ever against the white people, and especially
against the one that had brought him low. He regretted that he was to be
helpless for weeks to come, with a permanent injury for life.

When the leader of the band suggested that he should return to the
nearest village and remain until able to take the warpath again, he
vehemently opposed it. He was not willing to retire in such a
humiliating manner, but the leader insisted, and after sulking a while
the "civilized" Indian consented.

Being a capital horseman, he leaped unassisted upon his pony, and
unwilling in his anger so much as to bid the warriors good-by, he struck
the animal into a swift gallop, heading toward the village, where he was
expected to stay until fully recovered.

The action of the warrior was singular. After riding some distance he
glanced behind him at the ridge he had left. He seemed to be in an
irritable mood, for he uttered an impatient exclamation and urged his
beast to a faster gait. His wound pained him, but the agitation of his
mind and his own stoical nature caused him to pay no heed to it. Indeed
nothing more could be done for the hurt.

When he looked back the second time he had reached a point for which he
had been making since his departure. He was out of sight of any of his
people who might be watching him.

An abrupt change in the course of his pony was instantly made, and he
sent him flying at the height of his speed. Strange as it may seem, he
was aiming for the same point toward which Warren Starr started some
time later.

He did not spare his animal. He went like a whirlwind, and as though his
life depended upon reaching his destination without delay. Warren Starr
read the trail aright when he interpreted it as meaning that the pony
before him was going as fast as he could.

Starcus was picking his way, still mounted, over the rough section where
the youth had expected to meet great difficulty with his animal, when
he suddenly discovered that white people were immediately in his front.
He drew up, and was in doubt for a minute whether to flee or hold his
ground.

A squad of cavalry from Fort Meade confronted him. They numbered nearly
twenty, under the command of a young lieutenant, a recent graduate of
West Point. They were accompanied by a couple of Indian scouts familiar
with the country.

Starcus was quick to make a signal of friendship, and then rode forward
to meet the soldiers, who had halted upon seeing him.

The Si