said the commanding officer reflectively.
"His face bothers me sometimes, as though I must have seen or known him
before, yet he tells me that he did not come to Vancouver until after I
had left that department. Is he all straight again?"

"Straight as the new toadsticker, general, and"--with a rueful look at
that slender appendage--"a damned sight more useful. His ghost-herding
spree was no end important. I've an idea Case can handle a gun as well
as"--another _sotto voce_ now--"he can play a worthless hand."

"Well," said Archer, as he glanced about him, "I don't believe, as a
rule, in putting any but soldiers on post, but," as he considered the
slender rank of infantry standing patiently at ease, barely a dozen all
told, and then smiled at Craney and his belligerent force, only four in
number, but each man a walking arsenal with two weapons and five shots
to the soldiers' one, "there are no non-combatants in Indian warfare.
Every man, woman and child may have to fight."

Yet Archer felt no measure whatever of apprehension. One hundred good
men and true, at least, were left to guard the post, and many of them
battle-tried veterans. Not since the war days had the Apaches mustered
in sufficient force and daring to attack a garrison. Still, Archer knew
that if they only realized their strength in point of numbers, their
skill in creeping close to their prey, their swiftness of foot, and the
ease with which they could escape, all they needed was dash,
determination and a leader, to enable them to creep upon the post in
the darkness, and in one terrific moment swoop upon the officers'
quarters, massacre every soul, and be off across the stream before the
men in the barracks could rush to the rescue. They had talked it over
at officers' mess--the general and Bonner and Bucketts and all, and
figured out just how fifty white desperadoes could plan and accomplish
the feat. It would be no trick at all to come up the valley in the
screen of the willows, creep to the west bank, divide into six
different squads, one for each set of quarters, crawl to the post of
the drowsy sentry, shoot him full of arrows before he could cry out or
load, then, all together, charge up the slope and into the flimsy
houses, pistols in hand and knives in their teeth, and simply butcher
the occupants as they lay in their beds. Doors, even if closed or
bolted, which rarely happened, could be smashed in an instant--matches
would light their way. It wo