. Another half-hour and we'll push on."

And, though Blake fretted and fumed at the delay, he knew it would not
be best to insist on having his way. Soon, however, they were in the
saddle again and once more in pursuit.

"The trail is getting fresher," declared Hank, about four o'clock that
afternoon. "Their horses are tiring, I guess, and ours seem to be
holding out pretty well."

"Which means----" began Joe.

"That we may get up to them before dark," went on the cowboy. "And then
we'll see what happens."

"Will they run, do you think?" inquired Blake.

"They will as long as their horses hold out, for they must know that
this ghost-dance business is about over and that most of their friends
are back on the reservations. But when we come up to them----" and the
cowboy paused and significantly examined his revolver.

"Does it mean a fight?" went on Blake, and he could not restrain a catch
in his breath. It was one thing to have an Indian fight with some
shelter, but different out in the open.

"Well, I hardly think it will be what you might call regular and
up-to-date fighting," replied Hank. "They may fire their guns and
revolvers at us to try and frighten us back, but I don't actually
believe that they'll make trouble. They know the punishment would be too
serious. And I believe a lot of those Indians have only blank cartridges
that they had when they were in some Wild West show. I know there was
mighty little whining of bullets, for all the shooting they did last
night. But, at the same time," he went on, "it's best to be prepared for
emergencies."

They continued on, and the boys had now become so used to the signs of
the Indian trail that they could note the changes almost as well as
could Hank.

Here they could see where a rest was made, and again where some animal
went out of the beaten path. Bits of the Indians' finery, too, were
noted every once in a while--a bit of gaudy bead trimming, a discarded
moccasin or some dyed feathers.

"I do hope we come up with them before dark," said Joe. "If we have to
stay out on the trail all night, and part of next day, we may find
nothing left of our things and the pack burros when we reach camp
again."

In order to make better time our friends had left behind, at the place
where the Indians had raided them, the pack animals, their cameras, a
few films not taken by the Indians, and as much of their provisions as
they thought would not be needed on the trail.