eats in the valley. Those scoundrels
have got nearly an hour's start, and we've nobody to send in chase."

Then it presently appeared that the post commander desired to continue
conference with his staff officer, for he failed to invite the post
surgeon to be seated. Indeed, he looked up into the doctor's kindling
eyes with odd mixture of impatience and embarrassment in his own, and
the veteran practitioner felt the slight, flushed instantly, and, with
much _hauteur_ of manner, took prompt but ceremonious leave.

And when morning came and Fort Frayne awoke to another busy day, as if
the excitements of the night gone by had not been enough for it, a new
story went buzzing, with the first call for guard mount, about the
garrison; and, bigger even than yesterday, the two details, in soldier
silence, began to gather in front of the infantry quarters. Major Flint
had ordered sentries posted at the trader's home, with directions that
Mrs. Hay was not to be allowed outside her gate, and no one, man or
woman, permitted to approach her from without except by express
permission of the post commander. "General Harney" and "Dan," the two
best horses of the trader's stable, despite the presence of the sentry
at the front, had been abstracted sometime during the earlier hours of
the night, and later traced to the ford at Stabber's old camp, and with
Pete and Crapaud, doubtless, were gone.

That day the major wired to Omaha that he should be reinforced at once.
One half his little force, he said, was now mounted each day for guard,
and the men couldn't stand it. The general, of course, was in the field,
but his chief of staff remained at headquarters and was empowered to
order troops from post to post within the limits of the department.
Flint hoped two more companies could come at once, and he did not care
what post was denuded in his favor. His, he said, was close to the
Indian lands,--separated from them, in fact, only by a narrow and
fordable river. The Indians were all on the warpath and, aware of his
puny numbers, might be tempted at any moment to quit the mountains and
concentrate on him. Moreover, he was satisfied there had been frequent
communication between their leaders and the household of the post trader
at Fort Frayne. He was sure Mrs. Hay had been giving them valuable
information, and he expected soon to be able to prove very serious
charges against her. Meantime, he had placed her under surveillance.
(_That_ she had