ne to aid us. Only a short supply of
ammunition. It certainly was a desperate situation.

"Cheer up," said Jim. "Here is something to wet your whistle."

He handed over the canteen. I seized it eagerly. I would not have
exchanged its old battered tin hulk for diamonds or gold.

I raised it eagerly to my lips and let a stream gurgle down my throat.
Talk about whiskey and its enthusiastic effects, I never tasted anything
more intoxicating than that water. It made me feel absolutely dizzy.

"What next?" I asked.

"There is nothing to do but to look for them."

"Yes," I said, "I suppose we had better work down to the plains."

"Not much," replied Jim. "You take my word for it that they are back in
the range. Ten chances to one if we went down we would fall into the
hands of the Apaches."

"Back to the woods for me then," I said very promptly.

"Let's walk a ways and rest the ponies," suggested Jim.

"All right," I said. "I have been cooped up so long in that fort that I
won't mind having a chance to stretch my legs."

So we walked up the grade towards the summit we had left a little while
before, the ponies following us like obedient dogs, while Santa took the
lead. In an hour we had reached the top of the long ridge or rather
mountain, which dominated the various canyons like little pigs near the
mother sow.

The fires were still burning everywhere and we could see the skirmish
line of the main fire eating its way in irregular outline along the
darkened plain.

"It's up to you, Jim," I said, "which way now? You are the guide for
this party."

"Over the hills and far away," he cried. "All aboard for the grand
canyon."

And he swung into the saddle. There was something in the cheek of him
that called out my admiration, even if I was his brother. To think of
the object of our trip when it seemed the most impossible thing in the
world to obtain. But it was like Jim.

"You see the outline of that mountain over there?" he asked, pointing to
the West. "The one above the fire line?"

"Yes," I replied.

"That's the one I'm going to make for. When we get to the summit I am
going to build a big signal fire that can be seen all over this country.
Then we shall see 'what we shall see.'"

"Yes," I replied, "we 'shall see' the whole tribe of Apaches."

"Don't you worry," replied Jim. "If we once get our party together we
will stand them off."

We now left the summit of the long ridge and rode down a long spur t