. The next
minute the whole band were circling round the wagon in a wild war-dance;
their yells, their savage song, completely drowned the shrieks of the
tortured man. The whole wagon was soon a mass of flames, and more fuel
was added. Presently the rear axle came down with a crash, sending
showers of sparks whirling through the night air, and Pike turned away
faint and trembling.

Another instant, however, and every faculty was on the alert, every
nerve strung to its highest tension, and the old soldier sprang back to
the cave in answer to Jim's call.

"Look!" whispered the negro. "Look down there! There's some one moving
among those rocks."

CHAPTER VII.

PIKE'S STRANGE DREAM.

Kneeling behind their rocky barrier the two men silently peered into the
darkness down the hill. The great ledge of rock under which they were
hiding concealed from their view the burning fires of the Indians down
in the roadway to the east. But the reflection of the fire could be
plainly seen on the rocks and trees on the north side of the Pass. Here
and there stray beams of light shot through the firs and cedars and
stunted oaks that lay below them among the bowlders; and somewhere down
among these little trees, watchful Jim declared that he had seen
something white moving cautiously and stealthily to and fro. Pike
closely questioned him, whispering his inquiries so as not to catch the
ears of Kate or the children, but Jim stoutly declared that he could not
be mistaken. He had marked it twice, moving from place to place, before
he had quit his post and called to the corporal to come and verify for
himself what he was sure he had seen. For a few moments Pike thought
that it might be the Apache sentinel who had, possibly, left his
position on the little hill across the road, and was seeking on his own
account some clue to the whereabouts of the fugitives from the camp.
Pike had seen one or two Indians running up the road to where the
sentinel was stationed in order to give him some of the plunder which
they had taken from the wagon, and it was now so dark that he could no
longer see objects out on the plain, and, as he could hear approaching
horsemen just as well on this side of the road as on that, it was quite
possible that this Indian was the cause of Jim's warning.

Several minutes passed without either of them seeing anything. Then
suddenly Jim's hand was placed on the corporal's arm, and in a low,
tremulous voice he whispe