"I haven't seen him."

"How long have you been on duty?"

"Came on about an hour ago."

"Has Lieutenant Carrol come in?" came from Benson.

"Not that I know of; reckon not," answered the guard.

"Worse and worse!" groaned the old scout. "Who is in command here?"

"Captain Lee. But he's about half sick, too."

"It's a trick of the enemy!" cried Darry.

"A trick?" queried the guard with interest.

"Yes, a trick," put in Joe. "Benson, hadn't they better sound the alarm?"

"Yes, and I'll interview Captain Lee."

No more was said, and, while the sentinel called the corporal of the guard, the old scout hurried off to find the captain in command. With him went Joe and Darry. Joe's heart was like a lump of lead, for he was much concerned over the non-appearance of his brother. Had the captain met the Indians and been killed or taken prisoner?

Captain Lee was in a sound sleep, but quickly roused up when told that an important message awaited him. He met the party in one of the living rooms of the fort. His head was tied up in a wet towel, and his eyes showed that he was suffering.

"This is certainly a deep-laid plot," he said, when all had told their story. "The desperadoes and Indians intend to combine in an attack on the fort. Mose is undoubtedly that wily old half-breed who is still alive and who is very thick with White Ox. But I didn't know he could write."

"But what about this money at the fort?" asked Joe.

"The money is here, in a chest that is hidden away. It amounts to forty thousand dollars in gold, and is the property of the Nevell Mining Company. It was left for safe-keeping until Mr. Nevell could have it transported to Denver. You see, Nevell is a brother-in-law to Colonel Fairfield."

"The colonel must be drugged," said Benson. "That's the reason he acts so queerly."

"I suppose so, and that is what has affected me, I presume," answered Captain Lee. "Last night my head ached as if it would split open. We must tell the surgeon of this. Perhaps he can then do something to relieve Colonel Fairfield."

The captain lost no time in issuing the necessary orders, and in a few minutes the whole place was in alarm and the soldiers were on the watch for the first appearance of the Indians.

"My poor husband drugged!" cried Mrs. Fairfield, when she heard the news. "What villains those Indians and desperadoes are! Doctor, can you do nothing?"

"I think I can, madam," answered the surgeon. "Much depends upon what drugs were administered and how much the colonel has taken. Rest a.s.sured I will do my best for him."

Upon examination it was found that out of all the officers at the fort only four were fit for duty, all the others being sick, either through being drugged or otherwise. Of the privates not more than sixty-five were in a condition to fight should an attack come.

"And the worst of it is, the men won't know what to eat or drink after this," said Captain Lee to Benson. "Who can tell what has been drugged?

Perhaps it's in the very bread we eat and the water we drink."

Strict orders were given to the men to touch nothing until the surgeon had pa.s.sed upon it. Then the doctor got out his medicines to counteract the drugs, and set to work to bring the colonel and the other sufferers out of their stupor.

Hour after hour went slowly by, and still Captain Moore did not return.

What had become of his brother, Joe could not imagine. He feared the worst, and when morning came it was all he could do to keep back the tears.

"Don't take it so to heart, Joe," said Darry sympathetically. "It may be all right."

"But he said he was going to ride straight here--you heard him, Darry."

"So I did, but he may have seen the Indians or met Lieutenant Carrol, and that might have changed his plans. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much just yet."

With the coming of daylight Captain Lee brought out his long-distance gla.s.s and swept the surroundings of the fort with extreme care.

"Some camp-fires are burning to the northward," he announced.

"Any Injuns?" questioned old Benson laconically. He had been told to come along to the top of the fort for consultation.

"n.o.body in sight, Benson."

"Humph! Well, I don't calculate they are far off."

"Nor I, from what you and the boys told me. How long will it take those desperadoes to reach here?"

"They ought to arrive this morning, if they are not with the Injuns already."

"All told, we have about seventy officers and men available for duty,"

went on the captain thoughtfully. "What is worse, they must know how greatly our garrison is reduced, since they have had that skunk of a Mose do the drugging for them."

"The Injuns number over sixty, and if there are thirty desperadoes, that will give them a force of almost a hundred, or twice as many as we have, captain. But then, we hold the fort. They can't come anywhere near us without being cut down--if we set out to do it."

"Of course. But White Ox may send off for more Indians--when he hears how small the available garrison is."

"Does he know much of affairs here?"

"I am afraid he does. There were two Indians here yesterday, to lodge a complaint against a miner who had stolen a horse from them. I think, now, that the complaint was a blind, and the Indians were here merely to size up the situation," concluded Captain Lee.

CHAPTER XXII.

IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY.

Little dreaming of all the adventures in store for him, Captain Moore left the scene of the buffalo shooting and rode forth swiftly in the direction of Fort Carson.

He felt that he carried news of great importance and the sooner he gained the fort the better. Should anything happen to Colonel Fairfield the command of the post would fall upon himself, as next in rank.

As he dashed along the trail, over hill and valley, he reviewed the situation with care, and the more he thought of it, the more worried did he become.

"Something is going to happen--I can feel it in the air," he muttered.