CHAPTER XXXV.

CHAPTER XXXV.THROUGH THE LINES AGAIN.THERE could be no doubt of the truth of the startling declaration of Bell Rickard. He had no object in deceiving the trapper, for his failure to produce Nick Ribsam deprived him of the liberal ransom agreed upon by the representative of Herbert Watrous.He stated that he had told his prisoner of the plan he had in view, so that the youth might be relieved of all dread of violence or harm, and could be content to abandon whatever plans he had in mind of escape. He assured him that, even if he succeeded in getting away, he would be in greater danger than ever, since the chances were against his finding his friends, while the Apaches were quite sure to find him.Nick seemed to be impressed with this view, and Rickard and Slidham concluded that he meant to wait patiently for his release by themethod explained to him. It now looked as if Nick had succeeded in outwitting his captors, after all, and that his apparent resignation was meant to deceive them into relaxing their watchfulness.Although the two men and boy were observed by Kimmaho and his warriors as they rode up to the adobe structure, they were able to enter and secure the massive door before the Apaches could interfere. Rickard assured Nick that it was a fortunate thing for them, since they would have been badly caught but for the refuge, where they could laugh at the enmity of ten times that number of warriors.If the criminal had felt any misgivings as to the intentions of Nick, they were removed by this time; for, after having refused all the chances offered him, who would suppose that he would place himself in the most imminent peril possible from the Apaches, when he had no knowledge that his friends were within a hundred miles?Nevertheless he was gone. When Rickard found the trapper at the door, he asked Nickto remain in another part of the building until the interview was over. It struck him that it was better that he should not listen to the negotiations, though he was willing to bring him forward when asked to do so.The criminal indicated no particular one of the dozen apartments opening on the courtyard, several of which were intended for the use of horses. The front of the building consisted of two stories, with four large rooms, but the other portion was only a single story in height.When Eph asked for a few words with the boy, Rickard sent Slidham out to bring him in. The man expected to find him at once, but as he moved from one apartment to another, calling to him in a suppressed voice and hearing nothing in reply, he began to fear something was amiss. However, he completed the circuit, including the four large apartments in front and the room where they had placed their ponies.Since he carried no light, it was easy for the youth to keep out of sight; but Slidham could think of no reason for his doing this,and he returned to his chief with the word that he believed the prisoner had “vamosed the ranch.” Deeming it incredible, Rickard set out to make the search thorough. He carried no light, but was fully supplied with matches, and he burned several in each apartment, until he had scrutinized the entire interior, and made sure the youth had not fallen asleep or was hiding.It so happened that the stables were the last place visited. Rickard was holding the tiny match above his head, anxiously awaiting the moment when its light should reveal the whole interior, when Slidham touched his arm, and, pointing at the ponies, whispered:“There’s onlytwoof them!”“You’re right,” replied the leader; “it’s his horse too that is gone.”It was true: the faithful Jack that had stood by his master so long was not in sight. All doubt was removed, and Rickard hastened to where he had left Eph Bozeman and told the astounding news.The criminal proved his earnestness by asking the trapper to help him in repeatingthe search, and he did so, visiting every room in the building, but without gaining sight of the missing youth.“Great guns!” exclaimed Eph, “how did we come to forgit it?”He started on a run for the main door. The others were at his heels, for they knew what the action meant. If Nick had stolen out and galloped off, he must have left the entrance open for anyone to enter. The instant the Apaches discovered it they would swarm through, for, as has been shown, the presence of the few white men within rendered them furiously eager to enter when otherwise they would have cared not at all.Even such a veteran as Eph Bozeman shuddered on reaching the heavy doors to find them unfastened, so that a small child could have passed through from the outside with no trouble.“If the varmints had only knowed that!” he said, after helping to secure it again.This of course changed all the conditions and brought the men in front of a new and alarming problem. Since they were assuredthat Nick Ribsam, in spite of the danger from the Apaches, had ridden out of the front of the building, and his present whereabouts were unknown, beyond the simple fact that he was not present, Eph Bozeman felt that he could not get back to his friends too soon with the news, and decide upon an immediate line of action to help the rash youth.Rickard renewed his proposal that the others should dash into the building and stay there until all danger passed. The Apaches would be certain to discover them in the morning if not before, and the three hunters and single youth could not maintain themselves against Kimmaho and his band.This offer would have been accepted without hesitation, but for the desertion it forced of Nick Ribsam. The entire course of his friends for days past was with the single view of helping him, and it would not do to leave him now when his peril had been increased a hundredfold.But admitting all this, the question rose, as to what possible way there was of aiding theyoung man, who had done that which Eph Bozeman could not understand, after hearing so much of his brightness.Indeed, he more than half suspected that he had already fallen into the hands of the Apaches. His own passing of their lines was of the most difficult nature, as the reader has learned, and it looked impossible for it to be done a second time, and by one who knew so little of those subtle red men.The fact that Nick was mounted ought to have been of great help in the event of discovery, for his pony was as fleet as the fleetest of the Apache steeds, but those ferocious raiders would find little trouble in entrapping the boldest white man who ventured within sight of them on so dark a night.Be the conclusion what it may, the necessity of the trapper returning to the Texans was obvious. He told Rickard that he would try it at once, and no decision could be reached until after a talk with them.“If we agree to make a break for these quarters, it’ll be just as it is growin’ light,” said he.“I’ll be on the lookout,” replied Rickard, “and you can feel certain there won’t be any trouble in gettin’ in.”With this understanding a careful survey was taken of the ground immediately in front, and, nothing being seen of the Apaches, the visitor stepped outside. He had spent several hours within the building, and knew his friends were wondering at his long absence, but he now did a thing for which there seemed no justification.Fairly without the door, he moved aside a few paces, as if to leave, but instead of doing so, stood motionless, with his back against the outer wall. He was listening for something besides Apache warriors, and by and by he heard it; it was the noise made by Bell Rickard in refastening the heavy doors. He had waited until he believed his caller was gone too far to return, when he secured himself and companion against the common enemy.The moment the door was locked Eph stepped noiselessly forward and stooped down. It was too dark for him to see distinctly,but he could feel as well as ever, and he passed his hands back and forth over the earth, as if he had lost a valuable coin and was searching for it through the sense of touch alone.CHAPTER XXXVI.THE DECISION.THE situation of the trapper was perilous in the extreme, for it was to be supposed that the Apaches, after the loss of one of their number, would maintain unremitting watch of the only avenue through which anyone could enter or leave the building; but he remained in a stooping posture for several minutes, passing his hands back and forth over the ground, until he had several times covered the space in front of the door.Finally, with a muttered exclamation, he stood erect, and was ready to start toward his friends, a long way off on the elevation where he had left them hours before.His keen ear, trained to wonderful fineness by his years of life in the wilderness, caught the footfalls of a horse, which he knew at once was ridden by one of the Apaches. Instead of moving off, or attempting to re-enter thebuilding, he remained upright, with his back against the structure. Had there been a corresponding figure on the other side of the door, a person observing the two from a brief distance would have declared they had been carved and set there scores of years before.The Indian rode up within sight, and halted a moment while he gazed at the front of the structure. Nothing was easier than for the trapper to tumble him from his pony, but he was too wise to summon the band by doing so. He gazed at him in turn, content to let him alone as long as he did not disturb him.The Apache must have felt that he was in danger of drawing a shot from one of the upper windows, for he quickly wheeled his steed and rode off in the darkness.He was hardly out of sight when Eph moved straight out from the building. If Rickard or his companion were on the watch they must have wondered at the sight, though it was explainable on the ground that the trapper was waiting a favorable opening to run the gauntlet.Instead of crawling, the veteran broke intohis loping trot, which was speedier than it appeared. The moon had risen, and though it was at his back he feared the result of the exposure to its additional light.In no way can the success of Eph be explained other than on the ground that it was one of those pieces of extremely good fortune which sometimes attend rash enterprises on the part of a cool-headed man. He heard the sound of galloping horses, and twice caught their shadowy outlines, but he was on the alert, and, dropping to the earth, waited until the peril passed. In both cases the red men came no nearer, and he was soon advanced so far that he believed the worst was over. He straightened up once more, and, as I have shown, strode directly forward to the elevation, where all three of his friends were awaiting his coming with an anxiety that cannot be understood by one not similarly situated.The little party listened to his story with breathless interest, Herbert being the first to speak at its conclusion.“That’s just like Nick,” he said; “he has been waiting his chance all these days andnights, and when those men had no suspicion of what he intended, he has given them the slip.”“I don’t have much opinion ofthatyounker,” said the old trapper curtly.“Why not?”“The most foolishest thing he could do was to ride out of that building just as it ‘pears he has done. If he had stayed thar the whole thing war fixed, but now whar ar you?”“If he has fallen into the power of Kimmaho or any of his party,” said Strubell, “it will take more than a thousand dollars to get him back.”“What do you suppose they will demand?” inquired Herbert, his fears aroused again.“They won’t askanything,” said Lattin; “the Apaches don’t deal in the ransom bus’ness as much as some other folks.”“But you talk as though he is a prisoner of theirs.”“If he is alive, what else can he be?”“He was well mounted and might have escaped on horseback.”“If that had been the case,” added the elder Texan, “we couldn’t have helped knowing it.”“But there was no noise when Eph met the Apaches except the report of his pistol.”“We have been listening so closely here, except when I was asleep, that we noticed the tramp of the Apaches’ ponies even when they were walking; if Nick rode off at full speed we must have heard the sounds, because they would have been much louder.”“Suppose on leaving the building, during Eph’s interview with the two men, he had ridden around to the rear and galloped several miles to the westward, would you have heard Jack’s hoofs?”“Thar’s somethin’ in that,” remarked the trapper; “you’re all pretty sharp-eared, but that would have been too much for you to catch.”“The supposition, however, is a very thin one,” insisted Strubell, to whom the action of Nick Ribsam was very annoying.“I’m sorry he did it,” remarked Herbert, “but we must take things as they are, andwhen we meet him we’ll haul him over the coals.”“Did Bell know anything about our being out here?” asked Strubell, turning to the trapper.“He ‘spected you three, but he didn’t know nothin’ ‘boutme, and didn’t know when you would show yourselves. He s’posed I would meet you and give you the news, and you would hurry along. He knowed you war aimin’ for the old mission buildin’ and would be along after a while if the varmints didn’t cut you off.”“What about our pack animals?”“He spoke of ‘em, and said Jim-John and Brindage would ‘tend to ‘em.”“You did so well in arranging the ransom that you ought to have included them.”“I could have done it if you had said so, but I follered orders,” replied the trapper.“Well,” said Lattin, “the question now is what we are to do; if Nick only knowed where we are it would be simple enough; he could give the Apaches the slip and hang ‘round till mornin’, when we could come together.”“But it looks as if he will ride till daylight as hard as his pony can stand it—that is, if the redskins haven’t got him,” observed Strubell, “and we may hunt over the whole of New Mexico and Arizona without finding him.”“It don’t seem to me that it will be as bad as that,” remarked Herbert, eager to gather every crumb of comfort; “for he must know he can’t find us by riding westward, but will start eastward after escaping the Apaches, so as to meet us on the way.”“But that start that you’re talking about,” reminded Strubell, “has been made hours ago, if it was made at all, and he must now be far to the eastward.”“He will be on the lookout for us and will strike the trail before going far.”“I see no reason to believe that; we are not following any trail at all; if we were there would be hope, but the chance of his finding our footprints equals that of picking up a certain blade of grass on the left bank of the Brazos, when no one can direct you within a hundred miles of the spot.”Herbert was trying to gather hope from thedifferent views of the situation, but it looked as if his friends were determined to prevent anything of the kind.“If you folks knew Nick Ribsam as well as I,” he sturdily insisted, “you would have a higher opinion of him than you seem to have.”“Baker and I thought as well of him as you,” said Strubell, “but we are judging him now by what he did this evening; if he had stayed where he ought to have stayed the whole business would have been over.”“But the Apaches are still near us,” replied Herbert.“We could manage that; Rickard would let us inside, where we could all be together; Kimmaho might lay siege to us for days or weeks, but he couldn’t harm us, and after a time would grow tired and ride off to more inviting fields.”“It looks to me,” observed Lattin, who seemed to dislike the general condemnation in which he had joined of a youth of whom they had all become fond, “that the most that can be said about the younker is that he has madethe same mistake that one of us was likely to make. He found what he thought was a good chance to give the scamps the slip, and he done it as neatly as anything of the kind was ever done in this world.”Eph Bozeman had held his peace for some time. Strubell now turned to him and asked his views, adding that they would be followed.“All right,” he replied decisively; “at the first streak of daylight to-morrer we make a break for the old buildin’ yonder.”CHAPTER XXXVII.THE FINAL CHARGE.AT THE earliest streaking of gray in the eastern horizon the three men and Herbert Watrous, all of whom had been sleeping fitfully by turns through the long dismal hours, silently rose to their feet and walked to where the ponies, a short distance off, had resumed their cropping of the grass. They were thirsty, like their masters, but no water was within reach, and they were doing their best to satisfy their hunger.The outlines of the old adobe mission building showed faintly through the obscurity as the little party headed westward, and advanced at a moderate walk, on the alert for the Apaches, of whom they had detected signs now and then during their wearisome watching.The action of the red men had puzzled the trapper as well as Strubell and Lattin. It washard to understand why they had not stumbled on the truth, but there was good reason for believing they were still ignorant of the presence of the white men so near them. It was upon this theory that the success of the daring enterprise was based.Eph Bozeman placed himself at the head, Herbert coming next, with one of the Texans on either side. The veteran was the best qualified to lead, while the disposition of all was with a view of protecting the younger and less experienced member of the party.Nothing was seen of their enemies until half the distance was passed, when Lattin, who was on Herbert’s right, exclaimed in an undertone:“Yonder are the varmints!”The horses were in excellent condition because of their long rest, and up to this moment moved at a moderate trot. As the Texan spoke, the trapper, who had detected the danger, struck his animal into a brisk gallop, the others doing the same without any urging of their riders.The Apaches must have relaxed their vigilance toward the latter part of the night, formost, if not all the group, were observed to the south of the structure instead of being near it. They were closer to it, however, than the whites, and showed their daring by immediately riding forward to meet them.The trapper turned his head and said: “Let ‘em have it the minute they’re near enough to hit.”These were words which had meaning, and Herbert, like his companions, looked at his Winchester to make sure it was ready for instant service.“I think they’re all there,” added Lattin.“I don’t believe it,” remarked Strubell, “for there isn’t more than six or eight.”“And Nick isn’t with them,” Herbert could not help exclaiming, with a thrill of pleasure.No reply followed this, which might signify nothing, for all were too intent on what was before them.The interest deepened each moment. The Apaches, numbering exactly eight, were advancing at a speed fully as great as that of the whites, riding close together and apparently all eagerness for the conflict. Theyindulged in no shouts, whoops, or gestures, but came on like the grim demons they were.Each carried his gun, and he was not afraid to use it whenever the chance offered. Nothing could have looked more frightful than they, their chests naked, their irregular features daubed with different colored paint, their long black hair dangling about their shoulders, while each rode like a centaur.A distance of two hundred yards separated the parties, neither of which had made the slightest variation in its course. Our friends were heading directly toward the building and did not swerve to the right or left. To have done so would have shown fear, and brought the redskins down upon them like a cyclone.One of two things was inevitable, and that within the space of a few seconds: the Apaches or white men must turn to one side, or there would be a fierce fight. Eph Bozeman and his comrades were resolved to keep on until the noses of their ponies should touch. What was the purpose of the red men must appear immediately.The break came from an unexpected source. Belden Rickard and Harman Slidham had not forgotten the parting words of the trapper, and were on the watch at the upper front windows. The rapidly increasing light showed the four horsemen coming down the slope, and they saw the Apaches set out to meet them. Matters were on the eve of explosion when Rickard took deliberate sight from his window and fired at the warriors. The shot was a long one, but so accurately aimed that a dusky horseman, with a rasping screech, rolled off his pony, the animal breaking into a gallop, circling away from the others, and, facing toward the building, whinneying with fright and dashing aimlessly hither and thither in a panic.The other Apaches acted as if the report of the gun was the signal for them to break apart, for they did so with a suddenness that could not have been surpassed had a bombshell burst beneath them.Several turned to the right and others to the left, while one, as if he absolutely feared nothing, headed his black pony directly atBozeman and thundered forward on a dead run.The miscreant was actually charging the whole party.He emitted a terrifying whoop, leaning almost on his horse’s ears, as he brought his rifle round in front to fire, but a master hand at that business had not taken his eye from him since he started on his daring ride. The raising of the gun and the aiming and firing seemed to take place all together, and in the twinkling of an eye.“Thar’s one fool less,” was the quiet remark of Eph as he lowered his piece; “now, boys, grab ground.”His pony was stretching away at headlong speed for the building, the others imitating him so quickly that the four continued in a bunch. “Keep it up,” he added, firing again at their assailants.Strubell and Lattin discharged their pieces as often as they could take any sort of aim, but the conditions were against accuracy, and there was no evidence that they did any execution.The Apaches had branched off to the right and left, and kept popping away, with no more success than the white men. They held the marksmanship of the others in such fear that they gave much effort to screening their bodies, by flinging themselves over the sides of their animals and firing from under the neck or directly over it, where little could be seen of the riders except their glaring eyes and their hair, looking as if they were a part of the mane of their ponies, or the black eyes flashed for a moment in front of the breast of the galloping steeds.It cannot be said that Herbert Watrous felt pleasant when he heard the bullets singing about his ears, and knew that more than one was aimed at him. He did not attempt to reply, but gave his whole attention to urging Jill to his utmost. The building was only a short way off, and the briefest kind of a respite insured safety.Fortunately his steed was fully the equal of the others in fleetness and did not fall behind. Had it done so he would not have been left by his friends, for all were governed by that devotionwhich belongs to the highest form of chivalry. There was not one who would not have protected the youth with his life.Suddenly the broad door at the front of the adobe building was drawn inward. Rickard and Slidham had hurried down to make sure no delay took place at this critical moment.Herbert Watrous was leaning forward, with his eyes fixed on the avenue to safety, when he felt Jill shudder under the saddle, as if with a sudden chill. He veered to one side, throwing his nose against the shoulder of the trapper’s pony, and staggered uncertainly in the hopeless effort to recover himself, but, unable to do so, plunged forward on his knees and rolled over on his side, gasping his last breath.“The building was only a short way off.”Page335.CHAPTER XXXVIII.CONCLUSION.THE thrusting of the mortally wounded pony’s nose against the shoulder of the trapper’s horse warned both him and Herbert Watrous of what was coming. The latter slipped his feet from the stirrups, and was in the act of leaping to the ground, to attempt to run the short distance to the entrance of the mission building, when the broad right hand of Eph Bozeman slapped him in the broad of the back, clutched his coat, and with one powerful wrench he swung him out of the saddle sinking beneath him, and lifting him over in front of himself on his own steed.There was not the slightest slackening of speed on the part of the doubly laden animal, who not only held his own, but headed the procession as it dashed through the door, followed by the other two, amid a storm ofbullets, as Rickard and Slidham slammed the door shut and fastened it in place.The whole party was safe, without a scratch, and with only the loss of a single animal.They could hardly believe their good fortune, until their panting steeds were brought to a halt and the riders slipped to the ground.Then followed a general handshaking, and it would have been hard to believe that anything like enmity had existed between the men who showed such genuine pleasure at the escape of the little company from the Apaches. But a common danger draws people together, and Rickard and Slidham forgot that but a short time ago they had agreed to return a youth to these same visitors for a certain ransom.The first thing done after a general exchange of congratulations was on the part of the new arrivals. They made haste to the spring of cool, refreshing water, where they quaffed their fill, their ponies doing the same.Rickard had made preparations for their coming. From his storehouse of meal andmeat he had prepared a nourishing and abundant meal for all. Since there was no grass within the building, the horses were fed with the grain, of which there was sufficient to last several weeks by the exercise of frugality.The animals having been attended to and the hunger and thirst of the guests being satisfied, the company gathered in the small room where Eph Bozeman had held his interview of the night before. They crowded the place, but all found seats, and they conversed as freely as if they had been friends for years.“I made a bad break,” said Rickard, with a laugh; “you’ll admit that I worked that plan pretty well, but I didn’t count on the boy giving me the slip at the last minute.”“Where do you suppose he has gone?” asked Strubell, who did most of the talking for his side, the others listening attentively to every word that was spoken.“He must have been on the watch when Eph come in; we were all three in this room, talking the matter over, when he slipped out with his pony and has gone, who can say where?”“It doesn’t look as if the Apaches had caught him.”“No; I thought they might have done so, but there would have been an outcry if that took place. We wouldn’t have heard the sound of his horse as he rode off, but he would have used his rifle and pistol before allowing himself to be taken, and we must have heard them. He was the pluckiest fellow I ever saw.”“That’s so,” added Herbert; “Nick Ribsam was a brave boy; he gave me the biggest trouncing I ever had when he wasn’t more than half my size, and there’s no Indian that can down him without having the worst fight of his life.”“What I don’t understand,” continued Strubell, “is why he should wait until everything was in the best shape for him, and then slip off and knock our plan endways.”“Didn’t he have any chance of gettin’ away when you was on the road here?” inquired Lattin.“Well, we watched pretty close, for we knew what he was thinking of; Harman andI were never asleep at the same time, and we didn’t let him have his gun or pistol while on the road.”Herbert’s heart burned with indignation at these words, but he kept silent. He knew now why Nick had remained passive so long. He was too wise to dash away from his captors and ride out on the open prairie, exposed to innumerable dangers, without a weapon at command. Had he been allowed to retain them he would have made things lively for Bell Rickard.Rickard stated further that they had no field glass at command, like their pursuers, so that they never caught sight of them, though well convinced they were on their trail. Consequently Nick had not the incentive that would have been his had he felt any assurance of meeting his friends if he fled eastward.“When we arrived here,” continued the horse thief, “and we knew the Apaches were close outside, why, we let him have his weapons, for it looked as if he might be able to help us against the redskins.”“Of course when he saw Eph come throughthe door and join you in this room,” said Strubell, “he had no idea that he came from us; if he had he would have acted differently——”“No, he wouldn’t either; you don’t know what you’re talkin’ ’bout.”It was the old trapper who uttered this exclamation, after he had held his peace for several minutes. All looked at him wonderingly, for it was not clear what he meant by his abrupt remark. His little eyes shone with a peculiar light, and could his mouth have been seen, a singular smile would have been observed playing around it.“Boys,” added Eph, straightening up on his seat as he saw every gaze fixed upon him, “shall I tell you something?”The expression of general interest convinced him that no one could be heard with greater pleasure.“Last night, after passin’ out the door, a quar idea got into my head. Instead of startin’ on a run to get back to you folks, I stooped down and passed my hands over the ground all round the door. And what do yous’pose I found? Why, thar war the prints of several horses goin’ in,but thar warn’t a single one comin’ out!”He paused a moment for this astounding announcement to produce its effect. Strubell was the first to catch its full meaning.“Are you sure of that?” he asked.“As sure as I’m sittin’ here this minute. What does it mean, tharfore and consequently? Why, that that younker came in with Bell and Harman, but that hehaint gone out, which the same means that he’s inside of this buildin’ and aint fifty feet off this very minute, and if thar’s anyone here that don’t b’lieve me, all he’s got to do is to look through that door yonder and tell me whether he don’t see the grinnin’ younker standin’ thar this very minute.”It so happened that as Eph sat he faced the opening of the little room, and, since every eye was fixed on him, their backs were turned in the other direction. All wheeled like a flash and saw Nick Ribsam in the act of entering the apartment, his honest face expanded into one broad smile, while hishand was extended to greet his old acquaintances.Herbert Watrous stared with open mouth, unable to believe it was not a dream, until his hand was clasped by that of the best friend he had, outside of his own folks, in the world. Then he saw that it was reality, and greeted the good fellow with a delight which touched even the hearts of Bell Rickard and Harman Slidham.Enough has been hinted about Nick Ribsam to give the reader a general idea of his experience from the night he was made prisoner by the horse thieves and carried westward into New Mexico. Herbert was correct in his surmise as to why he made no effort to escape while on the long journey. With no firearms at command, with no knowledge of where his friends were, and believing that his captors were only manœuvring for a ransom, he would have disproved all faith in his good sense had he seized any one of the several occasions for parting company with those whom he despised.He had no suspicion of the business which brought Eph Bozeman to the building, else he would not have played the little deception he did on his captors; but when requested to betake himself to some other part of the structure during the interview, he obeyed, passing into the room which adjoined the one where the ponies had been placed.Here he struck a match that he might investigate his surroundings. The first thing that caught his attention was a door, which he did not notice until he was at the further end of the apartment, and then he would not have observed it had not his gaze struck it in a peculiar manner.A brief examination showed that it was intended by the parties who built the mission house as a secret storehouse or retreat in a last emergency. It was so ingeniously constructed that the space occupied was cut off from three other apartments, and the missing portion was not likely to be noticed unless suspicion happened to be turned that way.The room was long and narrow, and there was space at one end for a horse, ventilationbeing secured by means of several slits that were cleverly concealed from view. Of course it would not have required a close search for anyone to discover it from the outside, but that search was not made.The moment Nick stumbled upon the retreat, the idea of a trick came to him. He led Jack into the space, slipped out and unfastened the door to give the impression that he had passed through it, and then returned and ensconced himself within.The reflection came to him that he had done an exceedingly risky thing in leaving the door unfastened, but he reasoned that he would soon be missed and the open avenue discovered. Then, too, what band of Apaches, or white persons for that matter, would dream of such a piece of negligence on the part of three persons who knew of their danger?While debating the matter with himself, and when he was on the point of going out to secure the door again, he fell asleep and did not open his eyes until after the arrival of his friends. The reports of the rifles were sodulled by the intervening walls that they had not disturbed him at all.Eph Bozeman was convinced of the presence of the youth within the building on his failure to find any hoof prints leading outward from the door. He deemed it best to say nothing of this to his companions, since he wanted to give them a surprise, and he did it beyond question.What pleased the old trapper was the certainty that Bell Rickard, after all, must lose the thousand dollars, for under the circumstances he had no legal claim to it, inasmuch as Nick had escaped from his custody, and he confessed himself unable to perform his part of the contract.Our friends were one horse short, and the loss was a severe one. It was decided to stay where they were until the Apaches grew tired of the siege, and communication could be opened with other parties. Jim-John and his companion were supposed to be making their way toward the same destination with the pack horses, one of which could be turned to account in case nothing better presented itself.But at this interesting juncture Bell Rickard, of all others, solved the difficulty in an unexpected manner. He insisted that he had come by his own horse fairly, and he asked the privilege of furnishing it to Herbert Watrous. He said he would wait where he was until the arrival of Jim-John and Brindage, and accept one of the pack horses in exchange. This was finally agreed to, and the transaction was probably the first honest one of the kind in which the fellow had taken part in a long time.On the second day all signs of the Apaches disappeared. They had carried off the bodies of those who had fallen, and sought more inviting fields for their cruel work.Instead of pushing on to California, as Nick and Herbert originally intended, they decided to return to San Antonio with Strubell and Lattin. Herbert had fully recovered his health, and, to tell the truth, both boys were homesick. They felt there was no place like their own homes, and the society of their loved ones. They had been granted that which led them across Texas, and why go further?It is not necessary to give the incidents of their return to the quaint old town of San Antonio, although the journey was marked by many interesting incidents. They arrived there without serious mishap, and, parting company with the Texans and the old trapper, who was liberally rewarded for his services, Nick, just one week later, clasped his father, mother, and sister Nellie in his arms. Herbert stayed a day with him, and then hastened to his home in New York City, where it need not be said he was welcomed with gratitude and affection.And here the history of Nick Ribsam and Herbert Watrous properly ends. 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CHAPTER XXXV.THROUGH THE LINES AGAIN.THERE could be no doubt of the truth of the startling declaration of Bell Rickard. He had no object in deceiving the trapper, for his failure to produce Nick Ribsam deprived him of the liberal ransom agreed upon by the representative of Herbert Watrous.He stated that he had told his prisoner of the plan he had in view, so that the youth might be relieved of all dread of violence or harm, and could be content to abandon whatever plans he had in mind of escape. He assured him that, even if he succeeded in getting away, he would be in greater danger than ever, since the chances were against his finding his friends, while the Apaches were quite sure to find him.Nick seemed to be impressed with this view, and Rickard and Slidham concluded that he meant to wait patiently for his release by themethod explained to him. It now looked as if Nick had succeeded in outwitting his captors, after all, and that his apparent resignation was meant to deceive them into relaxing their watchfulness.Although the two men and boy were observed by Kimmaho and his warriors as they rode up to the adobe structure, they were able to enter and secure the massive door before the Apaches could interfere. Rickard assured Nick that it was a fortunate thing for them, since they would have been badly caught but for the refuge, where they could laugh at the enmity of ten times that number of warriors.If the criminal had felt any misgivings as to the intentions of Nick, they were removed by this time; for, after having refused all the chances offered him, who would suppose that he would place himself in the most imminent peril possible from the Apaches, when he had no knowledge that his friends were within a hundred miles?Nevertheless he was gone. When Rickard found the trapper at the door, he asked Nickto remain in another part of the building until the interview was over. It struck him that it was better that he should not listen to the negotiations, though he was willing to bring him forward when asked to do so.The criminal indicated no particular one of the dozen apartments opening on the courtyard, several of which were intended for the use of horses. The front of the building consisted of two stories, with four large rooms, but the other portion was only a single story in height.When Eph asked for a few words with the boy, Rickard sent Slidham out to bring him in. The man expected to find him at once, but as he moved from one apartment to another, calling to him in a suppressed voice and hearing nothing in reply, he began to fear something was amiss. However, he completed the circuit, including the four large apartments in front and the room where they had placed their ponies.Since he carried no light, it was easy for the youth to keep out of sight; but Slidham could think of no reason for his doing this,and he returned to his chief with the word that he believed the prisoner had “vamosed the ranch.” Deeming it incredible, Rickard set out to make the search thorough. He carried no light, but was fully supplied with matches, and he burned several in each apartment, until he had scrutinized the entire interior, and made sure the youth had not fallen asleep or was hiding.It so happened that the stables were the last place visited. Rickard was holding the tiny match above his head, anxiously awaiting the moment when its light should reveal the whole interior, when Slidham touched his arm, and, pointing at the ponies, whispered:“There’s onlytwoof them!”“You’re right,” replied the leader; “it’s his horse too that is gone.”It was true: the faithful Jack that had stood by his master so long was not in sight. All doubt was removed, and Rickard hastened to where he had left Eph Bozeman and told the astounding news.The criminal proved his earnestness by asking the trapper to help him in repeatingthe search, and he did so, visiting every room in the building, but without gaining sight of the missing youth.“Great guns!” exclaimed Eph, “how did we come to forgit it?”He started on a run for the main door. The others were at his heels, for they knew what the action meant. If Nick had stolen out and galloped off, he must have left the entrance open for anyone to enter. The instant the Apaches discovered it they would swarm through, for, as has been shown, the presence of the few white men within rendered them furiously eager to enter when otherwise they would have cared not at all.Even such a veteran as Eph Bozeman shuddered on reaching the heavy doors to find them unfastened, so that a small child could have passed through from the outside with no trouble.“If the varmints had only knowed that!” he said, after helping to secure it again.This of course changed all the conditions and brought the men in front of a new and alarming problem. Since they were assuredthat Nick Ribsam, in spite of the danger from the Apaches, had ridden out of the front of the building, and his present whereabouts were unknown, beyond the simple fact that he was not present, Eph Bozeman felt that he could not get back to his friends too soon with the news, and decide upon an immediate line of action to help the rash youth.Rickard renewed his proposal that the others should dash into the building and stay there until all danger passed. The Apaches would be certain to discover them in the morning if not before, and the three hunters and single youth could not maintain themselves against Kimmaho and his band.This offer would have been accepted without hesitation, but for the desertion it forced of Nick Ribsam. The entire course of his friends for days past was with the single view of helping him, and it would not do to leave him now when his peril had been increased a hundredfold.But admitting all this, the question rose, as to what possible way there was of aiding theyoung man, who had done that which Eph Bozeman could not understand, after hearing so much of his brightness.Indeed, he more than half suspected that he had already fallen into the hands of the Apaches. His own passing of their lines was of the most difficult nature, as the reader has learned, and it looked impossible for it to be done a second time, and by one who knew so little of those subtle red men.The fact that Nick was mounted ought to have been of great help in the event of discovery, for his pony was as fleet as the fleetest of the Apache steeds, but those ferocious raiders would find little trouble in entrapping the boldest white man who ventured within sight of them on so dark a night.Be the conclusion what it may, the necessity of the trapper returning to the Texans was obvious. He told Rickard that he would try it at once, and no decision could be reached until after a talk with them.“If we agree to make a break for these quarters, it’ll be just as it is growin’ light,” said he.“I’ll be on the lookout,” replied Rickard, “and you can feel certain there won’t be any trouble in gettin’ in.”With this understanding a careful survey was taken of the ground immediately in front, and, nothing being seen of the Apaches, the visitor stepped outside. He had spent several hours within the building, and knew his friends were wondering at his long absence, but he now did a thing for which there seemed no justification.Fairly without the door, he moved aside a few paces, as if to leave, but instead of doing so, stood motionless, with his back against the outer wall. He was listening for something besides Apache warriors, and by and by he heard it; it was the noise made by Bell Rickard in refastening the heavy doors. He had waited until he believed his caller was gone too far to return, when he secured himself and companion against the common enemy.The moment the door was locked Eph stepped noiselessly forward and stooped down. It was too dark for him to see distinctly,but he could feel as well as ever, and he passed his hands back and forth over the earth, as if he had lost a valuable coin and was searching for it through the sense of touch alone.CHAPTER XXXVI.THE DECISION.THE situation of the trapper was perilous in the extreme, for it was to be supposed that the Apaches, after the loss of one of their number, would maintain unremitting watch of the only avenue through which anyone could enter or leave the building; but he remained in a stooping posture for several minutes, passing his hands back and forth over the ground, until he had several times covered the space in front of the door.Finally, with a muttered exclamation, he stood erect, and was ready to start toward his friends, a long way off on the elevation where he had left them hours before.His keen ear, trained to wonderful fineness by his years of life in the wilderness, caught the footfalls of a horse, which he knew at once was ridden by one of the Apaches. Instead of moving off, or attempting to re-enter thebuilding, he remained upright, with his back against the structure. Had there been a corresponding figure on the other side of the door, a person observing the two from a brief distance would have declared they had been carved and set there scores of years before.The Indian rode up within sight, and halted a moment while he gazed at the front of the structure. Nothing was easier than for the trapper to tumble him from his pony, but he was too wise to summon the band by doing so. He gazed at him in turn, content to let him alone as long as he did not disturb him.The Apache must have felt that he was in danger of drawing a shot from one of the upper windows, for he quickly wheeled his steed and rode off in the darkness.He was hardly out of sight when Eph moved straight out from the building. If Rickard or his companion were on the watch they must have wondered at the sight, though it was explainable on the ground that the trapper was waiting a favorable opening to run the gauntlet.Instead of crawling, the veteran broke intohis loping trot, which was speedier than it appeared. The moon had risen, and though it was at his back he feared the result of the exposure to its additional light.In no way can the success of Eph be explained other than on the ground that it was one of those pieces of extremely good fortune which sometimes attend rash enterprises on the part of a cool-headed man. He heard the sound of galloping horses, and twice caught their shadowy outlines, but he was on the alert, and, dropping to the earth, waited until the peril passed. In both cases the red men came no nearer, and he was soon advanced so far that he believed the worst was over. He straightened up once more, and, as I have shown, strode directly forward to the elevation, where all three of his friends were awaiting his coming with an anxiety that cannot be understood by one not similarly situated.The little party listened to his story with breathless interest, Herbert being the first to speak at its conclusion.“That’s just like Nick,” he said; “he has been waiting his chance all these days andnights, and when those men had no suspicion of what he intended, he has given them the slip.”“I don’t have much opinion ofthatyounker,” said the old trapper curtly.“Why not?”“The most foolishest thing he could do was to ride out of that building just as it ‘pears he has done. If he had stayed thar the whole thing war fixed, but now whar ar you?”“If he has fallen into the power of Kimmaho or any of his party,” said Strubell, “it will take more than a thousand dollars to get him back.”“What do you suppose they will demand?” inquired Herbert, his fears aroused again.“They won’t askanything,” said Lattin; “the Apaches don’t deal in the ransom bus’ness as much as some other folks.”“But you talk as though he is a prisoner of theirs.”“If he is alive, what else can he be?”“He was well mounted and might have escaped on horseback.”“If that had been the case,” added the elder Texan, “we couldn’t have helped knowing it.”“But there was no noise when Eph met the Apaches except the report of his pistol.”“We have been listening so closely here, except when I was asleep, that we noticed the tramp of the Apaches’ ponies even when they were walking; if Nick rode off at full speed we must have heard the sounds, because they would have been much louder.”“Suppose on leaving the building, during Eph’s interview with the two men, he had ridden around to the rear and galloped several miles to the westward, would you have heard Jack’s hoofs?”“Thar’s somethin’ in that,” remarked the trapper; “you’re all pretty sharp-eared, but that would have been too much for you to catch.”“The supposition, however, is a very thin one,” insisted Strubell, to whom the action of Nick Ribsam was very annoying.“I’m sorry he did it,” remarked Herbert, “but we must take things as they are, andwhen we meet him we’ll haul him over the coals.”“Did Bell know anything about our being out here?” asked Strubell, turning to the trapper.“He ‘spected you three, but he didn’t know nothin’ ‘boutme, and didn’t know when you would show yourselves. He s’posed I would meet you and give you the news, and you would hurry along. He knowed you war aimin’ for the old mission buildin’ and would be along after a while if the varmints didn’t cut you off.”“What about our pack animals?”“He spoke of ‘em, and said Jim-John and Brindage would ‘tend to ‘em.”“You did so well in arranging the ransom that you ought to have included them.”“I could have done it if you had said so, but I follered orders,” replied the trapper.“Well,” said Lattin, “the question now is what we are to do; if Nick only knowed where we are it would be simple enough; he could give the Apaches the slip and hang ‘round till mornin’, when we could come together.”“But it looks as if he will ride till daylight as hard as his pony can stand it—that is, if the redskins haven’t got him,” observed Strubell, “and we may hunt over the whole of New Mexico and Arizona without finding him.”“It don’t seem to me that it will be as bad as that,” remarked Herbert, eager to gather every crumb of comfort; “for he must know he can’t find us by riding westward, but will start eastward after escaping the Apaches, so as to meet us on the way.”“But that start that you’re talking about,” reminded Strubell, “has been made hours ago, if it was made at all, and he must now be far to the eastward.”“He will be on the lookout for us and will strike the trail before going far.”“I see no reason to believe that; we are not following any trail at all; if we were there would be hope, but the chance of his finding our footprints equals that of picking up a certain blade of grass on the left bank of the Brazos, when no one can direct you within a hundred miles of the spot.”Herbert was trying to gather hope from thedifferent views of the situation, but it looked as if his friends were determined to prevent anything of the kind.“If you folks knew Nick Ribsam as well as I,” he sturdily insisted, “you would have a higher opinion of him than you seem to have.”“Baker and I thought as well of him as you,” said Strubell, “but we are judging him now by what he did this evening; if he had stayed where he ought to have stayed the whole business would have been over.”“But the Apaches are still near us,” replied Herbert.“We could manage that; Rickard would let us inside, where we could all be together; Kimmaho might lay siege to us for days or weeks, but he couldn’t harm us, and after a time would grow tired and ride off to more inviting fields.”“It looks to me,” observed Lattin, who seemed to dislike the general condemnation in which he had joined of a youth of whom they had all become fond, “that the most that can be said about the younker is that he has madethe same mistake that one of us was likely to make. He found what he thought was a good chance to give the scamps the slip, and he done it as neatly as anything of the kind was ever done in this world.”Eph Bozeman had held his peace for some time. Strubell now turned to him and asked his views, adding that they would be followed.“All right,” he replied decisively; “at the first streak of daylight to-morrer we make a break for the old buildin’ yonder.”CHAPTER XXXVII.THE FINAL CHARGE.AT THE earliest streaking of gray in the eastern horizon the three men and Herbert Watrous, all of whom had been sleeping fitfully by turns through the long dismal hours, silently rose to their feet and walked to where the ponies, a short distance off, had resumed their cropping of the grass. They were thirsty, like their masters, but no water was within reach, and they were doing their best to satisfy their hunger.The outlines of the old adobe mission building showed faintly through the obscurity as the little party headed westward, and advanced at a moderate walk, on the alert for the Apaches, of whom they had detected signs now and then during their wearisome watching.The action of the red men had puzzled the trapper as well as Strubell and Lattin. It washard to understand why they had not stumbled on the truth, but there was good reason for believing they were still ignorant of the presence of the white men so near them. It was upon this theory that the success of the daring enterprise was based.Eph Bozeman placed himself at the head, Herbert coming next, with one of the Texans on either side. The veteran was the best qualified to lead, while the disposition of all was with a view of protecting the younger and less experienced member of the party.Nothing was seen of their enemies until half the distance was passed, when Lattin, who was on Herbert’s right, exclaimed in an undertone:“Yonder are the varmints!”The horses were in excellent condition because of their long rest, and up to this moment moved at a moderate trot. As the Texan spoke, the trapper, who had detected the danger, struck his animal into a brisk gallop, the others doing the same without any urging of their riders.The Apaches must have relaxed their vigilance toward the latter part of the night, formost, if not all the group, were observed to the south of the structure instead of being near it. They were closer to it, however, than the whites, and showed their daring by immediately riding forward to meet them.The trapper turned his head and said: “Let ‘em have it the minute they’re near enough to hit.”These were words which had meaning, and Herbert, like his companions, looked at his Winchester to make sure it was ready for instant service.“I think they’re all there,” added Lattin.“I don’t believe it,” remarked Strubell, “for there isn’t more than six or eight.”“And Nick isn’t with them,” Herbert could not help exclaiming, with a thrill of pleasure.No reply followed this, which might signify nothing, for all were too intent on what was before them.The interest deepened each moment. The Apaches, numbering exactly eight, were advancing at a speed fully as great as that of the whites, riding close together and apparently all eagerness for the conflict. Theyindulged in no shouts, whoops, or gestures, but came on like the grim demons they were.Each carried his gun, and he was not afraid to use it whenever the chance offered. Nothing could have looked more frightful than they, their chests naked, their irregular features daubed with different colored paint, their long black hair dangling about their shoulders, while each rode like a centaur.A distance of two hundred yards separated the parties, neither of which had made the slightest variation in its course. Our friends were heading directly toward the building and did not swerve to the right or left. To have done so would have shown fear, and brought the redskins down upon them like a cyclone.One of two things was inevitable, and that within the space of a few seconds: the Apaches or white men must turn to one side, or there would be a fierce fight. Eph Bozeman and his comrades were resolved to keep on until the noses of their ponies should touch. What was the purpose of the red men must appear immediately.The break came from an unexpected source. Belden Rickard and Harman Slidham had not forgotten the parting words of the trapper, and were on the watch at the upper front windows. The rapidly increasing light showed the four horsemen coming down the slope, and they saw the Apaches set out to meet them. Matters were on the eve of explosion when Rickard took deliberate sight from his window and fired at the warriors. The shot was a long one, but so accurately aimed that a dusky horseman, with a rasping screech, rolled off his pony, the animal breaking into a gallop, circling away from the others, and, facing toward the building, whinneying with fright and dashing aimlessly hither and thither in a panic.The other Apaches acted as if the report of the gun was the signal for them to break apart, for they did so with a suddenness that could not have been surpassed had a bombshell burst beneath them.Several turned to the right and others to the left, while one, as if he absolutely feared nothing, headed his black pony directly atBozeman and thundered forward on a dead run.The miscreant was actually charging the whole party.He emitted a terrifying whoop, leaning almost on his horse’s ears, as he brought his rifle round in front to fire, but a master hand at that business had not taken his eye from him since he started on his daring ride. The raising of the gun and the aiming and firing seemed to take place all together, and in the twinkling of an eye.“Thar’s one fool less,” was the quiet remark of Eph as he lowered his piece; “now, boys, grab ground.”His pony was stretching away at headlong speed for the building, the others imitating him so quickly that the four continued in a bunch. “Keep it up,” he added, firing again at their assailants.Strubell and Lattin discharged their pieces as often as they could take any sort of aim, but the conditions were against accuracy, and there was no evidence that they did any execution.The Apaches had branched off to the right and left, and kept popping away, with no more success than the white men. They held the marksmanship of the others in such fear that they gave much effort to screening their bodies, by flinging themselves over the sides of their animals and firing from under the neck or directly over it, where little could be seen of the riders except their glaring eyes and their hair, looking as if they were a part of the mane of their ponies, or the black eyes flashed for a moment in front of the breast of the galloping steeds.It cannot be said that Herbert Watrous felt pleasant when he heard the bullets singing about his ears, and knew that more than one was aimed at him. He did not attempt to reply, but gave his whole attention to urging Jill to his utmost. The building was only a short way off, and the briefest kind of a respite insured safety.Fortunately his steed was fully the equal of the others in fleetness and did not fall behind. Had it done so he would not have been left by his friends, for all were governed by that devotionwhich belongs to the highest form of chivalry. There was not one who would not have protected the youth with his life.Suddenly the broad door at the front of the adobe building was drawn inward. Rickard and Slidham had hurried down to make sure no delay took place at this critical moment.Herbert Watrous was leaning forward, with his eyes fixed on the avenue to safety, when he felt Jill shudder under the saddle, as if with a sudden chill. He veered to one side, throwing his nose against the shoulder of the trapper’s pony, and staggered uncertainly in the hopeless effort to recover himself, but, unable to do so, plunged forward on his knees and rolled over on his side, gasping his last breath.“The building was only a short way off.”Page335.CHAPTER XXXVIII.CONCLUSION.THE thrusting of the mortally wounded pony’s nose against the shoulder of the trapper’s horse warned both him and Herbert Watrous of what was coming. The latter slipped his feet from the stirrups, and was in the act of leaping to the ground, to attempt to run the short distance to the entrance of the mission building, when the broad right hand of Eph Bozeman slapped him in the broad of the back, clutched his coat, and with one powerful wrench he swung him out of the saddle sinking beneath him, and lifting him over in front of himself on his own steed.There was not the slightest slackening of speed on the part of the doubly laden animal, who not only held his own, but headed the procession as it dashed through the door, followed by the other two, amid a storm ofbullets, as Rickard and Slidham slammed the door shut and fastened it in place.The whole party was safe, without a scratch, and with only the loss of a single animal.They could hardly believe their good fortune, until their panting steeds were brought to a halt and the riders slipped to the ground.Then followed a general handshaking, and it would have been hard to believe that anything like enmity had existed between the men who showed such genuine pleasure at the escape of the little company from the Apaches. But a common danger draws people together, and Rickard and Slidham forgot that but a short time ago they had agreed to return a youth to these same visitors for a certain ransom.The first thing done after a general exchange of congratulations was on the part of the new arrivals. They made haste to the spring of cool, refreshing water, where they quaffed their fill, their ponies doing the same.Rickard had made preparations for their coming. From his storehouse of meal andmeat he had prepared a nourishing and abundant meal for all. Since there was no grass within the building, the horses were fed with the grain, of which there was sufficient to last several weeks by the exercise of frugality.The animals having been attended to and the hunger and thirst of the guests being satisfied, the company gathered in the small room where Eph Bozeman had held his interview of the night before. They crowded the place, but all found seats, and they conversed as freely as if they had been friends for years.“I made a bad break,” said Rickard, with a laugh; “you’ll admit that I worked that plan pretty well, but I didn’t count on the boy giving me the slip at the last minute.”“Where do you suppose he has gone?” asked Strubell, who did most of the talking for his side, the others listening attentively to every word that was spoken.“He must have been on the watch when Eph come in; we were all three in this room, talking the matter over, when he slipped out with his pony and has gone, who can say where?”“It doesn’t look as if the Apaches had caught him.”“No; I thought they might have done so, but there would have been an outcry if that took place. We wouldn’t have heard the sound of his horse as he rode off, but he would have used his rifle and pistol before allowing himself to be taken, and we must have heard them. He was the pluckiest fellow I ever saw.”“That’s so,” added Herbert; “Nick Ribsam was a brave boy; he gave me the biggest trouncing I ever had when he wasn’t more than half my size, and there’s no Indian that can down him without having the worst fight of his life.”“What I don’t understand,” continued Strubell, “is why he should wait until everything was in the best shape for him, and then slip off and knock our plan endways.”“Didn’t he have any chance of gettin’ away when you was on the road here?” inquired Lattin.“Well, we watched pretty close, for we knew what he was thinking of; Harman andI were never asleep at the same time, and we didn’t let him have his gun or pistol while on the road.”Herbert’s heart burned with indignation at these words, but he kept silent. He knew now why Nick had remained passive so long. He was too wise to dash away from his captors and ride out on the open prairie, exposed to innumerable dangers, without a weapon at command. Had he been allowed to retain them he would have made things lively for Bell Rickard.Rickard stated further that they had no field glass at command, like their pursuers, so that they never caught sight of them, though well convinced they were on their trail. Consequently Nick had not the incentive that would have been his had he felt any assurance of meeting his friends if he fled eastward.“When we arrived here,” continued the horse thief, “and we knew the Apaches were close outside, why, we let him have his weapons, for it looked as if he might be able to help us against the redskins.”“Of course when he saw Eph come throughthe door and join you in this room,” said Strubell, “he had no idea that he came from us; if he had he would have acted differently——”“No, he wouldn’t either; you don’t know what you’re talkin’ ’bout.”It was the old trapper who uttered this exclamation, after he had held his peace for several minutes. All looked at him wonderingly, for it was not clear what he meant by his abrupt remark. His little eyes shone with a peculiar light, and could his mouth have been seen, a singular smile would have been observed playing around it.“Boys,” added Eph, straightening up on his seat as he saw every gaze fixed upon him, “shall I tell you something?”The expression of general interest convinced him that no one could be heard with greater pleasure.“Last night, after passin’ out the door, a quar idea got into my head. Instead of startin’ on a run to get back to you folks, I stooped down and passed my hands over the ground all round the door. And what do yous’pose I found? Why, thar war the prints of several horses goin’ in,but thar warn’t a single one comin’ out!”He paused a moment for this astounding announcement to produce its effect. Strubell was the first to catch its full meaning.“Are you sure of that?” he asked.“As sure as I’m sittin’ here this minute. What does it mean, tharfore and consequently? Why, that that younker came in with Bell and Harman, but that hehaint gone out, which the same means that he’s inside of this buildin’ and aint fifty feet off this very minute, and if thar’s anyone here that don’t b’lieve me, all he’s got to do is to look through that door yonder and tell me whether he don’t see the grinnin’ younker standin’ thar this very minute.”It so happened that as Eph sat he faced the opening of the little room, and, since every eye was fixed on him, their backs were turned in the other direction. All wheeled like a flash and saw Nick Ribsam in the act of entering the apartment, his honest face expanded into one broad smile, while hishand was extended to greet his old acquaintances.Herbert Watrous stared with open mouth, unable to believe it was not a dream, until his hand was clasped by that of the best friend he had, outside of his own folks, in the world. Then he saw that it was reality, and greeted the good fellow with a delight which touched even the hearts of Bell Rickard and Harman Slidham.Enough has been hinted about Nick Ribsam to give the reader a general idea of his experience from the night he was made prisoner by the horse thieves and carried westward into New Mexico. Herbert was correct in his surmise as to why he made no effort to escape while on the long journey. With no firearms at command, with no knowledge of where his friends were, and believing that his captors were only manœuvring for a ransom, he would have disproved all faith in his good sense had he seized any one of the several occasions for parting company with those whom he despised.He had no suspicion of the business which brought Eph Bozeman to the building, else he would not have played the little deception he did on his captors; but when requested to betake himself to some other part of the structure during the interview, he obeyed, passing into the room which adjoined the one where the ponies had been placed.Here he struck a match that he might investigate his surroundings. The first thing that caught his attention was a door, which he did not notice until he was at the further end of the apartment, and then he would not have observed it had not his gaze struck it in a peculiar manner.A brief examination showed that it was intended by the parties who built the mission house as a secret storehouse or retreat in a last emergency. It was so ingeniously constructed that the space occupied was cut off from three other apartments, and the missing portion was not likely to be noticed unless suspicion happened to be turned that way.The room was long and narrow, and there was space at one end for a horse, ventilationbeing secured by means of several slits that were cleverly concealed from view. Of course it would not have required a close search for anyone to discover it from the outside, but that search was not made.The moment Nick stumbled upon the retreat, the idea of a trick came to him. He led Jack into the space, slipped out and unfastened the door to give the impression that he had passed through it, and then returned and ensconced himself within.The reflection came to him that he had done an exceedingly risky thing in leaving the door unfastened, but he reasoned that he would soon be missed and the open avenue discovered. Then, too, what band of Apaches, or white persons for that matter, would dream of such a piece of negligence on the part of three persons who knew of their danger?While debating the matter with himself, and when he was on the point of going out to secure the door again, he fell asleep and did not open his eyes until after the arrival of his friends. The reports of the rifles were sodulled by the intervening walls that they had not disturbed him at all.Eph Bozeman was convinced of the presence of the youth within the building on his failure to find any hoof prints leading outward from the door. He deemed it best to say nothing of this to his companions, since he wanted to give them a surprise, and he did it beyond question.What pleased the old trapper was the certainty that Bell Rickard, after all, must lose the thousand dollars, for under the circumstances he had no legal claim to it, inasmuch as Nick had escaped from his custody, and he confessed himself unable to perform his part of the contract.Our friends were one horse short, and the loss was a severe one. It was decided to stay where they were until the Apaches grew tired of the siege, and communication could be opened with other parties. Jim-John and his companion were supposed to be making their way toward the same destination with the pack horses, one of which could be turned to account in case nothing better presented itself.But at this interesting juncture Bell Rickard, of all others, solved the difficulty in an unexpected manner. He insisted that he had come by his own horse fairly, and he asked the privilege of furnishing it to Herbert Watrous. He said he would wait where he was until the arrival of Jim-John and Brindage, and accept one of the pack horses in exchange. This was finally agreed to, and the transaction was probably the first honest one of the kind in which the fellow had taken part in a long time.On the second day all signs of the Apaches disappeared. They had carried off the bodies of those who had fallen, and sought more inviting fields for their cruel work.Instead of pushing on to California, as Nick and Herbert originally intended, they decided to return to San Antonio with Strubell and Lattin. Herbert had fully recovered his health, and, to tell the truth, both boys were homesick. They felt there was no place like their own homes, and the society of their loved ones. They had been granted that which led them across Texas, and why go further?It is not necessary to give the incidents of their return to the quaint old town of San Antonio, although the journey was marked by many interesting incidents. They arrived there without serious mishap, and, parting company with the Texans and the old trapper, who was liberally rewarded for his services, Nick, just one week later, clasped his father, mother, and sister Nellie in his arms. Herbert stayed a day with him, and then hastened to his home in New York City, where it need not be said he was welcomed with gratitude and affection.And here the history of Nick Ribsam and Herbert Watrous properly ends. That they will be the same warm, trustful, loving friends through life need not be said, and the good seed sown by the honest young Pennsylvanian in the heart of his city associate will spring up and bear a blessed fruit, the full degree of which can never be known until they enter upon the life to come.THE END.Our Boys’ Select Library.Stories of Adventure, Travel, and Discovery.————Post 8vo, cloth extra, uniform binding. Price 2s. 6d. each.————Beyond the Himalayas.A Book for Boys. ByJohn Geddie, F.R.G.S., Author of “The Lake Regions of Central Africa,” etc. With 9 Engravings.The Castaways.A Story of Adventure in the Wilds of Borneo. By CaptainMayne Reid.Frank Redcliffe.A Story of Travel and Adventure in the Forests of Venezuela. A Book for Boys. ByAchilles Daunt, Author of “The Three Trappers,” etc. With numerous Illustrations.In the Land of the Moose, the Bear, and the Beaver.Adventures in the Forests of the Athabasca. 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CHAPTER XXXV.THROUGH THE LINES AGAIN.THERE could be no doubt of the truth of the startling declaration of Bell Rickard. He had no object in deceiving the trapper, for his failure to produce Nick Ribsam deprived him of the liberal ransom agreed upon by the representative of Herbert Watrous.He stated that he had told his prisoner of the plan he had in view, so that the youth might be relieved of all dread of violence or harm, and could be content to abandon whatever plans he had in mind of escape. He assured him that, even if he succeeded in getting away, he would be in greater danger than ever, since the chances were against his finding his friends, while the Apaches were quite sure to find him.Nick seemed to be impressed with this view, and Rickard and Slidham concluded that he meant to wait patiently for his release by themethod explained to him. It now looked as if Nick had succeeded in outwitting his captors, after all, and that his apparent resignation was meant to deceive them into relaxing their watchfulness.Although the two men and boy were observed by Kimmaho and his warriors as they rode up to the adobe structure, they were able to enter and secure the massive door before the Apaches could interfere. Rickard assured Nick that it was a fortunate thing for them, since they would have been badly caught but for the refuge, where they could laugh at the enmity of ten times that number of warriors.If the criminal had felt any misgivings as to the intentions of Nick, they were removed by this time; for, after having refused all the chances offered him, who would suppose that he would place himself in the most imminent peril possible from the Apaches, when he had no knowledge that his friends were within a hundred miles?Nevertheless he was gone. When Rickard found the trapper at the door, he asked Nickto remain in another part of the building until the interview was over. It struck him that it was better that he should not listen to the negotiations, though he was willing to bring him forward when asked to do so.The criminal indicated no particular one of the dozen apartments opening on the courtyard, several of which were intended for the use of horses. The front of the building consisted of two stories, with four large rooms, but the other portion was only a single story in height.When Eph asked for a few words with the boy, Rickard sent Slidham out to bring him in. The man expected to find him at once, but as he moved from one apartment to another, calling to him in a suppressed voice and hearing nothing in reply, he began to fear something was amiss. However, he completed the circuit, including the four large apartments in front and the room where they had placed their ponies.Since he carried no light, it was easy for the youth to keep out of sight; but Slidham could think of no reason for his doing this,and he returned to his chief with the word that he believed the prisoner had “vamosed the ranch.” Deeming it incredible, Rickard set out to make the search thorough. He carried no light, but was fully supplied with matches, and he burned several in each apartment, until he had scrutinized the entire interior, and made sure the youth had not fallen asleep or was hiding.It so happened that the stables were the last place visited. Rickard was holding the tiny match above his head, anxiously awaiting the moment when its light should reveal the whole interior, when Slidham touched his arm, and, pointing at the ponies, whispered:“There’s onlytwoof them!”“You’re right,” replied the leader; “it’s his horse too that is gone.”It was true: the faithful Jack that had stood by his master so long was not in sight. All doubt was removed, and Rickard hastened to where he had left Eph Bozeman and told the astounding news.The criminal proved his earnestness by asking the trapper to help him in repeatingthe search, and he did so, visiting every room in the building, but without gaining sight of the missing youth.“Great guns!” exclaimed Eph, “how did we come to forgit it?”He started on a run for the main door. The others were at his heels, for they knew what the action meant. If Nick had stolen out and galloped off, he must have left the entrance open for anyone to enter. The instant the Apaches discovered it they would swarm through, for, as has been shown, the presence of the few white men within rendered them furiously eager to enter when otherwise they would have cared not at all.Even such a veteran as Eph Bozeman shuddered on reaching the heavy doors to find them unfastened, so that a small child could have passed through from the outside with no trouble.“If the varmints had only knowed that!” he said, after helping to secure it again.This of course changed all the conditions and brought the men in front of a new and alarming problem. Since they were assuredthat Nick Ribsam, in spite of the danger from the Apaches, had ridden out of the front of the building, and his present whereabouts were unknown, beyond the simple fact that he was not present, Eph Bozeman felt that he could not get back to his friends too soon with the news, and decide upon an immediate line of action to help the rash youth.Rickard renewed his proposal that the others should dash into the building and stay there until all danger passed. The Apaches would be certain to discover them in the morning if not before, and the three hunters and single youth could not maintain themselves against Kimmaho and his band.This offer would have been accepted without hesitation, but for the desertion it forced of Nick Ribsam. The entire course of his friends for days past was with the single view of helping him, and it would not do to leave him now when his peril had been increased a hundredfold.But admitting all this, the question rose, as to what possible way there was of aiding theyoung man, who had done that which Eph Bozeman could not understand, after hearing so much of his brightness.Indeed, he more than half suspected that he had already fallen into the hands of the Apaches. His own passing of their lines was of the most difficult nature, as the reader has learned, and it looked impossible for it to be done a second time, and by one who knew so little of those subtle red men.The fact that Nick was mounted ought to have been of great help in the event of discovery, for his pony was as fleet as the fleetest of the Apache steeds, but those ferocious raiders would find little trouble in entrapping the boldest white man who ventured within sight of them on so dark a night.Be the conclusion what it may, the necessity of the trapper returning to the Texans was obvious. He told Rickard that he would try it at once, and no decision could be reached until after a talk with them.“If we agree to make a break for these quarters, it’ll be just as it is growin’ light,” said he.“I’ll be on the lookout,” replied Rickard, “and you can feel certain there won’t be any trouble in gettin’ in.”With this understanding a careful survey was taken of the ground immediately in front, and, nothing being seen of the Apaches, the visitor stepped outside. He had spent several hours within the building, and knew his friends were wondering at his long absence, but he now did a thing for which there seemed no justification.Fairly without the door, he moved aside a few paces, as if to leave, but instead of doing so, stood motionless, with his back against the outer wall. He was listening for something besides Apache warriors, and by and by he heard it; it was the noise made by Bell Rickard in refastening the heavy doors. He had waited until he believed his caller was gone too far to return, when he secured himself and companion against the common enemy.The moment the door was locked Eph stepped noiselessly forward and stooped down. It was too dark for him to see distinctly,but he could feel as well as ever, and he passed his hands back and forth over the earth, as if he had lost a valuable coin and was searching for it through the sense of touch alone.

THROUGH THE LINES AGAIN.

THERE could be no doubt of the truth of the startling declaration of Bell Rickard. He had no object in deceiving the trapper, for his failure to produce Nick Ribsam deprived him of the liberal ransom agreed upon by the representative of Herbert Watrous.

He stated that he had told his prisoner of the plan he had in view, so that the youth might be relieved of all dread of violence or harm, and could be content to abandon whatever plans he had in mind of escape. He assured him that, even if he succeeded in getting away, he would be in greater danger than ever, since the chances were against his finding his friends, while the Apaches were quite sure to find him.

Nick seemed to be impressed with this view, and Rickard and Slidham concluded that he meant to wait patiently for his release by themethod explained to him. It now looked as if Nick had succeeded in outwitting his captors, after all, and that his apparent resignation was meant to deceive them into relaxing their watchfulness.

Although the two men and boy were observed by Kimmaho and his warriors as they rode up to the adobe structure, they were able to enter and secure the massive door before the Apaches could interfere. Rickard assured Nick that it was a fortunate thing for them, since they would have been badly caught but for the refuge, where they could laugh at the enmity of ten times that number of warriors.

If the criminal had felt any misgivings as to the intentions of Nick, they were removed by this time; for, after having refused all the chances offered him, who would suppose that he would place himself in the most imminent peril possible from the Apaches, when he had no knowledge that his friends were within a hundred miles?

Nevertheless he was gone. When Rickard found the trapper at the door, he asked Nickto remain in another part of the building until the interview was over. It struck him that it was better that he should not listen to the negotiations, though he was willing to bring him forward when asked to do so.

The criminal indicated no particular one of the dozen apartments opening on the courtyard, several of which were intended for the use of horses. The front of the building consisted of two stories, with four large rooms, but the other portion was only a single story in height.

When Eph asked for a few words with the boy, Rickard sent Slidham out to bring him in. The man expected to find him at once, but as he moved from one apartment to another, calling to him in a suppressed voice and hearing nothing in reply, he began to fear something was amiss. However, he completed the circuit, including the four large apartments in front and the room where they had placed their ponies.

Since he carried no light, it was easy for the youth to keep out of sight; but Slidham could think of no reason for his doing this,and he returned to his chief with the word that he believed the prisoner had “vamosed the ranch.” Deeming it incredible, Rickard set out to make the search thorough. He carried no light, but was fully supplied with matches, and he burned several in each apartment, until he had scrutinized the entire interior, and made sure the youth had not fallen asleep or was hiding.

It so happened that the stables were the last place visited. Rickard was holding the tiny match above his head, anxiously awaiting the moment when its light should reveal the whole interior, when Slidham touched his arm, and, pointing at the ponies, whispered:

“There’s onlytwoof them!”

“You’re right,” replied the leader; “it’s his horse too that is gone.”

It was true: the faithful Jack that had stood by his master so long was not in sight. All doubt was removed, and Rickard hastened to where he had left Eph Bozeman and told the astounding news.

The criminal proved his earnestness by asking the trapper to help him in repeatingthe search, and he did so, visiting every room in the building, but without gaining sight of the missing youth.

“Great guns!” exclaimed Eph, “how did we come to forgit it?”

He started on a run for the main door. The others were at his heels, for they knew what the action meant. If Nick had stolen out and galloped off, he must have left the entrance open for anyone to enter. The instant the Apaches discovered it they would swarm through, for, as has been shown, the presence of the few white men within rendered them furiously eager to enter when otherwise they would have cared not at all.

Even such a veteran as Eph Bozeman shuddered on reaching the heavy doors to find them unfastened, so that a small child could have passed through from the outside with no trouble.

“If the varmints had only knowed that!” he said, after helping to secure it again.

This of course changed all the conditions and brought the men in front of a new and alarming problem. Since they were assuredthat Nick Ribsam, in spite of the danger from the Apaches, had ridden out of the front of the building, and his present whereabouts were unknown, beyond the simple fact that he was not present, Eph Bozeman felt that he could not get back to his friends too soon with the news, and decide upon an immediate line of action to help the rash youth.

Rickard renewed his proposal that the others should dash into the building and stay there until all danger passed. The Apaches would be certain to discover them in the morning if not before, and the three hunters and single youth could not maintain themselves against Kimmaho and his band.

This offer would have been accepted without hesitation, but for the desertion it forced of Nick Ribsam. The entire course of his friends for days past was with the single view of helping him, and it would not do to leave him now when his peril had been increased a hundredfold.

But admitting all this, the question rose, as to what possible way there was of aiding theyoung man, who had done that which Eph Bozeman could not understand, after hearing so much of his brightness.

Indeed, he more than half suspected that he had already fallen into the hands of the Apaches. His own passing of their lines was of the most difficult nature, as the reader has learned, and it looked impossible for it to be done a second time, and by one who knew so little of those subtle red men.

The fact that Nick was mounted ought to have been of great help in the event of discovery, for his pony was as fleet as the fleetest of the Apache steeds, but those ferocious raiders would find little trouble in entrapping the boldest white man who ventured within sight of them on so dark a night.

Be the conclusion what it may, the necessity of the trapper returning to the Texans was obvious. He told Rickard that he would try it at once, and no decision could be reached until after a talk with them.

“If we agree to make a break for these quarters, it’ll be just as it is growin’ light,” said he.

“I’ll be on the lookout,” replied Rickard, “and you can feel certain there won’t be any trouble in gettin’ in.”

With this understanding a careful survey was taken of the ground immediately in front, and, nothing being seen of the Apaches, the visitor stepped outside. He had spent several hours within the building, and knew his friends were wondering at his long absence, but he now did a thing for which there seemed no justification.

Fairly without the door, he moved aside a few paces, as if to leave, but instead of doing so, stood motionless, with his back against the outer wall. He was listening for something besides Apache warriors, and by and by he heard it; it was the noise made by Bell Rickard in refastening the heavy doors. He had waited until he believed his caller was gone too far to return, when he secured himself and companion against the common enemy.

The moment the door was locked Eph stepped noiselessly forward and stooped down. It was too dark for him to see distinctly,but he could feel as well as ever, and he passed his hands back and forth over the earth, as if he had lost a valuable coin and was searching for it through the sense of touch alone.

CHAPTER XXXVI.THE DECISION.THE situation of the trapper was perilous in the extreme, for it was to be supposed that the Apaches, after the loss of one of their number, would maintain unremitting watch of the only avenue through which anyone could enter or leave the building; but he remained in a stooping posture for several minutes, passing his hands back and forth over the ground, until he had several times covered the space in front of the door.Finally, with a muttered exclamation, he stood erect, and was ready to start toward his friends, a long way off on the elevation where he had left them hours before.His keen ear, trained to wonderful fineness by his years of life in the wilderness, caught the footfalls of a horse, which he knew at once was ridden by one of the Apaches. Instead of moving off, or attempting to re-enter thebuilding, he remained upright, with his back against the structure. Had there been a corresponding figure on the other side of the door, a person observing the two from a brief distance would have declared they had been carved and set there scores of years before.The Indian rode up within sight, and halted a moment while he gazed at the front of the structure. Nothing was easier than for the trapper to tumble him from his pony, but he was too wise to summon the band by doing so. He gazed at him in turn, content to let him alone as long as he did not disturb him.The Apache must have felt that he was in danger of drawing a shot from one of the upper windows, for he quickly wheeled his steed and rode off in the darkness.He was hardly out of sight when Eph moved straight out from the building. If Rickard or his companion were on the watch they must have wondered at the sight, though it was explainable on the ground that the trapper was waiting a favorable opening to run the gauntlet.Instead of crawling, the veteran broke intohis loping trot, which was speedier than it appeared. The moon had risen, and though it was at his back he feared the result of the exposure to its additional light.In no way can the success of Eph be explained other than on the ground that it was one of those pieces of extremely good fortune which sometimes attend rash enterprises on the part of a cool-headed man. He heard the sound of galloping horses, and twice caught their shadowy outlines, but he was on the alert, and, dropping to the earth, waited until the peril passed. In both cases the red men came no nearer, and he was soon advanced so far that he believed the worst was over. He straightened up once more, and, as I have shown, strode directly forward to the elevation, where all three of his friends were awaiting his coming with an anxiety that cannot be understood by one not similarly situated.The little party listened to his story with breathless interest, Herbert being the first to speak at its conclusion.“That’s just like Nick,” he said; “he has been waiting his chance all these days andnights, and when those men had no suspicion of what he intended, he has given them the slip.”“I don’t have much opinion ofthatyounker,” said the old trapper curtly.“Why not?”“The most foolishest thing he could do was to ride out of that building just as it ‘pears he has done. If he had stayed thar the whole thing war fixed, but now whar ar you?”“If he has fallen into the power of Kimmaho or any of his party,” said Strubell, “it will take more than a thousand dollars to get him back.”“What do you suppose they will demand?” inquired Herbert, his fears aroused again.“They won’t askanything,” said Lattin; “the Apaches don’t deal in the ransom bus’ness as much as some other folks.”“But you talk as though he is a prisoner of theirs.”“If he is alive, what else can he be?”“He was well mounted and might have escaped on horseback.”“If that had been the case,” added the elder Texan, “we couldn’t have helped knowing it.”“But there was no noise when Eph met the Apaches except the report of his pistol.”“We have been listening so closely here, except when I was asleep, that we noticed the tramp of the Apaches’ ponies even when they were walking; if Nick rode off at full speed we must have heard the sounds, because they would have been much louder.”“Suppose on leaving the building, during Eph’s interview with the two men, he had ridden around to the rear and galloped several miles to the westward, would you have heard Jack’s hoofs?”“Thar’s somethin’ in that,” remarked the trapper; “you’re all pretty sharp-eared, but that would have been too much for you to catch.”“The supposition, however, is a very thin one,” insisted Strubell, to whom the action of Nick Ribsam was very annoying.“I’m sorry he did it,” remarked Herbert, “but we must take things as they are, andwhen we meet him we’ll haul him over the coals.”“Did Bell know anything about our being out here?” asked Strubell, turning to the trapper.“He ‘spected you three, but he didn’t know nothin’ ‘boutme, and didn’t know when you would show yourselves. He s’posed I would meet you and give you the news, and you would hurry along. He knowed you war aimin’ for the old mission buildin’ and would be along after a while if the varmints didn’t cut you off.”“What about our pack animals?”“He spoke of ‘em, and said Jim-John and Brindage would ‘tend to ‘em.”“You did so well in arranging the ransom that you ought to have included them.”“I could have done it if you had said so, but I follered orders,” replied the trapper.“Well,” said Lattin, “the question now is what we are to do; if Nick only knowed where we are it would be simple enough; he could give the Apaches the slip and hang ‘round till mornin’, when we could come together.”“But it looks as if he will ride till daylight as hard as his pony can stand it—that is, if the redskins haven’t got him,” observed Strubell, “and we may hunt over the whole of New Mexico and Arizona without finding him.”“It don’t seem to me that it will be as bad as that,” remarked Herbert, eager to gather every crumb of comfort; “for he must know he can’t find us by riding westward, but will start eastward after escaping the Apaches, so as to meet us on the way.”“But that start that you’re talking about,” reminded Strubell, “has been made hours ago, if it was made at all, and he must now be far to the eastward.”“He will be on the lookout for us and will strike the trail before going far.”“I see no reason to believe that; we are not following any trail at all; if we were there would be hope, but the chance of his finding our footprints equals that of picking up a certain blade of grass on the left bank of the Brazos, when no one can direct you within a hundred miles of the spot.”Herbert was trying to gather hope from thedifferent views of the situation, but it looked as if his friends were determined to prevent anything of the kind.“If you folks knew Nick Ribsam as well as I,” he sturdily insisted, “you would have a higher opinion of him than you seem to have.”“Baker and I thought as well of him as you,” said Strubell, “but we are judging him now by what he did this evening; if he had stayed where he ought to have stayed the whole business would have been over.”“But the Apaches are still near us,” replied Herbert.“We could manage that; Rickard would let us inside, where we could all be together; Kimmaho might lay siege to us for days or weeks, but he couldn’t harm us, and after a time would grow tired and ride off to more inviting fields.”“It looks to me,” observed Lattin, who seemed to dislike the general condemnation in which he had joined of a youth of whom they had all become fond, “that the most that can be said about the younker is that he has madethe same mistake that one of us was likely to make. He found what he thought was a good chance to give the scamps the slip, and he done it as neatly as anything of the kind was ever done in this world.”Eph Bozeman had held his peace for some time. Strubell now turned to him and asked his views, adding that they would be followed.“All right,” he replied decisively; “at the first streak of daylight to-morrer we make a break for the old buildin’ yonder.”

THE DECISION.

THE situation of the trapper was perilous in the extreme, for it was to be supposed that the Apaches, after the loss of one of their number, would maintain unremitting watch of the only avenue through which anyone could enter or leave the building; but he remained in a stooping posture for several minutes, passing his hands back and forth over the ground, until he had several times covered the space in front of the door.

Finally, with a muttered exclamation, he stood erect, and was ready to start toward his friends, a long way off on the elevation where he had left them hours before.

His keen ear, trained to wonderful fineness by his years of life in the wilderness, caught the footfalls of a horse, which he knew at once was ridden by one of the Apaches. Instead of moving off, or attempting to re-enter thebuilding, he remained upright, with his back against the structure. Had there been a corresponding figure on the other side of the door, a person observing the two from a brief distance would have declared they had been carved and set there scores of years before.

The Indian rode up within sight, and halted a moment while he gazed at the front of the structure. Nothing was easier than for the trapper to tumble him from his pony, but he was too wise to summon the band by doing so. He gazed at him in turn, content to let him alone as long as he did not disturb him.

The Apache must have felt that he was in danger of drawing a shot from one of the upper windows, for he quickly wheeled his steed and rode off in the darkness.

He was hardly out of sight when Eph moved straight out from the building. If Rickard or his companion were on the watch they must have wondered at the sight, though it was explainable on the ground that the trapper was waiting a favorable opening to run the gauntlet.

Instead of crawling, the veteran broke intohis loping trot, which was speedier than it appeared. The moon had risen, and though it was at his back he feared the result of the exposure to its additional light.

In no way can the success of Eph be explained other than on the ground that it was one of those pieces of extremely good fortune which sometimes attend rash enterprises on the part of a cool-headed man. He heard the sound of galloping horses, and twice caught their shadowy outlines, but he was on the alert, and, dropping to the earth, waited until the peril passed. In both cases the red men came no nearer, and he was soon advanced so far that he believed the worst was over. He straightened up once more, and, as I have shown, strode directly forward to the elevation, where all three of his friends were awaiting his coming with an anxiety that cannot be understood by one not similarly situated.

The little party listened to his story with breathless interest, Herbert being the first to speak at its conclusion.

“That’s just like Nick,” he said; “he has been waiting his chance all these days andnights, and when those men had no suspicion of what he intended, he has given them the slip.”

“I don’t have much opinion ofthatyounker,” said the old trapper curtly.

“Why not?”

“The most foolishest thing he could do was to ride out of that building just as it ‘pears he has done. If he had stayed thar the whole thing war fixed, but now whar ar you?”

“If he has fallen into the power of Kimmaho or any of his party,” said Strubell, “it will take more than a thousand dollars to get him back.”

“What do you suppose they will demand?” inquired Herbert, his fears aroused again.

“They won’t askanything,” said Lattin; “the Apaches don’t deal in the ransom bus’ness as much as some other folks.”

“But you talk as though he is a prisoner of theirs.”

“If he is alive, what else can he be?”

“He was well mounted and might have escaped on horseback.”

“If that had been the case,” added the elder Texan, “we couldn’t have helped knowing it.”

“But there was no noise when Eph met the Apaches except the report of his pistol.”

“We have been listening so closely here, except when I was asleep, that we noticed the tramp of the Apaches’ ponies even when they were walking; if Nick rode off at full speed we must have heard the sounds, because they would have been much louder.”

“Suppose on leaving the building, during Eph’s interview with the two men, he had ridden around to the rear and galloped several miles to the westward, would you have heard Jack’s hoofs?”

“Thar’s somethin’ in that,” remarked the trapper; “you’re all pretty sharp-eared, but that would have been too much for you to catch.”

“The supposition, however, is a very thin one,” insisted Strubell, to whom the action of Nick Ribsam was very annoying.

“I’m sorry he did it,” remarked Herbert, “but we must take things as they are, andwhen we meet him we’ll haul him over the coals.”

“Did Bell know anything about our being out here?” asked Strubell, turning to the trapper.

“He ‘spected you three, but he didn’t know nothin’ ‘boutme, and didn’t know when you would show yourselves. He s’posed I would meet you and give you the news, and you would hurry along. He knowed you war aimin’ for the old mission buildin’ and would be along after a while if the varmints didn’t cut you off.”

“What about our pack animals?”

“He spoke of ‘em, and said Jim-John and Brindage would ‘tend to ‘em.”

“You did so well in arranging the ransom that you ought to have included them.”

“I could have done it if you had said so, but I follered orders,” replied the trapper.

“Well,” said Lattin, “the question now is what we are to do; if Nick only knowed where we are it would be simple enough; he could give the Apaches the slip and hang ‘round till mornin’, when we could come together.”

“But it looks as if he will ride till daylight as hard as his pony can stand it—that is, if the redskins haven’t got him,” observed Strubell, “and we may hunt over the whole of New Mexico and Arizona without finding him.”

“It don’t seem to me that it will be as bad as that,” remarked Herbert, eager to gather every crumb of comfort; “for he must know he can’t find us by riding westward, but will start eastward after escaping the Apaches, so as to meet us on the way.”

“But that start that you’re talking about,” reminded Strubell, “has been made hours ago, if it was made at all, and he must now be far to the eastward.”

“He will be on the lookout for us and will strike the trail before going far.”

“I see no reason to believe that; we are not following any trail at all; if we were there would be hope, but the chance of his finding our footprints equals that of picking up a certain blade of grass on the left bank of the Brazos, when no one can direct you within a hundred miles of the spot.”

Herbert was trying to gather hope from thedifferent views of the situation, but it looked as if his friends were determined to prevent anything of the kind.

“If you folks knew Nick Ribsam as well as I,” he sturdily insisted, “you would have a higher opinion of him than you seem to have.”

“Baker and I thought as well of him as you,” said Strubell, “but we are judging him now by what he did this evening; if he had stayed where he ought to have stayed the whole business would have been over.”

“But the Apaches are still near us,” replied Herbert.

“We could manage that; Rickard would let us inside, where we could all be together; Kimmaho might lay siege to us for days or weeks, but he couldn’t harm us, and after a time would grow tired and ride off to more inviting fields.”

“It looks to me,” observed Lattin, who seemed to dislike the general condemnation in which he had joined of a youth of whom they had all become fond, “that the most that can be said about the younker is that he has madethe same mistake that one of us was likely to make. He found what he thought was a good chance to give the scamps the slip, and he done it as neatly as anything of the kind was ever done in this world.”

Eph Bozeman had held his peace for some time. Strubell now turned to him and asked his views, adding that they would be followed.

“All right,” he replied decisively; “at the first streak of daylight to-morrer we make a break for the old buildin’ yonder.”

CHAPTER XXXVII.THE FINAL CHARGE.AT THE earliest streaking of gray in the eastern horizon the three men and Herbert Watrous, all of whom had been sleeping fitfully by turns through the long dismal hours, silently rose to their feet and walked to where the ponies, a short distance off, had resumed their cropping of the grass. They were thirsty, like their masters, but no water was within reach, and they were doing their best to satisfy their hunger.The outlines of the old adobe mission building showed faintly through the obscurity as the little party headed westward, and advanced at a moderate walk, on the alert for the Apaches, of whom they had detected signs now and then during their wearisome watching.The action of the red men had puzzled the trapper as well as Strubell and Lattin. It washard to understand why they had not stumbled on the truth, but there was good reason for believing they were still ignorant of the presence of the white men so near them. It was upon this theory that the success of the daring enterprise was based.Eph Bozeman placed himself at the head, Herbert coming next, with one of the Texans on either side. The veteran was the best qualified to lead, while the disposition of all was with a view of protecting the younger and less experienced member of the party.Nothing was seen of their enemies until half the distance was passed, when Lattin, who was on Herbert’s right, exclaimed in an undertone:“Yonder are the varmints!”The horses were in excellent condition because of their long rest, and up to this moment moved at a moderate trot. As the Texan spoke, the trapper, who had detected the danger, struck his animal into a brisk gallop, the others doing the same without any urging of their riders.The Apaches must have relaxed their vigilance toward the latter part of the night, formost, if not all the group, were observed to the south of the structure instead of being near it. They were closer to it, however, than the whites, and showed their daring by immediately riding forward to meet them.The trapper turned his head and said: “Let ‘em have it the minute they’re near enough to hit.”These were words which had meaning, and Herbert, like his companions, looked at his Winchester to make sure it was ready for instant service.“I think they’re all there,” added Lattin.“I don’t believe it,” remarked Strubell, “for there isn’t more than six or eight.”“And Nick isn’t with them,” Herbert could not help exclaiming, with a thrill of pleasure.No reply followed this, which might signify nothing, for all were too intent on what was before them.The interest deepened each moment. The Apaches, numbering exactly eight, were advancing at a speed fully as great as that of the whites, riding close together and apparently all eagerness for the conflict. Theyindulged in no shouts, whoops, or gestures, but came on like the grim demons they were.Each carried his gun, and he was not afraid to use it whenever the chance offered. Nothing could have looked more frightful than they, their chests naked, their irregular features daubed with different colored paint, their long black hair dangling about their shoulders, while each rode like a centaur.A distance of two hundred yards separated the parties, neither of which had made the slightest variation in its course. Our friends were heading directly toward the building and did not swerve to the right or left. To have done so would have shown fear, and brought the redskins down upon them like a cyclone.One of two things was inevitable, and that within the space of a few seconds: the Apaches or white men must turn to one side, or there would be a fierce fight. Eph Bozeman and his comrades were resolved to keep on until the noses of their ponies should touch. What was the purpose of the red men must appear immediately.The break came from an unexpected source. Belden Rickard and Harman Slidham had not forgotten the parting words of the trapper, and were on the watch at the upper front windows. The rapidly increasing light showed the four horsemen coming down the slope, and they saw the Apaches set out to meet them. Matters were on the eve of explosion when Rickard took deliberate sight from his window and fired at the warriors. The shot was a long one, but so accurately aimed that a dusky horseman, with a rasping screech, rolled off his pony, the animal breaking into a gallop, circling away from the others, and, facing toward the building, whinneying with fright and dashing aimlessly hither and thither in a panic.The other Apaches acted as if the report of the gun was the signal for them to break apart, for they did so with a suddenness that could not have been surpassed had a bombshell burst beneath them.Several turned to the right and others to the left, while one, as if he absolutely feared nothing, headed his black pony directly atBozeman and thundered forward on a dead run.The miscreant was actually charging the whole party.He emitted a terrifying whoop, leaning almost on his horse’s ears, as he brought his rifle round in front to fire, but a master hand at that business had not taken his eye from him since he started on his daring ride. The raising of the gun and the aiming and firing seemed to take place all together, and in the twinkling of an eye.“Thar’s one fool less,” was the quiet remark of Eph as he lowered his piece; “now, boys, grab ground.”His pony was stretching away at headlong speed for the building, the others imitating him so quickly that the four continued in a bunch. “Keep it up,” he added, firing again at their assailants.Strubell and Lattin discharged their pieces as often as they could take any sort of aim, but the conditions were against accuracy, and there was no evidence that they did any execution.The Apaches had branched off to the right and left, and kept popping away, with no more success than the white men. They held the marksmanship of the others in such fear that they gave much effort to screening their bodies, by flinging themselves over the sides of their animals and firing from under the neck or directly over it, where little could be seen of the riders except their glaring eyes and their hair, looking as if they were a part of the mane of their ponies, or the black eyes flashed for a moment in front of the breast of the galloping steeds.It cannot be said that Herbert Watrous felt pleasant when he heard the bullets singing about his ears, and knew that more than one was aimed at him. He did not attempt to reply, but gave his whole attention to urging Jill to his utmost. The building was only a short way off, and the briefest kind of a respite insured safety.Fortunately his steed was fully the equal of the others in fleetness and did not fall behind. Had it done so he would not have been left by his friends, for all were governed by that devotionwhich belongs to the highest form of chivalry. There was not one who would not have protected the youth with his life.Suddenly the broad door at the front of the adobe building was drawn inward. Rickard and Slidham had hurried down to make sure no delay took place at this critical moment.Herbert Watrous was leaning forward, with his eyes fixed on the avenue to safety, when he felt Jill shudder under the saddle, as if with a sudden chill. He veered to one side, throwing his nose against the shoulder of the trapper’s pony, and staggered uncertainly in the hopeless effort to recover himself, but, unable to do so, plunged forward on his knees and rolled over on his side, gasping his last breath.“The building was only a short way off.”Page335.

THE FINAL CHARGE.

AT THE earliest streaking of gray in the eastern horizon the three men and Herbert Watrous, all of whom had been sleeping fitfully by turns through the long dismal hours, silently rose to their feet and walked to where the ponies, a short distance off, had resumed their cropping of the grass. They were thirsty, like their masters, but no water was within reach, and they were doing their best to satisfy their hunger.

The outlines of the old adobe mission building showed faintly through the obscurity as the little party headed westward, and advanced at a moderate walk, on the alert for the Apaches, of whom they had detected signs now and then during their wearisome watching.

The action of the red men had puzzled the trapper as well as Strubell and Lattin. It washard to understand why they had not stumbled on the truth, but there was good reason for believing they were still ignorant of the presence of the white men so near them. It was upon this theory that the success of the daring enterprise was based.

Eph Bozeman placed himself at the head, Herbert coming next, with one of the Texans on either side. The veteran was the best qualified to lead, while the disposition of all was with a view of protecting the younger and less experienced member of the party.

Nothing was seen of their enemies until half the distance was passed, when Lattin, who was on Herbert’s right, exclaimed in an undertone:

“Yonder are the varmints!”

The horses were in excellent condition because of their long rest, and up to this moment moved at a moderate trot. As the Texan spoke, the trapper, who had detected the danger, struck his animal into a brisk gallop, the others doing the same without any urging of their riders.

The Apaches must have relaxed their vigilance toward the latter part of the night, formost, if not all the group, were observed to the south of the structure instead of being near it. They were closer to it, however, than the whites, and showed their daring by immediately riding forward to meet them.

The trapper turned his head and said: “Let ‘em have it the minute they’re near enough to hit.”

These were words which had meaning, and Herbert, like his companions, looked at his Winchester to make sure it was ready for instant service.

“I think they’re all there,” added Lattin.

“I don’t believe it,” remarked Strubell, “for there isn’t more than six or eight.”

“And Nick isn’t with them,” Herbert could not help exclaiming, with a thrill of pleasure.

No reply followed this, which might signify nothing, for all were too intent on what was before them.

The interest deepened each moment. The Apaches, numbering exactly eight, were advancing at a speed fully as great as that of the whites, riding close together and apparently all eagerness for the conflict. Theyindulged in no shouts, whoops, or gestures, but came on like the grim demons they were.

Each carried his gun, and he was not afraid to use it whenever the chance offered. Nothing could have looked more frightful than they, their chests naked, their irregular features daubed with different colored paint, their long black hair dangling about their shoulders, while each rode like a centaur.

A distance of two hundred yards separated the parties, neither of which had made the slightest variation in its course. Our friends were heading directly toward the building and did not swerve to the right or left. To have done so would have shown fear, and brought the redskins down upon them like a cyclone.

One of two things was inevitable, and that within the space of a few seconds: the Apaches or white men must turn to one side, or there would be a fierce fight. Eph Bozeman and his comrades were resolved to keep on until the noses of their ponies should touch. What was the purpose of the red men must appear immediately.

The break came from an unexpected source. Belden Rickard and Harman Slidham had not forgotten the parting words of the trapper, and were on the watch at the upper front windows. The rapidly increasing light showed the four horsemen coming down the slope, and they saw the Apaches set out to meet them. Matters were on the eve of explosion when Rickard took deliberate sight from his window and fired at the warriors. The shot was a long one, but so accurately aimed that a dusky horseman, with a rasping screech, rolled off his pony, the animal breaking into a gallop, circling away from the others, and, facing toward the building, whinneying with fright and dashing aimlessly hither and thither in a panic.

The other Apaches acted as if the report of the gun was the signal for them to break apart, for they did so with a suddenness that could not have been surpassed had a bombshell burst beneath them.

Several turned to the right and others to the left, while one, as if he absolutely feared nothing, headed his black pony directly atBozeman and thundered forward on a dead run.

The miscreant was actually charging the whole party.

He emitted a terrifying whoop, leaning almost on his horse’s ears, as he brought his rifle round in front to fire, but a master hand at that business had not taken his eye from him since he started on his daring ride. The raising of the gun and the aiming and firing seemed to take place all together, and in the twinkling of an eye.

“Thar’s one fool less,” was the quiet remark of Eph as he lowered his piece; “now, boys, grab ground.”

His pony was stretching away at headlong speed for the building, the others imitating him so quickly that the four continued in a bunch. “Keep it up,” he added, firing again at their assailants.

Strubell and Lattin discharged their pieces as often as they could take any sort of aim, but the conditions were against accuracy, and there was no evidence that they did any execution.

The Apaches had branched off to the right and left, and kept popping away, with no more success than the white men. They held the marksmanship of the others in such fear that they gave much effort to screening their bodies, by flinging themselves over the sides of their animals and firing from under the neck or directly over it, where little could be seen of the riders except their glaring eyes and their hair, looking as if they were a part of the mane of their ponies, or the black eyes flashed for a moment in front of the breast of the galloping steeds.

It cannot be said that Herbert Watrous felt pleasant when he heard the bullets singing about his ears, and knew that more than one was aimed at him. He did not attempt to reply, but gave his whole attention to urging Jill to his utmost. The building was only a short way off, and the briefest kind of a respite insured safety.

Fortunately his steed was fully the equal of the others in fleetness and did not fall behind. Had it done so he would not have been left by his friends, for all were governed by that devotionwhich belongs to the highest form of chivalry. There was not one who would not have protected the youth with his life.

Suddenly the broad door at the front of the adobe building was drawn inward. Rickard and Slidham had hurried down to make sure no delay took place at this critical moment.

Herbert Watrous was leaning forward, with his eyes fixed on the avenue to safety, when he felt Jill shudder under the saddle, as if with a sudden chill. He veered to one side, throwing his nose against the shoulder of the trapper’s pony, and staggered uncertainly in the hopeless effort to recover himself, but, unable to do so, plunged forward on his knees and rolled over on his side, gasping his last breath.

“The building was only a short way off.”Page335.

“The building was only a short way off.”Page335.

“The building was only a short way off.”

Page335.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.CONCLUSION.THE thrusting of the mortally wounded pony’s nose against the shoulder of the trapper’s horse warned both him and Herbert Watrous of what was coming. The latter slipped his feet from the stirrups, and was in the act of leaping to the ground, to attempt to run the short distance to the entrance of the mission building, when the broad right hand of Eph Bozeman slapped him in the broad of the back, clutched his coat, and with one powerful wrench he swung him out of the saddle sinking beneath him, and lifting him over in front of himself on his own steed.There was not the slightest slackening of speed on the part of the doubly laden animal, who not only held his own, but headed the procession as it dashed through the door, followed by the other two, amid a storm ofbullets, as Rickard and Slidham slammed the door shut and fastened it in place.The whole party was safe, without a scratch, and with only the loss of a single animal.They could hardly believe their good fortune, until their panting steeds were brought to a halt and the riders slipped to the ground.Then followed a general handshaking, and it would have been hard to believe that anything like enmity had existed between the men who showed such genuine pleasure at the escape of the little company from the Apaches. But a common danger draws people together, and Rickard and Slidham forgot that but a short time ago they had agreed to return a youth to these same visitors for a certain ransom.The first thing done after a general exchange of congratulations was on the part of the new arrivals. They made haste to the spring of cool, refreshing water, where they quaffed their fill, their ponies doing the same.Rickard had made preparations for their coming. From his storehouse of meal andmeat he had prepared a nourishing and abundant meal for all. Since there was no grass within the building, the horses were fed with the grain, of which there was sufficient to last several weeks by the exercise of frugality.The animals having been attended to and the hunger and thirst of the guests being satisfied, the company gathered in the small room where Eph Bozeman had held his interview of the night before. They crowded the place, but all found seats, and they conversed as freely as if they had been friends for years.“I made a bad break,” said Rickard, with a laugh; “you’ll admit that I worked that plan pretty well, but I didn’t count on the boy giving me the slip at the last minute.”“Where do you suppose he has gone?” asked Strubell, who did most of the talking for his side, the others listening attentively to every word that was spoken.“He must have been on the watch when Eph come in; we were all three in this room, talking the matter over, when he slipped out with his pony and has gone, who can say where?”“It doesn’t look as if the Apaches had caught him.”“No; I thought they might have done so, but there would have been an outcry if that took place. We wouldn’t have heard the sound of his horse as he rode off, but he would have used his rifle and pistol before allowing himself to be taken, and we must have heard them. He was the pluckiest fellow I ever saw.”“That’s so,” added Herbert; “Nick Ribsam was a brave boy; he gave me the biggest trouncing I ever had when he wasn’t more than half my size, and there’s no Indian that can down him without having the worst fight of his life.”“What I don’t understand,” continued Strubell, “is why he should wait until everything was in the best shape for him, and then slip off and knock our plan endways.”“Didn’t he have any chance of gettin’ away when you was on the road here?” inquired Lattin.“Well, we watched pretty close, for we knew what he was thinking of; Harman andI were never asleep at the same time, and we didn’t let him have his gun or pistol while on the road.”Herbert’s heart burned with indignation at these words, but he kept silent. He knew now why Nick had remained passive so long. He was too wise to dash away from his captors and ride out on the open prairie, exposed to innumerable dangers, without a weapon at command. Had he been allowed to retain them he would have made things lively for Bell Rickard.Rickard stated further that they had no field glass at command, like their pursuers, so that they never caught sight of them, though well convinced they were on their trail. Consequently Nick had not the incentive that would have been his had he felt any assurance of meeting his friends if he fled eastward.“When we arrived here,” continued the horse thief, “and we knew the Apaches were close outside, why, we let him have his weapons, for it looked as if he might be able to help us against the redskins.”“Of course when he saw Eph come throughthe door and join you in this room,” said Strubell, “he had no idea that he came from us; if he had he would have acted differently——”“No, he wouldn’t either; you don’t know what you’re talkin’ ’bout.”It was the old trapper who uttered this exclamation, after he had held his peace for several minutes. All looked at him wonderingly, for it was not clear what he meant by his abrupt remark. His little eyes shone with a peculiar light, and could his mouth have been seen, a singular smile would have been observed playing around it.“Boys,” added Eph, straightening up on his seat as he saw every gaze fixed upon him, “shall I tell you something?”The expression of general interest convinced him that no one could be heard with greater pleasure.“Last night, after passin’ out the door, a quar idea got into my head. Instead of startin’ on a run to get back to you folks, I stooped down and passed my hands over the ground all round the door. And what do yous’pose I found? Why, thar war the prints of several horses goin’ in,but thar warn’t a single one comin’ out!”He paused a moment for this astounding announcement to produce its effect. Strubell was the first to catch its full meaning.“Are you sure of that?” he asked.“As sure as I’m sittin’ here this minute. What does it mean, tharfore and consequently? Why, that that younker came in with Bell and Harman, but that hehaint gone out, which the same means that he’s inside of this buildin’ and aint fifty feet off this very minute, and if thar’s anyone here that don’t b’lieve me, all he’s got to do is to look through that door yonder and tell me whether he don’t see the grinnin’ younker standin’ thar this very minute.”It so happened that as Eph sat he faced the opening of the little room, and, since every eye was fixed on him, their backs were turned in the other direction. All wheeled like a flash and saw Nick Ribsam in the act of entering the apartment, his honest face expanded into one broad smile, while hishand was extended to greet his old acquaintances.Herbert Watrous stared with open mouth, unable to believe it was not a dream, until his hand was clasped by that of the best friend he had, outside of his own folks, in the world. Then he saw that it was reality, and greeted the good fellow with a delight which touched even the hearts of Bell Rickard and Harman Slidham.Enough has been hinted about Nick Ribsam to give the reader a general idea of his experience from the night he was made prisoner by the horse thieves and carried westward into New Mexico. Herbert was correct in his surmise as to why he made no effort to escape while on the long journey. With no firearms at command, with no knowledge of where his friends were, and believing that his captors were only manœuvring for a ransom, he would have disproved all faith in his good sense had he seized any one of the several occasions for parting company with those whom he despised.He had no suspicion of the business which brought Eph Bozeman to the building, else he would not have played the little deception he did on his captors; but when requested to betake himself to some other part of the structure during the interview, he obeyed, passing into the room which adjoined the one where the ponies had been placed.Here he struck a match that he might investigate his surroundings. The first thing that caught his attention was a door, which he did not notice until he was at the further end of the apartment, and then he would not have observed it had not his gaze struck it in a peculiar manner.A brief examination showed that it was intended by the parties who built the mission house as a secret storehouse or retreat in a last emergency. It was so ingeniously constructed that the space occupied was cut off from three other apartments, and the missing portion was not likely to be noticed unless suspicion happened to be turned that way.The room was long and narrow, and there was space at one end for a horse, ventilationbeing secured by means of several slits that were cleverly concealed from view. Of course it would not have required a close search for anyone to discover it from the outside, but that search was not made.The moment Nick stumbled upon the retreat, the idea of a trick came to him. He led Jack into the space, slipped out and unfastened the door to give the impression that he had passed through it, and then returned and ensconced himself within.The reflection came to him that he had done an exceedingly risky thing in leaving the door unfastened, but he reasoned that he would soon be missed and the open avenue discovered. Then, too, what band of Apaches, or white persons for that matter, would dream of such a piece of negligence on the part of three persons who knew of their danger?While debating the matter with himself, and when he was on the point of going out to secure the door again, he fell asleep and did not open his eyes until after the arrival of his friends. The reports of the rifles were sodulled by the intervening walls that they had not disturbed him at all.Eph Bozeman was convinced of the presence of the youth within the building on his failure to find any hoof prints leading outward from the door. He deemed it best to say nothing of this to his companions, since he wanted to give them a surprise, and he did it beyond question.What pleased the old trapper was the certainty that Bell Rickard, after all, must lose the thousand dollars, for under the circumstances he had no legal claim to it, inasmuch as Nick had escaped from his custody, and he confessed himself unable to perform his part of the contract.Our friends were one horse short, and the loss was a severe one. It was decided to stay where they were until the Apaches grew tired of the siege, and communication could be opened with other parties. Jim-John and his companion were supposed to be making their way toward the same destination with the pack horses, one of which could be turned to account in case nothing better presented itself.But at this interesting juncture Bell Rickard, of all others, solved the difficulty in an unexpected manner. He insisted that he had come by his own horse fairly, and he asked the privilege of furnishing it to Herbert Watrous. He said he would wait where he was until the arrival of Jim-John and Brindage, and accept one of the pack horses in exchange. This was finally agreed to, and the transaction was probably the first honest one of the kind in which the fellow had taken part in a long time.On the second day all signs of the Apaches disappeared. They had carried off the bodies of those who had fallen, and sought more inviting fields for their cruel work.Instead of pushing on to California, as Nick and Herbert originally intended, they decided to return to San Antonio with Strubell and Lattin. Herbert had fully recovered his health, and, to tell the truth, both boys were homesick. They felt there was no place like their own homes, and the society of their loved ones. They had been granted that which led them across Texas, and why go further?It is not necessary to give the incidents of their return to the quaint old town of San Antonio, although the journey was marked by many interesting incidents. They arrived there without serious mishap, and, parting company with the Texans and the old trapper, who was liberally rewarded for his services, Nick, just one week later, clasped his father, mother, and sister Nellie in his arms. Herbert stayed a day with him, and then hastened to his home in New York City, where it need not be said he was welcomed with gratitude and affection.And here the history of Nick Ribsam and Herbert Watrous properly ends. That they will be the same warm, trustful, loving friends through life need not be said, and the good seed sown by the honest young Pennsylvanian in the heart of his city associate will spring up and bear a blessed fruit, the full degree of which can never be known until they enter upon the life to come.THE END.

CONCLUSION.

THE thrusting of the mortally wounded pony’s nose against the shoulder of the trapper’s horse warned both him and Herbert Watrous of what was coming. The latter slipped his feet from the stirrups, and was in the act of leaping to the ground, to attempt to run the short distance to the entrance of the mission building, when the broad right hand of Eph Bozeman slapped him in the broad of the back, clutched his coat, and with one powerful wrench he swung him out of the saddle sinking beneath him, and lifting him over in front of himself on his own steed.

There was not the slightest slackening of speed on the part of the doubly laden animal, who not only held his own, but headed the procession as it dashed through the door, followed by the other two, amid a storm ofbullets, as Rickard and Slidham slammed the door shut and fastened it in place.

The whole party was safe, without a scratch, and with only the loss of a single animal.

They could hardly believe their good fortune, until their panting steeds were brought to a halt and the riders slipped to the ground.

Then followed a general handshaking, and it would have been hard to believe that anything like enmity had existed between the men who showed such genuine pleasure at the escape of the little company from the Apaches. But a common danger draws people together, and Rickard and Slidham forgot that but a short time ago they had agreed to return a youth to these same visitors for a certain ransom.

The first thing done after a general exchange of congratulations was on the part of the new arrivals. They made haste to the spring of cool, refreshing water, where they quaffed their fill, their ponies doing the same.

Rickard had made preparations for their coming. From his storehouse of meal andmeat he had prepared a nourishing and abundant meal for all. Since there was no grass within the building, the horses were fed with the grain, of which there was sufficient to last several weeks by the exercise of frugality.

The animals having been attended to and the hunger and thirst of the guests being satisfied, the company gathered in the small room where Eph Bozeman had held his interview of the night before. They crowded the place, but all found seats, and they conversed as freely as if they had been friends for years.

“I made a bad break,” said Rickard, with a laugh; “you’ll admit that I worked that plan pretty well, but I didn’t count on the boy giving me the slip at the last minute.”

“Where do you suppose he has gone?” asked Strubell, who did most of the talking for his side, the others listening attentively to every word that was spoken.

“He must have been on the watch when Eph come in; we were all three in this room, talking the matter over, when he slipped out with his pony and has gone, who can say where?”

“It doesn’t look as if the Apaches had caught him.”

“No; I thought they might have done so, but there would have been an outcry if that took place. We wouldn’t have heard the sound of his horse as he rode off, but he would have used his rifle and pistol before allowing himself to be taken, and we must have heard them. He was the pluckiest fellow I ever saw.”

“That’s so,” added Herbert; “Nick Ribsam was a brave boy; he gave me the biggest trouncing I ever had when he wasn’t more than half my size, and there’s no Indian that can down him without having the worst fight of his life.”

“What I don’t understand,” continued Strubell, “is why he should wait until everything was in the best shape for him, and then slip off and knock our plan endways.”

“Didn’t he have any chance of gettin’ away when you was on the road here?” inquired Lattin.

“Well, we watched pretty close, for we knew what he was thinking of; Harman andI were never asleep at the same time, and we didn’t let him have his gun or pistol while on the road.”

Herbert’s heart burned with indignation at these words, but he kept silent. He knew now why Nick had remained passive so long. He was too wise to dash away from his captors and ride out on the open prairie, exposed to innumerable dangers, without a weapon at command. Had he been allowed to retain them he would have made things lively for Bell Rickard.

Rickard stated further that they had no field glass at command, like their pursuers, so that they never caught sight of them, though well convinced they were on their trail. Consequently Nick had not the incentive that would have been his had he felt any assurance of meeting his friends if he fled eastward.

“When we arrived here,” continued the horse thief, “and we knew the Apaches were close outside, why, we let him have his weapons, for it looked as if he might be able to help us against the redskins.”

“Of course when he saw Eph come throughthe door and join you in this room,” said Strubell, “he had no idea that he came from us; if he had he would have acted differently——”

“No, he wouldn’t either; you don’t know what you’re talkin’ ’bout.”

It was the old trapper who uttered this exclamation, after he had held his peace for several minutes. All looked at him wonderingly, for it was not clear what he meant by his abrupt remark. His little eyes shone with a peculiar light, and could his mouth have been seen, a singular smile would have been observed playing around it.

“Boys,” added Eph, straightening up on his seat as he saw every gaze fixed upon him, “shall I tell you something?”

The expression of general interest convinced him that no one could be heard with greater pleasure.

“Last night, after passin’ out the door, a quar idea got into my head. Instead of startin’ on a run to get back to you folks, I stooped down and passed my hands over the ground all round the door. And what do yous’pose I found? Why, thar war the prints of several horses goin’ in,but thar warn’t a single one comin’ out!”

He paused a moment for this astounding announcement to produce its effect. Strubell was the first to catch its full meaning.

“Are you sure of that?” he asked.

“As sure as I’m sittin’ here this minute. What does it mean, tharfore and consequently? Why, that that younker came in with Bell and Harman, but that hehaint gone out, which the same means that he’s inside of this buildin’ and aint fifty feet off this very minute, and if thar’s anyone here that don’t b’lieve me, all he’s got to do is to look through that door yonder and tell me whether he don’t see the grinnin’ younker standin’ thar this very minute.”

It so happened that as Eph sat he faced the opening of the little room, and, since every eye was fixed on him, their backs were turned in the other direction. All wheeled like a flash and saw Nick Ribsam in the act of entering the apartment, his honest face expanded into one broad smile, while hishand was extended to greet his old acquaintances.

Herbert Watrous stared with open mouth, unable to believe it was not a dream, until his hand was clasped by that of the best friend he had, outside of his own folks, in the world. Then he saw that it was reality, and greeted the good fellow with a delight which touched even the hearts of Bell Rickard and Harman Slidham.

Enough has been hinted about Nick Ribsam to give the reader a general idea of his experience from the night he was made prisoner by the horse thieves and carried westward into New Mexico. Herbert was correct in his surmise as to why he made no effort to escape while on the long journey. With no firearms at command, with no knowledge of where his friends were, and believing that his captors were only manœuvring for a ransom, he would have disproved all faith in his good sense had he seized any one of the several occasions for parting company with those whom he despised.

He had no suspicion of the business which brought Eph Bozeman to the building, else he would not have played the little deception he did on his captors; but when requested to betake himself to some other part of the structure during the interview, he obeyed, passing into the room which adjoined the one where the ponies had been placed.

Here he struck a match that he might investigate his surroundings. The first thing that caught his attention was a door, which he did not notice until he was at the further end of the apartment, and then he would not have observed it had not his gaze struck it in a peculiar manner.

A brief examination showed that it was intended by the parties who built the mission house as a secret storehouse or retreat in a last emergency. It was so ingeniously constructed that the space occupied was cut off from three other apartments, and the missing portion was not likely to be noticed unless suspicion happened to be turned that way.

The room was long and narrow, and there was space at one end for a horse, ventilationbeing secured by means of several slits that were cleverly concealed from view. Of course it would not have required a close search for anyone to discover it from the outside, but that search was not made.

The moment Nick stumbled upon the retreat, the idea of a trick came to him. He led Jack into the space, slipped out and unfastened the door to give the impression that he had passed through it, and then returned and ensconced himself within.

The reflection came to him that he had done an exceedingly risky thing in leaving the door unfastened, but he reasoned that he would soon be missed and the open avenue discovered. Then, too, what band of Apaches, or white persons for that matter, would dream of such a piece of negligence on the part of three persons who knew of their danger?

While debating the matter with himself, and when he was on the point of going out to secure the door again, he fell asleep and did not open his eyes until after the arrival of his friends. The reports of the rifles were sodulled by the intervening walls that they had not disturbed him at all.

Eph Bozeman was convinced of the presence of the youth within the building on his failure to find any hoof prints leading outward from the door. He deemed it best to say nothing of this to his companions, since he wanted to give them a surprise, and he did it beyond question.

What pleased the old trapper was the certainty that Bell Rickard, after all, must lose the thousand dollars, for under the circumstances he had no legal claim to it, inasmuch as Nick had escaped from his custody, and he confessed himself unable to perform his part of the contract.

Our friends were one horse short, and the loss was a severe one. It was decided to stay where they were until the Apaches grew tired of the siege, and communication could be opened with other parties. Jim-John and his companion were supposed to be making their way toward the same destination with the pack horses, one of which could be turned to account in case nothing better presented itself.

But at this interesting juncture Bell Rickard, of all others, solved the difficulty in an unexpected manner. He insisted that he had come by his own horse fairly, and he asked the privilege of furnishing it to Herbert Watrous. He said he would wait where he was until the arrival of Jim-John and Brindage, and accept one of the pack horses in exchange. This was finally agreed to, and the transaction was probably the first honest one of the kind in which the fellow had taken part in a long time.

On the second day all signs of the Apaches disappeared. They had carried off the bodies of those who had fallen, and sought more inviting fields for their cruel work.

Instead of pushing on to California, as Nick and Herbert originally intended, they decided to return to San Antonio with Strubell and Lattin. Herbert had fully recovered his health, and, to tell the truth, both boys were homesick. They felt there was no place like their own homes, and the society of their loved ones. They had been granted that which led them across Texas, and why go further?

It is not necessary to give the incidents of their return to the quaint old town of San Antonio, although the journey was marked by many interesting incidents. They arrived there without serious mishap, and, parting company with the Texans and the old trapper, who was liberally rewarded for his services, Nick, just one week later, clasped his father, mother, and sister Nellie in his arms. Herbert stayed a day with him, and then hastened to his home in New York City, where it need not be said he was welcomed with gratitude and affection.

And here the history of Nick Ribsam and Herbert Watrous properly ends. That they will be the same warm, trustful, loving friends through life need not be said, and the good seed sown by the honest young Pennsylvanian in the heart of his city associate will spring up and bear a blessed fruit, the full degree of which can never be known until they enter upon the life to come.

THE END.

Our Boys’ Select Library.Stories of Adventure, Travel, and Discovery.————Post 8vo, cloth extra, uniform binding. Price 2s. 6d. each.————Beyond the Himalayas.A Book for Boys. ByJohn Geddie, F.R.G.S., Author of “The Lake Regions of Central Africa,” etc. With 9 Engravings.The Castaways.A Story of Adventure in the Wilds of Borneo. By CaptainMayne Reid.Frank Redcliffe.A Story of Travel and Adventure in the Forests of Venezuela. A Book for Boys. ByAchilles Daunt, Author of “The Three Trappers,” etc. With numerous Illustrations.In the Land of the Moose, the Bear, and the Beaver.Adventures in the Forests of the Athabasca. ByAchilles Daunt, Author of “The Three Trappers.” With Illustrations.In the Bush and on the Trail.Adventures in the Forests of North America. A Book for Boys. ByM. Benedict Revoil. With 70 Illustrations.The Lake Regions of Central Africa.A Record of Modern Discovery. ByJohn Geddie, F.R.G.S. With 32 Illustrations.Lost in the Backwoods.A Tale of the Canadian Forest. By Mrs.Traill, Author of “In the Forest,” etc. With 32 Engravings.The Meadows Family; or, Fireside Stories of Adventure and Enterprise. ByM. A. Paull, Author of “Tim’s Troubles,” etc. With Illustrations.The Three Trappers.A Book for Boys. ByAchilles Daunt, Author of “In the Land of the Moose, the Bear, and the Beaver.” With 11 Engravings.Wrecked on a Reef; or, Twenty Months in the Auckland Isles. A True Story of Shipwreck, Adventure, and Suffering. With 40 Illustrations.Ralph’s Year in Russia.A Story of Travel and Adventure in Eastern Europe. ByRobert Richardson, Author of “Almost a Hero,” etc. With 8 Engravings.Scenes with the Hunter and the Trapper in Many Lands.Stories of Adventures with Wild Animals. With Engravings.The Forest, the Jungle, and the Prairie; or, Tales of Adventure and Enterprise in Pursuit of Wild Animals. With numerous Engravings.The Island Home; or, The Young Castaways. A Story of Adventure in the Southern Seas. With Illustrations.W. H. G. Kingston’s Books for Boys.In the Eastern Seas; or, The Regions of the Bird of Paradise. A Tale for Boys. With 111 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A tale of voyage and adventure among the islands of the Malay Archipelago, with descriptions of scenery and objects of natural history.In the Wilds of Africa.With upwards of 70 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.An interesting account of adventures by a shipwrecked party who are landed on the west coast of Africa, and make their way to the south through many dangers.On the Banks of the Amazon; or, A Boy’s Journal of his Adventures in the Tropical Wilds of South America. Profusely Illustrated. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.In the course of the narrative some of the numberless animals, as well as a few of the most interesting of the vegetable productions, of the Amazonian Valley are described.Saved from the Sea; or, The Loss of theViper, and the Adventures of her Crew in the Great Sahara. With 30 Full-page Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A young sailor’s account of his own adventures, along with three shipwrecked comrades.The South Sea Whaler.A Story of the Loss of theChampion, and the Adventures of her Crew. With upwards of 30 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A tale of mutiny and shipwreck in the South Seas, the captain having his son and daughter on board with him.In the Wilds of Florida.With 37 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A tale of warfare and hunting.Twice Lost.With 36 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. 5s.A young sailor’s story of shipwreck, and perilous adventures in the wilds of Australia.A Voyage Round the World.A Tale for Boys. With 42 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A young sailor’s account of his own adventures by sea and land, the scenes being laid chiefly in South America, the South Sea Islands, and Japan.Old Jack.A Sea Tale. With 66 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.An old sailor’s account of his own adventures, during times of peace and of war, in many parts of the world.The Wanderers; or, Adventures in the Wilds of Trinidad and up the Orinoco. With 30 Full-page Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A Pennsylvanian merchant sets out with his family to South America, and meets with many adventures by sea and land, which are related by his son.The Young Llanero.A Story of War and Wild Life in Venezuela With 44 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A thrilling and fascinating narrative of adventures in South America.The Young Rajah.A Story of Indian Life and Adventure. With upwards of 40 Full-page Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. 5s.A story of the Indian Mutiny; the hero a young Indian prince, who had received an English education and become a Christian.My First Voyage to Southern Seas.With 52 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A young sailor’s story, describing Cape Colony, Ceylon, Aden, etc.————

Stories of Adventure, Travel, and Discovery.

————

Post 8vo, cloth extra, uniform binding. Price 2s. 6d. each.

————

Beyond the Himalayas.A Book for Boys. ByJohn Geddie, F.R.G.S., Author of “The Lake Regions of Central Africa,” etc. With 9 Engravings.The Castaways.A Story of Adventure in the Wilds of Borneo. By CaptainMayne Reid.Frank Redcliffe.A Story of Travel and Adventure in the Forests of Venezuela. A Book for Boys. ByAchilles Daunt, Author of “The Three Trappers,” etc. With numerous Illustrations.In the Land of the Moose, the Bear, and the Beaver.Adventures in the Forests of the Athabasca. ByAchilles Daunt, Author of “The Three Trappers.” With Illustrations.In the Bush and on the Trail.Adventures in the Forests of North America. A Book for Boys. ByM. Benedict Revoil. With 70 Illustrations.The Lake Regions of Central Africa.A Record of Modern Discovery. ByJohn Geddie, F.R.G.S. With 32 Illustrations.Lost in the Backwoods.A Tale of the Canadian Forest. By Mrs.Traill, Author of “In the Forest,” etc. With 32 Engravings.The Meadows Family; or, Fireside Stories of Adventure and Enterprise. ByM. A. Paull, Author of “Tim’s Troubles,” etc. With Illustrations.The Three Trappers.A Book for Boys. ByAchilles Daunt, Author of “In the Land of the Moose, the Bear, and the Beaver.” With 11 Engravings.Wrecked on a Reef; or, Twenty Months in the Auckland Isles. A True Story of Shipwreck, Adventure, and Suffering. With 40 Illustrations.Ralph’s Year in Russia.A Story of Travel and Adventure in Eastern Europe. ByRobert Richardson, Author of “Almost a Hero,” etc. With 8 Engravings.Scenes with the Hunter and the Trapper in Many Lands.Stories of Adventures with Wild Animals. With Engravings.The Forest, the Jungle, and the Prairie; or, Tales of Adventure and Enterprise in Pursuit of Wild Animals. With numerous Engravings.The Island Home; or, The Young Castaways. A Story of Adventure in the Southern Seas. With Illustrations.

Beyond the Himalayas.A Book for Boys. ByJohn Geddie, F.R.G.S., Author of “The Lake Regions of Central Africa,” etc. With 9 Engravings.

The Castaways.A Story of Adventure in the Wilds of Borneo. By CaptainMayne Reid.

Frank Redcliffe.A Story of Travel and Adventure in the Forests of Venezuela. A Book for Boys. ByAchilles Daunt, Author of “The Three Trappers,” etc. With numerous Illustrations.

In the Land of the Moose, the Bear, and the Beaver.Adventures in the Forests of the Athabasca. ByAchilles Daunt, Author of “The Three Trappers.” With Illustrations.

In the Bush and on the Trail.Adventures in the Forests of North America. A Book for Boys. ByM. Benedict Revoil. With 70 Illustrations.

The Lake Regions of Central Africa.A Record of Modern Discovery. ByJohn Geddie, F.R.G.S. With 32 Illustrations.

Lost in the Backwoods.A Tale of the Canadian Forest. By Mrs.Traill, Author of “In the Forest,” etc. With 32 Engravings.

The Meadows Family; or, Fireside Stories of Adventure and Enterprise. ByM. A. Paull, Author of “Tim’s Troubles,” etc. With Illustrations.

The Three Trappers.A Book for Boys. ByAchilles Daunt, Author of “In the Land of the Moose, the Bear, and the Beaver.” With 11 Engravings.

Wrecked on a Reef; or, Twenty Months in the Auckland Isles. A True Story of Shipwreck, Adventure, and Suffering. With 40 Illustrations.

Ralph’s Year in Russia.A Story of Travel and Adventure in Eastern Europe. ByRobert Richardson, Author of “Almost a Hero,” etc. With 8 Engravings.

Scenes with the Hunter and the Trapper in Many Lands.Stories of Adventures with Wild Animals. With Engravings.

The Forest, the Jungle, and the Prairie; or, Tales of Adventure and Enterprise in Pursuit of Wild Animals. With numerous Engravings.

The Island Home; or, The Young Castaways. A Story of Adventure in the Southern Seas. With Illustrations.

W. H. G. Kingston’s Books for Boys.

In the Eastern Seas; or, The Regions of the Bird of Paradise. A Tale for Boys. With 111 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A tale of voyage and adventure among the islands of the Malay Archipelago, with descriptions of scenery and objects of natural history.In the Wilds of Africa.With upwards of 70 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.An interesting account of adventures by a shipwrecked party who are landed on the west coast of Africa, and make their way to the south through many dangers.On the Banks of the Amazon; or, A Boy’s Journal of his Adventures in the Tropical Wilds of South America. Profusely Illustrated. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.In the course of the narrative some of the numberless animals, as well as a few of the most interesting of the vegetable productions, of the Amazonian Valley are described.Saved from the Sea; or, The Loss of theViper, and the Adventures of her Crew in the Great Sahara. With 30 Full-page Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A young sailor’s account of his own adventures, along with three shipwrecked comrades.The South Sea Whaler.A Story of the Loss of theChampion, and the Adventures of her Crew. With upwards of 30 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A tale of mutiny and shipwreck in the South Seas, the captain having his son and daughter on board with him.In the Wilds of Florida.With 37 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A tale of warfare and hunting.Twice Lost.With 36 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. 5s.A young sailor’s story of shipwreck, and perilous adventures in the wilds of Australia.A Voyage Round the World.A Tale for Boys. With 42 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A young sailor’s account of his own adventures by sea and land, the scenes being laid chiefly in South America, the South Sea Islands, and Japan.Old Jack.A Sea Tale. With 66 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.An old sailor’s account of his own adventures, during times of peace and of war, in many parts of the world.The Wanderers; or, Adventures in the Wilds of Trinidad and up the Orinoco. With 30 Full-page Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A Pennsylvanian merchant sets out with his family to South America, and meets with many adventures by sea and land, which are related by his son.The Young Llanero.A Story of War and Wild Life in Venezuela With 44 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A thrilling and fascinating narrative of adventures in South America.The Young Rajah.A Story of Indian Life and Adventure. With upwards of 40 Full-page Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. 5s.A story of the Indian Mutiny; the hero a young Indian prince, who had received an English education and become a Christian.My First Voyage to Southern Seas.With 52 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.A young sailor’s story, describing Cape Colony, Ceylon, Aden, etc.

In the Eastern Seas; or, The Regions of the Bird of Paradise. A Tale for Boys. With 111 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

A tale of voyage and adventure among the islands of the Malay Archipelago, with descriptions of scenery and objects of natural history.

In the Wilds of Africa.With upwards of 70 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

An interesting account of adventures by a shipwrecked party who are landed on the west coast of Africa, and make their way to the south through many dangers.

On the Banks of the Amazon; or, A Boy’s Journal of his Adventures in the Tropical Wilds of South America. Profusely Illustrated. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

In the course of the narrative some of the numberless animals, as well as a few of the most interesting of the vegetable productions, of the Amazonian Valley are described.

Saved from the Sea; or, The Loss of theViper, and the Adventures of her Crew in the Great Sahara. With 30 Full-page Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

A young sailor’s account of his own adventures, along with three shipwrecked comrades.

The South Sea Whaler.A Story of the Loss of theChampion, and the Adventures of her Crew. With upwards of 30 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

A tale of mutiny and shipwreck in the South Seas, the captain having his son and daughter on board with him.

In the Wilds of Florida.With 37 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

A tale of warfare and hunting.

Twice Lost.With 36 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. 5s.

A young sailor’s story of shipwreck, and perilous adventures in the wilds of Australia.

A Voyage Round the World.A Tale for Boys. With 42 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

A young sailor’s account of his own adventures by sea and land, the scenes being laid chiefly in South America, the South Sea Islands, and Japan.

Old Jack.A Sea Tale. With 66 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

An old sailor’s account of his own adventures, during times of peace and of war, in many parts of the world.

The Wanderers; or, Adventures in the Wilds of Trinidad and up the Orinoco. With 30 Full-page Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

A Pennsylvanian merchant sets out with his family to South America, and meets with many adventures by sea and land, which are related by his son.

The Young Llanero.A Story of War and Wild Life in Venezuela With 44 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

A thrilling and fascinating narrative of adventures in South America.

The Young Rajah.A Story of Indian Life and Adventure. With upwards of 40 Full-page Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. 5s.

A story of the Indian Mutiny; the hero a young Indian prince, who had received an English education and become a Christian.

My First Voyage to Southern Seas.With 52 Engravings. Crown 8vo, gilt edges. Price 5s.

A young sailor’s story, describing Cape Colony, Ceylon, Aden, etc.

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*—**Also to be had in uniform cloth binding as “The Kingston Library for Boys.” Price 4s. per volume.————T. NELSON AND SONS, LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK.

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T. NELSON AND SONS, LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK.

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