"The lower one."
"I wish to see him, so will ride out and meet him."
"Be careful in all you say and do, my son."
"Trust me for that, father," and soon after Herbert Bernard mounted and rode away upon the lower trail, leading in the direction of the Bad Lands, while by the upper one came the courier from Kit Carey, and whom the young man failed to see.
For some miles Herbert Bernard rode along, his eyes, like the good frontiersman he was, ever on the alert for a foe, and watching every sign that was visible, for he well knew that there were times when every man might be against him, and in spite of a friendly feeling for the Indians, a prowling brave might open fire upon him from an ambush.
Ascending a steep hill, where the pines grew thick, he hitched his horse and began to take an observation of the surrounding country.
Here and there were drift patches of snow, but elsewhere the trails were very denty, and far off he saw a cloud arising.
It was a dust cloud, and was moving toward his position.
That it was made by a party of horsemen he saw at a glance, and he watched it closely as it floated along over the trail, completely hiding the horses that made it.