anything more about the captain tell her he's down
by the wagon. It was too heavy to fetch up here. I don't want to make a
man lie, but we mustn't let her and those poor little kids know he's
away. Now are you game for it, Jim?"

The negro mechanically took the rifle that Pike handed to him. "I'll do
my best, corporal," he said.

"That's a trump! Now I believe I can rest easy," answered Pike, and so
saying he unrolled his blankets, spread them on the ground close by the
ambulance, looked to the chamber of his revolver to see that every
cartridge was all right, lay his rifle by the wheel, lay down and rolled
himself into his soldier bedding, and was asleep in three minutes.

How long afterwards it was that he was aroused Pike could not begin to
guess. It seemed to him that he had not slept five minutes yet he had
had a good, long, refreshing nap, and now it was broad daylight. The sun
was shining brightly and Black Jim was bending over him; his finger on
his lips. Pike sat up and rubbed his eyes. The first question he longed
to ask was: "Has the captain got back?" but Jim pointed to the ambulance
and, listening, the old trooper heard childish voices, soft and low;
their bubbling laughter telling of their utter ignorance of the dread
anxiety which hovered over the camp. Kate, worn out, was evidently still
asleep and the children were chatting blithely together but taking care
not to disturb their kind old nurse. Little Ned poked his hand out
through the narrow space between the curtain and the frame of the door
and peeped through with one merry blue eye as he shook hands with Pike,
who had scrambled to his feet.

"Where's papa?" he whispered.

"He's all right, little man," answered Pike, smiling cheerfully up at
the bright boy face, though the old soldier's heart was heavy as lead.
"He's all right. He's down looking after the mules with Manuelito. You
and Nellie hungry? I'll get you some breakfast presently, but better let
old Kate sleep as long as she can."

"I'd like to come out, corporal, and look around," whispered Ned.

"Wait a little while, my lad. It's very early and the air is pretty
keen. I'll let you out presently. See if you can find papa's field
glasses in there anywhere. I want to take a look at the road with them."

Ned withdrew his little brown fist and could be heard groping around the
dark interior. The captain had so arranged the seats in his "family
wagon" that they could be turned and flattened