“Well, the party tried to escape when they found that they were prisoners, and several were killed in the conflict, so Mr. Loftus told me. The others resigned themselves to their fate and were virtually made the slaves of their captors, who took from them everything of value. Years went on and the children grew up, the old men and women died, until now scarcely a third of the original band is left. Many tried to escape, but either failed or were killed.
“Finally Loftus, who was a young miner when the Indians captured him, resolved to try to get away, hoping to be able to bring help. His escape was carefully planned. Indeed, he did not undertake it until many years from the time of the captivity. All those years the poor people had been held prisoners by the Indians. I suppose when the savages first led them into the valley, it was with the idea of taking what wealth they had. But the disappearance of the band attracted attention, and if there had been proof that the Indians were responsible, government troops would have been sent out, who would have exterminated the redmen. This risk of government aid made it necessary for the savages to guard their prisoners closely. Well, as I said, Loftus planned his escape, and he accomplished it after terrible hardships.
“When he finally climbed out of the valley he was almost as badly off as before. He traveled on, but his mind became a blank, and finally he found himself in my town. There the treatment I gave him restored his reason, and he told me his story. It was three years after his escape that I came across him, and all that while the poor people in the valley had doubtless been waiting in vain for some sign of the help he promised to bring, while he had been aimlessly wandering about, having practically forgotten his mission.
“I told him I would aid him, and when he described the valley, and how difficult it was to approach, I at once thought of an airship as the only possible means. Then, naturally, I thought of you motor boys, for I had read of your _Comet_. I told Mr. Loftus that he and I would set out for Cresville, see you, and get you to help us. But the day before we were to start, Mr. Loftus died. The hardships he had suffered had been too much for him. I felt very badly, but I resolved to carry out, with your help, the work he had undertaken. After seeing that he was provided with decent burial, I started for the East, intending to seek out you boys. I sent word to my son where I was going, as he was away from home. Well, this story is getting pretty long, but it will soon be finished.”