er, and then a regular volley.
Captain Moore started, and his eyes lit with pleasure.

"The relief!" he shouted. "The relief from Fort Prescott! Boys, we are
saved!"

"Hurrah, the relief!" was the shout which made the fort ring from end to
end. "The relief! We are saved!"

"Give it to the reds and to the desperadoes!" came from old Benson.
"Teach 'em the lesson so they won't forget it! Don't let a skunk of 'em
escape!"

Nearer and nearer came the shots from without, and a bugle continued to
blow calls to a detachment still further away. Then up to the fort rode
a troop of dashing cavalry from Fort Prescott, Hank Leeson beside them,
and every horse covered with foam. Crack! crack! crack! spoke up the
firearms of the newcomers, and Indians and desperadoes fell in all
directions.

"We must retreat!" shouted one of the desperadoes. "The game is up!"

"Retreat! retreat!" came from the others; and the red men took up the
cry. Soon the enemy were pouring from the fort grounds even more rapidly
than they had entered.

There was only a pitiful handful that could follow them, the young
captain, Benson, and nine regulars. But there was no need for even that
number, for the blood of the cavalry was up and every desperado and red
man received one or more shots the instant he appeared. Soon the enemy
were flying in all directions. But the cavalry went after them, and in
the end all but four desperadoes and thirty-six Indians were killed, the
others being forced to surrender.

It was rather a silent party that gathered in and around the fort that
night. Victory had come to our friends, but the cost had been a heavy
one, and the hospital ward of the fort was filled to over-flowing.

Hank Leeson came in for many a warm hand-shake, and was made to tell his
story over and over again.

"It was a close shave," said the old hunter. "Twice I got in a close box
with the redskins an' I had to shoot one of 'em down afore I could git
away. Thet's wot kept me so long. I'm glad we wasn't an hour later, fer
then mebbe we'd 'a' been too late."

All of the principal desperadoes were dead and the same can be said of
the Indians. Among the slain was found the body of Bicker, and, if the
truth must be told, nobody mourned his loss.

"He is responsible for a great deal of this suffering," said Captain
Moore. "Had he lived it is likely he would have been court-martialed and
shot."

Both of the boys had been slightly wounded, yet each felt