curred.

They were almost out of the gorge and Clifford had started to reply to a
question of Paul's concerning the nature of the rocks which were
different in colour on one side of the canyon from the other, when the
mustang shied in a perfectly excusable manner at a cedar stump which
hung out from a ledge so close that it almost scraped the frightened
animal. Before Clifford could get the team back into the narrow road the
front wheel struck a big stone. The jolt flung the pole with a jerk
against the mustang. He reared up and slewed around, unhitching one of
his tugs. Even then Clifford might have saved the situation if one of
the reins had not broken. But when that snapped it was a hopeless task.
Before any of the party knew what to do the now maddened team was
thrashing up the gorge. The result was only a question of the law, if
there is any, of accidents. Nobody ever knew just what did happen in
detail. Paul and Esther said afterwards that they jumped, although they
had always said they never would jump out of a runaway wagon. Helen
clung terrified to her seat until the hind wheel on her side of the
wagon was splintered and the wagon box fell down and she found herself
flung up against the bank. Clifford jumped for one of the horse's backs,
hoping to stop them by reaching their bridles, but his foot caught on
the dashboard and he fell, just missing the wheels as he rolled down the
trail. Bauer was the only one to remain in the wagon. Just as Clifford
made his unsuccessful leap the tongue snapped. The horses tore
themselves loose from the wrecked wagon and swept in a frenzy of fear
through the gorge, banging the fragments of tongue, whiffletrees and
harness about them, and what was left of the wagon came to a stop
between two big boulders, with Bauer clinging to the front seat with
white strained face wondering if the rest of them were all killed.

Clifford picked himself up and came limping along to where Paul and
Esther were sitting. He was all right himself excepting a few minor
bruises and was overjoyed to find that Mr. and Mrs. Douglas had escaped
serious injury. But when the three of them came to Helen they found her
almost in a swoon.

"I think I sprained my ankle," she said with a faint attempt at a
smile.

"Thank God we are not all killed!" exclaimed Esther, but before she
could say another word Helen had fainted. Her father and mother were
busy over her, Bauer had run up with a water canteen and Cliff