s?"

"Waded in the dark; there is good bottom. Send a man over with a
couple of horses."

The officer turned and spoke to the others grouped beside him; then
raised his voice again.

"Are you sure there is no quicksand?"

"None to hurt; come straight over the end of that sand spit, and then
swerve about a dozen feet to the right to keep out of a hole. The
water won't go to a horse's belly. Try it, Wasson, you ought to know
me."

"You 're 'Brick' Hamlin, ain't you?"

"A good guess, Sam; come on."

Two troopers left their saddles, and the third man, the one answering
the last hail, gathered the reins in one hand, and spurred his horse
confidently into the brown water. Following the Sergeant's shouted
directions, the three animals plunged forward and came dripping up the
low sand bank. The rider, a sallow-faced man clad in rough corduroy,
patched and colorless, leaned over and held out his hand.

"Dern yer o' skin," he said solemnly, but with a twinkle in his eyes,
"ye 're sure got the luck of it. Ain't seen ye afore fer two years."

"That 's right, Sam; down on the Cowskin, wasn't it? Who 's over
there?"

"Leftenant Gaskins, an' some o' the Fourth Cavalry, scoutin' out o'
Dodge; been plum to ther mountings, an' goin' home ag'in. Whut the
hell (beggin' yer pardin, mam) has happened yere?"

"I 'll explain when we get across," and Hamlin swung the haversack to
his shoulder, and turned to the girl. "This is Sam Wasson, Miss
McDonald, a scout I have been out with before; let me help you into the
saddle."

CHAPTER XII

THE PARTING

They recrossed the stream carefully, the horses restless and hard to
control in the current, the men riding on either side, grasping the bit
of the girl's mount. Others had joined the little squad of troopers on
the bank, and welcomed them with a cheer. The Lieutenant dismounted.
At sight of the girl's face he whipped off his hat, and came forward.

"Miss McDonald," he said, pleasantly greeting her, "I am Lieutenant
Gaskins, and I have met your father--of the Sixth Infantry, is he not?
So glad to be of service, you know. You were in the stage, I
understand; a most remarkable escape."

"I owe it all to Sergeant Hamlin," she replied, turning to glance
toward the latter. "He bore me away unconscious in his arms. Indeed,
I scarcely realized what happened. Do you know anything regarding my
father?"

"Oh, yes, I can put your mind at ease so far as he is concerne