y, bringing in trophies of which a great warrior might have
been proud. Na-tee-kah had a sort of notion that Two Arrows must have
done it somehow, until well assured that her brother had not been
present, and that the Red-head had not taken the scalp of the slain
Apache. She had heard that the pale-face warriors sometimes neglected
that duty, but could not well understand why, even when Ha-ha-pah-no
explained to her that it was "bad medicine" for a white man to scalp
anybody.

The situation called for something more than cheers, however, and the
miners hurried to the mouth of the notch. To pack it breast-high with
fragments of wood and stone was no great matter, and the breastwork was
finished in time for a late supper.

"Tell ye what, jedge," remarked one of the men, "if I was a redskin I
wouldn't be in a hurry to ride up to that there bar, with a half a dozen
rifles peepin' over it. Reckon it'd take the cleanest kind of grit. A
feller could stand behind it and pepper away, and be a'most safe agin
anything short of cannon."

The wagons and other things were left as they were, and the entire notch
was a perfectly safe corral for the animals. All the human beings moved
their bivouac down towards the barrier they had made, leaving the fires
behind them.

"They're all right, there," said Pine, "and we needn't kindle any down
hereaway to tell jest where we are."

There was sense in that, and one sentry was as good as a dozen to keep
watch at the narrow entrance left, for even that was securely closed
until there should be a good reason for opening it.

Sile found himself the hero of the camp, and that the scratch upon his
arm excused him from guard duty. At first he was well pleased to lie
down and go to sleep, after the severe fatigue and excitement of his
great ride. Never before had he raced it after such a fashion, and every
bone and muscle felt the effects of the long strain. He saw, too, that
everybody else was taking the matter with perfect coolness. All those
miners had been in tight places more than once, and they had great faith
in the prudence of redskins about charging upon white riflemen hidden
behind rocks. Sile ate a hearty supper. In fact, he was compelled at
last to be very positive with Ha-ha-pah-no. She would have gone right on
cooking for him until morning if he had let her, and so would
Na-tee-kah. They were positively proud of the privilege of bringing him
his coffee. He was assured that the hor