"
"Yes, but before you cook a hare you must catch him," said I.
"And our two hares are on the other side of the Xuacaxella[1] Desert,"
said Frank, despondently. "I suppose there is small chance of our ever
seeing them again."
[Footnote 1: Pronounced Hwar-car-hal-yar.]
Our two boy sergeants had found life in Arizona scarcely monotonous,
for the hostile Apaches made it lively enough, compelling us to build
a defensible post and look well to the protection of our stock. A few
years later a large force, occupying many posts, found it difficult to
maintain themselves against those Indians, so it cannot seem strange
to the reader that our small garrison of a hundred soldiers should
find it difficult to do much more than act on the defensive. Close
confinement to the reservation chafed the boys.
A ride to Prescott, two miles distant, was the longest the boys had
taken alone. Two weeks before this chapter opens they had been invited
to dine with Governor Goodwin, the Governor of the Territory, and he
had made their call exceedingly pleasant.
Pages:
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170