h to see the back of the last of them.

Two days later a blizzard set in. Will took an inventory, and found
that, economy considered, he had food for a week; but as the storm would
surely delay Dave, he put himself on half rations.

Three weeks were now gone, and he looked for Dave momentarily; but as
night followed day, and day grew into night again, he was given over
to keen anxiety. Had Phillips lost his way? Had he failed to locate the
snow-covered dugout? Had he perished in the storm? Had he fallen victim
to Indians? These and like questions haunted the poor lad continually.
Study became impossible, and he lost his appetite for what food there
was left; but the tally on the stick was kept.

The twenty-ninth day dawned. Starvation stalked into the dugout. The
wood, too, was nigh gone. But great as was Will's physical suffering,
his mental distress was greater. He sat before a handful of fire,
shivering and hungry, wretched and despondent.

Hark! Was that his name? Choking with emotion, unable to articulate, he
listened intently. Yes; it was his name, and Dave's familiar voice, and
with all his remaining energy he made an answering call.

His voice enabled Phillips to locate the dugout, and a passage was
cleared through the snow. And when Will saw the door open, the tension
on his nerves let go, and he wept--"like a girl," as he afterward told
us.

"God bless you, Dave!" he cried, as he clasped his friend around the
neck.

CHAPTER X. -- ECHOES FROM SUMTER.

THE guns that opened on Fort Sumter set the country all ablaze. In
Kansas, where blood had already been shed, the excitement reached an
extraordinary pitch. Will desired to enlist, but mother would not listen
to the idea.

My brother had never forgotten the vow made in the post-trader's, and
now with the coming of war his opportunity seemed ripe and lawful; he
could at least take up arms against father's old-time enemies, and at
the same time serve his country. This aspect of the case was presented
to mother in glowing colors, backed by most eloquent pleading; but she
remained obdurate.

"You are too young to enlist, Willie," she said. "They would not accept
you, and if they did, I could not endure it. I have only a little time
to live; for my sake, then, wait till I am no more before you enter the
army."

This request was not to be disregarded, and Will promised that he would
not enlist while mother lived.

Kansas had long been the scene of bi