“Yes, he do,” assented Mendez, who seemed to be suffering from a burst of talkativeness, altogether unusual with him.
“Is there any use of our keeping up this chase, Mendez?”
And the troopers drew rein, talked a few minutes, after which the lieutenant gave the orders to wheel about and return to Camp Reno.
True the pursuit of Geronimo and his dreaded warriors had ended in failure, and yet in the right sense it was a brilliant success.
The Apaches had set out to raid a portion of Sutra Valley, but were discovered in time and sent skurrying back to their fastnesses, with the loss of two of their number and without having been able to set foot within the section which they had meant to devastate. It was they who had met the most egregious failure.
The chagrin of the troopers was that they were unable to force the raiders to the wall and make them fight. Could this have been done they might have administered an effectual chastisement that would have averted woful consequences. Geronimo and these hostiles were off the reservation and were not likely to return until after inflicting some of their fearful blows. The revolt would spread and not unlikely another miniature Indian war would follow, which, if it roused little interest further east, would have dreadful significance to those exposed to its consequences.
These were the gloomy reflections that accompanied the troopers on their return to Fort Reno, and there is little doubt that their fears would have become real, but for an unexpected series of events.
It so happened that at the very time Lieutenant Decker was engaged on his scout, a party of about the same strength was out from Fort McDowell, a considerable distance to the south. Rumors of the restlessness of the Apaches had reached them, and they discovered that a band were heading for the Sutra Valley. With no knowledge, however, that the notorious Geronimo was their leader, the cavalrymen made a determined and well-directed effort to bring the raiders to book.
They were fortunate enough to discover the fleeing hostiles when the latter were on the open plain, and the troopers had the concealment of a wooded and rocky range. Still better, the raiders headed almost directly for the point where the scouts were eagerly awaiting them.