n away from was very liberal. The
Apache chief was necessarily a good captain, fully able to understand
how bad it would be for him to be placed between two fires. The ground
in front of the notch was therefore no place for him to fight in, and he
did not know what precious minutes he had already been wasting. He threw
away ten more in a sort of consultation with his wisest warriors, and at
the same time his whole force rode up the valley a short distance. That
move gave them the cover of some trees and took them out of range of
bullets from the barrier, and at that very moment Judge Parks was
startled by a yell from Sile.

"What are you doing up there?" he shouted, for Sile had clambered away
up among the rocks of the lodge and stood upon a sort of pinnacle,
spy-glass in hand.

"Cavalry, father! They are coming. Cavalry--"

"Come down!"

"Right in this direction. Riding hard. Hurrah!"

The new rifle of Two Arrows could not have won him the glory of that
discovery and announcement. Once more the peculiar advantages of
pale-faces over red men were forced upon him, but somehow it did but
stir up his ambition, and with it a quick, daring impulse. He sprang
away up the valley for a horse. He rushed in among the gathered animals
of the corral, and boldly picked out his father's best and swiftest
mustang, a beast that could run like the wind. He asked for no saddle,
and the bridle went on as if by magic.

Sile came down from his perch at a rate that risked his neck, and made a
report which drew from Yellow Pine,

"I'd call it--Jedge, if we could only let them fellers know we're here,
it would be wuth a heap."

Before all who echoed that wish had finished speaking Two Arrows came
dashing towards the barrier, all ready for the errand.

"Give the youngster three cheers!" shouted Yellow Pine. "Hurrah for
him!"

CHAPTER XXX

A DARING RIDE

For the moment there was not one Apache horseman lingering within reach
of the sharpshooters at the gap, and it was possible to get away from it
unseen. All peril would come afterwards, but there was a vast amount of
it, and the proposed errand of Two Arrows called for unlimited courage.
His light weight upon a fresh racer gave him some advantage over heavy
warriors upon horses already hard ridden, but this fact did not cover
the whole question by any means, for a bullet will travel faster than
the swiftest mustang. Sile did his best to communicate every fact that
his sp