concealed him from sight, and had his pursuers no suspicion of his
fall, he yet stood a chance of escaping.

In a few moments he heard them overhead, and the pain of his wounds was
forgotten in the anxiety which he now felt for his safety. He knew that
they had hesitated, but whether it was on account of the leap which they
were required to make, or on account of any suspicion that they might
entertain, he could not divine.

The place in which he had fallen had probably once been swept by a
torrent, but now a tiny stream only warbled through it. The murmur of
this, by Leslie's side, prevented his understanding the words of those
above. The hum of their voices could be heard but not their words.

Presently, however, he distinguished a well-known voice evidently in
expostulation with some one.

"Gorra mighty! does yer s'pects I can jump dat? It's bad 'nough to make
me git drownded in dat river without broken my neck down dar!"

Leslie could not help wondering why Zeb was brought along, nor how he
managed to keep pace with the rest. But as he had not heard his voice
before, he concluded that the negro must have been brought by several
Indians who remained behind for that purpose. This conclusion was
confirmed by the words which he heard the next minute.

"Whar's de use ob jumpin'? Dem yere fellers'll soon be back, coz dey
ain't agwine to cotch dat man nohow. He can run like a streak o'
sunshine, and likes as not dey'll all get shot. You'd better go on and
coax 'em to come back while I stay here and waits fur ye."

In answer to this, Leslie heard some angry muttering and mumbling, but
could distinguish no words. In a moment, however, Zeb's voice was
audible.

"Bless yer, you're de all-firedest fools I eber see'd. How does you
s'pects I's gwine to light on toder side. Ef one of you'll take me on
your back, I won't mind lettin' you try to carry me over; but I tells
you I ain't agwine to try it. So you can shut up yer rat-traps."

Hardly a second elapsed before he again spoke:

"Hold on dar; you kickin' all my brains out! I'll try it!"

The next moment Leslie heard a dull thump, and Zeb came rolling down
directly beside him.

"I's killed! Ebery bone is broken. I can't live anoder second."

"Zeb! Zeb!" whispered Leslie, in a hurried whisper.

The negro suddenly ceased his groaning and exclamations, and rolling his
head over toward him, asked, in a whisper.

"Who's dat?"

"It's I, Zeb. Get up quick, for God's