venture, he never having been
alone since with the chief.

"Master Bart, brave young chief," was all the Indian said; and then he
sat silently gazing out over the plain, while no sooner were the cattle
released than they set off lowing towards the pastures at a long
lumbering gallop, Joses and his followers having hard work to keep up
with them, for they needed no driving.

In less than half an hour they were all munching away contentedly
enough, with Joses and his men on the far side to keep the drove from
going too far out towards the plain, and then all at once the Beaver
started up, pointing right away.

"Apache dogs!" he shouted.

Bart brought the glass to bear, and saw that the chief was right.

In an instant he had cocked and fired his piece, giving the alarm, when
the garrison ran to their places ready to cover the coming in of the
cattle-drivers and their herd, Bart, seeing that Joses had taken the
alarm, and with his men was trying to drive the feeding animals back.

But the Doctor had not calculated upon hunger and bovine obstinacy. The
poor brutes after much fasting were where they could eat their fill, and
though Joses and his men drove them from one place, they blundered back
to another, lowing, bellowing, and getting more and more excited, but
never a step nearer to their corral.

And all this while the Apaches were coming on at full speed, sweeping
over the level plain like a cloud.

The Doctor grew frantic.

"Quick!" he cried; "we must go out to help Joses and his men. No, it
would be madness. Good heavens! what a mistake!"

"Let me go with the Beaver and his men to his help," cried Bart
excitedly.

"My dear Bart, the Indians will be upon them before you could reach the
horses, let alone saddle and bridle and mount."

"It is true," said the Beaver, sternly. "Chief Joses must fight the
Apache dogs himself."

Bart knew they could do nothing, and just then he saw that the Mexican
greasers had left the cattle, and were coming at full speed as hard as
they could run towards the shelter of the rock.

"The cattle must go," cried the Doctor, bitterly. "It is my fault. Why
does not Joses leave them? Harry is running with the others."

"Because poor Joses is too brave a fellow," cried Bart in despair. "I
must go to his help; I must indeed," he cried piteously.

"Young chief Bart must stay," said the Beaver, sternly, as he seized the
lad's arm. "He would be killed. Let chief Joses be.