hen Whirlwind made his dash that they would fire a volley
which was certain to kill one or the other, and not unlikely both rider
and animal.

Nor could anything be gained by turning at bay and fighting the whole
five, though the Shawanoe would not have hesitated to do that had no
other recourse been left to him. With that quick perception which
approached the marvelous in him he ordered Whirlwind to gallop along
the side of the timber and again wait for him. Then Deerfoot dived
among the trees as if in fear of the fierce warriors closing in upon
him. His aim was to draw the attention of the party from the stallion
to himself, and he succeeded.

For three or four minutes he dodged in and out, where in the gloom he
could not escape more than one collision with the limbs. The whole
party plunged after him. They knew that the audacious stranger had
slain one of their number and were determined he should not escape
their vengeance, for with him disposed of the black stallion could be
recovered at leisure.

All the time that Deerfoot was whisking here and there, leaping to the
right and left, and getting forward as fast as he could, he held his
knife grasped and ready to use on the instant the emergency arose. He
was so handicapped by the obstructions and the darkness that he could
do little more than hold his own. His enemies were too near for him to
hide himself from them. Had he attempted to do so the whole lot would
have descended upon him like an avalanche.

There was no chance to select his route; all he could do was to drive
ahead and avoid being driven at bay. He took care not to pass near the
fire, where the glow would have betrayed him. He feared his foes would
shoot, though everything was so obscured that they were likely to wait
in the hope of capturing him or gaining a fairer aim.

A faint lighting up in front showed that he was nearing the edge of the
wood. Two bounds carried him clear, and then, with the utmost speed of
which he was capable, he ran along the margin to a slight turn in the
conformation of the grove, when he leaped out into the open air and was
off with as great fleetness as he displayed on the home-stretch in his
race with Ralph Genther, after the turkey shoot at Woodvale.

By his dodging and trickery he had gained an important start, but not
enough to put him beyond sight of the Assiniboines, who debouched from
the timber at the moment the form of the Shawanoe was fast dissolving
in the