Lieutenant Worth was at once aroused and the situation explained to him, and before the sergeant could deliver the colonel’s message he cried:
“I’ll take a score of men and go back with you, for that villain must be run down. You know your men best, Cody, so pick out from the three commands together here ten of your best scouts, and let them take the finest horses, whether their own or not. You, Sergeant Fallon, pick a corporal and ten troopers, and see that they get the very best mounts. The quartermaster shall at once get supplies for a couple of weeks’ stay, for we must go well prepared, and——”
“I go, too, Lieutenant Worth, for I shall be needed,” cried Surgeon Denmead, who was present at the interview.
“Ah, Denmead, always the right man in the right place, and I am glad you spoke, for I will be glad to have you along.”
“Now, prepare all, for we must be in the saddle within the hour.”
There was no use saying wait until dawn, for the dashing young cavalry officer said:
“We will go ten miles on our way and then camp, for I’ll feel then as though we had started. If your horses are blown, Cody, you can take others.”
“I’ll ride another, sir, as will Sergeant Fallon, and take an extra pack horse, too, so the three we pushed to the camp here can run loose and thus rest.”