r prove
unjust. Oddly enough, that instinctive aversion was shared by her
closest friend and neighbor, Mrs. Blake; but, as yet, the extent of
their condemnation had found vent only in the half whimsical, half
petulant expression on part of the younger lady--Blake's beautiful wife,
"I wish her name weren't--so near like mine," for "Nan" had been her pet
name almost from babyhood. Vaguely conscious were they both, these lords
of creation, Messrs. Blake and Ray, that the ladies of their love did
not approve of Miss Flower, but Ray had ridden forth without ever asking
or knowing why, and so, unknowing, was ill prepared to grapple with the
problem set before him. It is easier to stem a torrent with a shingle
than convince a lover that his idol is a shrew.

Without a word of reply, Field reined out of column, glanced along the
double file of his platoon, nodded a signal "Fall out" to Sergeant
Scott, and the men nearest him at the front, merely said "Advance
guard," and then proceeded to choose his corporals and men for flankers.
No need to tell Scott what to do! He had been leading scouts in Arizona
long ere Field had even dreamed of West Point. In five minutes, riding
at easy lope, carbines advanced, three little parties of four troopers
each were spreading far out to the front and flank, guarding the little
column against the possibility of sudden assault from hidden foe. Here
upon the level prairie one would think such precaution needless, but
every acre of the surface was seamed and gullied by twisting little
water courses, dry as a chip at the moment, and some of them so deep as
to afford cover even for the biggest pony of the wild warriors of the
plains. Then, to the front, the barrier ridges, streaked with deep
winding ravines, were now billowing against the northward sky, and once
among those tangled land waves no chances could be taken now that it was
known that the Sioux had declared for war, and that Stabber's band was
out to join their red brethren in the oft recurring outbreak. Until
their lands were criss-crossed by the railways and their mountain haunts
re-echoed to the scream of the iron horse, next to nothing would start
an Indian war: it took so long to reach the scene with troops in
sufficient numbers to command their respect.

And at this moment the situation was grave in the extreme. There had
been bad blood and frequent collision between the cattlemen, herders,
"hustlers,"--especially hustlers,--and the