ail
followed the general direction of the river, but touched it only at
one or two places.

The question was, could she reach the river before the horsemen? Sam
watched them, trying to gauge their rate of progress. The horses had
at least four miles to cover, while the dugout was now within a
mile--but the horses were running.

Sam knew that the trail crossed the river by a ford near the intake
from the lake, because he had come that way. If the horsemen cut off
Bela at the ford what would she do? he wondered. The outlook was bad
for him in either event. He must escape from both parties.

The horsemen passing around the bay became mere specks in the
distance. Reaching the foot of the lake they had to cover a straight
stretch of a mile and a half to the river. The trail lay behind
willows here, and they disappeared from view. It was anybody's race.

Bela, the extraordinary girl, still had a reserve of strength to draw
on. As they gradually came under the influence of the windward shore
the water calmed down and the dugout leaped ahead.

Sam watched her with a cold admiration, speculating endlessly on what
might be going on behind her mask-like face. With all her pluck, what
could she hope to gain? Obviously it would be easier to escape from
her than from three men, and he began to hope she would win.

They caught no further glimpses of the horsemen, and as they drew
closer and closer to the river the tension became acute. Suppose they
arrived simultaneously, thought Sam, would the men shoot?

Not Big Jack nor Shand, perhaps, but Joe was not to be trusted. But
surely they would see he was a prisoner. Something of the kind must
have been passing through Bela's mind. Putting down her paddle for a
moment, she threw back the blankets and drew out her gun. It had been
carefully protected from the water. She laid it on top convenient to
her hand and resumed.

"She's a good plucky one," thought Sam grimly. "As for me, I play a
pretty poor part in this affair, whichever way you look at it. A kind
of dummy figure, it seems."

So low were its shores that the intake of the river was hidden from
them until they were almost in it. Finally it opened up before them,
with its wide reaches of sand stretching away on either hand, willows
backing the sand, and a pine ridge rising behind the willows.

Here the wind whistled harmlessly over their heads, and the surface of
the water was quiet except for the catspaws darting hither