246 WALL STREET AND THE WILDS 



could. It was dusk when I got his consent and 

 half an hour later we were off. I don't remem- 

 ber what baggage I took excepting the Spencer 

 rifle and army revolver which with cartridges I 

 carried and the shotgun which Stillwell carried 

 for me. 



The orderly who was instructed to get for me 

 the best horse at the post must have understood 

 that it was the biggest that was wanted. The 

 brute I bestrode was seventeen hands, or perhaps 

 it was seventeen feet, high and it had the gait 

 of a camel. As I rode beside Stillwell whom I 

 couldn't see through the blackness of the night 

 I felt that riding a trip hammer for a while would 

 have been a relief. We had ridden forty miles 

 and it was near morning when Stillwell sug- 

 gested camping until daj T light. 



'Why not go on and have it over with?" I 

 asked. 



"I don't like to ride up to an Indian camp in 

 the night. They might not hit us, but they'd 

 be likely to try." 



