an easy prey; there
was some wild capering along its flanks, at a safe distance; and then,
little by little, the gang resettled in its bivouac. It was like a swarm
of hornets, which should sally out to reconnoitre an enemy, buzz about
threateningly for a while, and sail back to their nest.

The plain, usually dotted with flocks of sheep, was now a solitude. The
Moquis had evidently withdrawn their woolly wealth either to the summit of
the bluff, or to the partially sheltered pasturage around its base. The
only objects which varied the verdant level were scattered white rocks,
probably gypsum or oxide of manganese, which glistened surprisingly in the
sunlight, reminding one of pearls sown on a mantel of green velvet. But
already the travellers could see the peach orchards of the Moquis, and the
sides of the lofty butte laid out in gardens supported by terrace-walls of
dressed stone, the whole mass surmounted by the solid ramparts of the
pueblos.

At this moment, while the train was still a little over two miles from the
foot of the bluff, and the Apache camp more than three miles to the rear,
Texas Smith shouted, "The cusses hev got the news."

It was true; the foremost riders, or perhaps only the messengers, of Manga
Colorada had readied Delgadito; and a hundred warriors were swarming after
the train to avenge their fallen comrades.

Now ensued a race for life, the last pull of the mules being lashed out of
them, and the Indians riding at the topmost speed of their wiry ponies.

CHAPTER XIII.

When the race for life and death commenced between the emigrants and the
Apaches, it seemed as if the former would certainly be able to go two
miles before the latter could cover six.

But the mules were weak, and the soil of the plain was a thin loam into
which the wheels sank easily, so that the heavy wagons could not be
hurried beyond a trot, and before long were reduced to a walk. Thus, while
the caravan was still half a mile from its city of refuge, the foremost
hornets of Delgadito's swarm were already circling around it.

The chief could not charge at once, however, for the warriors whom he had
in hand numbered barely a score, and their horses, blown with a run of
over five miles, were unfit for sharp fighting work. For a few minutes
nothing happened, except that the caravan continued its silent, sullen
retreat, while the pursuers cantered yelling around it at a safe distance.
Not a shot was fired by the em