news. Sure enough, when we had bent low and
sneaked to the rocks, and were looking, we could make out two specks
creeping up the sunshine slope, among the few trees, opposite.

That was good, and it was bad. The thieves were not a mile ahead of us,
then, but now we must scout in earnest. It would not do for us to keep
to the trail across that open valley. Some fellows might have rushed
right along; and if the other fellows were sharp they would be looking
back, at such a spot, to watch for pursuers. So we must make a big
circuit, and stay out of sight, and hit the trail again on the other
side.

We crept back under cover, left a "warning" sign on the trail (Note
34), and swung around, and one at a time we crossed the valley higher
up, where it was narrower and there was brush for cover. This took time,
but it was the proper scouting; and now we hurried our best along the
other slope to pick up the trail once more.

It was after noon, by the sun, and we hadn't stopped to eat, and we were
hungry and hot and pretty tired.

As we never talked much on the trail, especially when we might be near
the enemy, Fitzpatrick made a sign that we climb straight to the top of
the slope and follow along there, to strike the trail. And if the
fellows had turned off anywhere, in gulch or to camp, we were better
fixed above them than below them.

We scouted carefully along this ridge, and came to a gulch. A path led
through, where cattle had traveled, and in the damp dirt were the burro
tracks. Hurrah! They were soft and fresh.

The sun was going to set early, in a cloud bank, and those fellows would
be camping soon. It was no use to rush them when they were traveling;
they had guns and would hang on to the burros. The way to do was to
crawl into their camp. So we traveled slower, in order to give them time
to camp.

After a while we smelled smoke. The timber was thick, and the general
and I each climbed a tree, to see where that smoke came from. I was away
at the top of a pine, and from that tree the view was grand. Pilot Peak
stood up in the wrong direction, as if we had been going around, and
mountains and timber were everywhere. I saw the smoke. And away to the
north, ten miles, it seemed to me I could see another smoke, with the
sun showing it up. It was a column smoke, and I guessed that it was a
smoke signal set by the three Scouts we had left, to show us where camp
was.

But the smoke that we were after rose in a blue ha