"Humph," snorted the Captain. "You'll learn more as you grow older. I'd rather hunt savages than those Missouri outlaws, for when it comes to devilish tricks, the Missourians can give the Indians points blindfolded.
"Halt! Dismount!
"Tether your ponies."
"Where away?" asked the Lieutenant softly.
"To the north. He should be near us providing he has not changed his course and I don't think he has, for very good reasons too."
"Why, Captain."
"Because, young man, on one side is an Indian village full of savages thirsting for his blood, and on the other a sheer precipice dropping down a few hundred feet only. We are on the third side, and, unless he turns back there is only one course open for him—to run into us.
"Throw your men out into a circle. Conceal them behind boulders. We should get him in the circle that way, and once there I don't think he will get away.
"Catch him alive if you can. Kill him if you have to."
Silence again fell over the night.