The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-09

Halt 1t with few men down in the gorge,
but hold your main body on the bluffs.
Wen keep Big Road busy"
Luckily the stars were brilliant in the
wintry sky and the consultations out in
all their glory. The pole star glowed high
aloft and held them to their course. Out
in the advance, flashing his horse with
Indian whip to keep him to his speed, rode
Brave Bear, corporal of the Ogallalla
company, side by side with Sergeant Brem-
mer. Whenever the drifts were deep in the
ravines one of them would halt and warn
the column to swerve to the right or left.
Only yard or two behind the two officers
Farwell, grizzled and stout, Farrar, fair
and slender, came Looping or trotting the
leading four, and, though it was not his
accustomed place, there rode Terry Rorke,
where, as he had explained to the satisfac-
ton of the sergeant, he could be close to
"Masther Will" The prairie was broad
need of diminishing front. A platoon
could have ridden abreast and found no
serious obstacle, except the snowdrifts in
the deep coulees. Two miles to the west
they sped, moving cautiously at first so as
to give no inkling of their intent, and, for
the first mile, almost doubling on their
tracks, SO as to keep well away from the
Indian rear guard. Then in long curve
Farwell led them toward the low, rolling
hills, now dimly visible against the firma-
ment and presently the ravines began to
grow deeper but further apart, the slopes
more abrupt, and the westward hills doomed
closer in their path, and still the snowy
expanse showed unbroken, and Bear bend
ing low over his pony's neck and watch
had crossed as yet into the hills and that
the entrance to Elk Gulch was now not
more than mile to the north. And here
the hills rolled higher, both to their front
and toward the west, but Farwell led on
up gradual ascent until the slope began
to grow steep; then dismounting led the
way afoot, the whole column rolling out of
saddle and towing its hores in his track,
Up, up, they climbed until, breathing hard
now, but pushing relentlessly on, the cap
tain reached the crest and faint and dim
in the starlight, dotted here and there with
little clumps of spruce and cedar, the roll
ing billowy surface lay before him
shrouded in its mantle of Iglistening snow.
Leading on until the whole command had
time to reach the top he motioned Will to
halt, while he with Bear and Sergeant
Bremmer pushed few yards further on.
The column took breathing spell and
waited.
Far out to the eastward and below them
an occasional flash as of rifle or revolver
sparkled through the night, and the faint
report was presently borne to their listen
ing ears. Big Road was still barring the
way of the column then, and that meant
that all the village was not vet safely with
in the grim walls of the canyon. North
ward the snowy slopes rolled higher still,
but 1t was northwestward among the
clumps of trees that the leaders had gone.
The steam from the horses nostrils ana
from their heaving TANKS rose on the keen
air and the blood raced and tlngled in the
veins OF the men. Not whisper OF noun
tain breeze was astir. The night was as
still as the voiceless skies. Three, four,
minutes, with beating hearts, the little
command watched and waited. and drew
| longer breath, and then dark shape came
jogging back from the front, and Farwell's
voice said, mount and come on"
Then came fifteen minutes trot. wind