Evening journal., 1892-08-05

to a mere ghost of its furious self, and
they rubbed the icy fringe from their
battered eyelids and gazed long and
wistfully up and down that shallow,
winding valley, all heaped and tumbled
with the driven snow, and saw not
sign Of those whom they had rushed 70
save.
Never for an instant did Brewster re-
lax his efforts. Giving each of his men
a pull at the flask, he selected little
Murphy as about the most compact and
certainly the lightest Of the trio, and
babe him make his way to camp and
tell the colonel that up to sunrise no
vestige Of the lost ones had been found,
and suggest that additional parties be
sent out at once.
"Ten somebody TO bring my field
glass" he added, as Murphy was about
to ride away. "If ! had dreamed we
would have found nothing of the ambu-
lance until this time, 1 never should
have left it. Good luck TO you now,
corporal. Ride as lively as you can"
Murphy turned promptly away, spur
red his unwilling horse through the ice
into the black and racing waters Of the
Wolf and was presently following a lit
| tie break in the north side which led by
a more gradual ascent to the prairie be-
yond.
snow, men, one of you ride back to-
ward the party at the ford, poke into
every ravine to your left-they're all full
of snow; it may be the ambulance is so
deep in the drift they could hear no
sound. If you find anything, the faint
est trace, ride up on the prairie and
circle your horse to the left. Morse,
You come with me"
"Beg pardon, lieutenant, l think Muir
ply sees something now," said Morse,
indicating the farther shore with a nod
Of his fur covered head. Whirling Gag
erly about, Brewster was surprised tosee
his little Irishman, hundred yards or
so away, crouching low on his horses
back, still in the ravine and up TO his
girth in snow, and peering cautiously
eastward, his eyes just level with the
bank Then he was plainly seen TO sig
nal. In an instant Brewster and his men
were plunging into the rapid stream,
crushing the ice that sl1irted the shores
and bounding out upon the frozen
ground beyond Again Murphy held
forth a hand-a warning gesture, not a
a reckoning one. Keep down, keep
down, he signaled, and wondering, the
little party Of troopers cautiously fol
lowed into the ravine.
"What do you seer queried Brewster,
eager and agitated.
Upon my soul, sir. wish / knew
but it's more like Indians than anything
can think Of"
, "Indiansl where away" And with q
wild fear at heart Brewster gazed ovei
, the bank in the direction indicated.
, Indians. and coming this way, sir, Of
| I'm a tenderfoot," muttered Morse,
man who had served in the Twelfth fol
q many year
r "What on earth can they be doing S,
| far south of the agency? You don
4 think any of the hostiles have got dow
f this way?"
o They're all hostiles, sir, when there
, only three or four ag'in them. 1t don
O matter whether these are from tn
r agency or the Bad Lands now, if the,
{ can catch white man a-napping, an,
romething has brought them out here.
' "My God, mani you don't suppos
d they've heard Of the ambulance
s "They hear things quicker than w
y do, lieutenant. Day or night, calm o
4 storm, those fellows can all around bea
z us in getting news"
I "And they are coming from the north
s east, lieutenant" chimed in Murphy
"That means if they are from the vii
e lagos near the agency they've circle'
v around our people"
I Breathless the little party watched tn
d coming dots. The stream bore to tn
/ northeast after a deep bend about hal
t mile away, and on the farther bank
! moving nearly parallel with the valley
\ about dozen dark objects could be seel
o moving at rapid lope, the springing, tire
S less gait Of the Indian pony. Ponies the,
o were unquestionably, and each with IN
rider Every moment brought then
n nearer and nearer, until, as they spreal
r out in extended order across the leve
O surface, it was possible to count thei
4 number, eleven; possible to note tina
n every now and then some one Of tn
] number in front or on the TANKS woul
q rein in suddenly and circle around an
Z stop, as though examining tracks upo
r the prairie.
! 1T is not possible the ambulance ca
= have got so far over as that" muttere
p Brewster. 1T is not possible that the
S can have heard of it in all that fearfu
+ storm. Why, Morse, it's madness {
r think of itw
I Il don't know how far the team ma
, have been driven out that way, sir bu
: the blizzard came from the northwest
e from their left front; it beat across thei
e path all the way and mules won't fac
y it. and if it isn't the ambulance theyI
= after, what can it bey
g "My God, if we only knew where
4 VAST groaned Brewster. Come whl
= may, men, we've got to stand 'twixt
d and those scoundrels. Here, Murph,
i lively now, slip back down into the va
k ley and ride for all you're worth to tn
d ford and bring those fellows back wit
d you, every man of them. Tell them
d keep under the bank and ride like hel
d Of with you, now" And this time thei
d was no recall; Murphy was out Of sigl