“Thar’s whar we’ve come from,” said he, as they looked down in the moonlit gorge; “and while that’s mighty handy at times, yet it’s a bad place to get cotched in, as yer found out for yerselves.”

“No one will dispoot ye, Soot, especially when Lone Wolf and a score of spalpeens appears in front of ye, and whin ye turn about to lave, ye find him and a dozen more in your rear.  That was a smart thrick was the same; but if he hadn’t showed himsilf in both places at the same time, we would have stood a chance of giving him the slip, as we had good horses under us.”

“Can’t always be sartin of that.  Them varmints have ways of telegraphing ahead of ye to some of thar friends, so that ye’r’ll run heels over head into some trap, onless yer understands thar devilments and tricky ways.”

“When we were in camp,” said Fred, “we saw the smoke of a little fire near by.  Was it yours?”

“It war,” replied Sut, with a curious solemnity.  “I kindled that fire, and nussed it.”

“Well, it bothered us a good deal.  We didn’t know what to make of it, Mickey and I.”

“It bothered the varmints a good deal more, which war what it war intended for.  I meant it far a Kiowa signal-fire, and if it hadn’t been started ’bout that time, you’d had some other grizzly b’ars down on ye in the shape of ’Paches.”

“But it didn’t help us all the way through; they came down on us a little while afterward.”

“That war accident,” said Sut. “the purest kind of accident—­one of them things that is like to happen, and which we don’t look for—­a kinder of surprise like.”

“As me father obsarved when he found we had twins in the family,” interrupted Mickey.

“The chances are ten to one that thing couldn’t happen ag’in; but luck, just then, war t’other way.  Lone Wolf and his men war on their way home, and had no more idea of meeting yer folks than he had of axing me to come down and act as bridesmaid for his darter, when she gits married.”

“Do ye s’pose he knowed us, Soot?” asked the Irishman.

“It isn’t likely that he did at first, but the sight of the younker must have made him ’spicious, and arter he rammed you into the rocks, I guess he knowed pretty well how things stood, and he war bound to have both of yer.”

“What made him want me so bad?” asked Fred.  “I never understood how that was.”

The tall scout, standing on the edge of the broad, deep ravine, looked down at the handsome face of the boy, to whom he felt attracted by a stronger affection than either he or the Irishman suspected.

“Bless your soul, my younker, that ere Lone Wolf that they call such a great chief (and I may as well own up and say that he is), is heavy on ransoms and he ain’t the only chief that’s in that line.  That skunk runs off with men, women and boys, and his rule is not to give ’em up ag’in till he gits a good round price.  He calculated on making a good thing off you, and I rather think he would.”