“This makes up for all,” he said. “Well, sirs, when I reached the California frontier and came to Warner’s rancho I was about as tickled as a mule after he’s got through a day’s packing. There I got information that made me think I’d find Steve, if he had reached California alive, and somehow I couldn’t get it out of my head that he had fallen in with the United States troops and had followed their fortunes; it seemed the most sensible thing. I kept on a moving till I came across a man who had been with the army on that trip. He remembered distinctly the day they had picked up a man traveling afoot; they had all thought it such an unusual occurrence and we made up our minds between us that it was Steve. He would hardly believe I had come all the way from Texas by my lone; said I was some kind of a fool for trying such a journey, and there were times when I could have agreed with him without a question. Well, sirs, there was nothing to be done, that I could see, but to go back to Santa Fé where most of Kearney’s troops were garrisoned, for my military friend assured me that I wouldn’t be likely to find Steve anywhere else. It was right smart of a journey and I wasn’t particularly set on going back alone, but I managed to strike in with a party going that way, and it wasn’t so bad, though it wasn’t specially funny. After I reached Santa Fé I went right to headquarters where I learned that, sure enough, Steve had been one of their scouts and had been captured during one of those uprisings they got up there in New Mexico, and, although the war was over and peace declared, they had only located him recently in one of the little Indian villages, where there were some prisoners that had been kept over. They weren’t certain whether he was alive or not, but said perhaps I could find out from a Captain Owens who had gone out with a company to bring in these prisoners. I wasn’t very long in finding out, though they said at first he wasn’t there, that he had died on the way. I made up my mind I wouldn’t believe that till I had proofs, and at last I found him.” “Oh, weren’t you glad? Weren’t you glad?” exclaimed Alison. “If you mean me,” said Steve from his couch, “use some stronger word.” “If you mean me,” said Neal, “suppose you ask if I didn’t dance a breakdown, if I didn’t let out a yell that scared the town; if I didn’t pop off a dozen good rounds to let ’em see how glad I was. Well, sirs, I had found my man, about as poor, peaked, skinny, yaller, feeble looking a creetur as you’d care to see.” “Yes, and what do you suppose was the first thing he said to me?” said Steve. “He said, ‘If I had known what a poor miserable cuss I was lookin’ for, I’d have taken a shorter cut, round by a graveyard.’” “Oh, Neal,” said Alison reproachfully.