s all."

"And have I not?" cried the Doctor, sharply. "There, now, get to your
work; we have plenty of food and water, and we are relieved of the care
of our horses and cattle. The Apaches will not interfere with us
perhaps now, and when they have gone, we must communicate with Lerisco,
and get more cattle. Have we not silver enough to buy all the cattle in
the province?"

This quieted the complainers, and they went quietly to their tasks,
getting out the ore in large quantities, though it was, of course,
impossible to touch the vein in the canyon. That had to be reserved for
more peaceful times.

It almost seemed as if the Doctor was right, and that the Apaches would
go away contented now; but when Bart asked the Beaver for his opinion,
he only laughed grimly.

"As long as we are here they will come," he said. "They will never stay
away."

"That's pleasant, Joses," said Bart; and then he began to bemoan the
loss of his little favourite, Black Boy.

"Ah! it's a bad job, my lad," said Joses, philosophically; "but when you
go out into the wilderness, you never know what's coming. For my part,
I don't think I should ever take to silver-getting as a trade."

It was a serious matter this loss of the horses and cattle, but somehow
the Indians seemed to bear it better than the whites. Whatever they
felt they kept to themselves, stolidly bearing their trouble, while the
Englishmen and Mexicans never ceased to murmur and complain.

"How is it, Joses?" asked Bart one day, as they two were keeping guard
by the gate. "One would think that the Indians would feel it more than
any one else."

"Well, yes, my lad, one would think so; but don't you see how it is? An
Indian takes these things coolly, for this reason; his horse is stolen
to-day, to-morrow his turn will come, and he'll carry off perhaps a
dozen horses belonging to some one else."

Their task was easy, for the Apaches seemed to have forsaken them in
spite of the Beaver's prophecy, and several days went by in peace, not a
sign being discovered of the enemy. The little colony worked hard at
getting silver, and this proved to be so remunerative, that there was no
more murmuring about the loss of the cattle and horses; but all the
same, Bart saw that the Doctor went about in a very moody spirit, for he
knew that matters could not go on as they were. Before long they must
have fresh stores, and it was absolutely necessary for communications to
be opened up