."

"Purty fresh!" exclaimed the scout, who had overheard every word of this
conversation.

"Well, if you know better, why don't you say so?" demanded George.
"Every prediction I have made so far has turned out to be correct. Now,
see how far I miss it when I tell you that the Indians camped beside
that butte last night."

"Then we are gaining on them?" said the captain.

"We are," was the boy's confident reply. "And for the reason that we
have followed a direct course and ridden rapidly, while the Indians took
a roundabout way and moved slowly, being hampered by their stolen
cattle."

George's calculations proved to be correct. About three o'clock in the
afternoon they again took up the trail, and followed it at a gallop.
They reached the peak just before dark, and found abundant evidence that
the Indians had recently camped there. The troopers halted here too to
get a little rest and a wink of sleep, but at nine o'clock they were
once more on the move. The next halt was made about two in the morning,
and at daylight they were again in their saddles and riding ahead as
rapidly as ever. The trail led them along the borders of the Staked
Plains, giving some of the troopers, who had never before scouted so far
in this direction, their first view of that desolate region. A
gloomy-looking place it was. As far as their eyes could reach they could
see nothing but sandhills, with stunted weeds and clumps of grass which
seemed to be struggling hard to maintain a foothold in the arid soil.

They had marched perhaps ten miles from their last camp when George
Ackerman, who was riding by Captain Clinton's side, discovered
something. He looked at it for a moment, and then called the officer's
attention to it.

"They have begun their tricks at last," said he. "Do you see that dark
streak out there in the grass? That's a new trail. There! Mose has
discovered it, and is going out to see what it looks like."

Bringing the column to a halt, the captain, accompanied by George and
some of the officers, rode forward to the place where the scout, who had
got down from his horse, stood bending over the trail. After he had
taken plenty of time in which to make his investigations, he
straightened up to announce the result.

"Four of them varmints has gone this way, cap," said he. "They've left a
plain trail, on purpose to coax you to foller 'em."

"They shall be gratified," answered the captain promptly. "As my party
is larger than