The Irish standard., 1895-09-28

ing to let down the stir1ups, but with
his long legs dangling, led the way
along winding path to the stream and
then through the willows to its wooded
bank. A trot of three minutes brought
them to the bluff at whose rocky base
the Sandy came boiling out of the can-
yon Ahead of them, fresh and dis
tinct, the hoof prints Of a score of horses
had obliterated all sign Of what might
have been driven ahead Of them. But
wheeling his horse abruptly to the
right Kelly plunged into the foaming
waters and sent him suffering, breast
deep, to the lower bank on the opposite
side. Here in a shallow depression to
the east Of the stream lay some soft
and marshy ground, and here the old
sergeant reined in and pointed without
a word to some peculiar footprints.
Thornton, following his lead, gazed
down at the sign, then into the ser
geant's face for explanation.
"When did you find these?' he asked.
"Not fifteen minutes ago, sir. The
animals went into the canyon, as Mr..
Crane supposed, and he followed, but
that's the print of the Tonic moccasin,
and some of those bucks have cut across
below here, sl1irted the edge of this
here cienega close as they could with
out getting into it. and gone on up the
heights. It's my belief they've planned
to trap the lieutenant, and we can't get
after them along this trail tooquick."
Thornton turned and gazed eagerly
4 1,o,
Looping, rode the tall and soldierly form
of the captain of the sorrel troop,
Fastening to join his chief; but, before
he could ford the stream, far to tho
northward, somewhere among those re-
sounding rocks, came faint, distinct,
but unmistakable, the ring and rattle
of musketry.
'sRy heaven, old man, you're right"
cried the major. mount your men,
Turner he shouted, 4'and get them up
here lively" a.as
l CHAPTER VI
It was some twenty-three miles, az
has been explained, in general north.
westerly, direction, by 9 crooked road,
from the new post of Fort Retribution,
around the base Of the Socorro, past
Ration Springs eight miles out) to the
fords of the Sandy, which lay some Eve
miles north Of the upper entrance to
Apache canyon. It was about ten
miles nearly due west from the flag
staff at the new post to Signal Butte.
Apache canyon, from gate to gate, was
rift Of nearly eleven miles, and the
course Of the Sandy was about south
east by south. So here was rude
scalene triangle with ten-mile base,
a sixteen-mile adjacent side and q
twenty -tfree-mile hypot henuse, crook
ed as a corkscrew, as the troopers said,
and this little triangle, solidly filed
with mountains, was the field Of opera
tions of Maj. Thornton's command In
this it's first campaign against Arizona
Indians. The Sandy took 9 sudden
turn to the southwest as it passed the
old post and flowed away in that gene
eral direction to its confluence with the
ella, and the old roundabout wagon
route from Retribution to PRESCOTT
went down the Sandy, around the
southern end of the mountain range
and then away northumberland up tho
valley Of Willow creek. The only short
cut through the Socorro clnnp was by
the old Tonic trail from Signal
Butte at the south to Ration Springs to
the northeast-and this, sGid Sergeant
Kelly, was not the route By which the
raiders retired on the approach of
Turner's troop, but was thesroute by
which they descended into the valley.
II 50 they must have come over from