e-hosaphat! Hyur's a fellur ridin' 'ithout eyther saddle or bridle!"

Five or six men with rifles sprang out from the rocks, surrounding me.

"May an Injun eat me ef 'tain't the young fellur as tuk me for a
grizzly! Billee! look hyur! hyur he is! the very fellur! He! he! he!
He! he! he!"

"Rube! Garey!"

"What! By Jove, it's my friend Haller! Hurrah! Old fellow, don't you
know me?"

"Saint Vrain!"

"That it is. Don't I look like him? It would have been a harder task
to identify you but for what the old trapper has been telling us about
you. But come! how have you got out of the hands of the Philistines?"

"First tell me who you all are. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, we're a picket! The army is below."

"The army?"

"Why, we call it so. There's six hundred of us; and that's about as big
an army as usually travels in these parts."

"But who? What are they?"

"They are of all sorts and colours. There's the Chihuahuanos and
Passenos, and niggurs, and hunters, and trappers, and teamsters. Your
humble servant commands these last-named gentry. And then there's the
band of your friend Seguin--"

"Seguin! Is he--"

"What? He's at the head of all. But come! they're camped down by the
spring. Let us go down. You don't look overfed; and, old fellow,
there's a drop of the best Paso in my saddle-bags. Come!"

"Stop a moment! I am pursued."

"Pursued!" echoed the hunters, simultaneously raising their rifles, and
looking up the ravine.

"How many?"

"About twenty."

"Are they close upon you?"

"No."

"How long before we may expect them?"

"They are three miles back, with tired horses, as you may suppose."

"Three-quarters--halt an hour at any rate. Come! we'll have time to go
down and make arrangements for their reception. Rube! you with the rest
can remain here. We shall join you before they get forward. Come,
Haller!--come!"

Following my faithful and warm-hearted friend, I rode on to the spring.
Around it I found "the army"; and it had somewhat of that appearance,
for two or three hundred of the men were in uniform. These were the
volunteer guards of Chihuahua and El Paso.

The late raid of the Indians had exasperated the inhabitants, and this
unusually strong muster was the consequence. Seguin, with the remnant
of his band, had met them at El Paso, and hurried them forward on the
Navajo trail. It was from him Saint Vrain had heard of my capture; and
in hopes of res