ten o'clock
Pike stopped and spoke once again to Kate before riding away , but in ten minutes , mounted on a fresh and spirited horse , with his rifle athwart the pommel and the field glasses in their case swinging by their strap from his shoulder , he cantered boldly up the Pass and was soon well out upon the open plain . His idea was to ride straight out to the west along the road , five or six miles and more if necessary , scour the country southward with the glasses in search of Captain Gwynne , and if he saw nothing of him to get near enough to the advancing Apaches to see about how large a party they were , then to whirl about , put spurs to his horse , ride like the wind for camp , get Kate , the children , Jim and the blankets and provisions up to the cave and be all ready for the Tontos when they came . `` Gregg '' was curveting and prancing even now , eager for a gallop , but Pike 's practised hand kept him down to a moderate gait and in this way he rode steadily westward towards a distant rise in the midst of the undulating plateau , and there he felt confident he could see all that there was to be seen . It was just ten o'clock when he reined in at the top of a gentle ascent and unslung his glasses . First he looked towards Jarvis Pass to see how far away were the enemy and how many in number . Despite the windings of the road and occasional stunted trees or bushes , the first glance through the binocular placed them at once . Yes , there they were in plain view -- certainly not more than four miles away .