"It's Maj! It's deah ole Maj!" shouted Ike, and in his excitement he dashed against the wall, and with a roar like Niagara the rocks went thundering down the trail.
Sam heard the two horsemen galloping away, but as he could not tell whether they were retreating or going after reinforcements he determined not to abate his vigilance so long as there was a sign of danger.
Again he heard something clambering up the rocks, and he was on the point of firing, when a short, joyous bark rang out, and the next instant Maj was in their midst.
The faithful creature was nearly exhausted by his long run, for he had escaped from the Apaches, but he had strength enough left to show his joy at the meeting.
He leaped at Sam, and after licking his face and hands he turned and, with commendable impartiality, bestowed the same attention on the others.
Ike actually cried for joy, and he made an effort to take the dog in his arms, but when the first greetings were over Maj, half dead with hunger and thirst, discovered that there was water near by, and without any thought of the propriety of his conduct he plunged in and lapped till his parched skin was full.
"Oh, if Ulna was only heah now," cried Ike, "we'd be all togedder agin an' as happy as a—as a darkey in ripe watah millyon time!"
Sam was confident that Ulna had reached Hurley's Gulch, and this thought gave him so much comfort that he did not wonder why his friend had not come to his relief, for he well knew that the Indian youth would do everything that lay in his power, and he was right in this surmise.
The coming of Ulna had not only saved the lives of two men, but it had also caused a revolution in the minds of a majority of the people living at Hurley's Gulch.
To be sure, there were some who did not believe the Indian youth, and who were satisfied in their own minds that Mr. Willett and Hank Tims should be hanged, and that they would be, sooner or later; but these fellows found themselves in the minority and only whispered their belief.