It was late in the afternoon of the 26th of June, that keen-eyed Pandy Ellis discovered that the Indians' village had vanished, so far as lodges and people were concerned. This gave him grounds for hope, which feeling was soon communicated to the rest of the devoted band. It was evident that Terry or else Gibbon, perhaps, had arrived, and that the Indians were ready for retreat, although they intended holding Reno under their thumbs as long as possible. Word must be sent, or by some oversight the remnant of the gallant Seventh might be left to perish on the field, and those rifle pits become their graves. Pandy Ellis at once volunteered to accomplish this duty. How he ever managed to dash through the redskins and live, will probably ever remain a mystery, but he did it. A bullet touched his arm, three more cut his clothing, and, at the last instant, the cavalry horse he rode was shot from under him; but in spite of all this, the brave ranger carried the news to General Terry. As the soldiers advanced the Indians retired, and the remnant of the Seventh Cavalry was saved. Sleep seemed very sweet to those tired heroes that night; that much I can vouch for. * * * * * "Hold!" Mason shouted this word as if he possessed the fire of a Forest or an Edwin Booth. Involuntarily the giant became motionless. It was only for a few seconds, however, and the deadly knife would have descended after all. A pistol crack rang out with startling distinctness, awakening the echoes of this subterranean place. The boy trailer had fired; his prey had been tracked down, and the closing scene of the tragedy drew near. Red Goliath dropped his blade with a howl, and clapped his hand up to his left shoulder, where the lodging-place of the bullet could be seen by the blood that wet his flannel shirt. Two inches from his heart; not a bad shot, considering the excitement consequent upon the termination of the chase, and the dim light afforded by the cracks above, and yet it came very near costing the boy his life. After shooting, in his eagerness to prevent the monster from doing Adele any harm in his dying moments (thinking his shot fatal), Mason sprang forward and presented his revolver. It was a bad move on his part. Although agile beyond all calculation, his excitement made him less cautious than was his custom. Red Goliath gave a singular cry when the boy appeared, for he recognized him at once, even though the young gentleman he had seen in New Orleans was now clad in the fanciful garb of a hunter. In spite of his astonishment, the man did not lose his presence of mind an iota. He saw the leveled revolver, and gave it a knock that sent the weapon spinning to the other end of the cavern, and the next instant the boy was clasped by the giant's one useful arm.