Ambush

1878. Having escaped from the reservation, an Apache named Diablito and his tribe have taken control of Bailey Mountain, the trail at the foot of the mountain the shortest but now, solely because of Diablito, most dangerous east-west passageway through the Arizona Territory. Word has it that Diablito ambushed a government survey party, which should have but did not request an escort for protection, the entire party executed, except the sole female, whose body was not discovered and thus is assumed still alive. She is Mary Carlyle, an army brat, the daughter of General Duverall. Indian scout Ward Kinsman, who has provided such escort service along the trail and as such knows the territory and Diablito, has been summoned to Fort Gamble as Major Breverly with the US Cavalry wants him to provide guide services for the cavalry not only to capture Diablito to have him sent back to the reservation, but to locate and free Mrs. Carlyle, the fact of this even being an assignment on the behest of her sister, Ann Duverall. The initial scouting party will happen with or without Kinsman, it being without as he has declined the offer, partly in feeling the assignment futile. While Kinsman was planning solely on accompanying the scouting party as far as his own camp, he changes his mind, for various reasons, about being their guide after evidence does show that Mrs. Carlyle is indeed still alive and being held by Diablito. This change in circumstance adds some complexity to the search party in Kinsman being somewhat at odds with lead, Captain Ben Lorrison, who was temporarily assigned commanding officer of the fort out of circumstance just before their departure. Part of the disagreement between the two men stems from Lorrison's leadership, he who wanted to transfer arguably his most accomplished officer, Lt. Linus Delaney, due to his affair with Martha Conovan, the battered wife of enlisted Tom Conovan, and Lorrison and Kinsman who disagree on how much to trust the word of Tana, a captured Apache purportedly against Diablito. But what may cause the biggest problem between the two is Miss Duverall, with who Lorrison is in a relationship and wants to marry. The issue is that Kinsman has too fallen in love with her, the feeling seemingly returned. They may all be moot points if Diablito gets the better of them like he did with the survey party, Diablito who Kinsman knows must be eliminated as never willingly going back to the reservation.