we'll be goin' up for a long distance you'll find it growin'
colder, too. But you've got to remember that after you pass them cold
winds an' go down the slope you'll strike another warm little valley,
the one in which Hubbard is layin' so neat an' so snug."

Dick had already noticed the increasing coldness and so had the
sergeant. Whitley, from his long experience on the plains, had the
keenest kind of an eye for climatic changes. He noticed with some
apprehension that the higher peaks were clothed in thick, cold fog, but
he said nothing to the brave boy whom he had grown to love like a son.
But both he and Dick drew their heavy coats closer and were thankful for
the buckskin gloves, without which their hands would have stiffened on
the reins.

Now they rode in silence with their heads bent well forward, because
the wind was becoming fiercer and fiercer. Over the peaks the fogs were
growing thicker and darker and after a while the sharp edge of the wind
was wet with rain. It stung their faces, and they drew their hat brims
lower and their coat collars higher to protect themselves from such a
cutting blast.

"Told you we might have trouble," called Petty, cheerfully, "but if
you ride right on through trouble you'll leave trouble behind. Nor this
ain't nothin' either to what we kin expect before we git to the top of
the pass. Cur'us what a pow'ful lot human bein's kin stand when they
make up their minds to it."

"Are the horses well shod?" asked Whitley.

"Best shod in the world, 'cause I done it myself. That's my trade,
blacksmith, an' I'm a good one if I do say it. I heard before we started
that you had been a soldier in the west. I s'pose that you had to look
mighty close to your hosses then. A man couldn't afford to be ridin'
a hoss made lame by bad shoein' when ten thousand yellin' Sioux or
Blackfeet was after him."

"No, you couldn't," replied the sergeant. "Out there you had to watch
every detail. That's one of the things that fightin' Indians taught.
You had to be watchin' all the time an' I reckon the trainin' will be
of value in this war. Are we mighty near to the top of the pass, Mr.
Petty?"

"Got two or three miles yet. The slope is steeper on the other side. We
rise a lot more before we hit the top."

The wind grew stronger with every rod they ascended, and the horses
began to pant with their severe exertions. At Petty's suggestion the
three riders dismounted and walked for a while, leading their h