“Very good. For some time, now, this deserter, Bascomb, has made us a good deal of trouble. He had a few renegade Apaches with him, you remember, in the hills around the Three-ply Mine. When we caught the scoundrel on that island in Quicksand Lake, I was sure we had him at the end of his rope; and I am about equally sure that Geronimo and his bucks jumped the reservation in order to get Bascomb away from the soldiers. If that is the case, then Bascomb is the man for us to lay hold of. I have started on his trail, and I do not intend to hold back until he is landed. “Naturally, I am more anxious to rescue Nomad than to recapture Bascomb, but this matter of Nomad’s is a point that puzzles me. If he was really taken prisoner, as Cayuse thinks, what became of him? He wasn’t with Bascomb and Geronimo; and, if Geronimo had him, it seems odd he wouldn’t keep such a prisoner by him. Nomad is a captive the wily old chief would be proud of.” “Mebbyso Geronimo kill um Wolf-killer.” This remark of Cayuse’s was a logical deduction, but the scout would not accept it. “No, Cayuse,” said he, “if Geronimo was going to put Nomad out of the way, he’d have done it there on the scene of the ambush. Geronimo, however, is sharp enough to understand that Nomad is worth more to him alive than he would be dead. So we come back to the thing I can’t understand: If Nomad is a prisoner, where is he? And why wasn’t he taken to Tonio Pass?” A silence of several minutes followed. “As I figure the matter,” the scout resumed presently, “it amounts to this: Geronimo, with all the troopers at Grant, Apache, Bowie, and Huachuca against him, has none too many warriors. Evidently the chief thinks a lot of Bascomb, and will take care of him, but the chief can’t leave very many warriors for that purpose. Probably he will leave two or three. So, if we ride to Tonio Pass and exercise a fair amount of caution, we have a good chance of getting hold of Bascomb; then, with Bascomb once in our hands, perhaps we can force him to tell us where Nomad was taken. That is our cue. As soon as your horses are able to take the road we’ll be off for Tonio Pass.” “Silver Heels is ready now,” said Dell. “He’s all leather and whalebone, and never gets tired.” “Navi all right, too,” averred Cayuse. “It’s not a piece of work, Dell,” said the scout, “in which you ought to join.” Dell threw back her head, and her face reddened. “Why not?” she demanded. “Don’t make a mistake, little one,” laughed the scout, “for I’m not cutting you out of this little surprise-party. I’m going to take you along because I think it’s safer to take you than to leave you. This camp is badly depleted of troops, and if Geronimo should take it into his rascally head to come down on Bonita, there’d be a hot fight. For that reason, in view of possible contingencies, I’d rather take you with me than leave you here.