rying. They were drawn up now in a close
rank in front of their little camp, in which they had not left a single
guard. Two Knives asked about that.

"What for?" replied Skinner. "What good to leave men? If the Lipans
want to rob wagon they kill the men we leave. Suppose Lipans do as
they agree, camp safe? No. It will take all the men we've got to
fight the Apaches."

That was good-sense, and Two Knives only said "Ugh!" to it; but his
next question meant more.

"How about fight? Tell chief what do."

"No, I won't. It's your fight more than mine. If you want us to go
ahead, we will go. If you say we are to keep back and let you go
ahead, all right. If we say we want to do anything you will think it
is crooked. Better not say. You say."

The chief had been expecting to hear some plan of action, and to find
something "crooked" in it. Captain Skinner had beaten him at once and
completely.

"Then you ride along with Lipans."

"No. The hearts of your young braves are hot and bitter. My men are
angry. Must keep apart. Have fight among ourselves. No good."

There was no denying the good-sense of that, and Two Knives had no fear
at all but what his pale-face allies would come back after their wagon,
extra horses and mules. Of course they would stick to property for
which they had shown themselves so ready to fight, and he could not
suspect that they now had the best part of it carefully stowed away
around them.

"Ugh! Pale-faces can't go ahead. Not stay behind. What then?"

"You say. We go."

"Ride left hand, then. Away off there. Not too far. We go this way.
Both find Apaches. Come together then."

"All right. That'll suit us. Send some braves along to see that we
don't run away."

Two Knives would have done so if Captain Skinner had not asked for it;
but he instantly suspected a cunning plot for the destruction of as
many braves as he might send, and he replied,

"Ugh! No good. Pale-faces take care of themselves to-night."

So both of them got what they wanted.

Two Knives believed that by keeping to the right he should make a
circuit and surprise the Apache camp, while the miners would be sure to
meet any outlying force by riding toward it in a straight line.

Captain Skinner's one idea was to get as far as possible from the
Lipans, he hardly cared in what direction. To the "left" was also to
the southward, and so he was better off than he had hoped for.

"Go slow, boy