"Looks as if they were setting out on a hunt or a scout."
"So it does. There they go. Steve, we must ride after those fellows."
"What for?"
"To stop 'em. They'll only run their heads against the Apaches, and leave their camp to be plundered by the Lipans."
"They're in a trap, Murray."
"Come on, Steve!"
But the distance was not less than a couple of miles, and the miners had prepared beforehand for that "early start." It was all against the will of Captain Skinner, and the bad temper he was in only made him start more promptly and ride faster.
"Tell ye what, boys," he said to the rest, as they galloped on behind him, "I'll give ye all the scouting you want this morning."
At that moment Murray was saying, "We must catch those fellows and send them back. What are they going so fast for? Why, it'll be a regular race."
It was very much like one after a little. Steve and Murray rode rapidly, but it takes a great deal of swift running to catch up with men who have more than two miles the start.