at the strange form.

They could see no rider, though there was something on the animal's
back, which might have been a warrior lying flat, so as to protect his
body from the rifle of the white man, or, what was equally probable, the
owner was standing on the ground hidden by the horse, and awaiting his
chance to send in a fatal shot.

"What's the matter?" asked Dot, puzzled by the action of her parents.

"S-h! We are afraid a bad Indian is there."

"Why, can't you see that's Jerry?"

Jerry was the name of the pack pony.

"Of course it is. Why didn't we think of it?" asked the father the next
moment, relieved beyond measure by the discovery.

Jerry seemed to be of the opinion that it was the place of his friends
to make the advances, for he did not stir until they rode up beside him.

The lazy fellow was found with his load intact. He had been given all
the time he could ask for his journey to this point, and evidently was a
little sulky over the treatment received at the hands, or rather the
foot, of his master, for his head had to be jerked several times before
he faced about, and then it required more vigorous treatment to force
him into a lazy gallop.

Luckily, the greater part of the plain had been crossed before this
reunion took place, and the party had not gone far when the rancher
allowed the animals to drop to a walk. In front loomed a dark mass,
which he recognized as the fringe of the wood observed from the bank of
the stream behind them. Through this it was necessary to thread their
way with extreme care, owing to the darkness and their unfamiliarity
with the ground.

Upon reaching the edge of the wood the fugitives came to a stand-still.

Slipping from his saddle, the rancher brushed away the snow at his feet
and pressed his ear against the ground.

"I can hear nothing of them," he remarked, resuming the upright posture;
"I am quite hopeful that that party will molest us no more."

"It won't do to count on it," were the wise words of his wife.

"I think you had better dismount and lead your pony," said the rancher;
"we can mount again when through the wood; there will be less danger
from the trees and limbs, and you and Dot must be cramped from sitting
so long."

He helped them to the ground. It was a relief indeed to both, for they
had kept their places on the back of the horse for a number of hours.
Dot yawned, stretched her limbs, and felt as though nothing would
delight her so much a