he head, they were astonished to see Bob's little squad drawn
up in a hollow square, with their prisoners in the centre. Of late there
had been a good many anxious inquiries made concerning these very men,
and here they were, safe and sound, and, wonderful to tell, with more
prisoners to show what good soldiers they were.

"Three cheers for the 'Brindles,' the old reliables!" shouted the
sergeant-major; and the yells that arose from two hundred pairs of
strong lungs could have been heard a long distance away.

George lifted his cap in response to a nod of recognition from Captain
Clinton, and in obedience to a sign from him rode over to his side; but
Bob and his men sat in their saddles as stiff as so many posts, looking
straight to the front. When the next call for cheers came, however, it
almost knocked Bob over.

"Three cheers for Sergeant Owens!" shouted a "Brindle;" and then came
three more yells, followed by a "tiger" as loud and piercing as an
Indian war-whoop. During his absence Bob had been promoted in general
orders for gallantry, his pay as sergeant to begin on the day he rescued
Mr. Wentworth's boys from the hands of the Kiowas.

Presently the bugle sounded, and the column came to a halt. The officers
at once fell out and crowded around George, who, in as few words as
possible, told Captain Clinton what Bob's squad had been doing since the
captain left them back there on the borders of the Staked Plains. The
officers were all very much pleased, especially Lieutenant Earle, who
for a moment threw off his dignity and rode up to thank the members of
the squad which had brought so much credit upon the troop he commanded.

"Sergeant," said he, extending his hand--which Bob accepted after
running his own hand through his sword-knot and dropping his sabre by
his side--"I congratulate you and all your men. You have done well."

Bob managed to stammer out something about being glad to have pleased
the lieutenant, and the latter, after ordering them to sheathe their
sabres, went on to tell how he had followed the Indians in his front
until his men and horses were nearly exhausted and almost dead for want
of water, and how he had finally returned to the fort a day behind the
column, utterly disgusted with his want of success, to find that some of
his own troop had carried off the honors of the scout. He was proud to
command such men.

Meanwhile, Captain Clinton and George were engaged in an earnest
consultation.