after Dodge, whose gallant hearing in the hour of danger had
conquered the disgust he at first felt at his cowardice, and won upon his
gratitude and respect. But the Yankee appeared not, and the loud calls
Roland made for him were echoed only by the hoarse roar from the
barriers, now left far behind, and the thunder that yet pealed through
the sky. Nor could Emperor, when restored a little to his wits, which had
been greatly disturbed by his own perils in the river, give any
satisfactory account of his fate. He could only remember that the current
had borne himself against the logs, under which he had been swept, and
whirled he knew not whither until he found himself in the arms of his
master; and Dodge, who had rushed before him into the flood, he supposed,
had met a similar fate, but without the happy termination that marked his
own.

That the Yankee had indeed found his death among the roaring waters,
Roland could well believe, the wonder only being how the rest had escaped
in safety. Of the five horses, three only had reached the bank, Briareus
and the palfrey, which had fortunately followed Roland down the middle of
the chasm, and the horse of the unlucky Pardon. The others had been
either drowned among the logs, or swept down the stream.

A few moments sufficed to acquaint Roland with several losses; but he
took little time to lament them. The deliverance of his party was not yet
wholly effected, and every moment was to be improved, to put it, before
daylight, beyond the reach of pursuit. The captain of horse-thieves
avouched himself able to lead the way from the wilderness, to conduct the
travellers to a safe ford below, and thence through the woods, to the
rendezvous of the emigrants.

"Let it be anywhere," said Roland, "where there is safety; and let us not
delay a moment longer. Our remaining here can avail nothing to poor
Dodge."

With these words, he assisted his kinswoman upon her palfrey, placed
Telie Doe upon the horse of the unfortunate Yankee, and giving up his own
Briareus to the exhausted negro, prepared to resume his ill-starred
journey on foot. Then, taking post on the rear, he gave the signal to his
new guide; and once more the travellers were buried in the intricacies of
the forest.

CHAPTER XVIII.

It was at a critical period when the travellers effected their escape
from the scene of their late sufferings. The morning was already drawing
nigh, and might, but for the heavy clouds