OCR Text |
Show 25 marks the spot the captive can gain before the Indians start in pursuit. So there we were at the outboundry. I was riding Emmett, with the other three mules roped alongside. The Indians were about us, chanting an' yelping. Some were on foot, many more rode fleet ponies. An' they were carrying all manner of impliments by which to do me in: hatchets, lances, knives, even rocks. As a brave arched his bow to send the arrow skyward, the chief growled, then motioned to send the arrow in a new direction. I knew the change to be another trick. Well, sir, it was a pretty good race for a while. I did some fancy riding on the mules. As Emmett tired, I shifted over to Sadie, later to Zeke, and later still to Bee. An' all the while keepin' the mules in full stride. But, of course, even with my fancy riding and our three hundred yard head start, we couldn't keep in front of them forever, 'cause a mule can't run as fast as a horse. Too, we did in time discover why the chief had changed the flight of the arrow. We found ourselves starin' over a cliff! |