ess had created in his mind. Apprehension and
loneliness disappeared with the blackness of the night. He was with one
of the best scouts and hunters in the West, and the sun was rising upon
a valley of uncommon beauty. All about him the trees grew tall and
large, without undergrowth, the effect being that of a great park, with
grass thick and green, upon which the horses were grazing in deep
content. The waters of the brook sang a little song as they hurried over
the gravel, and the note of everything was so strongly of peace that the
lad, wearied by their flight and mental strain, fell asleep in a few
minutes.

It was full noon when he awoke, and, somewhat ashamed of himself, he
sprang up, ready to apologize, but the hunter waved a deprecatory hand.

"You didn't rest too long," said Boyd. "You needed it. As for me, I'm
seasoned and hard, adapted by years of practice to the life I lead. It's
nothing to me to pass a night without sleep, and to catch up later on.
While you were lying there in your blanket I scouted the valley
thoroughly, leaving the horses to watch over you. It's about two miles
long and a mile broad. At the lower end the brook flows into a narrow
chasm."

"What did you find in the valley itself, Jim?"

"Track of bear, deer, wolf and panther, but no sign of human being,
white or red. It's certain that we're the only people in it, but if we
need game we can find it. It's a good sign, showing that this part of
the country has not been hunted over by the Indians."

"Before long we'll have to replenish our food supply with game."

"Yes, that's certain. We want to draw as little on our flour and coffee
as we can. We can do without 'em, but when you don't have 'em you miss
'em terribly."

The stores had been heaped at the foot of a tree, while the pack horses,
selected for their size and strength, nibbled at the rich grass. Will
contemplated the little mound of supplies with much satisfaction. They
had not started upon the path of peril without due preparation.

Each carried a breech-loading, repeating rifle of the very latest make,
a weapon yet but little known on the border. In the packs were two more
rifles of the same kind, two double-barreled, breech-loading shotguns,
thousands of cartridges, several revolvers, two strong axes, medicines,
extra blankets, and, in truth, everything needed by a little army of two
on the march. Boyd, a man of vast experience in the wilderness, had
selected the outfit