le garrison is."

"Does he know much of affairs here?"

"I am afraid he does. There were two Indians here yesterday, to lodge a
complaint against a miner who had stolen a horse from them. I think,
now, that the complaint was a blind, and the Indians were here merely to
size up the situation," concluded Captain Lee.

CHAPTER XXII.

IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY.

Little dreaming of all the adventures in store for him, Captain Moore
left the scene of the buffalo shooting and rode forth swiftly in the
direction of Fort Carson.

He felt that he carried news of great importance and the sooner he
gained the fort the better. Should anything happen to Colonel Fairfield
the command of the post would fall upon himself, as next in rank.

As he dashed along the trail, over hill and valley, he reviewed the
situation with care, and the more he thought of it, the more worried did
he become.

"Something is going to happen--I can feel it in the air," he muttered.

The thought had scarcely crossed his mind when something did happen, but
not exactly what he anticipated.

A shadow fell across his path, and as he drew rein he found himself
confronted by several Indians.

"White officer, stop!" cried the leader of the red men sternly.

"Hullo! what do you want?" demanded the captain. The meeting was a
complete surprise.

"Want to have a talk."

"Who are you?"

"Me Red Wolf, belong to White Ox tribe," returned the Indian with a
scowl.

"And what are you doing out here at this time of night, Red Wolf?"

"Indians on a big hunt. See buffalo yesterday."

"Yes, I saw one of the buffaloes myself." Captain Moore paused, not
knowing how to go on. "You are pretty close to the fort."

"Red Wolf and warriors get on the wrong trail," was the slow reply. "But
want to talk now. Come along."

As the Indian concluded he caught the captain's steed by the bridle.

"Let go the horse."

"Want to talk to white officer."

"You haven't any right to touch my horse."

Hardly had the words been spoken when two Indians rushed up behind the
captain and dragged him to the ground.

The fellows were large and powerful, and they disarmed him before he
could even fire a shot.

Without further ado Captain Moore was forced to march along, between two
of the red men, while a third led his horse.

A route around the rocks was taken, and presently they came to a dense
bit of timberland. In the midst of this was a clearing, and here was the