"Not for a Scout. He likes fresh air," answered General Ashley. "He
needs his wind, too, and smoking takes the wind. Anyway, we're traveling
through the enemy's country, and a pipe smells, and it's against Scout
regulations to smoke."

They stuffed their pipes into their pockets.

"Who's the enemy?" they asked.

"We're carrying a message and some other boys are trying to stop us.
That's all."

"We saw some kids, on the other side of that ridge," they cried.
"They're from the same town you are. Are they the ones?"

"What did they look like?" we asked.

"One was a big kid with black eyes--" said Bat.

"Aw, he wasn't big. The big kid had blue eyes," interrupted Walt.

"How many in the party?" we asked.

"Four," said Bat.

"Five," said Walt.

"Any horses?"

"Yes."

"What were the brands?"

"We didn't notice," they said.

"Was one horse a bay with a white nose, and another a black with a bob
tail?"

"Guess so," they said.

So we didn't know much more than we did before; we could only suspect.
Of course, there were other parties of boys camping, in this country. We
weren't the only ones. If Bat and Walt had been a little smart they
might have helped us. They didn't use their eyes.

We followed the ridge we were on, as far as we could, because it was
high and free from brush. General Ashley and Major Henry led, as usual,
with the burros behind (those burros would follow now like dogs, where
there wasn't any trail for them to pick out), and then the rest of us,
the two recruits panting in the rear. Bat had belted on his big
six-shooter, and Walt carried the shotgun.

We traveled fast, as usual, when we could; that gave us more time in the
bad places. Pilot Peak stuck up, beyond some hills, ahead. We kept an
eye on him, for he was our landmark, now that we had broken loose from
trails. He didn't seem any nearer than he was the day before.

The ridge ended in a point, beyond which was a broad pasture-like
meadow, with the creek winding in a semicircle through it. On across was
a steep range of timber hills--and Pilot Peak and some other peaks rose
beyond, with snow and rocks. In the flat a few cattle were grazing, like
buffalo, and we could see an abandoned cabin which might have been a
trapper's shack. It was a great scene; so free and peaceful and wild and
gentle at the same time.

We weren't tired, but we halted by the stream in the flat to rest the
burros and to eat something. We took off the pac