Capt. Asbury decided to ride to the westward, in the hope of effecting
a junction with friends or of reaching a point where they would be
secure against their assailants.

The night was well advanced, but their horses had done comparatively
little travelling and were capable of a good deal more. The captain
took the lead, holding only occasional converse with his men as he
swung along at an easy pace; but he, like the rest, was on the lookout
for danger, which was liable to approach from any point of the
compass.

A marked change showed itself in the temperature. The weather, as will
be remembered, had been unusually mild earlier in the evening, but
it now became sharp and chilly, as though the breath from the snowy
mountain crests was wafted down upon them.

In a valley-like depression, an hour later, where there was an
abundance of grass, beside a flowing stream of water, the party went
into camp, with a couple of their number on guard, just as they would
have done if in a hostile country--which in point of fact was the
case.

The night passed, however, without any disturbance, and all were astir
before sunrise. The men were provided with several days' rations,
while the succulent grass afforded the animals all the food they
needed, so there was no trouble on that score.

Capt. Asbury and Monteith Sterry mounted their horses and rode to the
crest of the nearest elevation, which was fully 100 feet in height and
commanded a wide sweep of country. The morning was clear and bright,
and the first glance they cast to the northward revealed a stirring
sight. A horseman was less than a half-mile away, and riding at
headlong speed, as if in the extremity of mortal fright.

"What can it mean?" asked the puzzled leader; "no one is pursuing him,
and I see no cause for his panic."

"I suspect," replied Sterry, thoughtfully, "that he is a messenger
bringing important tidings to you."

CHAPTER XXII.

IMPORTANT TIDINGS.

It seemed strange that the messenger, if such he was, should know the
right course to follow in order to reach the camp of Capt. Asbury, for
he was riding directly toward it, and that, too, at the highest speed
of which his horse was capable.

But Monteith Sterry had noted a fact which escaped the captain, though
he was an observant man. The horseman was not approaching the camp at
the moment the couple reached the crest of the elevation and began
scrutinizing the surrounding country; he was go