o were now so many miles away from him, for then it was that he
realized how powerless he was to help them. He went on in this strain
until he had talked himself out of breath, and then he went back to his
seat on the doorstep and covered his face with his hands.

CHAPTER IX.

WHAT GEORGE KNEW ABOUT TRAILING.

"It is a hard case," said George to himself as he walked slowly toward
the gate, "and I believe, as Mr. Wentworth does, that he has seen his
children for the last time. In the first place, the chances are that the
Indians, having so long a start, will not be overtaken; but if they go
out of their way to attack other isolated ranches, and the troops should
come up with them, their very first act, if they saw that they were
likely to be whipped, would be to kill their captives, so that they
could not be rescued. It _is_ a hard case, that's a fact, and I don't
see that anything can be done about it. I wish Zeke were here to give
his opinion on the subject."

The troopers, having answered to the names, were going out to bring in
their horses preparatory to grooming them, and George went with them to
bring in his own. Nearly an hour was devoted to this important duty,
which was performed under the watchful eye of an officer, and although
George often saw his friend Bob, the latter did not speak to him. There
were a good many shoulder-straps around, and work, and not talk, was the
order of the day. Even those of the officers who, having no servants,
were obliged to act as their own grooms, had very little to say to one
another; but when these same officers were gathered around the
breakfast-table half an hour later, they were lively and talkative
enough. There they met on a footing of perfect equality, like the
members of a private family, although the juniors did not forget to say
"sir" when addressing their superiors. There were no orders issued
during the progress of the meal, and in fact very little was said about
military matters; but still, George heard enough to satisfy him that
active operations against the thieving Kiowas were to be commenced
immediately, and that he was to make one of an expedition upon whose
success a good deal depended.

The appearance of the officers as they passed into the hall after rising
from the breakfast-table must have been a signal to the bugler who
stood in front of the door of head-quarters, for as soon as he saw them
he raised his instrument to his lips and blew a sh