The semi-weekly miner., 1883-08-01

! bYDnZed, every sza<f and ezsosn,
showing sC1g Ese. every b0sss siEIiDa
! its bead Hosu the grzS. al sLeYt inter
vzls for = swift glance Up and dcvI
the valley.
Here. 1t the foo. of THE rnoCniain
I tie 4 pzebe trail wEfel has ben fDl
lowed to- three czss, hzs gro~E
c,ld- Aye, j; has be=n Ios-- II il =
if the wEi,e Enen bad followed E<z1E
! which Suddenly ended zt pEedp:oe
From tits poin. the red cenon tool
wings. and the Oldest trailer l. a
fault.
Tie men On picket 'Noked up and
down the narrow valley With anx'
isus faces Down tks .aIIey. milk
away, . solitary .iid hore pz.s and
prann@. and ufter= sbgiI. Ee:gifs ol
wondeYu1ent and alarm. Up the val
Iey is a long stretch Of erreE graz
the earth il seFei II fooI aud na
visible sign sf life. The pine. AID
shrubs, and rock. on tals mountain
side might hide 1G,a,S Indians, bG:
there i. not tie sIiEgte-s movement to
arouse s1sSicieH- II i. still, TO.
day. No; bird ci1irl=. Dos a branch
waves. The eve Of a lEDx could de-
tes nothing D<yond the erratic move
ments of the lone wild horse sdGwn
TIE VALLEY, and the circular fight O
Al eagle - high in air that the pTo1d
bird seemed 10 larger thar sparrow.
For an hour every Iisn AID horse
has looked for '-sign.." bat nothing
has been discovered beyond what Eas
Il
There is something in il 10 arouse
suspicion a. well a. annoyance. Ten
miles away the trail was a. plain a. 4
csuntry highway, and the Indians
had no suspicions Of pursuit. Five
miles hack there were .jyEs OF c1m-
molten. Here, in the center Of the
valley. every footp,is, suddenly di.-
appear.
L,ok. now. A sergeant with griz-
ely locks and fighting jaw Iides down
the valley, followed by five troopers.
They are to scout for the lot trail.
Every man has unsIung hi. carbine,
every szddle-girth has been tight
ened, and every man Of the Elk looks
over the camp az he rides out a. if be
had been told that he was bidding
last farewell 10 comrades. They ride
at slow gaIlop. Each man casts
swift glance. along the mountain
ride TO III. rjght-Aiong the mountain
ride TO his Isft-at the green grass un-
der his horses feet.
What's that. Altar up the slope to
the right something waves to and fro
FIR moment. Higher UP the signal
il answered. Across the valley On
the ether slope it is answered again.
Down the valley, a full two miles
beyond, where the wild horse now
stands like a figure of stone, and
where the valley sweeps to the right
like sudden turn Of q river, the sig
nal il caught up. and DU Apaches,
eager, excited, and mounted, draw
back into the fringe at the base Of
the mountain and wait
The little band gallop straight
down upon the lone horse. Now
they are only half mile away, and
his breath comes quick and his nos-
triIs quiver as he stand. and stares at
the straLge spectacle. A little nearer
and his muscles witch and qulver
and his sharp-poin.ed ears work fast
er. The sight may thrill, but it does
not increase the pace Of those who
follow. The men see the wild horse
fleeing before then, but the sight
does not hold their eyes more thar
second. To the right-to the left
above them-down the valley-they
are looking for hoof-print, for
trampled spot, for a broken t~ig-fOr
a sign however insignificant to prove
that men have passed. that way.
They find nothing. The signal up
the mountain-fide were visible only
for seconds.
After the first wild burst Of speed
the lone horse looks ba"k. He sees
that he is not being pushed, and he
RECEIVERS courage. He no longer runs
in q straight line. but he sweeps
away to the lett-swerves away to
the right, and changes his gait to a
trot. When he hears the shouts Of
pursuit and the louder thump of
he will straighten away |
and show the pursuers gait which |
nothing but whirIwind can equal
LeOk! 1t is only quarter of !
nile now to the turn IN the valley. |
The lone horse has suddenly stopped
% sniff the air. His ears are pointed
'traignt ahead, and his eyes grow
arger and take on a frightened look,
md he half wheels as if he would
.allop back to those who have seem
ngly pursued. Five, eight, ten sec
,nds, and with snort Of alarm he
freaks into u terrific run, takes the
left of the valley, and goes
caring out of sight as if followed by
ions.
"Haltu'
The grim sergeant sees "signs" in
be actions Of the horse. Every
rooper is looking ahead and to the
light. The green valley runs into
he fringe, the fringe into dense
hickst, the thicket into rock and
inc and mountain s,ope. No eye
an penetrate that fringe. The In
ians may be in ambush there, or the
orse may have scented wolf or
rizzly.
"FOrward"
No man knows what danger turks
4 the fringe, but the order was to !
:out beyond the bend. To disobey
) ignomy and disgrace; to ride for
ard is-wait! There is no air stir
ing in the valley. Every limb and
ough is az still as if made OF iron.
here is a silence which weighs like
heavy burden, and the harsh note
ha wk or buzzard would be a relief.
Here is the bend. The valley con-
Dues az b :fOre-nO wider-nO mar &
'wer-level and unbroken. The
lid horse was out Of sight long ago, I
I'd the six troopers see nothing but a
e green grass as their eyes sweep a
e valley from side to side.
"Turn the bend and ride down the
'lley for mile or 80, and keep your '
es open to discover any pass lead L
z out"
Halt"
It is more tnan q mile beyond the
nd. No pass has been discovered.
, signs Of q trail have been picked
The cnrrno nj hoa ro ;onJ /, ;rn.nlft