departure in this manner was not expected, and was not discovered
for nearly forty-eight hours, during which time the refugees had made
considerable progress over the surrounding mountains. They maintained
their march for nearly a week, without incident, and were congratulating
themselves upon their escape, when the disaster which they had feared
overtook them.

They were camped by the side of a little stream in a fertile valley, and
all were sleeping peacefully but the elder boy, who was acting as
sentinel. His attention was first called to danger by the uneasiness
displayed by the horses, which, by their restless manner and sudden
anxiety, showed that instinct warned them of an approaching party.
Without wasting a moment's time, the young man hastily aroused the
sleepers, who prepared to abandon their camp and seek refuge in the
adjoining timber. They had barely reached cover when a party of mounted
armed men rode up. Finding a deserted camp, they separated, and
commenced to scour the surrounding country. One of the number soon came
upon the retreating family, but before he could cover them with his
rifle he had been shot dead by the infuriated father, who was determined
to resist to the uttermost the horrible fate which now stared them in
the face.

The noise was taken by the other searchers as a signal to them that the
hunted family had been found, and knowing that this would be so, the man
and his sons hurried the woman and younger children to a secluded spot
at a little distance, and seeking convenient cover determined to make a
desperate effort to protect those for whose safety they were
responsible. Unfortunately for the successful carrying out of this plan,
the helpless section of the party was discovered first. The avenging
party then divided up into two sections, one of which dragged away the
woman and her young children, and the others went in search of the man
and his two sons. They speedily found them, and in the fight which
followed two lives were lost on both sides.

The oldest son of the escaping party was wounded and left for dead.
Several hours later consciousness returned to him, and the first sight
that met his gaze was the dead bodies of his father and brother. A
chance was offered him to escape, but weak as he was from loss of blood,
he determined to follow up the kidnaping party, forming the desperate
resolve that if he could not rescue his mother and sisters, he would at
least save them from