anything with." Then once more he had climbed to his post and was
diligently watching the road, while Jim, obedient to orders, was rolling
rocks and bowlders around to the opening of the cave.

"What's thim for?" demanded Kate.

"Corporal Pike's goin' to build a wall here to keep out the bears," said
Jim, with lowered voice and a significant glance at the children
prattling happily together at the back of the cave, and poor Kate knew
'twas no use asking questions.

And now, through the glasses, Pike could see the Tontos gathered on the
low hillock which had been the western limit of his morning ride. They
seemed to have come suddenly upon "Gregg's" hoof prints and to have
halted for consultation. Full half an hour they tarried there and the
children began to clamor for the promised luncheon. Sauntering down by a
roundabout way the veteran picked up an armful of dry twigs, sticks and
dead boughs and tossed them down at the mouth of the cave. Then, behind
the rock, he built a small fire of the dryest twigs he could find,
explaining that he didn't want smoke in the dining room, and soon had
his skillet heating and his kettle of water at the boil. Jim was
directed to cook all that was needed for luncheon and to have plenty for
the captain, who would be sure to come back mighty hungry in course of
the afternoon, and the corporal was speedily at his post again. What
could it mean? The Tontos were still hanging about that little hill six
miles out there on the plain. Was it possible they had abandoned the
pursuit?

Noon came; one o'clock, two o'clock. They had all had luncheon, and Pike
had been scrambling up and down the rock like a monkey, and still there
was no forward movement of the foe. Every time he looked they were still
lounging or squatting, so he judged, about the stunted trees on the
knoll, and there was nothing to explain the delay. It must have three
o'clock when at last the binocular told him they were again in motion
and coming rapidly toward him. He could see the dirty white
breech-clouts floating in the breeze and could almost distinguish the
forms of the warriors themselves. Leaving his glass on the top of the
ledge he slid down to the base again, called quietly to Jim, and the two
men set to work to build their breastwork. Bowlders big and little,
rocks of every possible shape and size were all around them, and in
three-quarters of an hour they had a stout parapet fully four feet high,
whose loopholes