At last Reuben and his companions arrived at the thicket in which their friends were concealed. Darting quickly into the midst of the band, they cast themselves upon the ground, concealing themselves behind the trees, and prepared to join in the counter-attack which was about to be made. At that moment a shower of arrows fell among the bushes, and almost as if in response to this action the thicket resounded with the reports of the guns. The resounding yell of triumph from the eager Blackfeet was lost in the midst of the roar of the guns. Clouds of smoke slowly rose above the bushes and hid the scene from the sight of the anxious defenders. However, as soon as the smoke lifted a little, the bodies of the fallen Indians were seen upon the ground. On every side was the neighing of the terrified and the riderless horses. The startled Blackfeet in the midst of it all heard the click that indicated the reloading of the guns of their enemies. Too late they were aware of the mistake they had made. The band of warriors instantly broke and fled, and in the midst of the wild confusion that followed the first attack the weapons of the trappers had been reloaded and again the reports of the rifles rang out. With wild cries of terror the Indians continued their flight. Nor did they stop until they had disappeared from sight and had run far into the wilderness. Then it was that Kit Carson, bidding his men follow him, led them once more upon the trail. Scattered on the ground nearby were the bodies of ten of the Indians that had fallen under the fire of the trappers. Brave as the redmen had been, too late they had discovered that their bows and arrows were of no avail when they were fired upon by men armed with rifles and who were expert shots. Convinced at last that the danger was passed, Kit Carson summoned his men about him and first of all inquired whether or not any one had been hit in the shower of arrows that had fallen upon them. Fortunately no one had been injured, for the Indians had fired without any sight of the white men, simply trusting to their knowledge that some of them at least were concealed within the underbrush. “What will happen next?” inquired Jake. “No man can say,” replied Kit Carson. “Do you think they will attack us again?” “Not soon. They have learned a lesson which they will not forget right away.” “Then we can go right ahead?” “We shall keep on,” replied the guide quietly, “although I am sure that we are not done with our troubles.” “What are you afraid of?” “I am sure they will not leave us. They will follow us, and when night comes they will try to steal our horses, and if we were trapping here they would try to get our traps. I shall be surprised if we do not find that they are watching us all the while.” “Don’t you think we had better turn back?”