mpas grass, which was not long
at that season, but at last they came to a ridge on which there was a
line of low bushes. By that time, by dint of hard spurring, Lawrence
had managed to get up almost alongside of the girl, whose look of
gleeful excitement was now changed to one of wild anxiety.

"Try to pull just a little harder!" cried Lawrence, "your horse won't be
able to jump it."

Manuela tried, but she had already put forth all her strength, and if
that had been twice what it was, the effect on the powerful creature
would probably have been just the same.

As the danger drew nearer, Lawrence made desperate efforts to increase
his speed. He was so far successful that when they finally came to the
line of bushes, the horses were almost abreast of each other. Horses of
the Pampas are not usually jumpers, but Manuela's horse must have had a
touch of the hunter in him, for he rose to the leap, and went up like a
rocket. Lawrence, on the other hand, went crashing through the
obstruction like the shot of an eighty-ton gun! The leap evidently took
more time than the crash, which was fortunate, for it enabled Lawrence
to get well alongside at the moment the fore-feet of Manuela's horse
touched the ground, and just as the poor girl herself, unused to
leaping, fairly lost her balance as well as her presence of mind and
fell backward half fainting. She would have fallen to the ground if
Lawrence had not caught her round the waist, and dragged her to the
pommel of his own saddle. It was one of those cases of rescue which men
are apt--perhaps justifiably so--to style providential, for no planning
or judgment or energy on the part of Lawrence could have arranged that
Manuela should have been at the apex of her leap when her powers failed,
so that she should fall from that height, as it were, almost into his
arms!

A few bounds more and they were safe. As if it had understood this, and
felt that further effort was needless, the runaway steed stopped
abruptly, and, after looking round in unreasonable surprise, began
quietly to crop the herbage at its feet.

One by one the rest of the party came up, full of congratulations.

"You dood dat well, massa," said Quashy, who was the first to arrive,
grinning all over; "and dat _was_ a bu'ster," he added, surveying the
gap in the bush through which Lawrence had crashed.

"Please set me down before the others come up!" whispered Manuela, who,
having, as we have said, half fa