the slope and urged the horses into the water, although
the good beasts showed reluctance, fearful of the bowlders and the rough
footing, but, when they were in, the two riders allowed them to pick the
way, and thus they advanced slowly and with extreme caution a distance
of five full miles. They heard a roaring and approached a fine fall of
about thirty feet, over which the creek tumbled, sending up much white
foam.

"This watery road is now blocked, that's quite sure," said Boyd. "But
we've been able to use it a much greater distance than I thought, and it
may throw off the Sioux entirely."

They emerged from the water and the horses climbed a steep slope to the
crest of a ridge, where they stood panting. Boyd and young Clarke
slipped from the saddles and stood by. The half moon and clusters of
stars still made in the sky a partial light, enabling them to see that
they stood upon a sort of broad shelf, sprinkled with large trees
without undergrowth, but well covered with long grass. The only way of
approach from the south was the rocky brook, along the bed of which they
had come. What lay to the north they did not know, but the shelf seemed
to narrow there.

"A large part of the night is spent," said Boyd, "and as it's not
possible for the Sioux to overtake us before dawn I vote we camp here,
because we're pretty well worn out, and the horses are dead tired. What
does the other half of the army say?"

"It says this place was just made for us," replied Will, "and we
shouldn't go forward another inch tonight."

"Then we'll unsaddle, tether the horses and take to our blankets,
though, if you say so, we will first draw a little on the commissariat."

"No. I'm too tired to eat. I'd rather go to sleep."

"The two halves of the army are in agreement. So will I."

The horses fell to cropping the rich grass, but their riders, seeking
the softest place they could find, folded themselves in their blankets
and soon slumbered as soundly as if they were in the softest beds
civilization could furnish.

Will awoke before dawn, and instantly remembered where he was. But while
all had been strife and strain and anxiety before he slept, he felt now
an immense peace, the great peace of the mountains. The horses having
eaten their fill were lying down. The murmurs of the swift brook below
came up to his ears, and with it the sound of a faint breeze playing in
just a whisper among the leaves. Far above him soared peaks and ridge