the cottonwoods
skirting the west bank of the stream. The moon was full, and the
darkness of the grove through which they wended their way in single
file was lighted by long shafts of moonbeams that streamed through the
dense growth. The silence, save for the steady tramp of the little
expedition, was absolute. Now and again a night-owl hooted, or a
sleeping hare, scared from its form, scampered away into the
underbrush; but these few sounds made the solitude only more
oppressive. Charlie, bringing up the rear, noted the glint of the
moonlight on the barrels of the firearms carried by the party ahead of
him, and all the romance in his nature was kindled by the thought that
this was frontier life in the Indian country. Not far away, he
thought, as he turned his face to the southward, the cabins of
settlers along the Smoky Hill were burning, and death and desolation
marked the trail of the cruel Cheyennes.

Now and again Sandy, shivering in the chill and dampness of the wood,
fell back and whispered to Oscar, who followed him in the narrow
trail, that this would be awfully jolly if he were not so sleepy. The
lad was accustomed to go to bed soon after dark; it was now late into
the night.

All hands were glad when the big double cabin of the Battles family
came in sight about midnight, conspicuous on a rise of the rolling
prairie and black against the sky. Lights were burning brightly in one
end of the cabin; in the other end a part of the company had gone to
sleep, camping on the floor. Hot coffee and corn-bread were ready for
the newcomers, and Younkins, with a tender regard for the lads, who
were unaccustomed to milk when at home, brought out a big pan of
delicious cool milk for their refreshment. Altogether, as Sandy
confessed to himself, an Indian scare was not without its fun. He
listened with great interest to the tales that the settlers had to
tell of the exploits of Gray Wolf, the leader and chief of the
Cheyennes. He was a famous man in his time, and some of the elder
settlers of Kansas will even now remember his name with awe. The boys
were not at all desirous of meeting the Indian foe, but they secretly
hoped that if they met any of the redskins, they would see the
far-famed Gray Wolf.

While the party, refreshed by their late supper, found a lodging
anywhere on the floor of the cabin, a watch was set outside, for the
Indians might pounce upon them at any hour of the night or day. Those
who had mounted gu