regardless of discovery, dashed away as hard as he could run in the
direction of his steed. He could not mistake the true course, for the
animal seemingly aware that something was wrong, kept up a continual
whinnying, that guided him as unerringly as it did the Apaches who were
hurrying after him. A few seconds and the boy stood beside the creature,
which showed, by its excited manner, that he was as desirous as his
master to leave the spot. He was tugging at the rein so lustily that it
threatened to break every instant, and Ned trembled at the fear that he
would be left alone.

The impatient, eager haste with which the rein was unfastened, the
seemingly impossibility of getting the loosely fastened knot untied, the
little obstructions that constantly obtruded themselves--these cannot be
described nor imagined. It would have been unnatural in the highest
degree had Ned not found himself "nervous." He was ready to yield to
despair more than once, and what were really seconds were as many
minutes to him. The Indians could be heard moving through the
undergrowth, their progress cautious as it always is when they have
reason to fear that enemies are close at hand.

It was this deliberation which gave Ned his only chance. The rein was
unfastened at last, and, with a desperate effort he mounted the mustang,
which came very near bounding from beneath him while in the act of
springing upward, and, turning his head toward the southwest, the very
direction he wished to follow, Chadmund struck his sides with his heels,
gave a regular Indian shout and was off. The steed scarcely needed all
this to incite him to his highest efforts. Stretching out his neck, he
sped away like an arrow, while the young rider constantly urged him to
still greater effort. But no urging was required. The fleet-footed
courser was already going with the speed of the wind.

Scarcely had he gotten under way, however, when the crack! crack! of
rifles was heard, and the singing of bullets around his ears told the
fugitive at whom they were aimed. He instantly threw himself forward
upon the neck of the mustang, and shouted again, in a voice that must
have been heard by the redskins themselves:

"Go it, my horse! Don't let them catch us! We mustn't lose now!"

One or two more shots were heard, and then all was quiet again.

"We've got beyond their range," concluded the boy, "and there's no need
of wasting their powder on us."

Still he remained with his