wo miles.

"With or without the coveted scalps?" he wondered. Thus far he had been
riding straight for the butte. The road wound along and disappeared
behind him, but there was no sense in following the road. "Pursue and
punish," was the thing to be done. Surely not more than a dozen were in
the band, else that courier could never have hoped to get in, wounded as
he was. The Indians were too few in number to dare follow to the ranch,
guarded as, by almost God-given luck, it happened to be through the
unlooked-for presence of the troops. No, it was a small band, though a
daring one. Its lookout had surely warned it by this time of his coming,
and by this time, too, all save one or two who rode the fleetest ponies
and lingered probably for a parting shot at the foremost of the chase,
had scampered away behind the curtain of that ridge. Therefore, in long
curve, never checking his magnificent stride, Dean guided his bounding
bay to the left--the northeast--and headed for the lowest point of the
divide.

And then it all occurred to him too that he was far in front of his men,
too far to be of use to them and just far enough to be an easy prey for
the lurking foe. Then, too, it occurred to him that he must not leave
the ranch unprotected. Already he was within long rifle range of the
height; already probably some beady eye was glancing through the sights,
and the deadly tube was covering him as he came bounding on. Three
hundred yards more and his life probably wouldn't be worth a dollar in
Confederate money, and wisely the young leader began to draw rein, and,
turning in saddle, signaled to his single companion, laboring along one
hundred yards behind, to hasten to join him. Presently the trooper came
spurring up, a swarthy young German, but though straining every nerve
the troop was still a mile away.

"Ride back, Wegner, and tell the sergeant to take ten men around that
side--the south side of the bluff," and he pointed with his hand; "the
rest to come straight to me."

Oh, well was it for Dean that he checked his speed, and as the young
dragoon went sputtering back, that he himself drew rein and waited for
the coming of his men. Suddenly from far out along the ridge in front,
from the very crest there leaped a jet or two of fire and smoke. Two
little spurts of dust and turf flew up from the prairie sod a dozen
yards in front, a rifle bullet went singing off through the sunny air,
Rabb, his handsome bay, pawed the gro