The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1883-09-12
FINDING THE TRAIL.

FINDING THE TRAIL.
Here IN the shadow of this grim
mountain Is camp of cavalry-two
hundred men In faded and ragged blue
uniforms, every face sunburned and
bronzed, every saber and carbine show
ing long use, every horse lifting its
head from the grass at short intervals
for swift glance up and down the VAL
ley.
Here. at the foot of the mountain,
the Apache trail, which has been fol-
lowed for three days. has grown cold.
Aye, It has been lost It Is as If the
white men had followed path which
suddenly ended at q precipice. From
and the Oldest trailer is at fault 8
The men on picket looked up and
down the narrow valley with anxious
faces Down the valley, mile away,
Q solitary wild horse paws and prances
and alarm Up the valley is q long
stretch of green grass, the earth as
level as . hoor, and no visible sign of
life. The pines and shrubs and rocks
on the mountain side might hide ten
thousand Indians, but there is not the
slightest movement to arouse suspicion.
1t Is . still, hot day. Not bird chirps,
not o branch waves. The eye Of 3
lynx could detect nothing beyond the
erratic movements of the lone wild
horse adown the valley and the circular
fight of an eagle 50 high in the air
that the proud bird seemed no larger
than sparrow. -s7-i---
For an hour every man and horse has
looked for signs" but nothing has
been discovered beyond what has been
described. II Is q lost trail. There is
something In il to arouse suspicion as
well as annoyance. Ten miles away
the trail was as plain as country high
way, and the Indians had no suspicion
Of pursuit. Five miles back there were
signs Of commotion.a aere, in the center
Of the valley, every footprint suddenly
disappears.
Look. nowl A sergeant with grizzly
locks and fighting jaw rides down the
valley. followed by five troopers. They
are to scout for tho lost trail. Every
man has unslung his carbine, every
saddle-girth has been tightened, and
every man of the six looks over the
camp as he rides out as If he had been
told that he was bidding last farewell
to comrades They ride at q slow gal
lop. Each man casts swift glances
along the mountain side to his left-at
the green grass under his horses feet.
What's thatt Afar up the slope TO the
right something waves to and fro for .
moment Higher up the signal Is an
swered- Across the valley on the other
slope il Is answered again. Down the
valley. fun two miles beyond where
the wild horse now stands Ike O figure
Of stone. and where the valley sweeps
70 the right Ike the sudden turn of q
river, the signal is caught up and two
hundred Apaches, eager, excited and
mounted, draw back into the fringe at
the base of the mountain and wait. 80
The little band gallop straight down
upon the lone horse. Now they are
only half mile away, and his breath
comes quick and his nostrils quiyer as
he stands and stares at the strange
spectacle. A little nearer and his mus
cles twitch and quiver and his sharp
pointed ears work faster. Only eighty
rods now, and with Q fierce snort of
alarm and defiance he rears up, whirls
about like q top, and Is off down the
valley like an arrow sent by strong
hand The sight may thrill. but it does
not increase the pace of those who fol-
low The men see the wild horse fee
ing before them. but the sight does not
hold their eyes more than second To
the right-to the left-aboye them
down they valley-they are looking for
footprint, for q trampled spot, for q
broken twig-for q sign however insig-
nificant to prove that men have passed
that way. They find nothing The
signals up the mountain side were visi-
After the first wild burst of speed the
lone horse looks back. He sees that he
Is not being pursued. and he RECEIVERS
courage he no longer runs in a
straight line, but he sweeps away to the
left-swerves away to the right and
changes his gait to trot- When he
hears the shouts of pursuit and the
straighten away and show the pursuers
can equal.
Lookl It Is only q quarter of q mile
now to the turn in the valley. The lone
horse has suddenly stopped to sniff the
air. his ears are pointed straight
ahead, his eyes grow larger and take on
q frightened look and he half wheels as
II he would gallop back to those who
have seemingly pursued. Five, eight,
ten seconds. and with q snort of alarm
he breaks into terrific run, takes the
extreme left of the valley. and goes
tearing out of sight as If followed by
lions.
ssHalti,'
The grim sergeant sees s.signs" in
the actions of the horse. Every trooper
Is looking ahead and to the right. The
green valley runs into the fringe, the
Hinge into dense thicket, the fhicket
into rock and pine and mountain slope
No eye can penetrate that fringe. The
Indians may be In ambush there, or the
horse may have scented wolf or grizzly.
Forward 3e
No man knows what danger turks in
the fringe, but the order was to scout
beyond the bend. To disobey is igno,
miny and disgrace; to ride forward is
waifi There is no air stirring in the
valley. Every limb and bough is as
still as II made of iron There Is 81
lence which weighs ike q heavy bur
den, and the harsh note of hawk or buz-
card would be relief.
Here Is the bend. The valley con-
tinues as before-no wider-no narrow
er-level and unbroken- The wild
horse was out Of sight long ago, and the
six troopers see nothing but the green
grass as their eyes sweep the valley
Eom aide to side.