We struck out for camp and reached the place where Capt.  McKee and his men were in camp a little after dark.

The Capt. was surprised indeed when we rode into camp with the band of strange horses, and the men commenced to cheer us as soon as they saw what we had with us.

One of my scouts said, “We don’t want to go with you any more, Capt.  McKee, for you do your work at night and our boss does his work in the daytime.”

We dismounted and gave our horses to the man who had the care of the horses and sat down to a supper of fried fish, and we surely did justice to that meal, as we were very hungry.

After we had finished the meal, I told the Capt. all about our day’s work in trailing the Indians and surprising them as they slept, and how we wiped the whole band out before they were awake.

The Capt. said, “Tomorrow morning we will keep on down toward the southwestern settlements.”

I asked him how far it was to the first settlement, and he answered, “We will make it by tomorrow night.”

CHAPTER X.

The next morning we were on the road very early, and we traveled nearly all day before we reached the first settlement.

There was a little cluster of houses there, perhaps fifty all together, and they were as prosperous farmers as I had seen in Texas.

They were all acquainted with the Capt. and were glad to see us.

We staid at this place a couple of days to let our horses rest, and we sold twelve of the horses that we’d captured from the Indians to the farmers.

The people there told us that it was three months since the Indians had made a raid on them, and there had not been any Indians through that neighborhood since the raid, but they had been told that the Indians were doing a great deal of damage to the settlement forty or fifty miles west of there.

Capt.  McKee said, “Well, we will go down and investigate.”

As we were leaving the village, an old acquaintance of the Capt. said, “Let us know when you are coming back, and we will have a banquet and a dance while you and your men are here.”

Capt.  McKee answered, “We will not come back until you have another visit from the Indians, and I don’t believe you will want to dance then.”

We pulled out for the settlements where the Indians had been making the trouble.

In the middle of the afternoon of that day we struck the trail of what appeared to be quite a large band of Indians, and after following it a short distance I concluded it was a fresh trail.  Capt.  McKee said, “What do you think is best to do?  The whole company to follow their trail, or my men and I stop here and you and your scouts keep on after them and locate them if you can?”

I answered, “Judging from the appearance of the trail, I think we would be running a great risk for the whole company to keep on, and I think it would be the safest plan for you to stop here and let my scouts and me trail the Indians until they camp for the night, and, Capt., as you are acquainted with the country, can you tell me how far they will be likely to travel until they strike good water and grass again?”