the other way; he is waving his hand up the river now, and talking.
Now he is getting on his horse; there are ten or twelve of them. One
fellow is pointing across here, but no one agrees with him. Now Roman
Nose is giving orders. Hear that yell! They 're off now, riding up
stream, lashing their ponies into a run. All of them? No; quite a
bunch are going back to the coach. I don't believe they are going to
hang around here long though, for they are driving in all their ponies."

[Illustration: "No, don't move! The stage has been gutted and set on
fire."]

"But won't those others come back when they discover we have not gone
up the river?"

"I wish I could answer that," he replied earnestly. "But it all
depends on what those devils know of the whereabouts of troops. They
are Northern Indians, and must have broken through the scouting details
sent out from Wallace and Dodge. Some of the boys are bound to be
after them, and there is more chance for them to get back safely along
the mountains than in the other direction. I don't suppose an Indian
in the bunch was ever south of the Arkansas. Wait! Those fellows are
going to move now; going for good, too--they are taking the dead
Indians with them."

They were little more than black dots at that distance, yet the sun was
up by this time and his keen vision could distinguish every movement.

"Creep up here, and you can see also," he said quietly. "They are far
enough away now so that it is safe."