told of the presence of a
stream still long miles away; and here, knowing himself to be out of
danger, the major bade the weary escort march in at a walk while he
hurried on. In fifteen minutes the black-hooded wagon was twisting and
turning over the powdery road a good mile ahead, its dust rising high
over the sage-covered desert, while the other two, with the
dust-begrimed troopers, jogged sturdily on. Loring, the young engineer,
had waved a cordial good-by to his old cadet acquaintance. "See you
later, old man," he cried. Stone, the aide-de-camp, nodded and said,
"Take care of yourself," and Burleigh said nothing at all. He was
wondering what he could do to muzzle Loring in case that gifted young
graduate were moved to tell what the quartermaster actually did when he
heard the rush and firing out at the front on the road from Warrior Gap.

But when at last the black wagon bowled in at the stockaded quadrangle
and discharged its occupants at the hut of the major commanding, there
were tidings of such import to greet them that Burleigh turned
yellow-white again at thought of the perils they had escaped.

"My God, man!" cried the post commander, as he came hurrying out to meet
the party, "we've been in a blue funk about you fellows for two whole
days. Did you see any Indians?"

"See any Indians!" said Burleigh, rallying to the occasion as became a
man who knew how to grasp an opportunity. "We stood off the whole Sioux
nation over toward Crazy Woman's Fork. There were enough to cover the
country, red and black, for a dozen miles. We sighted them yesterday
about four o'clock and there were enough around us to eat us alive, but
we just threw out skirmish lines and marched steadily ahead, so they
thought best not to bother us. They're shy of our breech loaders, damn
'em! That's all that kept them at respectful distance."

The major's face as he listened took on a puzzled, perturbed look. He
did not wish to say anything that might reflect on the opinions of so
influential a man as the depot quartermaster at Gate City, but it was
plain that there was a train of thought rumbling through his mind that
would collide with Burleigh's column of events unless he were spared the
need of answering questions. "Let me tell you briefly what's happened,"
he said. "Red Cloud and his whole band are out on the warpath. They
killed two couriers, half-breeds, I sent out to find Thornton's troop
that was scouting the Dry Fork. The man we se