his name; he was ranching and for the sake of mutual
aid in case of Indian raids he had built his adobe house at one end of
his holding, within two hundred yards of his neighbor's home. The
building stood on bare ground at the summit of a little rise near the
Cienega bottom, where the grass and tulles grew waist-high.

Early in the month of October Gilbert was stricken with fever, and
Richard Barnes, the neighbor, moved into his house to take care of
him. The patient dragged along after a fashion until the early morning
of the twenty-first found him wasted almost to skin and bone, weak,
bedridden. And about six o'clock that morning Barnes left the house to
go to his own adobe.

The Apaches, according to their habit when they went forth to murder
isolated settlers or prospectors, had chosen the dawn for the hour of
attack, and they were lying in the tall grass in the Cienega bottom
when Barnes emerged from the building. They let him go almost to the
other adobe before they opened fire; and he dropped at the volley,
dying from several wounds.

Then Gilbert, who had not stirred from his bed for many days, leaped
from his blankets and took down a Henry rifle from the cabin wall. He
had been weak; now that thing which men call "sand" gave strength unto
him; and he ran from the house to rescue his companion.

The Apaches were rushing from the tulles toward the prostrate form. He
paused long enough to level his rifle and fire; then came on again.
And the savages fell back. It was easier to bide in the shelter of the
tulles and kill off this mad white man than to show themselves and run
a chance of getting one of his bullets.

They reasoned well enough; but something mightier than logic was
behind Gilbert that morning. With the strength which comes to the
fever-stricken in moments of supreme excitement he reached his friend,
picked him up, and while the bullets of his enemies kicked up dust all
about him bore him on his shoulders back into the cabin. There he laid
him down and proceeded to hold the place against besiegers.

The Apaches deployed until they were surrounding the house. Then they
opened fire once more, and as they shot they wriggled forward, coming
ever closer until some of them were so near that they were able to
place their bullets through the rude loopholes which the settler had
made for defense of his home.

All the morning the battle went on. Sometimes the savages varied their
tactics by rushes and ev