CHAPTER V.
THE RETURN.
When the three forces got under way they marched at a speed according to the distance they had to travel, that all might make the same camp the first night on the way.
The command from the lower ford made twenty miles, and, camping early, they were joined in the afternoon by the party under Lieutenant Worth.
At dark the third command, under Lieutenant Percy, came in, and Walter Worth surveyed his little army with pride at being the superior officer.
When they pulled out from camp early the next morning, seeing that the news that the outlaw had gone to Pioneer City made Sergeant Fallon anxious, he said to him:
“Sergeant, you and Buffalo Bill can push on ahead to the fort, for the command cannot get in to-night without crowding the horses very hard and riding late, and there is no necessity for either.”
The face of the sergeant brightened at the order of the lieutenant, and he said:
“Thank you, sir; I shall be most happy to go on ahead.”