He cast the drowse, and peering down the slope,

Beheld what set at grapple fear and hope—

Three Indian horsemen riding at a jog!

Their ponies, wading belly-deep in fog,

That clung along the valley, seemed to swim,

And through a thinner vapor moving dim,

The men were ghost-like.

Could they be the Sioux?

Almost the wish became belief in Hugh.

Or were they Rees? As readily the doubt