The danger was not past. As the horses swerved and went forward
with the rush Helen knew that a stumble would fling not only her
and the man who had saved her, but also the horse down to death.
They must contrive to hold their own in that deadly rush until a
way could be found of escaping from the path of the living
cyclone that trod at their heels, galloped beside them, in front,
behind.
For it came to her that the horse was tiring in that rush through
the sand with double weight upon its back.
"Courage!" cried the man behind her as her fearful eyes met his.
As he spoke they reached the end of the canyon and firm ground
simultaneously. Helen saw that her rescuer had now a revolver in
his hand, and that he was firing in such a way as to deflect the
leaders to the left. At first the change in course was hardly
perceptible, but presently she noticed that they were getting
closer to the outskirts of the herd, working gradually to the
extreme right, edging inch by inch, ever so warily, toward
safety. Going parallel to their course, running neck and neck
with the cow pony, lumbered a great dun steer. Unconsciously it
blocked every effort of the horseman to escape.
Pages:
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303