mong them I
saw the governor. Making my way to him, I explained what had happened.
He turned to his people and addressed them in his own tongue. A young
girl approached and said something, at the same time pointing to the
southwest.

Looking in the direction indicated, over a long stretch of broken
country, bordered on the west by an irregular range of sandstone
mesas, I thought I saw a moving object near the foot of a rugged
bluff, several miles distant; but before I could adjust my field-glass
the object had turned the bluff and disappeared. One thing, however, I
did see--it was Vic, sitting on a knoll less than a mile from the
pueblo.

"I wonder we have not thought of Vic's absence all this time," I said;
"there she is, on the trail of the thief, wondering why we do not
pursue."

"The good doggie," said Henry. "She did her best to tell us Chiquita
was stolen, and she means to do her best to retake her."

Turning to the governor, I asked, "Are there any Navajos about here?"

"There is a large band in the _cienaga_, three leagues from here. The
lost pony will be found there."

I directed Henry to run after the train and report what had happened.
"Wave your handkerchief," said I, "and some one will come to meet
you. If it should be a mounted man, take his animal, overtake Captain
Bayard, tell him all you know, and say that Frank and I have gone in
pursuit, and that I request him to send a detachment of cavalry to
look us up."

Henry started off with a celerity begotten of his anxiety at the loss
of his pony and the fear that his brother might fall into danger
unless a body of troopers followed him closely.

Frank and I then galloped towards Vic. As soon as the dog saw us
approaching she sprang into the air, shook herself in an ecstasy of
delight, then put her nose to the earth, and went steadily on in
advance, threading her way through clumps of sage-brush and greasewood
and along the ravines.

The tracks of a shod pony satisfied us that we were on the trail of
Chiquita and her Navajo rider. The boy had kept well down in the
ravines and depressions, in order to screen himself from observation
and possible pursuers. We, however, were not obliged to follow his
tracks; Vic did that, and we took the general direction from her,
cutting across turnings and windings, and making much better progress
than the thief could have done.

An hour's ride brought us to the bluff behind which I had seen an
object disappear