He knew, from what he had seen, that at least a dozen of the Apaches had been killed, and as many wounded, on the night before during the fight.

Yet not one of these was visible, with the exception, perhaps, of Lone Wolf, whose scratches from Sut Simpson's bullets were of a superficial nature.

The only explanation of the absence of these parties was that they had gone home.

Under the charge of a strong escort they had taken another route, and were probably miles away at that moment, and most likely in their own wigwams, receiving the nursing and attention required.
"I wonder whether there is any chance of my getting away ?" mused the lad, as he looked searchingly about him.

"If a fellow could only get the start, there are plenty of places where he might hide; but there's where the trouble is." On the right and left of the gorge were precipitous mountains, evidently broken by chasms, ravines, and covered with patches of wood, their elevation being so moderate that no snow was visible upon their tops, while the scene was wild and forbidding in the extreme.
"If I were only up there," sighed Fred, as he looked at the mountain side, "I could crawl into some of the places, where I'm sure they couldn't find any signs of me." This might all be, provided the lad had an hour or two in which to hunt his hiding place, but the whole difficulty lay in getting that opportunity.