our fate, if we had attempted to get through the
pass; but, guided by my friend here, we crossed the mountain, for the
purpose of asking you to send a force of sufficient strength to drive
back the Indians, with their rascally white allies," answered the
lieutenant.

"The very thing I purposed doing, if I could obtain a trustworthy
guide," said the commandant.

"You could not have a more trustworthy one than my friend, Ralph
Middlemore," answered Manley. "He knows the mountains better than any
white man we are likely to find; and as for Indians, I would not put
confidence in one of them."

Of course, I at once expressed my willingness to undertake the duty
proposed; and the expedition was speedily arranged. Our troops may not
have had a very military appearance, but the men knew how to handle
their rifles, and had had experience in border warfare. We numbered
fifty in all, besides the drivers of the baggage horses and mules
conveying our provisions and ammunition. All not absolutely necessary
encumbrances were dispensed with, our camp equipage consisting of a few
iron pots, tin cups, and plates. Lieutenant Broadstreet had command of
the party, and he was directed to select a fit site for a new fort in
the neighbourhood of Roaring Water, to assist in holding the Arrapahas
in check for the future.

Not an hour was lost; and by sunrise, two days after our arrival, we
commenced our march. I had advised Manley to let me go ahead with a few
of the most experienced men, to act as scouts, that we might ascertain
whether the enemy still held the pass; but two days had gone by without
any signs of the Indians. The remains of their fires, however, showed
that they had been there not long before. At the end of the second day,
just as we were about to encamp, I caught sight of two figures coming
over the brow of a slight elevation. I rubbed my eyes; was it fancy, or
did I really see Klitz and Barney before me, precisely as I had seen
them on a previous occasion, when attempting to make their escape from
the farm? No doubt about it. There was Barney wheeling a barrow, and
Klitz, with a couple of muskets on his shoulder, marching behind him.
Had I been inclined to superstition, I might have supposed that I beheld
a couple of ghosts, or rather beings of another world; but I was
convinced, unless I was the victim of some optical delusion, that the
two worthies were there in flesh and blood.

I did what every one should