CHAPTER

        I. A Strange Guide
       II.  Alone in the Gloom
      III.  Strange Experiences
       IV.  Sunlight and Hope
        V. Mining and Countermining
       VI.  A Daring Exploit
      VII.  Fishing for a Friend
     VIII.  Fishing for a Prize
       IX.  Groping in Darkness
        X.  “Here We are Again!”
       XI.  Through the Mountains
      XII.  Through the Mountains—­Continued
     XIII.  In the Nick of Time
      XIV.  Between Two Fires
       XV.  On the Defensive
      XVI.  Friend or Enemy? 
     XVII.  Fortunate Diversion
    XVIII.  An Old Acquaintance
      XIX.  How it was Done
       XX.  Sut’s Camp-Fire
      XXI.  Safety and Sleep
     XXII.  Two Old Acquaintances
    XXIII.  Border Chivalry
     XXIV.  Night Visitors
      XXV.  Hunting a Steed
     XXVI.  Lone Wolf’s Tactics
    XXVII.  The End

CHAPTER I.

A strange guide.

“Well, if he doesn’t beat any one I ever heard of!”

Mickey O’Rooney and Fred Munson were stretched on the Apache blanket, carefully watching the eyes of the wild beast whenever they showed themselves, and had been talking in guarded tones.  The Irishman had been silent for several minutes, when the lad asked him a question and received no answer.  When the thing was repeated several times, he crawled over to his friend, and, as he expected, found him sound asleep.

This was not entirely involuntary upon the part of Mickey.  He had shown himself, on more than one occasion, to be a faithful sentinel, when serious danger threatened; but he believed that there was nothing to be feared on the present occasion, and, as he was sorely in need of sleep, he concluded to indulge while the opportunity was given him.

“Sleep away, old fellow,” said Fred.  “You seem to want it so bad that I won’t wake you up again.”

The boy’s curiosity having been thoroughly aroused, all tendency to slumber upon his part had departed, and he determined that if there was any way by which he could profit any by that wolf, he would do it.

“He may hang around here for a day or two,” he mused, as he heard the faint tappings upon the sand, “thinking all the time that he’ll get a chance to make a meal off of us.  So he will, if we don’t keep a bright look-out.  It seems to me that he might be driven out.”

The more he reflected upon this suggestion of his own, the more reasonable did it become.  His plan was to drive out the wolf, to compel him to show up, as a card player might say.  Considering the dread which all wild animals have of fire, the plan was simple, and would have occurred to anyone.

“The camp-fire seems to be all out, but there must be some embers under the ashes.  Mickey threw down his torch somewhere near here.”