THE WOLF HUNTERS 



should command a somewhat clearer view of my 

 surroundings. 



I thought that the dog should reach the wagon 

 in an hour after leaving me and felt sure that it 

 would not be long after that before he set out on 

 his longer run to the fort. This should take two 

 or three hours, and I could only guess the time 

 that would be occupied in awakening Bill and his 

 dressing and rousing Saunders and then getting 

 out Saunders' company. It seemed to me the 

 troops ought to be on the way by midnight at 

 the latest, and they ought to reach my companions 

 in two hours from that time. 



I had heard no shots from the direction of the 

 wagon since dark, but a long time after the dog 

 had left me, and while I was watching for the ris- 

 ing moon, I heard a shot or two, apparently from 

 the rifles of the Indians, with no reply from the 

 guns of my comrades. I supposed — rightly, as I 

 afterward learned — that Found had reached the 

 wagon and that the two men, by lighting matches 

 to read my note, had drawn the fire from the In- 

 dians. On the other hand, it seemed to me pos- 

 sible that the Indians might have seen the dog and 

 killed him. 



At length a little light appeared in the east. 

 The moon was about to rise, and it must be after 

 midnight. When the moon looked over the tops 

 of the timber and the light grew, I began to scru- 

 tinize objects in my vicinity and thought that a 



258 



