Perhaps, for he had ridden on a great many warpaths with the fierce and
merciless Lipans.

The latter would not follow till morning, and would move less rapidly
than their two scouts, but their progress was not likely to be at all
slow.

Steve Harrison rode on by the side of his friend for some distance
without saying a word.

"What's the matter, Steve?"

"Murray, I don't mean ever to go back to the Lipans."

"Not unless it's necessary."

"It won't be necessary."

"Can't say, Steve. All this country's full of Apaches. We may get a
sight of 'em any minute. I don't much care how soon we do, either."

"I'm not Indian enough for some things, Murray."

"Couldn't you fight Apaches?"

"I suppose I could, if they came to fight me. But I don't want to kill
anybody. I thought you said you were feeling more like a white man."

"Steve, I don't know how I'd feel if I had a white shirt on, and a suit
of civilized clothes. I'm a good deal of a savage yet, as it is."

"I never saw anything very savage about you."

"I'm on the war-path now, Steve, after my old enemies. Let's make as
good time as we can before dark. After that we'll have to go carefully
till the moon's up."

They were advancing a good deal more rapidly than the Apaches had been
able to do over that same pass, hindered by their long train of tired
pack-ponies and their women and children.

It was not a difficult trail to follow, for the lodge pole ends,
dragging on the ground, had so deeply marked it that a man like Murray
could have found it in the dark.

That was precisely what he did, after the sun sunk behind the western
mountains, and the deep shadows crept up from the ravines and covered
everything.

After the moon arose it was easier work, and Steve thought he had never
seen anything more beautiful than was the moonlight on the quartz
cliffs, and the forests, and the little lakes in the deep valleys, and
on the foaming streams which came tumbling down the mountain sides from
the regions of perpetual snow above.

Perhaps he was right, for hardly anybody has ever seen anything more
beautiful in its way than such a moonlight view as that.

There was no time to stop and gaze, for Murray pushed on as fast as
possible without using up their tough and wiry mustangs.

"We may need all the legs they've got to-morrow, Steve. We must find
grass and water for them before daybreak."

It was a good three hours before sunrise, and the moon had