Produced by Al Haines. [Illustration: Cover] [Illustration: "The man spoke in a sharp whisper: ’You are John Bedford?’" Page 303] _The_ QUEST OF THE FOUR _A STORY OF THE COMANCHES AND BUENA VISTA_ BY JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER AUTHOR OF "THE LAST OF THE CHIEFS," "THE YOUNG TRAILERS," ETC. ILLUSTRATED D. APPLETON AND COMPANY NEW YORK AND LONDON: MCMXX COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY Printed in the United States of America CONTENTS CHAPTER I.--The Meeting of the Four II.--The March of the Train III.--At the Ford IV.--On Watch V.--The Comanche Village VI.--The Medicine Lodge VII.--The Great Sleep VIII.--New Enemies IX.--The Fiery Circle X.--Phil’s Letter XI.--With the Army XII.--The Pass of Angostura XIII.--A Wind of the Desert XIV.--Buena Vista XV.--The Woman at the Well XVI.--The Castle of Montevideo XVII.--The Thread, the Key, and the Dagger XVIII.--The Hut in the Cove XIX.--Arenberg’s Quest XX.--The Silver Cup XXI.--The Note of a Melody XXII.--Breakstone’s Quest LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS "The man spoke in a sharp whisper: ’You are John Bedford?’" . . . _Frontispiece_ "Putting his blanket beneath him, he lay before one of the fires" "A black, snakelike loop fell over Bill Breakstone’s head" "The third boy from the rear stopped and listened" THE QUEST OF THE FOUR CHAPTER I THE MEETING OF THE FOUR A tall boy, dreaming dreams, was walking across the Place d’Armes in New Orleans. It was a brilliant day in early spring, and a dazzling sunlight fell over the city, gilding the wood or stone of the houses, and turning the muddy current of the Mississippi into shimmering gold. Under such a perfect blue sky, and bathed in such showers of shining beams, New Orleans, a city of great and varied life, looked quaint, picturesque, and beautiful. But the boy, at that moment, thought little of the houses or people about him. His mind roamed into the vast Southwest, over mountains, plains, and deserts that his feet had never trod, and he sought, almost with the power of evocation, to produce regions that he had never seen, but which he had often heard described. He had forgotten no detail of the stories, but, despite them, the cloud of mystery and romance remained, calling to him all the more strongly because he had come upon a quest the most vital of his life, a quest that must lead him into the great unknown land.