d not in the least slackened its pace. In
fact, his eyes and ears seemed to have suddenly become at "outs," for
they did not endorse each other as they usually did. His eyes told him
that his carbine was fired rapidly, for they showed him the flashes that
followed the pulling of the trigger; but his ears took no note of the
fact, for he could not hear the faintest report. The reason for this
was, that the herd, having been split in two by the first volley, was
moving by on each side of them with a roar and a rush that would have
drowned the discharge of a section of artillery.

How long the buffaloes were in passing Bob never knew, for he took no
note of time. It was probably not more than two or three minutes, but
during that brief period he passed through an ordeal that he never could
think of afterward without feeling the cold chills creep all over him.
But he did not flinch, and neither did his companions. When the last of
the buffaloes passed to the right and left of them, and the lieutenant
jumped up and stretched his arms and legs as if to assure himself that
he had not been stepped on anywhere, he found that not one of his men
had moved from his place. The front rank was still kneeling, the rear
rank was standing, and they were both as well aligned as they were
before the firing commenced.

After ordering the front rank to rise, and bestowing upon them all a few
hearty words of commendation, the lieutenant marched his men back to the
camp, where they found some of their companions under arms, and the rest
engaged in bringing in the horses and making them fast to the
stable-lines. The animals were in such a state of alarm, and showed so
strong a desire to run off with the retreating buffaloes, that Captain
Clinton thought it advisable to put a strong guard over them for the
rest of the night, with instructions to examine their fastenings every
few minutes. When this guard had been detailed and the sentries had been
changed, the rest of the troopers went back to their blankets.

Bob and George were proud of the part they had acted in saving the camp
from destruction, and consequently when they spread their blankets
beside one of the fires they were somewhat provoked to hear the man who
was piling fresh fuel upon it attribute their narrow escape to "luck."
But still there was nothing very surprising in this, for it not
infrequently happens that a soldier stationed in one end of a camp does
not know what is going