ork, he rose up and used dreadful language,
and gathered his braves together. They set out in pursuit of
the absconders, determined to kill both the wife and her
paramour.

"To follow the young chief's trail was an easy matter, for
it was a trail of blood and fire, and, after long days of
desperate riding, the pursuers came within striking
distance. Then came the first pitched battle. Both sides
lost heavily, but the fight was indecisive. The result of
it, however, showed the pursuers that they had no light task
before them. The chief harangued his braves, and prepared to
follow up the attack next day. The fugitives, though their
losses had been only proportionate with those of their
pursuers, were not in such good case. Their original numbers
were less than half of their opponents.

"However, they were great fighters, and took no heed, but
got ready at once for more battle. The young chief, however,
had a streak of caution in him. Maybe he saw what the braves
all missed. If in a fight he lost as many men as his
opponents, and the opponents persisted, why, by the process
of elimination, he would be quietly but surely wiped out.

"Now, it so happened, he had long since made up his mind to
make his permanent home in the valley of Leaping Creek. He
knew it by repute, and where it lay, and he felt that once
in the dense bush of the valley he would have a great
advantage over the attacks of all pursuers.

"Therefore, all that night, leaving his dead and wounded
upon the plains, he and his men rode hard for the valley. At
daybreak he saw the great pine that stood up on the horizon,
and he knew that he was within sight of his goal, and, in
consequence, he and his men felt good.

"But daybreak showed him something else, not so pleasant. He
had by no means stolen a march upon his pursuers. They, too,
had traveled all night, and the second battle began at
sunrise.

"Again was the fight indecisive, and the young chief was
buoyant, and full of hope. He told himself that that night
should see him and his squaw and his braves safely housed in
the sheltering bush of the valley. But when he came to count
up his survivors he was not so pleased. He had lost nearly
three-quarters of his original numbers, and still there
seemed