He had nothing of which to complain, having secured with his own weapons as many specimens as he could use; but he thought he had lingered long enough in the vicinity of the fort, and was impatient to be off for the hills. He had found out, through the colonel, that it was a wild and lonely region to which Big Thompson intended to guide him, and that more than one hunter had gone there who had never been heard of afterward; but everybody said that game of all kind was abundant, and that was just what he had been sent out there to find. The night ride to the fort was accomplished without any incident worthy of note, and at twelve o’clock the hunters were all in their beds, sleeping soundly. Sunday was emphatically a day of rest with Oscar, and he needed it, for his hard riding had set every bone in his body to aching. The others did not mind it in the least, for it was no uncommon thing for them to spend whole weeks in the saddle; but with Oscar it was an unusual experience, and it was a long time before he could pass a day on horseback without feeling the effects of it afterward. On Monday morning he was up long before daylight, and in an hour’s time he was ready for the start. His luggage and the chest containing his tools were put into the wagon; the skins of the specimens he had already secured were packed in cotton and stowed away in one of the warehouses for safe keeping, and the captive fawn was given into the charge of the lieutenant, who promised to take the best possible care of it. The pony the quartermaster had selected for him, and which had never been heard of since he threw his rider in the sage-brush, was duly paid for; and the rest of his money was placed in the hands of the colonel, all except a small sum which he kept out to pay for any little articles of luxury—such as milk, butter, and eggs—he might wish to purchase at the ranches along the route. No one had been inquiring for him at the fort during his absence; and this proved that Tom had either done something which made him afraid, or ashamed, to show himself, or else that he was entirely satisfied with his present companion, and had no desire to better his condition in life. Such reflections as these, which constantly forced themselves upon Oscar’s mind, did much to mar his pleasure. By the time Oscar had eaten breakfast Big Thompson and his pony were on hand. The guide looked dubiously at his employer’s outfit, and then glanced down at the saddle-bags that contained his own, but he had no fault to find. He waited patiently until the boy had taken leave of all the officers, who wished him every success in his undertaking; and, when he saw Oscar climb to his seat in the wagon, he turned his pony about and led the way from the fort.