off his horse by the side of one of the
sheep, and put his hand against its body and into its mouth.

'It's quite dead; isn't it, papa?' Hubert said.

'Quite, Hubert; I never thought it was alive.' And Mr. Hardy leapt upon
his horse again. 'I wanted to see how warm the body was. If we try again
an hour's ride ahead, we shall be able to judge, by the increased heat
of the body, as to how much we have gained on the Indians, and whether
they are far ahead. You see, boys, when I was a young man, I was out
many times in Texas against the Comanches and Apaches, who are a very
different enemy from these cowardly Indians here. One had to keep one's
eyes open there, for they were every bit as brave as we were. Don't push
on so fast, Charley. Spare your horse; you will want all he's got in him
before you have done. I think that we must be gaining upon them very
fast now. You see the dead sheep lie every hundred yards or so, instead
of every quarter of a mile. The Indians know well enough that it would
take a whole day out on the edge of the settlements to collect a dozen
men for pursuit, and would have no idea that three men would set off
alone; so I expect that they will now have slackened their pace a
little, to give the sheep breathing time.'

After another ten minutes' ride Mr. Hardy again alighted, and found a
very perceptible increase of warmth in the bodies of the sheep. 'I do
not think that they can have been dead much more than a quarter of an
hour. Keep a sharp lookout ahead, boys; we may see them at the top of
the next rise.'

Not a word was spoken for the next few minutes. Two or three slight
swells were crossed without any sign of the enemy; and then, upon
breasting a rather higher rise than usual, they saw a mass of moving
beings in the distance.

'Halt!' Mr. Hardy shouted, and the boys instantly drew rein. 'Jump off,
boys. Only our heads have shown against the sky. They can hardly have
noticed them. There, hold my horse; loosen the saddle-girths of yours
too, and let them breathe freely. Take the bridles out of their mouths.
It seemed to me, by the glimpse I got of our enemies, that they were
just stopping. I am going on to make sure of it.'

So saying, Mr. Hardy again went forward a short distance, going on his
hands and knees as he came on to the crest of the rise, in order that
his head might not show above the long grass. When he reached it, he saw
at once that his first impression had been correct. At a