entire army of warriors, shooting rapidly, and whooping at the top
of my lungs. Singlehanded, I could not have pursued better tactics,
for the red men, convinced by sudden surprise that not less than a
regiment of regulars was upon them, turned and fled in every
direction for their bows, arrows, and rifles.

The view which their hurried routing disclosed filled me with
apprehension and with rage. Under the clear rays of the Arizona
moon lay Powell, his body fairly bristling with the hostile arrows
of the braves. That he was already dead I could not but be
convinced, and yet I would have saved his body from mutilation at
the hands of the Apaches as quickly as I would have saved the man
himself from death.

Riding close to him I reached down from the saddle, and grasping
his cartridge belt drew him up across the withers of my mount. A
backward glance convinced me that to return by the way I had come
would be more hazardous than to continue across the plateau, so,
putting spurs to my poor beast, I made a dash for the opening to the
pass which I could distinguish on the far side of the table land.

The Indians had by this time discovered that I was alone and I was
pursued with imprecations, arrows, and rifle balls. The fact that
it is difficult to aim anything but imprecations accurately by
moonlight, that they were upset by the sudden and unexpected manner
of my advent, and that I was a rather rapidly moving target saved me
from the various deadly projectiles of the enemy and permitted me to
reach the shadows of the surrounding peaks before an orderly pursuit
could be organized.