"There was no more," Geronimo said.
Said Naiche, "Then I am sad. My wife and children are in Arizona. My
relatives are there. I am sorely in need of news of them. Why does
Chihuahua send me no word? He returned to the reservation the second
time Chief Gray Wolf came to us and asked us to come in."
"There is no knowing what happened to Chihuahua," Geronimo said. "Chief
Gray Wolf has gone from Arizona, and the Apaches will never see him
again."
General Crook had indeed made a second journey to Mexico, and again he
met the runaway Apaches and tried to persuade them to come back to the
reservation. Chihuahua and his followers had returned. Mangas and two or
three others had fled deeper into Mexico, but Geronimo and Naiche had
promised to return. At the last minute they, with eighteen other men and
nineteen women and children, had changed their minds and fled back into
the Sierra Madres.
General Crook had been sharply rebuked by his commander for letting
Geronimo escape. So he had asked to be relieved of duty in Arizona and
sent back to Texas. His wish was granted, and a general named Miles had
come to Arizona to take his place.
General Miles had five thousand soldiers at his command, and their
principal duty was to capture Geronimo. A large number of Mexican
_rurales_ and police were afield for the same purpose. Besides these,
there were many ranchers, cowboys, miners, and townsmen who would gladly
do anything they could to put an end to Geronimo and his followers.
There were certainly at least ten thousand people actively plotting the
downfall of this one Apache chief.
And not all of them together had come near to succeeding.
By special arrangement with Mexico, American troops were permitted to
range south of the border, and there had been several fights between
them and Geronimo's band. Some American soldiers had been killed or
wounded, and the Mexicans had suffered too. But Geronimo had not lost a
single warrior. Not one of his followers had even been wounded. Yet the
Apache chief was discouraged.
He swayed in the saddle, and bright lights flashed before his eyes. He
put a hand in front of his eyes to shut out the lights.
"Are you ill?" Naiche asked in alarm.
"I am tired," said Geronimo.