"Yes."
"How so?"
"The mountains are full of bad Indian fugitives, and they are very ugly. Some are parts of a raiding gang of bucks, and others are rascals who have made a kick out at the reservation. I've met twenty of them in the last ten days; they are in squads of twos and threes, and they are full of fight."
"We have met some of them."
"And you managed to escape?"
"We had a fight with one party."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"How did you come out?"
"Ahead, I reckon, or we would not be here."