San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-11-24

vestige of fuel-and then, with three I'M
daunted campaigners at his back, he
had once again turned down stream, fol-
lowing its wanderings in the darkness
and feeling for ravines he could not see
along the southern bank. Time and
again they dismounted and ran beside
their horses to restore circulation to the
numbed and stiffened feet and fingers.
Time and again they plunged waist
deep into drifts and the horses founder
ed to their girths in the powdery snow.
At last Brewster noted that here and
there far in the northwestern skies the
stars were beginning to peep: the clouds
were driving away, the dawn was nigh,
the hurricane abating. Broader and
brighter the daylight stole over the
storm swept prairie, streaked here and
there with fleecy, winding veins, and
when at last the sun arose in its I'M
clouded splendor the gale had died away
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 a
sign of those whom they had rushed to
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
yestige of the lost ones had been found,
and suggest that additional parties be
sent out at once.
Tell 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, | 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 lit
tie break in the north side which led by
more gradual ascent to the prairie be-
yond.
Now, 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, | think Muir
ply sees something now," said Morse,
indicating the farther shore with nod
of his fur covered head. Whirling Gag
erly about, Brewster was surprised to see
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 skirted the shores
and bounding out upon the frozen
ground beyond. Again Murphy held
forth hand-a warning gesture, not 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 see?" queried Brewster,
eager and agitated.
/ Upon my soul, sir. | wish | knew;
but it's more like Indians than anything
| can think Of"
Indians? where away" And with a
wild fear at heart Brewster gazed over
the bank in the direction indicated.
Indians, and coming this way, sir, or
I'm a tenderfoot," muttered Morse, a
man who had served in the Twelfth for
many year.
what on earth can they be doing so
far south of the agency? You don't
think any of the hostiles have got down
this way?"
They're all hostiles, sir, when there's
only three or four ag'in them. 1t don't
matter whether these are from the
agency or the Bad Lands now, if they
can catch a white man a-napping, and
something has brought them out here. "
my God, man! you don't suppose
they've heard of the ambulance?'
They hear things quicker than we
do, lieutenant. Day or night, calm or
storm, those fellows can all around beat
us in getting news"
"And they are coming from the north
east, lieuteEant," chimed in Murphy.
That means if they are from the vii
lagos near the agency they've circled
around our people"
Breathless the little party watched the
coming dots. The stream bore to the
northeast after deep bend about halt
a mile away, and on the farther bank,
moving nearly parallel with the valley,
about a dozen dark objects could he seen