down the valley toward the camp, and they instantly surmised these were the two black spots they had seen on the plain, and that Souk and his party had been discovered.  They were not long left in doubt, however, for as soon as the horsemen reached the camp they rode to the chief’s lodge, commenced gesticulating wildly, and pointing toward the cliffs where Souk and his men were.  A crowd gathered around the new-comers, and presently several were seen to run to their horses and commence saddling up.  The scouts now hastily left their hiding-place, and hurried back to Souk, whom they informed of all that was occurring below.

Not a moment was to be lost, and, ordering his men to mount, Souk turned up the mountain along the path he had just come.  He knew he had a dangerous and wily enemy to deal with, ten times his own in numbers, and that it would require all his skill to elude them, or the greatest bravery to defeat them, should it become necessary to fight.

Fortunately he knew a pass farther to the west, that was rarely used, and for this he pushed with all his might.  On reaching the mountain top, and looking back, black objects could be seen moving rapidly up the valley, and they knew that the enemy was in pursuit of them.  All night Souk toiled along, and, when the morning began to break, saw the pass he was seeking several miles ahead.  Reaching the mountain’s edge at sunrise, they dismounted and began the perilous descent into the gorge.  In two hours it was accomplished, and they entered the sombre shadows of the great canyon.  They had begun to feel safe, when suddenly the man in front reined up his horse and pointed to several pony tracks in the sand.  Souk dismounted and examined them, and, on looking around, saw where the animals had been picketed, apparently, about two hours before.

Could it be possible that the enemy had reached the pass before him, and were waiting to attack him higher up in the gorge?  He could hardly credit it, and yet it must be so, for who else could be in the lonely glen.  Recollecting that the canyon to the right would carry him into the great pass some ten miles higher up, he still hoped to get through before the enemy reached it, and, hastily mounting, they galloped furiously forward.  They had come in sight of the great pass, when, just as they were about to enter it, they saw a man sitting on a horse a few hundred yards ahead of them, and directly in the trail.  On observing the Ogallallas, the horseman gave the Cheyenne war-whoop, and, in a moment, a dozen other mounted men appeared in rear of the first.

Grasping his spear, Souk shouted his war-whoop, and, ordering his men to charge, dashed down upon the enemy.  Plunging his spear into the nearest foe, he drew his battle-axe and clove open the head of the one in the rear, and before his comrades could come up with him had unhorsed a third.  A shout down the great canyon