and pulled him around, so that his head pointed toward the
camp-fire. This meant a movement by the right flank. After this he and
Bob placed themselves in the centre of the line, the men giving way
right and left to make room for them, and at a given signal Bob stuck
his elbow into the ribs of the trooper to the left of him, while George
in a similar manner admonished the one on the right of himself; and the
advance began, the guide being centre. We mean by this that the men on
Bob's left kept themselves in their proper place in line by touching the
shoulder of the man next on their right, while those on George's right
hand kept within easy reach of the men next on their left, each member
of the line moving no whit slower or faster than the guides in the
centre, Bob and George. If _they_ stopped and listened and tried to
peer through the bushes in front of them to obtain a view of the camp,
the whole line stopped and listened and peered. When the guides advanced
the troopers did the same, their movements being conducted without a
whisper, and with such extreme caution that scarcely a leaf was heard to
rustle. It took them almost an hour to descend the bluff, which was
probably not more than a hundred feet in height, but the sight that
greeted them when the final halt was made more than repaid them for all
their toil. They had crept up within less than a dozen yards of the
fire, and the camp and all its inmates were in plain view of them.

Their first care was to find the boys, and the next to ascertain the
number and position of their adversaries. The boys were there, lying
side by side on a bed of leaves, with their arms thrown around each
other, and wrapped in slumber as peaceful, apparently, as ever came to
their eyes while they were safe under their father's roof. Every one of
the troopers shut his lips tightly at the sight of them, and half a
dozen cocked carbines were pointed over their unconscious heads, ready
to send to kingdom-come the first thing in the shape of a Kiowa that
dared approach them. They were not protected in any way from the night
air save by the branches of the trees which waved gently above them,
while every one of the four Indians who were lying around them was
wrapped up head and ears in a quilt or blanket which he had stolen
during the raid.

One sweeping glance was enough to enable Bob and George to take in all
these little details, and it is scarcely necessary to say that they were
highly