At that time the Indians were busy in their preparations for their breakfast. Before they were fully aware of what was occurring the Indian chief fell before the sure aim of Kit Carson. Without retreating, although they were two against thirty or more, the two hardy men seized their pistols and continued the attack. The astonished redmen turned and fled from the place. Doubtless if they had known how many were in the attacking party that would have been the last we ever should have heard of Kit Carson and his deeds. As it was, however, the redmen, without waiting to discover the numbers of their enemies, fled from the spot, leaving behind them the horses which they had stolen. These were secured by the scout, and with them he returned to the camp and gave back to the heart-broken Mexican the ponies which he had lost. CHAPTER XXX—CONCLUSION Meanwhile Reuben Benton was highly prosperous in St. Louis. With the money which he had saved from the sale of his skins he had been able in a modest way to go into the business of buying furs when they were brought to the trading-post by the trappers. In this way he had been able to maintain a home of his own, in which his father remained a member as long as he lived. Whenever Kit Carson returned to St. Louis, although there were occasions when he was highly honoured by people of the highest standing, he did not forget the man who had been with him as a boy on his trapping expeditions in the Far West. The friendship between the two deepened with the years, and among those who were loudest in their praises of the scout when he had become most famous was Reuben Benton of St. Louis. There came a time in the life of Kit Carson, after he had left Lieutenant Fremont, when he thought he would be able to settle down and become a farmer. Not long before this time he had married a Spanish girl, whose beauty was famous all along the border. On the great ranch which he purchased he erected a house in which his wife was to make her home, and there he was busily engaged in building barns that would be adequate for the stock he expected to raise. Abruptly, however, there came a message from Fremont urging Carson to rejoin him at once; and the scout was unable to decline. Perhaps he did not wish to. At all events, he sold his farm, provided for his wife during his absence, and then set forth with one companion to join Fremont’s expedition. The Indians had told many stories of the region known as the Great Basin, a desert so bleak and perilous that no human being might expect to cross it safely. This was the region now to be explored by Fremont and his followers. Fortunately they discovered that the reports had exaggerated the difficulties as well as the desert nature of the region. All this, however, was not known until after the work of the explorers had been completed. So fearful were the men that the reports they had heard were well founded that they were extremely cautious in all their movements.