s pony's lame gallop
before casting himself bodily into the midst of this shelter. And
thereafter the affair took on a different complexion.

The Apache was never foolhardy. Possessed of marvelous patience, he
was willing to wait when waiting was the more prudent course of
action. And in the beginning the pursuers, who had encircled the
willow thicket, contented themselves with shooting from a distance
where they could keep to cover.

But evening was growing on, and these savages were imbued with more
superstitious fears of the dark than the members of most Indian
tribes. It became evident that they must rush matters if they would go
to camp before the night enwrapped them.

So the forty-odd came wriggling down the surrounding slopes toward the
willow thicket, keeping as close to the earth as possible, striving to
close in before they made their open charge. Uncle Billy waited until
he got a good shot, and "turned loose" for the first time. A
spattering of bullets answered his, but he had the satisfaction of
seeing one naked form lying motionless on the hillside.

There came a yell, and now the Apaches showed themselves as they ran
forward. The old revolver spoke again and then the third time. The
charge broke in its inception; and the retreating enemy left two more
of their number behind them when they went back to cover.

There followed an interval of silence. It was succeeded by another
rush. Uncle Billy fired twice from the depths of his thicket, and both
shots scored. The Apaches sought the rocks once more; but the
old-timer lay among the willows with a broken elbow from one of their
bullets. There was no time, nor were there means, for dressing the
wound. He gritted his teeth, dug the elbow into the soft sand to
stanch the flow of blood, and waited for the next onset.

It came within a few minutes, and Uncle Billy fired his last shot. The
good luck which sometimes helps out a brave man in time of trouble saw
to it that the ball from his revolver found the chief of the party.
When they saw him fall the Indians retired in bad order.

And now, where force had failed them, the Apaches resorted to
diplomacy. All they wanted was to get their hands on the white man,
and a little lying might be the means to help them to it. In Spanish
one of them called from his cover, bidding Uncle Billy give himself up
as a prisoner. He had, the herald said, been so brave that they would
observe the amenities of the white man's