midnight "K" Troop, riding easily along in the moonlight, had
travelled a little over half the distance to Phillips's ranch. The
lieutenant, who with two or three troopers was scouting far in advance,
halted at the crest of a high ridge over which the road climbs, and
dismounted his little party for a brief rest while he went up ahead to
reconnoitre.

Cavalrymen in the Indian country never ride into full view on top of a
"divide" until after some one of their number has carefully looked over
the ground beyond.

There was nothing in sight that gave cause for long inspection, or that
warranted the officer's taking out his field-glasses. He could see the
line of hills back of the Chugwater Valley, and all was calm and placid.
The valley itself lay some hundreds of feet below his point of
observation, and beginning far off to his left ran northeastward until
one of its branches crossed the trail along which the troop was riding.

Returning to his party, the lieutenant's eye was attracted, for the
fifth or sixth time since they had left Lodge Pole, by little gleams and
flashes of light off in the distance, and he muttered, in a somewhat
disparaging manner, to some of the members of his own troop,--

"Now, what the dickens can those men be carrying to make such a streak
as that? One would suppose that Arizona would have taken all the
nonsense out of 'em, but that glimmer must come from bright bits or
buckles, or something of the kind, for we haven't a sabre with us. What
makes those little flashes, sergeant?" he asked, impatiently.

"It's some of the tin canteens, sir. The cloth is all worn off a dozen
of 'em, and when the moonlight strikes 'em it makes a flash almost like
a mirror."

"Indeed it does, and would betray our coming miles away of a moonlit
night. We'll drop all those things at Laramie. Hullo! Mount, men,
lively!"

The young officer and his party suddenly sprang to saddle. A clatter of
distant hoofs was heard rapidly approaching along the hard-beaten road.
Nearer, nearer they came at tearing gallop. The lieutenant rode
cautiously forward to where he could peer over the crest.

"Somebody riding like mad!" he muttered. "Hatless and demoralized. Who
comes _there_?" he shouted aloud. "Halt, whoever you are!"

Pulling up a panting horse, pale, wide-eyed, almost exhausted, a young
ranchman rode into the midst of the group. It was half a minute before
he could speak. When at last he recovered breath, it was a m