est danger of the
whole journey. The lieutenant drew his men close together, and two of
the most experienced scouts rode a short distance in advance of the
others, glancing from side to side, and on the watch for the first signs
of the approach of Indians.

The sides of the pass as already shown, were high and precipitous, so
that there was no possibility of escape except by going backward or
forward. Furthermore, the canyon, as it must have been at some distant
day, wound in and out in such a fashion that there were many places
where it was impossible to see more than a hundred yards in front or
rear. There was no conversation between the soldiers, and even the
corporal spoke in a lower tone to his young friend.

"If anything _does_ happen," he said, looking down in the handsome
upturned face, "I want you to behave yourself, Ned."

"Don't I always do it?"

"I should say not!" was the emphatic response. "Haven't I ordered you to
stay in the wagon, and then looked round to see you slipping out while I
was talking to you? But things are different now. If you see anything
unusual, or hear rifle balls whizzing about you, don't go to poking your
head out to see what the matter is."

"What shall I do, then?" asked the boy, who was really desirous of
following the directions of his friend.

"Just lie down in the bottom of the ambulance and wait till I tell you
to get up again. The sides are bullet-proof, and there ain't any danger
of your getting hurt there."

The afternoon was drawing to a close, and the high walls, rising up on
each side, so shut out the rays of the sun, that a somber twilight gloom
filled Devil's Pass; a deep, oppressive heaviness was in the atmosphere,
that seemed in keeping with the place which had been the scene of so
many tragedies, which was now entered with more or less misgiving upon
the part of the entire company.

"I'd make a journey of two hundred miles extra if there was any way of
gitting around this infernal place," said the lieutenant; "but as there
isn't, all we can do is to push ahead."

It was about half an hour after the warning words of the corporal to the
lad, and the eyes of the entire company were fixed upon the lieutenant
and his comrade, who were riding a short distance in advance. All at
once they were seen to rein up their horses simultaneously, as if
something in front had caught their attention. As by a common impulse,
the others did the same, and breathlessly awaited