; that is, alone of all the group about him, and
of all the outlaws gathering in the mountains. Now, with the news of
the reward published abroad by the messenger and the renegade, every
native man, woman and child in Mexico would take a personal interest in
delivering the prisoner to officials competent to hand over the large
reward.

Jimmie listened intently and with a fastbeating heart for the strident
voice of a drum. It seemed to him that Peter Fenton had been gone long
enough to gain the camp. The secret service men, he knew, had not had
time to reach the point of danger, but they had, he thought, had time
enough to make a noise like an advancing army. There were
bright-plumaged birds singing in the early sunshine, but no indications
of the approach of the help Fenton had gone to arouse. What the next
move of the renegade and his companions would be the boy could not even
guess. He hoped, however, that the party would linger about the
vicinity until the secret service men could come up.

This hope, however, was soon shattered. The renegade Englishman
consulted with the messenger for some moments, pointing away to the
north, as he did so, and then the outlaws were ordered into line,
Fremont placed in the center, and all moved in the direction which had
been pointed out.

The course of travel, although due north in general, wound among crags
and through little canons, over level plateaux and along dangerous
precipices, it being the possible desire of the renegade to work his
way to the Rio Grande without coming into contact with officers or
hostile groups of armed men who might demand a division of the fat
reward offered for the arrest of the boy.

Owing to the character of the surface, Jimmie was obliged to wait for
some moments before following on after the party. In fact, it was only
by moving cautiously and keeping cliffs and crags between himself and
the renegade's group of outlaws that the boy could make progress
without being seen.

Before leaving the spot where the prisoner had stood, Jimmie selected a
rock of the size of a two-gallon jug, placed it in plain view, and laid
on top of it a smaller rock. At the left he placed another stone, the
size of the one on top. This would direct any of the boys who might
come too late to his relief.

During his Boy Scout excursions the boy had often used this "Indian
talk" to inform his friends of the course he had taken. All Boy Scouts
are supposed to