thing," said Manuel; "but he
would not permit him to be deprived of his pony. Perhaps you saw him,
when you were on the butte, dash round the herd with Henry on his
shoulder?"

"Frank and I saw it," I answered.

"He said, when he placed Henry back upon Chiquita, 'He will make a
brave chief.'"

Camp was reached a little after dark, and the boys plunged into the
river to remove the _yeso_, and then dressed themselves in civilized
garments, Henry drawing on his reserve, and the others from the
quartermaster's stores.

Had not Victoriana been a modest doggie, the amount of praise and
attention she received from the four boys would have turned her head;
and the boys themselves had no reason to complain of the kindly
congratulations they received from the infantry company.

Word was sent to Lieutenant Hubbell that Manuel Perea had been
rescued, and the following morning all the New Mexicans not on duty
rode into camp to congratulate the boy upon his escape. Spanish cheers
and Spanish felicitations filled the air for an hour.

When the volunteers had gone and quiet was resumed, Brenda came, and
her delight at seeing the boys again showed itself in ceaseless
caressings of Vic and many requests for a repetition of the account of
their flying ride when the signal was waved from the butte. When she
at last withdrew, to repeat the story to her relatives, the corporals
and I wrote a letter to Senora Perea, to be delivered by her son. In
my portion I related the circumstances attending his recovery,
detailing the part taken by the boy corporals, the dog, and the troop.
I said no one desired to claim the generous reward she had offered,
since no one in particular had rescued Manuel; many things had
combined to enable him to escape. If the lady insisted upon paying
the reward, we all desired that it should be devoted to the education
of Sapoya.

Frank added a few lines, and Henry closed the letter. The younger
corporal wrote:

"I've laughed with the rest over my two days' captivity
among the Navajos, and made light of it. I don't mind
telling you that after shivering through two nights without
clothes and without enough blankets, being bitten by
mosquitoes and flies, and scorched daytimes by the sun, I
begin to think Manuel a great hero.

"You know when I saw you I told you I was going to bring
back Manuel or be a prisoner with him. That, of course, was
all foolish talk, for I