him carefully 
 to the ground. " Mum is the word, if you say so. 
 But I haven t heard you tell Ackerman to give 
 me that rifle yet." 
 
 " Neither have I heard you make that promise/ 
 was the reply. 
 
 "Well, I ll make it, but I tell you I hate to, 
 mightily." 
 
 The captain smiled, and nodded to George, who 
 rode up and handed over the Winchester. 
 
 "She s a good one, cap, and when she speaks 
 she means business she does," said Mr. Went- 
 worth, holding the recovered weapon off at arm s 
 length and gazing at it with admiring eyes. " She 
 is sure death on Kiowas, for she knows I have got 
 something ag inst them. She rubbed out ten of 
 ? em during the last fight she was in, and she ll 
 spoil the good looks of many more of them before 
 I hand her over to my oldest boy for good. Put 
 her on your shoulder, Sheldon, and come on." 
 
 Lifting his youngest child in his arms, Mr. 
 Wentworth walked away, Sheldon marching 
 proudly by his side with the rifle on his shoulder, 
 and the horse following quietly at his heels. Then 
 Bob and George rode away with the squad, the 
 
"THKEE CHEERS FOR THE -BRINDLES !" 297 
 
 troopers gradually dispersed, and the captain and 
 his officers went back to the blankets on which 
 they had been dozing away the time while wait 
 ing for Corporal Owens. 
 
 If it had not been for the fact that he had 
 nearly a thousand head of recaptured stock on 
 his hands, the captain would have set out for the 
 fort at once ; but it is almost impossible to drive 
 Texas cattle during the night, for they are about 
 half wild, anyway, and as easily stampeded as a 
 herd of buffaloes. Under favorable circumstances 
 two men who understand their business can take 
 care, of a herd of five hundred of them ; but this 
 stock which the captain had just recovered from 
 the Indians had grown so unmanageable during 
 the short time they had been in the possession of 
 the raiders, who had pushed them ahead night and 
 day at their greatest speed, that it took thirty well- 
 mounted troopers to keep them within bounds. 
 If they became quieted down during the night, 
 the captain intended to set out for the fort with 
 the main body of his men early the next morning, 
 leaving a few of his troopers to assist Mr. Went- 
 worth to drive the cattle in. 
 
 " I say, corporal," exclaimed Carey as Bob led 
 
298 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 his squad away, "where does Wentworth hang 
 out? What mess does he grub with?" 
 
 "I don t know," answered Boh. "I saw him 
 going toward the other end of the camp." 
 
 " Now, such work as that won t do," continued 
 Carey. "He ll go up there among those high- 
 toned Grays or Blacks, and they will honey 
 around those boys of his and make much of them, 
 and cut us Brindles completely out of their good 
 graces. They belong to us, and they ought to stay 
 with us ; don t you say so ?" 
 
 Bob replied that he did say so. 
 
 "Can t we bring them into our mess?" asked 
 Carey. 
 
 " You can try. I ll take care of your horse if 
 you want to make the attempt." 
 
 Carey at once dismounted, and started back to 
 ward the upper end of the camp, and Bob rode 
 on to find the place where his troop had staked 
 out their horses. While he is looking for it we 
 will explain what the words "Grays," "Blacks" 
 and " Brindles," as used by Private Carey, meant. 
 
 One of the first things to be done in a new regi 
 ment of cavalry, or in an old one that has just been 
 remounted, is to " color the horses." We mean by 
 
"THKEE CHEERS FOR THE BRINDLES M" 299 
 
 this that the animals are divided into lots accord 
 ing to their color, the blacks being placed in one 
 lot, the grays in another, the whites in another, 
 and so on. After these divisions are made there 
 are always some "off" horses, such as roans and 
 browns, which are put into a lot by themselves 
 and called the "brindles." The ranking captain 
 then makes his choice of the colors. For the sake 
 of illustration, we will suppose that he prefers to 
 have his company mounted on black horses. He 
 first takes the finest animal in the lot for his own 
 use, his first lieutenant comes next, the second 
 lieutenant next, the first sergeant next, and so on 
 down through all the sergeants and corporals, each 
 one selecting according to his rank. Then those 
 of the privates who have proved themselves to be 
 the best soldiers are called up one by one, and after 
 they have made their selections the shirks and 
 grumblers, like Bristow and Gus Robbins, have 
 to take those that are left. 
 
 The captain who is second in command makes the 
 next choice of colors, and his horses are distrib 
 uted in the same way. The whites are generally 
 chosen next to the last, not because they are not 
 as good or as handsome as the others, but for the 
 
300 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 reason that it is harder work for the men to keep 
 them clean, and in action they present conspicuous 
 marks for the rifles of the enemy. " The " brindles," 
 the horses of all colors and of no color at all to speak 
 of, are the only ones left, and the lowest company 
 commander must take them because he has no choice. 
 He does not like them, and neither do his men, be 
 cause the troop that is doomed to ride them cannot 
 make so fine appearance on dress-parade as the others 
 do, and for the reason that the Brindles are the butt 
 of all the jokes that old soldiers can play upon one 
 another. When we have said that we have said a 
 good deal, for if there is any mischief that a lot of 
 veterans will not think of when they have a leisure 
 hour on their hands, we don t know what it is. 
 
 When the horses were " colored " at Fort La- 
 moine the brindles fell to the lot of Lieutenant 
 Earle, as he was the lowest company commander, 
 all the others being captains. This was the troop 
 to which Bob Owens belonged, and, in common 
 with its other members, he had suffered from the 
 practical jokes that had been played upon him 
 by the more fortunate troopers. But of late these 
 jokes were not as frequent as they had formerly 
 been, for the " Brindles " had proved themselves 
 
"THREE CHEEKS FOR THE BRINDLES !" 301 
 
 to be the best of soldiers. When their achieve 
 ments were taken into consideration they led every 
 troop in the garrison. They had gallantly borne 
 their part in every duty they were called on to 
 perform, their non-commissioned officers had in 
 variably been successful when sent out in pursuit 
 of deserters, and* now one of them had done some 
 thing for which the members of his regiment were 
 glad to honor him in the way we have described. 
 During the rest of Bob s life at Fort Lamoine but 
 little was said about the despised Brindles ; but if 
 any trooper did forget himself and make disparag 
 ing remarks concerning them or their "ringed, 
 streaked and striped" horses, some listening Brindle 
 would promptly interrupt him with 
 
 " Look here, Bub, we didn t enlist to show our 
 selves off on dress-parade. When you Blacks" (or 
 Gr^ys or Chestnuts, as the case might be, the of 
 fending trooper being designated by the color of 
 the horses on which his company was mounted) 
 
 " have followed an Indian trail across the Staked 
 
 * 
 
 Plains, and been burned up by an August sun, and 
 had your mouths and throats filled so full of sand 
 that you couldn t tell the truth for a whole month, 
 and have surprised a party of hostiles in their camp, 
 
302 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 and rescued two prisoners alive and unharmed, - 
 when you have done all that, you can talk; until 
 then hold your yawp. That feat has never been 
 accomplished but once in the Department of Texas, 
 and then it was accomplished by our boys, the Brin- 
 
 dles of the th Cavalry." 
 
 Bob and his men were proud of that exploit, and, 
 what was more, they did not mean to be robbed of 
 any of the honor they had won. That was one 
 reason why they wanted to bring Mr. Wentworth 
 and his boys into their mess. They supposed they 
 were going back to the fort with Captain Clinton s 
 command, and they wanted to carry those boys 
 through the gate themselves. But, as it happened, 
 the captain had decided upon something else, and 
 by that decision had unconsciously given Bob s 
 lucky squad of Brindles an opportunity to add 
 to their laurels. We shall see what use they made 
 of it. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MORE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WENTWORTH. 
 
 TTTHILE Bob and his men were staking out 
 their horses they were besieged by anxious 
 Brindies who wanted to know just where they had 
 been and what they had done during their absence. 
 No incident connected with the experience of their 
 successful comrades was deemed too trivial for their 
 notice. Bob and the rest answered their questions 
 as fast as they were able, and asked a good many 
 in return. They learned that Captain Clinton had 
 fallen in with the stolen cattle about one o clock 
 that morning, but the Indians they had hoped lo 
 find with them were not to be seen. The captain 
 had pursued them so closely that they did not have 
 time to drive the stock into the Staked Plains, to 
 die there of thirst, and neither did they harass 
 the column, as George said they would. Their 
 force was too small to accomplish anything by it. 
 
 303 
 
304 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 The captain had spent all the forenoon in gathering 
 up the stock, and it was now feeding on the prairie 
 close by, guarded by a large squad of troopers. 
 
 " I ll tell you what s a fact, boys/ said one of 
 the Brindles. "This raid must have been a big 
 thing, for just after you left us we struck the trail 
 of a large drove that joined ours, and a little farther 
 on we found another. But they were both older 
 than our own, so the scout said, and the drove we 
 followed was left behind as a sort of bait for us to 
 swallow, while the main herd was driven off." 
 
 " Why didn t you go on after the main herd ?" 
 asked Bob. 
 
 " It would have been of no use. It had too 
 much of a start; and besides, we have already 
 got just as much on our hands as we can attend to. 
 We have been all day gathering up the cattle we 
 have got, and it is just all we can do to hold fast 
 to them. The fellows up there must attend to the 
 rest." 
 
 By " the fellows up there " the troopers meant 
 to indicate the cavalry attached to the several posts 
 north of the Staked Plains. 
 
 When Bob went back to the captain s head-quar 
 ters, George, being a privileged character, went 
 
MORE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WENTWORTH. 305 
 
 with him. The officer questioned them closely 
 in regard to their movements, took copious notes 
 to assist him in making out his report to the col 
 onel, and by the time he got through he came to 
 the conclusion that the two young men deserved 
 especial mention for the skill and courage they had 
 exhibited. He rewarded them on the spot by giv 
 ing them more work to do some that was not sup 
 posed to have any danger in it, but which, never 
 theless, gave them an opportunity to show whether 
 the success that had attended them during their 
 last scout was owing to good luck or good man 
 agement. 
 
 " I am more than satisfied, because you have ac 
 complished more than I expected of you," said the 
 captain as he put his note-book into his pocket. 
 " As you will probably have some hard riding to 
 do to-morrow, I will see that you are allowed a 
 good night s rest." 
 
 " Are we going back to the fort in the morning, 
 sir?" asked George. 
 
 Although Bob was fully as anxious as his com 
 panion was to know what the captain meant by 
 saying that he and his squad would probably have 
 some hard riding to do the next day, he never 
 
 20 
 
306 GEOKGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 would have dared to ask such a question ; and if 
 he had, the officer, if he had made any reply at all, 
 would very likely have told him that he would find 
 out all about it in due time. But he expressed no 
 surprise at George s inquisitiveness. 
 
 " / am going back to fort," said he, " but you 
 and the corporal will have to stay and help Mr. 
 Wentworth with the cattle. You will be of more 
 use to him, George, than half a dozen green hands, 
 for you know how to drive stock and can act as in 
 structor to the rest. You know where Holmes s 
 ranche is, I suppose ? Well, I shall want the cor 
 poral to stay with Mr. Wentworth until he gets 
 there, and then you will have to guide the squad 
 to the fort. If you should happen to meet any 
 raiders on the way, why take them in," added the 
 captain with a smile. " Corporal, is Carey badly 
 hurt?" 
 
 " He grumbles a good deal, sir, but I think it is 
 more from anger than pain." 
 
 " Perhaps you had better take a man in his place 
 and let him go to the fort with us, so that the doc 
 tor can look at his arm," said the captain. 
 
 " I tell you there is nothing like having friends 
 at court," said Bob as he and George walked away. 
 
MOKE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WENT WORTH. 307 
 
 "Until you came among us I didn t know that 
 these officers could be so very friendly and good- 
 natured. Why, George, if I knew the country as 
 well as you do, and could get scout s pay, I would 
 stay in the army all my life. We have got a sort 
 of roving commission now, and I hope we can 
 do something with it before we go back to the 
 fort." 
 
 Details for such duties as this which had just 
 been assigned to Corporal Owens are about the 
 only recreations that fall to the lot of a private 
 soldier on the Plains, and they are eagerly sought 
 after. Being almost always commanded by a ser 
 geant or corporal who has proved to the satisfac 
 tion of his superiors that he can be trusted, the 
 men never fail to enjoy themselves to the fullest 
 extent. It is a great relief to them to be entirely 
 out of reach of their Argus-eyed officers, who are 
 so prompt to take them to task for the least neglect 
 of duty. 
 
 When they reached the place where the Brindles 
 were encamped, they found that Carey had been 
 successful in his mission. He had brought Mr. 
 Wentworth and his boys back with him, and the 
 troopers were crowded about them listening to 
 
308 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 Sheldon s account of his experience among the 
 Kiowas. 
 
 " Get all you can out of them, boys," exclaimed 
 Bob, "for you will not see them after to-night." 
 
 " Why won t we ?" asked half a dozen troopers 
 at once. 
 
 "Because they are not going to the fort. They 
 are going to Holmes s ranche, wherever that is, and 
 we re going to see them safely there with the stock." 
 
 "We? who?" 
 
 " Our same old squad all except Carey." 
 
 The owner of that name, whose face had lighted 
 up with pleasure, jumped to his feet with an angry 
 exclamation. " What do you mean by that, cor 
 poral?" he demanded. 
 
 "It s no fault of mine, Carey," replied Bob. 
 " The captain thinks you had better go to the fort, 
 so that the doctor can look at your wound." 
 
 Carey made no reply, but elbowed his way 
 through the crowd and started toward the other 
 end of the camp. In a few minutes he was stand 
 ing in front of Captain Clinton with his hand to 
 his cap. 
 
 " What is it, Carey ?" asked that officer after he 
 had returned the salute. 
 
MORE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WENTWORTH. 309 
 
 " My respects to you, sir," answered the trooper, 
 " and, if I might take the liberty, I d like to know 
 why I am to be left behind while the rest of our 
 squad goes off on a picnic with them cattle?" 
 
 " Why, you are wounded," said the captain. 
 
 "Just a little scratch, sir," protested the trooper. 
 " But even if I had no right arm at all, I could 
 ride and shoot, and when it came to yelling I d be 
 there too." 
 
 "Very good. If you think you can stand it, 
 go on." 
 
 " Thank you, sir. I knew you wouldn t go back 
 on old Carey. I ve been in every muss my troop 
 has been in, and nobody ever hinted that I didn t 
 do my duty." 
 
 The captain nodded his head and waved his hand 
 in token of dismissal, and the trooper hurried away. 
 
 Up to this time George Ackerman had always 
 messed with the officers, but that night he took 
 supper with Bob s squad, because both he and they 
 considered that he belonged to it. During the 
 progress of the meal he reminded the corporal that 
 the latter had promised to tell him a story. 
 
 "Oh yes," said Bob, after thinking a moment. 
 " I was telling you, I believe, that if Mr. Went- 
 
310 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 worth killed that Indian he would be arrested and 
 tried for murder. Well, that s an Indian s idea of 
 justice, and it seems to be the agents idea too. 
 The Indians think they have a perfect right to 
 kill and scalp whenever they feel like it. but if a 
 white man kills one of them it is an a \vful thing. 
 If they can t get hold of the man who did the 
 shooting or any of his relations, they look to the 
 government for pay. On a certain occasion a 
 scouting-party of ten men was surprised and ut 
 terly wiped out. The surprise was so complete 
 that every one of the party was killed at the first 
 fire, with the exception of a corporal, who had just 
 time to knock over two of the reds before he too 
 was shot. Shortly afterward a peace was patched 
 up, and a band of braves came in, bringing with 
 them an old woman for whom they asked a gov 
 ernment pension because her two sons had fallen 
 in battle. Inquiries were made, and it turned out 
 that these two sons were the very Indians who had 
 been killed by the corporal. What do you think 
 of such impudence?" 
 
 George did not know what to think of it, and 
 probably the reader doesn t either; but this very 
 incident is on record. 
 
MORE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WENTWORTH. 311 
 
 By daylight the next morning the camp was 
 deserted. The main body of the troops was rid 
 ing rapidly toward Fort Lamoine, and a few miles 
 behind it came the herd which Captain Clinton 
 had recaptured. It was moving leisurely along in 
 front of Mr. Wentworth and George, who con 
 trolled it with less difficulty than the rest of the 
 squad would have experienced in managing a dozen 
 cattle. Behind them came Bob and his men, with 
 the two boys, who were mounted on a couple of 
 their father s horses which had been found with 
 the herd. George s quick eye had already noticed 
 that there were at least half a dozen different 
 brands among the cattle, and he told himself that 
 when the animals bearing these brands had been 
 delivered up to their lawful owners, Mr. Went 
 worth would have very little stock left. 
 
 Bob and his troopers enjoyed this "picnic" by 
 being lazy. They had nothing to do worth speak 
 ing of but to follow along in the rear of the herd 
 and talk to the boys, the most of the work being 
 performed by George and Mr. Wentworth, who 
 during the first part of the journey managed the 
 cattle both day and night. They offered to assist 
 in any way they could, but the practised herders 
 
312 GEOEGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 did not need them, and besides, they were afraid 
 to trust them. 
 
 "I don t want to lose these steers and horses 
 again, after all the trouble I have had to get 
 them/ Mr. "Wentworth always replied. " I know 
 you are good soldiers, or else you couldn t have 
 got my boys back for me; but you can t herd 
 cattle. The least awkward movement on your 
 part would send them galloping back toward the 
 Staked Plains again. Wait until they get over 
 their fright, and then you can try your hands at 
 guarding them during the night." 
 
 On the afternoon of the fifth day Bob noticed 
 that George s field-glass was often brought into 
 requisition both by himself and Mr. Wentworth, 
 and on riding forward to inquire the cause of it, 
 he was informed that they were looking for Mr. 
 Taylor s ranche. 
 
 "And who is Mr. Taylor?" was Bob s next 
 question. 
 
 " He is one of Mr. Wentworth s neighbors who 
 was raided by the Indians. We know it, for we 
 have some of his cattle with us ; but whether or 
 not they did him any damage beyond stealing his 
 stock, we don t know; and we can t tell, either, 
 
MORE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WENTWORTH. 313 
 
 until we find his house if it is still standing, or 
 the ruins of it if it has been destroyed." 
 
 " Then we must be getting pretty near our jour 
 ney s end," said Bob, whose arms and shoulders 
 began to ache when he thought of the tedious rou 
 tine of drill and guard-duty upon which he must 
 enter as soon as he returned to the fort. 
 
 " I don t know what you mean by near," replied 
 George. "The fort is all of a hundred and fifty 
 miles from here, and we are not going toward it. 
 We are going toward Holmes s ranche; and even 
 if we have the best of luck, it will take us two 
 weeks to get there." 
 
 " That sounds better," said Bob, who was greatly 
 relieved. " When you spoke of Mr. Wentworth s 
 neighbors, I was afraid that our pleasure-excursion 
 was about to be brought to an end, for he doesn t 
 live so very far from the fort, you know." 
 
 " It s just over there," shouted Mr. Wentworth 
 at this moment. " I see cattle, and that proves 
 that the raiders didn t scoop Taylor as they did 
 me. Now look sharp; we ve got rounding out 
 enough to do already." 
 
 " What does he mean by that ?" asked Bob. 
 
 Cf He means that we mustn t allow our cattle to 
 
314 GEOEGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 mix in with Mr. Taylor s, for if we do we shall 
 have to round them all out again. By rounding 
 out we mean separating the different herds from 
 each other; and that is something that none but 
 good herdsmen can do. It requires skill and a big 
 stock of patience, I tell you. Just let a few green 
 hands try it, and see how much they would make 
 at it. Why, they would scare the cattle so that 
 they would run clear out of the State." 
 
 Although Mr. Wentworth had declared that Mr. 
 Taylor s ranche was "just over there," our friends 
 did not reach it that day, nor until late in the 
 afternoon of the next. Before they got there they 
 knew just what Mr. Taylor s experience with the 
 Kiowa raiders had been, for they had passed two 
 or three of his herds, whose keepers had told them 
 all about it. The Indians had suddenly made 
 their appearance, coming from the south, and driv 
 ing before them a large number of cattle; and al 
 though they had not come within five miles of 
 Mr. Taylor s ranche, they had picked up one of 
 his small herds which happened to be in their 
 path. 
 
 Our friends camped that night close by Mr. 
 Taylor s ranche, which proved to be a perfect 
 
MORE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WENT WORTH. 315 
 
 little fort. It was built of heavy stone, was well 
 supplied with provisions, and defended by five 
 stalwart fellows who were armed with Winchester 
 rifles. The raiders would have had a nice time 
 of it if they had come there. The owner listened 
 in great surprise to Mr. Weutworth s story, made 
 much of his boys, and would not let him and 
 George "round out" the stock that bore his brand. 
 
 "You re welcome to the steers, neighbor," said 
 he. " I ve got more left than I can take care of 
 if the Kiowas bounce me as earnestly as they did 
 you, and you will need them to help you start a 
 new herd." 
 
 This same thing was repeated by every one of 
 the half a dozen other ranchemen to whom Mr. 
 Wentworth oifered to surrender their stock. They 
 all sympathized with him, and wanted to aid him 
 by every means in their power. The result was, 
 that our friends arrived within one day s march of 
 their journey s end with just as many cattle as they 
 had when they left the Staked Plains. Although 
 Mr. Wentworth had been " completely cleaned 
 out," he was still worth something like twenty 
 thousand dollars. 
 
 George and his party made their last camp a 
 
316 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 short distance from the cabin of a squatter, who 
 rode over to see them during the evening. He 
 went home about ten o clock, and George and his 
 companions lay down on their blankets, leaving 
 the herd to the care of four mounted troopers. 
 The latter, who during the journey had exhibited 
 the greatest eagerness to learn something of the 
 mysteries of cattle-herding, had so far progressed 
 in knowledge and skill as to be able to stand guard 
 at night, and to give George and Mr. Wentworth 
 an opportunity to obtain the rest of which they 
 began to stand so much in need. About midnight 
 George mounted his horse and rode around the 
 herd to assure himself that everything was just 
 as it should be. He went on horseback, because 
 everybody rides while working about Texas cattle. 
 If a man should venture among them on foot dur 
 ing the daytime, his life would be in danger ; and 
 if he went around them at night, he would prob 
 ably stampede the whole herd. 
 
 "All serene," said Loring, who was the first 
 guard George encountered during his rounds. 
 " The moon shines so brightly that I can see the 
 movements of every steer in the drove." 
 
 " If we were a little nearer the river perhaps 
 
MORE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WENTWORTH. 317 
 
 things wouldn t be quite so serene," answered 
 George. "The Mexicans take just such a night 
 as this for their raids." 
 
 About an hour after George had retired to his 
 blanket Loring noticed that the cattle began to 
 show signs of uneasinesss. Those that w r ere stand 
 ing up began to move about, those that were lying 
 down arose and moved about with them, and pres 
 ently the whole herd was in motion. The cattle 
 did not attempt to run away, but walked restlessly 
 about, as if they were unable to find a place that 
 suited them. 
 
 " Suke, thing ! suke, thing !" said Loring coax- 
 iugly. 
 
 The travelled reader would have said at once 
 that Loring was a Southerner; and if he could 
 have heard Phillips on the other side of the cattle 
 trying to soothe them with " Co-boss ! co-boss !" 
 he would have said that Phillips was from the 
 North. But the cattle did not understand either 
 of them, or if they did they paid no attention to 
 them. Their restlessness increased every moment, 
 and finally Loring, good soldier though he was, de 
 serted his post and started for camp as fast as he 
 could make his horse walk. 
 
318 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 "Ackerman," said he in an excited voice, "get 
 up. There is something wrong with -those cattle." 
 
 George was on his feet in an instant. One 
 glance at the herd was enough. 
 
 " I should say there was something wrong !" he 
 exclaimed. " How long has this thing been going 
 on?" 
 
 "Not more than five minutes." 
 
 "Which way are they looking," continued 
 George. 
 
 "Every way, but the most of them keep their 
 heads in that direction," said Loring, waving his 
 arm toward the south. 
 
 " Call everybody in camp while I speak to Bob 
 and Mr. Wentworth. No noise now. I am afraid 
 we are going to have trouble." 
 
 In less than two minutes all the troopers had 
 been aroused, and George was holding an earnest 
 consultation with Mr. Wentworth and the corporal. 
 "I ve seen cattle act that way before," said he, 
 speaking as rapidly as he could make his tongue 
 move, for time was precious ; " and if we were a 
 little nearer the river I could easily tell what is 
 the matter with them ; but I never heard of the 
 Greasers coming so far into the country as this, and 
 
MORE BAD LUCK FOR ME. WENT WORTH. 319 
 
 it may be nothing but nervousness that s troubling 
 them. My advice would be to mount the men and 
 move them quietly in line on the north side of the 
 herd, and perhaps by making such a show of num 
 bers we can keep them within bounds until they 
 are quieted down. What do you say, Mr. Went- 
 worth?" 
 
 " It is the only thing that can be done," replied 
 Mr. Wentworth, who seemed to be greatly excited 
 and alarmed; "and even that is a slim chance. 
 Make haste, corporal. Do all you can for me, for 
 if I lose this herd I shall be ruined, sure enough." 
 
 "Catch up !" commanded Bob. 
 
 " Look here," said George, seizing his friend by 
 the shoulder and speaking with all the earnestness 
 he could throw into his tones: "if you get in line 
 in front of those cattle, and they start to run to 
 ward you, don t try to stop them, for you can t do 
 it, any more than we could stop those buffaloes the 
 other night. Run before them, and gradually draw 
 off to the right or left of them, and you will get 
 safely off; otherwise they will certainly run over 
 you. But I tun afraid it is too late to do any 
 thing," added George as he noted the increasing 
 restlessness of the cattle. 
 
320 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 " It is too late ! it is too late !" exclaimed Mr. 
 Wentworth, rubbing his bauds nervously together. 
 " There they go !" 
 
 Even as he spoke a noise like the rumbling of 
 distant thunder sounded in their ears, and instantly 
 the whole herd made off at the top of its speed. 
 Looking over the mass of horns and tails that was 
 tossed wildly in the air, the troopers were horrified 
 to see Phillips standing directly in front of it. 
 Being fully determined to do his duty to the ut 
 most, the brave fellow sat in his saddle, swinging 
 his arms about his head, and no doubt shouting at 
 the top of his voice to stop the advance of the 
 frightened herd, which was bearing down upon 
 him with the resistless power of an avalanche. 
 
 " The man is crazy !" cried George in great 
 alarm. Then, raising both hands to his face and 
 using them as a speaking-trumpet, he yelled, with 
 all the power of his lungs, 
 
 " Run ! run for your life !" 
 
 Phillips afterward said that he did not hear what 
 George said to him in fact, he couldn t hear any 
 thing but the noise of those hoofs but, seeing that 
 if he remained where he was his death was certain, 
 he wheeled his horse and fled with the speed of the 
 
MOKE BAD LUCK FOR MR, WENTWORTH. 321 
 
 wind. The last his friends saw of him was as he 
 dashed over the top of a ridge, with the stampeded 
 cattle close behind him. When they were all out 
 of sight and the rumble of their hoofs had died 
 away in the distance, the troopers turned to look 
 at Mr. Wentworth. He stood with his hands in 
 his pockets gazing disconsolately in the direction 
 in which the herd had disappeared, but had noth 
 ing to say. 
 
 " Now, here s a go !" whispered Bob, giving 
 George a nudge in the ribs with his elbow. 
 " What am I to do ? This is something Captain 
 Clinton didn t think to provide for, isn t it? I 
 was ordered to go to Holmes s ranche with Mr. 
 Wentworth, but I wasn t told to follow up and 
 collect his cattle if they were stampeded." 
 
 "You mustn t think of following them up," 
 said George decidedly. " There is no man -in the 
 world who could get that same herd together again, 
 for it will join others as soon as it gets over its 
 fright; and how could we tell these cattle from 
 others bearing the same brand? They are gone, 
 and that s all there is of it. You must mount at 
 once and see if you can find anything of Phil 
 lips." 
 
 21 
 
322 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 "All right! Mr. Wentworth," said Bob, " w<. 
 are very sorry for the loss you have sustained, but 
 \ve have done all we could for you." 
 
 " I know it, corporal, and I am very grateful to 
 you and to the captain, who was kind enough to 
 send you with me. Such things as these will hap 
 pen sometimes, in spite of everything. Now I 
 hardly know what to do." 
 
 Neither would anybody else have known what 
 to do under the same circumstances. Mr. Went- 
 worth had no home, no property except his rifle 
 and the horses he and his boys rode, no work to 
 do, and but little to eat in his haversack. It was 
 a trying situation for a man who but a few days 
 before had been worth a fortune, and almost any 
 one would have been disheartened. 
 
 " I ll tell you what you can do," said George. 
 " You can easily find your way to the Ackerman 
 settlement, and if you go there and give Mr. Gil 
 bert a note of introduction which I will write for 
 you, he will take care of you until you can decide 
 upon something." 
 
 George did not feel at liberty to tell Mr. Went- 
 worth all he had on his mind. As soon as he re 
 turned to the fort he intended to write to his guar- 
 
MORE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WENTWORTH. 323 
 
 dian, asking him if he might furnish Mr. Went- 
 \vorth with a sufficient number of cattle from his 
 own herds to give the impoverished man a new 
 start in life. Of course Mr. Wentworth had a few 
 cattle of his own among those that had just run off, 
 but it would take some time to gather them up ; 
 and as he would not want to be troubled with his 
 boys while he was engaged in the work, George in 
 tended to ask Mr. Gilbert to take care of them 
 during their father s absence, and to lend Mr. 
 Wentworth a few good herdsmen to assist him in 
 getting his stock together. While he was thinking 
 about it, and before Mr. Wentworth could thank 
 him for his generous offer, something happened 
 which told them very plainly that the stampede 
 that had just taken place was not owing to the 
 nervousness of the cattle, but to the presence of 
 tho.-e of whom George Ackerman had every rea 
 son to stand in fear. 
 
 Their attention was first attracted by some un 
 usual sound. They could not have told what it 
 was or from which direction it came, but they all 
 heard it, and waited for it to be repeated, that they 
 might locate and define it. There was a moment s 
 silence, and then a chorus of wild veils arose on 
 
324 GEOKGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 the night air, accompanied by the rapid discharge 
 of firearms. The troopers looked at one another 
 in blank amazement, and then at George, who was 
 not long in assigning a cause for the disturbance. 
 
 "The Greasers are attacking the squatter," he 
 exclaimed ; and he was quite as much astonished 
 to be called upon to say it as the troopers were to 
 hear it. It must be a strong and daring band that 
 would venture so far into the country, and almost 
 involuntarily George whispered the name of Fletch 
 er. Bob was quick to decide upon his course. He 
 knew just what Captain Clinton would expect of 
 him if he were there. 
 
 " Mr. Wentworth," said he, " we must lend that 
 man a helping hand. As you can t go with us on 
 account of your boys, you will have to look out 
 for yourself and them." 
 
 "And I am just the man who can do it," re 
 plied Mr. Wentworth. "Good-bye and good luck 
 to you ! Shoot hard, and shoot to hit." 
 
 " How cool and confident he is ! I wish I had 
 half his courage," thought Bob as he ordered his 
 men into their saddles, following it up with the 
 commands, " Forward ! Trot ! gallop !" 
 
 The troopers fell into line as they moved off, and 
 
MORE BAD LUCK FOR MR. WEXT WORTH. 325 
 
 a few yards in advance of them rode George and 
 Bob. The former could easily have taken the lead 
 if he had desired to do so, but, knowing that he did 
 not command the squad, he curbed his impatience as 
 well as he could and kept close by his friend s side. 
 The troopers unslung their carbines, George made 
 ready his Winchester, while Bob, who believed as 
 firmly in the virtues of "cold steel J1 as did the 
 gallant officer whom he afterward accompanied on 
 his last memorable march, drew his sabre. All on 
 a sudden the firing ceased, and when the troopers 
 rode over the brow of a ridge a few minutes later, 
 they saw a thin blue smoke arising from the squat 
 ter s cabin, and that told them more than they want 
 ed to know. George was both astonished and en 
 raged at the sight astonished to know 7 that the 
 raiders would stop during one of their marauding 
 expeditions, when haste was so necessary, to attack 
 and burn so humble a dwelling as the abode of the 
 squatter, and enraged to see that they had been suc 
 cessful enough to do even that. There was a crowd 
 of Mexicans around the building, and others with 
 horses were standing close by. 
 
 " Gobble the horses, Bob/ 7 said George, who was 
 so highly excited that he could scarcely speak, "and 
 
326 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 then you can ride down and capture the raiders at 
 your leisure/ 
 
 Bob caught the idea in an instant. Turning in 
 his saddle, he waved his sabre over his head, but 
 instead of giving the command " Charge !" he ef 
 fectually closed the mouths of his followers, who 
 had already opened their lips and drawn in a long 
 breath preparatory to giving vent to their favorite 
 yell, by saying in a low tone, " Silence !" 
 
 Bob did not know whether or not this order 
 had ever before been given during a charge, and, 
 what was more, he did not care. His object was 
 to cut the men who were lingering about the burn 
 ing cabin oif from their horses, and in order to do 
 that he must get as close as he could to them be 
 fore he was discovered. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 men about the cabin were so engrossed in 
 their work of destruction, and the horse-guards 
 were so intent on watching them, that Bob s ad 
 vance was not discovered until he and his followers 
 were within less than two hundred yards of the 
 cabin. So entirely unexpected was their appear 
 ance that for a moment the cattle-thieves were 
 struck motionless with astonishment ; then they 
 recovered their power of action, and those who 
 were on foot made a rush for their horses. Some 
 succeeded in reaching them, but others did not. 
 Two or three of them fell before the carbines of 
 the troopers, who opened a hot fire as soon as they 
 saw that they were discovered, and the horse-guards, 
 believing that the attacking party was backed up by 
 a large force of soldiers which was close at hand, 
 instantly put spurs to their nags and galloped off, 
 
 327 
 
328 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 taking the loose horses with them and leaving their 
 companions to look out for themselves. 
 
 " Throw down and throw up, Greasers !" com 
 manded Corporal Owens as he dashed up to the 
 cabin swinging his sabre over his head; and the 
 order, which meant, "Throw down your weapons 
 and throw up your hands," was obeyed by five 
 sullen fellows, who muttered Spanish oaths be 
 tween their, teeth and looked mad enough to do 
 almost anything. 
 
 There was no fight at all. If there had been 
 a shot fired at the troopers, they didn t know it. 
 The party that had gone off with the horses out 
 numbered Bob s, and could, beyond a doubt, have 
 driven them off the field if they had only thought 
 so ; but their surprise was complete, and, more than 
 that, they were demoralized. The presence of the 
 troopers they regarded as part of a preconcerted 
 plan to cut them off from the river, and that 
 frightened them more than Bob s sudden on 
 slaught. 
 
 "Still another feather for your cap, Corporal 
 Owens/ said George, after he and Loring and a 
 few others had taken a shot or two apiece at the 
 retreating cattle-thieves, "and nobody hurt on our 
 
CONCLUSION. 329 
 
 side, either. Now I What are you doing here ? 
 Is this the way you keep your promise ?" 
 
 These questions were addressed to one of the 
 prisoners, who took off his sombrero and scratched 
 his head as if he were trying to stir up his ideas so 
 that he could make some reply to these peremptory 
 interrogations. 
 
 " Springer," continued George, slowly, " what are 
 you doing here? Where s the squatter?" 
 
 " In there," replied the cattle-thief, jerking his 
 head toward the cabin, which was now fairly ablaze 
 and sending out so much heat that the troopers 
 were obliged to draw away from it. " He never 
 would have touched him, Fletcher wouldn t, if he 
 had kept in the house an left us alone; but he 
 plumped one of us over when we fust came up ; 
 an this here is the consequence," added Springer, 
 nodding his head toward the cabin again. 
 
 George knew why it was that the cattle-thieves 
 had stopped to destroy the squatter s house. He 
 had killed one of their number, and they, in turn, 
 had killed him after a hard fight, and it was now 
 too late to recover his body or to save a single 
 thing the cabin contained. 
 
 " So this is the fellow who twice befriended you, 
 
330 GEORGE AT THE FO11T. 
 
 is it?" said Bob, who was surprised to hear George 
 call one of the prisoners by name. "Don t you 
 think it would be a good plan to chuck him into 
 the fire too?" 
 
 "/ do," said Loring fiercely. 
 
 Springer drew a little nearer to George for pro 
 tection. 
 
 " I didn t have any hand in it," said he earn 
 estly " honor bright, I didn t. I can explain 
 everything, so that you can see that I am not to 
 blame for being here." 
 
 "Carey," exclaimed Bob, "go back to Mr. 
 Went worth and give him his choice between tak 
 ing care of himself and going to the fort with us. 
 Hurry up, now. If I only had a spade or two, I 
 would make these prisoners bury their dead com 
 rades." 
 
 " Springer," said George, " can these friends of 
 yours understand English?" 
 
 The cattle-thief replied that they could not ; they 
 were all Mexicans. 
 
 " I am glad to hear it, for I want to ask you a 
 few questions before you explain how you came to 
 be here. Did Fletcher have his whole band with 
 him to-night?" 
 
CONCLUSION. 331 
 
 u "Not half of ? em," was the reply ; " he had only 
 about thirty men." 
 
 " How many has he in all ?" 
 
 " Two hundred or so." 
 
 "Does he still make his head-quarters at the 
 Don s ranche?" 
 
 "Yes; but look here, Mr. George/ 7 said Springer 
 earnestly ; " if you are goin over there after him, 
 be mighty careful. You know what sort of a look 
 ing place that ranche is all stone, you know an 7 
 them fellows is all old soldiers, an they ll fight 
 awful." 
 
 George nodded his head as if to say that he 
 knew all about that, and spent some minutes in 
 questioning the prisoner in regard to the road that 
 led to the ranche, while Bob sat by on his horse 
 and listened. By the time George had heard all 
 he wanted to know, and Springer had told how he 
 had been arrested by the officer at Eagle Pass and 
 rescued by Fletcher, Carey came back. 
 
 "Mr. Wentworth will take care of himself," 
 reported the trooper. " He says that if he went to 
 the fort he would have to come back to Holrnes s 
 ranche, anyway he is going to make his home 
 there for a while, for he and Holmes were boys 
 
332 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 together and so he might just as well go there in 
 the first place, and save time and travelling. He 
 sent his best wishes to everybody, and hopes we 
 will catch all the scoundrels who wiped out the 
 squatter." 
 
 " I wish we could/ 7 said Bob, facing about in his 
 saddle and gazing in the direction in which the 
 thieves had retreated ; " but we have five prisoners 
 to take care of, and so our hands are tied." 
 
 "You just ought to have seen him, corporal," 
 continued Carey. " He had thrown his three 
 horses in a sort of triangle by tying their feet 
 together and tripping them up in some way, and 
 there he lay with his boys behind his living breast 
 works, all ready for a fight. Grit to the last, 
 wasn t he? When I asked him why he hadn t 
 mounted and dug out as soon as we left, he said 
 that that wouldn t have been safe, for he might 
 have run right in among the Greasers before he 
 knew it." 
 
 "Well, boys," said Bob, gazing sorrowfully at 
 the glowing bed of coals that covered the site 
 of the squatter s cabin, " there is nothing more 
 we can do here, and so we will make a break 
 for the fort." 
 
CONCLUSION. 333 
 
 " Look here, corporal/ said one of the troopers : 
 " if you are going to make us carry double with 
 those dirty Greasers, I am going to kick." 
 
 " Don t you worry/ answered Bob. " I shouldn t 
 do it myself, and of course I sha n t ask you to do 
 it. They ll have to walk. Springer, draw these 
 Mexican gentlemen up in line." 
 
 Springer gave the necessary order in Spanish, 
 and it was sullenly obeyed. 
 
 " Just remind them, Springer, that if they don t 
 step faster than that somebody may hasten their 
 movements with a prod from the point of a sabre," 
 said Bob angrily. " We are in no humor to stand 
 a great deal of nonsense from them. Now, right- 
 face them; that s better. Fall in around them, 
 squad, four on each flank and four in the rear. 
 Forward, march ! Now, George, which way is 
 the fort from here?" 
 
 "Off there," replied George, " but I am going 
 to take you to the river-trail." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 " So that you can get something to eat." 
 
 If they had been a little farther down the river, 
 say about twenty-five miles, George would have 
 taken them to his own house. It would have 
 
334 GEORGE AT THE FOKT. 
 
 given him no little pleasure to entertain these 
 companions of a long, toilsome and dangerous 
 scout under his own roof; but of course he could 
 not think of leading them out of their way in 
 order to do it. They found plenty to eat after 
 they reached the river-trail, but the ranchemen at 
 whose houses they halted could give them no 
 information concerning the raiders. They had 
 been on that side of the river, and had gone 
 back empty-handed, and that was all the ranche 
 men knew about the matter. This made it plain 
 that Bob s gallant dash had not been without its 
 effect. It had frightened the thieves so thorough 
 ly that they dared not stop to pick up any of the 
 cattle they found in their way. 
 
 Bob and his troopers camped that night near 
 a farm-house whose owner was so delighted to see 
 the five prisoners they had brought with them, and 
 to learn of the success that had attended them ever 
 since Captain Clinton sent them off by themselves, 
 that he insisted on giving them a seat at his table. 
 The next morning he gave them a breakfast ; but 
 the first squad who went in which included Bob 
 and George had scarcely taken possession of their 
 chairs when one of the sentries was heard calling 
 
CONCLUSION. 335 
 
 lustily for the corporal of the guard. Bob excused 
 himself and ran out, only to return again almost 
 immediately and startle everybody with the order, 
 " Boots and saddles !" George jumped up from the 
 table, wondering what was the matter. When he 
 reached the porch he found out. About a mile up 
 the trail was a long column of blue-coals coming 
 down at a sweeping trot. 
 
 " They are our boys, and they are after the 
 Greasers," exclaimed Bob, as George came down 
 the steps. "It s lucky we are here, for you are 
 the very man they want if they are going across 
 the river. Catch up, boys, and fall in just as we 
 do when we are on the march, only face to the 
 left, so as to front the column when it comes 
 up." 
 
 If we have a reader who is familiar with cav 
 alry tactics, he will have discovered, long before 
 this time, that Corporal Owens was not at all par 
 ticular as to the orders he gave, provided he could 
 make his men act to suit him. When in the 
 presence of his superiors he always gave the 
 proper commands, in order to save himself from 
 the reproof that would have promptly followed 
 the slightest departure from the tactics; but when 
 
336 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 he was in command of a scon ting- party he was 
 decidedly free and easy. Even an old trooper 
 might have been puzzled over this last order, but 
 the men who had marched with him so many 
 miles were quick to catch his meaning and prompt 
 to carry out his wishes; so that when the whole 
 available cavalry force of Fort Lamoine, num 
 bering two hundred men, came sweeping by the 
 farm-house a few minutes later, with Captain Clin 
 ton riding at the head, they were astonished to see 
 Bob s little squad drawn up in a hollow square, 
 with their prisoners in the centre. Of late there 
 had been a good many anxious inquiries made 
 concerning these very men, and here they were, 
 safe and sound, and, wonderful to tell, with more 
 prisoners to show what good soldiers they were. 
 
 "Three cheers for the Brindles/ the old reli 
 ables !" shouted the sergeant-major ; and the yells 
 that arose from two hundred pairs of strong lungs 
 could have been heard a long distance away. 
 
 George lifted his cap in response to a nod of rec 
 ognition from Captain Clinton, and in obedience to 
 a sign from him rode over to his side; but Bob 
 and his men sat in their saddles as stiff as so 
 many posts, looking straight to the front. When 
 
CONCLUSION. 337 
 
 the next call for cheers came, however, it almost 
 knocked Bob over. 
 
 " Three cheers for Sergeant Owens !" shouted a 
 "Brindle;" and then came three more yells, fol 
 lowed by a "tiger" as loud and piercing as an 
 Indian war-whoop. During his absence Bob had 
 been promoted in general orders for gallantry, his 
 pay as sergeant to begin on the day he rescued Mr. 
 Wentworth s boys from the hands of the Kiowas. 
 
 Presently the bugle sounded, and the column 
 came to a halt. The officers at once fell out and 
 crowded around George, who, in as few words as 
 possible, told Captain Clinton what Bob s squad 
 had been doing since the captain left them back 
 there on the borders of the Staked Plains. The 
 officers were all very much pleased, especially Lieu 
 tenant Earle, who for a moment threw off his dig 
 nity and rode up to thank the^members of the 
 squad which had brought so much credit upon 
 the troop he commanded. 
 
 "Sergeant/ 7 said he, extending his hand which 
 Bob accepted after running his own hand through 
 his sword-knot and dropping his sabre by his side 
 "I congratulate you and all your men. You 
 have done well." 
 
 22 
 
338 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 Bob managed to stammer out something about 
 being glad to have pleased the lieutenant, and the 
 latter, after ordering them to sheathe their sabres, 
 went on to tell how he had followed the Indians 
 in his front until his men and horses were nearly 
 exhausted and almost dead for want of water, and 
 how he had finally returned to the fort a day be 
 hind the column, utterly disgusted with his want 
 of success, to find that some of his own troop had 
 carried off the honors of the scout. He was proud 
 to command such men. 
 
 Meanwhile, Captain Clinton and George were 
 engaged in an earnest consultation. The former 
 told the young scout that he been sent out to 
 punish the raiders who had just recrossed the river, 
 and that he was going to do it, too. He was going 
 .to drive them out of their stronghold, and George 
 must show him The way to it. His men had al 
 ready had their coffee, but as George and the rest 
 of Bob s squad had had none, they might stay there 
 at the farm-house until they had eaten the break 
 fast that had been prepared for them, and then ride 
 on rapidly and overtake the column, which would 
 move down the trail at a trot. This having been 
 decided upon, a squad was made up of details from 
 
CONCLUSION. 339 
 
 the different companies to take charge of the pris 
 oners, and the command given to a corporal, who 
 was instructed to take them to the fort. Then the 
 column rode on, the corporal marched off with 
 his captives, and Bob and his troopers went back 
 to the farm-house to eat their breakfast. 
 
 During the meal George Ackerman, who had 
 thus far been one of the gayest of the party, was 
 very silent and thoughtful. It was almost impos 
 sible for any one to get a word out of him. His 
 face was as white as a sheet, but although every 
 body noticed it, Bob Owens was the only one who 
 could account for it. When they had satisfied 
 their appetites they went out to hold the horses, 
 so that the rest of the squad could come in, and 
 George and the new sergeant, who was not a little 
 elated over his unexpected promotion, led their 
 nags off on one side, so that they could converse 
 without being overheard. 
 
 " I know just how it is," said Bob, " for I have 
 felt so ever since Captain Clinton ordered me to 
 follow up that trail. When you know that a good 
 many lives besides your own depend upon a de 
 cision you may have to make in an instant of 
 time, I tell you it is rather trying to a fellow s 
 
340 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 nerves. I used to envy the colonel and all the 
 other high officers in the garrison, but I wouldn t 
 give up my little sergeant s berth for double the 
 money they make. There s too much responsibil 
 ity connected with the positions they hold." 
 
 George told himself that that was just the ob 
 jection to his own position. He began to see that 
 being a scout meant something. There were two 
 hundred men in Captain Clinton s command, and 
 what if they should all be sacrificed by some blun 
 der on his part? 
 
 As soon as the rest of the troopers had eaten 
 breakfast, and Bob had thanked the farmer for his 
 hospitality, the troopers sprang into their saddles 
 and galloped after the column. When they over 
 took it George rode up beside the captain, and the 
 Brindles, without creating the least confusion, fell 
 into their usual places all except Bob Owens, who 
 did not belong in the ranks any longer. Being sec 
 ond sergeant, his place was in the rear of his com 
 pany, " opposite the left file of the rear four ;" and 
 that was the position he fell into as soon as he had 
 reported the arrival of his squad to the lieutenant. 
 
 " Well, Acker man," said Captain Clinton as the 
 boy galloped up beside him, " we are in your hands. 
 
CONCLUSION. 341 
 
 We want to go to the nearest ford, and we don t 
 want to get there before dark. 7 
 
 " Very good, sir. If you will move the column 
 in that direction," said George, indicating a " right 
 oblique," "you will cut off twenty miles, and be 
 sides, you can walk all the way, and save your 
 horses for a rapid eighteen-mile ride that must 
 come as soon as we cross the river." 
 
 We need not dwell upen the incidents of that 
 day s march, or enlarge upon the feeling of sus 
 pense that George Ackerman experienced during 
 that " rapid eighteen-mile ride" to which he had 
 referred. It will be enough to say that they cross 
 ed the ford just after dark in safety ; that George, 
 Without the least difficulty, found the narrow road 
 that led from the river to Don Miguel s ranchc ; 
 that at his suggestion the column marched " right 
 by twos," which changed the troopers from four to 
 two abreast, Captain Clinton and George riding at 
 the head ; that they moved as silently as possible, 
 so as not to alarm any of the people living along 
 the route, and rapidly, in order to reach the ranche 
 before the cattle- thieves could receive notice of 
 their approach ; and that at the end of two hours 
 they galloped into the valley and saw Fletcher s 
 
342 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 stronghold in plain view before them. A single 
 glance at it showed them that they had arrived 
 just in the nick of time. The courtyard was 
 lighted up with lanterns, excited men were moving 
 to and fro, loud voices were heard shouting out 
 words of command, and the whole interior of the 
 building presented a scene of the wildest commotion. 
 Some watchful friend had got ahead of the column 
 and warned the thieves^ and they were gathering 
 up their plunder preparatory to beating a hasty re 
 treat. They were on the watch too, for the column 
 had scarcely made its appearance when a sentry 
 called out, " Who is it?" (equivalent to "Who goes 
 there?"), following up his challenge with the cry 
 of "The Americans! the Americans!" 
 
 George afterward said that he never had a very 
 clear idea of what happened during the next few 
 minutes. He remembered that he heard the bugle 
 sound a charge ; that he dashed through the arched 
 stone gateway at headlong speed side by side with 
 Captain Clinton ; and that the rapid discharge of 
 firearms rang in his ears, accompanied by the cries 
 of the cattle-thieves, who fled in every direction, 
 and such cheers and yells from the troopers as he 
 had never heard before. When he came to himself, 
 
CONCLUSION. 343 
 
 his horse, which seemed to enter fully into the spir 
 it of the matter, was dancing about in front of a 
 pile of forage that filled one end of the courtyard. 
 When George saw it he threw himself from his 
 saddle and caught up a lantern. 
 
 " I have seen the inside of this hole for the last 
 time," said he to himself. " If Fletcher lives to 
 make a prisoner of me, he shall not bring me to 
 this ranche, and neither shall he harbor here to 
 raid on my stock." 
 
 As these thoughts passed through the boy s mind 
 he smashed the glass globe of the lantern with one 
 savage kick, and picking up the lamp applied the 
 flame to the pile of forage. Pie set it on fire in 
 half a dozen different places, and then turned and 
 threw the lamp into one of the nearest rooms, which 
 seemed to be well filled with something. When he 
 had done that he was frightened. What if it was 
 powder in there? But, fortunately, it wasn t. It 
 was some combustible matter that blazed up fierce 
 ly, sending huge volumes of flames out of the door 
 and lighting up the courtyard, which was now oc 
 cupied only by American troopers. The cattle- 
 thieves had behaved just as they did when Bob 
 Owens so gallantly attacked a portion of their 
 
344 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 number at the squatter s cabin. They fled in hot 
 haste, making their escape by the roof, by doors 
 whose existence George never dreamed of, and by 
 squeezing themselves through the narrow openings 
 that served the ranche in the place of windows. 
 And, strange to tell, there was no one injured on 
 either side. Having satisfied himself on this point 
 by searching all the rooms to make sure that there 
 were no dead or wounded men in them, the captain 
 ordered his troopers into the saddle and departed 
 as rapidly and silently as he had come. George 
 looked over his shoulder now and then, and when 
 he saw the thick clouds of smoke that arose in the 
 air growing thicker and blacker, he told himself 
 that he had made sure work of the old ranche, and 
 that it would never serve the cattle-thieves for a 
 harboring-place again. 
 
 Of course there was an " investigation " made by 
 the Mexican government, but if it ever amounted 
 to anything, George never heard of it. The expedi 
 tion certainly had a moral effect, and no doubt that 
 was just what the department commander wanted. 
 A body of Mexican troops was ordered to the river 
 almost immediately, and after that the raiders were 
 by no means as bold as they had formerly been. 
 
CONCLUSION. 345 
 
 They crossed the Rio Grande now and then lower 
 down, toward Eagle Pass, but the troopers there 
 were on the alert, and after they had thrashed the 
 thieves a few times on their own ground, and some 
 of their leaders had been arrested by the Mexican 
 authorities, the Texans began to feel comparatively 
 safe. 
 
 George Ackerman was kept actively employed 
 at the fort much longer than he thought he would 
 be when he first went there. By order of Colonel 
 Brown he crossed the river on several occasions dis 
 guised in his Mexican suit, and he always brought 
 back some information concerning the raiders ; and 
 once he came so near being captured by his old 
 enemy, Fletcher, that it was a wonder how he es 
 caped. But long before this happened Gus Rob- 
 bins had received his discharge as a minor, and 
 gone back to Foxboro , a wiser if not a happier 
 boy Bristow had found his way into the military 
 prison at Fort Leavenworth ; and the cattle-thieves 
 whom Bob Owens had captured at the squatter s 
 cabin had been turned over to the civil authorities. 
 George did all he could to secure Springer s re 
 lease, but his efforts were unavailing, and with his 
 companions he was sentenced to the penitentiary 
 
346 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 for a long term of years. Mr. Wentworth had 
 come out all right. With the aid of his friend, 
 Mr. Holmes, he had gathered up all his cattle that 
 had been stampeded by the Mexican raiders, and re 
 built his ranche in a more substantial manner, and 
 he and his boys made it a point to visit the post 
 very frequently to see the men who had rendered 
 them such signal service. 
 
 The months wore on, the raids in Colonel Brown s 
 district grew less and less frequent until they ceased 
 altogether, and then the colonel told George that he 
 might go home if he so desired. He did desire it, 
 for he was growing tired of life among the soldiers, 
 and besides, he knew it would be a waste of time 
 for him to remain at the fort when he could no 
 longer be of any use there. So, after taking leave 
 of the officers and of the men who had accompa 
 nied him on his expeditions, he mounted his horse, 
 took his pack-mule by the halter and set out. 
 The troopers, who had assembled at the gate to see 
 him go, cheered him lustily as he rode through 
 their ranks, and George carried away with him the 
 assurance that their feelings toward him were very 
 unlike those with which they had regarded him 
 when he first made his appearance at the fort. 
 
CONCLUSION. 347 
 
 Sergeant Owens never lost the position he held 
 in the estimation of both officers and men. He 
 did his duty faithfully, never squandered a cent 
 of his pay at the sutler s store, and at last had 
 the satisfaction of telling himself that he had re 
 funded every cent of the Mail Carrier s money, in 
 terest included. He kept up a regular correspond 
 ence with his father, who told him he was proud 
 of the record he had won, and said everything he 
 could to encourage him. One thing that pleased 
 Bob was the knowledge of the fact that everybody 
 in and about Rochdale w r as familiar with his historv. 
 
 m 
 
 They knew just what he had done when the steamer 
 Sam Kendall was burned, and the particulars of 
 his exploit on the Staked Plains had been pub 
 lished in the papers. He would go home a hero, 
 instead of sneaking back like a thiel in the night; 
 and that is something that runaway boys don t 
 often do. 
 
 George Ackerman was glad to get back to his 
 ranche again. He thoroughly enjoyed the quiet 
 life he led there, it was so different from the life 
 of bustle and excitement he had led at the fort. 
 One bright moonlight night, while he was pacing 
 up and down the porch, thinking over old times, 
 
348 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 and wondering what Bob Owens and the rest of 
 the boys were doing at the fort, he was aroused 
 from the reverie into which he had fallen by the 
 sound of horses hoofs on the trail. He stopped 
 abruptly, and after listening a moment heard the 
 clanking of sabres mingling with the sound of 
 the horses feet. Greatly surprised, George de 
 scended the steps, and walking out to the trail 
 discovered a long line of horsemen approaching. 
 There was no need that he should ask who they 
 were or where they came from, for as soon as they 
 saw him they greeted him vociferously. They 
 were troopers from Fort Lamoine. They rode on 
 past the ranche, but two men who were riding at 
 the head of the column turned off and came up 
 to him. One was Mr. Gilbert and the other was 
 Captain Clinton. 
 
 " Why, captain," exclaimed George, " this is an 
 unexpected pleasure. May I ask where you are 
 going? You ll not march any farther to-night?" 
 
 "No, we re not going any farther," was the 
 answer. " I was about to camp near Mr. Gilbert s 
 ranche, but when I happened to mention your 
 name, he told me that you lived only ten miles 
 away; so I came on, thinking that perhaps you 
 
CONCLUSION. 349 
 
 would like to see the boys again for the last time. 
 We re going up to Fort Lincoln to join General 
 Terry/ 7 continued the captain, as he dismounted 
 and gave his horse up to one of George s herds 
 men. "That s in Dakota, you know. A deter 
 mined and, I hope, successful effort is about to 
 be made to crush that old rascal, Sitting Bull, by 
 throwing three strong columns upon him one un 
 der Crook from the south, another under Gibbon 
 from the west, and the third. under Terry from the 
 east. There s where your old friends the Brindles 
 are going. I suppose it doesn t make any differ 
 ence to you where we camp?" 
 
 "Of course not," replied George. "There is 
 plenty of grass and water close at hand. Come 
 into the house, both of you. I want to hear all 
 about that great expedition." 
 
 Were there not exciting times in the ranche 
 that night? and didn t George find the greatest 
 satisfaction in acting as host to the men with whom 
 he had so often messed at the fort? The supper 
 was the best the house could afford, and all the 
 officers in the column sat down to it. When they 
 had talked themselves out, and were about to go 
 to camp, George asked and obtained permission 
 
350 GEORGE AT THE FORT. 
 
 for Sergeant Owens and all the members of his 
 old squad to come in and visit him. Then there 
 was another supper to be eaten and another long 
 conversation to be had, and the consequence was 
 that when reveille was sounded no one in that 
 ranche had had a wink of sleep. 
 
 Bob Owens rode away with his command that 
 morning, and it was a long time before George 
 heard of him again. Pie left Fort Lincoln with 
 General Terry, went off with Ouster on that mem 
 orable scout, and when that officer divided his com 
 mand into three detachments, Sergeant Owens was 
 one of those who were detailed to remain behind 
 with the packs. He heard all of that terrible 
 fight on that bright Sunday afternoon when Reno 
 was defeated and Ouster fell with so many of his 
 devoted followers. He took part in the closing 
 scenes of it, for when the packs were ordered up, 
 about six o clock in the evening, he was under 
 fire from that time until nine, and saw eighteen 
 of his companions killed and forty-six wounded. 
 He marched back to Fort Lincoln with the rem 
 nants of the expedition, which had been whipped at 
 every point by the wily old savage it had hoped 
 to crush, and was ordered to Fort Leavenworth, 
 
CONCLUSION. 351 
 
 where he received his honorable discharge. Then 
 he went home, and he is there now, living on the 
 best of terms with everybody, especially David 
 Evans. Although he was kept in the army long 
 months beyond his time, he does not complain, 
 for it gives him the opportunity to refer, when 
 speaking of his frontier experience, to the " time 
 when he was with Ouster." 
 
 George Ackerman is living in his Texas home, 
 managing his own affairs with the assistance of 
 an occasional word from Mr. Gilbert, and keeping 
 up a regular correspondence with his friend Bob 
 Owens, whom he hopes some day to see at his 
 ranche again. He has never heard from his un 
 cle John or from Ned since he parted from them 
 in Galveston. George has seen some stirring times 
 during his life, and has learned how to enjoy him 
 self in a quiet way. He has accumulated a large 
 fund of stories during his travels, and takes pleas 
 ure in relating them to any attentive listener. Of 
 all the numerous adventures in which he had borne 
 a part, he delights most to talk about those that 
 befell him during his LIFE AMONG THE SOLDIERS. 
 
 THE END. 
 
W. EVERETTE 
 
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