k!"

The lieutenant had said: "You do the shooting and I'll do the driving;"
and he had not changed his mind about it. But driving was no joke.

The captain hustled to rear. The Indians were about to make a third
charge. They appeared to be having great sport, chasing this
mule-wagon. There was one withered old warrior close behind now,
following in the middle of the road, on a black pony, and shooting
arrows at the pucker-hole. The captain ducked from the hole just in
time. The arrow whizzed through, struck the walnut back of the seat
and split it. The arrow point came out on the other side! That was a
powerful bow.

The arrow shaft hummed so, as it quivered, that the captain killed it
as he would a wasp; he jumped for a shot at the old warrior--missed
him--another arrow, from the left, grazed his pistol-arm crazy-bone and
his pistol fell into the road. He grabbed to catch it, the mules
lurched and out he pitched, half through the pucker-hole, so that he
hung doubled on his stomach, over the end-gate, clutching at nothing.

A fraction more, and he'd have been in the road, too. The Indians
whooped gladly, ready to pick him up. He barely managed to reach for
the wagon-bow, and haul himself back. Wh-whew!

There was no time for cogitating. He plucked a second revolver from
his holsters--

"Right off to the right, Cap! Quick!" called the lieutenant, sharply.

It was an appeal. To the front end scrambled Captain Booth. An Indian
was just loosing an arrow at Hallowell; the captain let loose at the
Indian; both missed--the arrow stuck in the side of the wagon, and the
Indian himself veered away in a hurry, frightened if not hurt.

That was poor shooting, all around. But to shoot from galloping pony
or from bouncing wagon is uncertain work.

Back scrambled the captain. He had a great deal to do. He found
another warrior--a young fellow--keeping pace with the wagon, in the
foot-trail where the wagon teamsters walked when traveling with their
freighting outfits.

The pony's head was actually within arm's length from the pucker-hole.
The captain struck at it with his revolver; the Indian, hanging low,
kept whipping the pony and forcing him in again. The Indian began to
notch an arrow upon the bow-string; he was going to shoot. As the
captain leaned, to get a shot in first, the arrow point threatened not
three feet from his breast!

He could not see the Indian's body; could see only half his leg,