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There was a sudden swift beat of hoofs, and twowarriors galloped almost upon them. Both the warriorsuttered shouts at sight of the fugitives, and fired. Butin the darkness and hurry they missed. Breakstone firedin return, and one of the Indians fell from his pony.Phil was about to fire at the other, but the Comanchemade his pony circle so rapidly that in the faint light hecould not get any kind of aim. Then he saw somethingdark shoot out from the warrior's hand and uncoil in theair. A black, snakelike loop fell over Bill Breakstone'shead, settled down on his shoulders, and was suddenlydrawn taut, as the mustang settled back on his haunches.Bill Breakstone, caught in the lasso, was thrown to theground by the violent jerk, but with the stopping of thehorse came Phil's chance. He fired promptly, and theComanche fell from the saddle. The frightened mustangran away, just as Breakstone staggered dizzily to his feet.Phil seized him by the arm.
"Come, Bill, come!" he cried. "The woods are notthirty yards away!"
"Once more unto the breach, or rather the woods!"exclaimed the half-unconscious man. "Lead on, PrinceHal, and I follow! That's mixed, but I mean well!"
They ran for the protecting woods, Breakstone halfsupported by Phil, and behind them they now heard manycries and the tread of many hoofs. A long, black, snake-like object followed Bill Breakstone, trailing through thegrass and weeds. They had gone half way before Philnoticed it. Then he snatched out his knife and severedthe lasso. It fell quivering, as if it were a live thing, and lay in a wavy line across the grass. But thefugitives were now at the edge of the woods, and BillBreakstone's senses came back to him in full.
"Well done again, Sir Philip of the Knife and theReady Mind," he whispered. "I now owe two lives toyou. I suppose that if I were a cat I would in the endowe you nine. But suppose we turn off here at anangle to the right, and then farther on we'll takeanother angle. I think we're saved. They can't followus on horses in these dense woods, and in all thisdarkness."
They stepped lightly now, but drew their breaths indeep gasps, their hearts throbbing painfully, and theblood pounding in their ears. But they thanked Godagain for the clouds and the moonless, starless sky. Itcould not be long until day, but it would be long enoughto save them.
They went nearly a quarter of a mile to the right, andthen they took another angle, all the while bearing deeperinto the hills. From time to time they heard the warcries of the Comanches coming from different points, evidently signals to one another, but there was no soundof footsteps near them.
"Let's stop and rest a little," said Bill Breakstone."These woods are so thick and there is so muchundergrowth that they cannot penetrate here with horses, and,as they know that at least one of us is armed, they willbe a little wary about coming here on foot. They knowwe'd fight like tigers to save ourselves. 'Thrice armedis he who hath his quarrel just,' and if a man who istrying to save his life hasn't got a just quarrel, I don'tknow who has. Here's a good place."
They had come to a great oak which grew by the sideof
quietly, butthe boy slept placidly on. The incident amused Bill, and, therefore, it was welcome. It broke the monotonyof the long quiet, and, just when he was laughingnoiselessly for the fourth time over the wolf's discomfiture, the bushes moved again. Bill, as before, slipped themuzzle of his rifle farther forward and waited. A slightpungent odor came to his nostrils. The bushes movedmore than before, although without noise, and a greatyellow body came into view. The eyes were green, theclaws sharp and long, and the body lithe and powerful.It was a splendid specimen of the southwestern puma, agreat cat that could pull down a deer. But Bill Breakstonewas still unafraid. He raised the rifle and aimedit at the puma, although he did not press the trigger.
"I can kill you, my friend, with a single bullet," hemurmured, "but the report of that rifle would probablybring the Comanches upon us. Therefore, I will lookyou down."
The puma paused in doubt and indecision, restlesslymoving his tail, and staring with his great green eyes untilthey met the gray eyes of the human creature, lookingdown the sights of the rifle barrel. That steady, steel-like gaze troubled the puma. He was large andpowerful. He could have struck down the man at a singleblow, but the heart within that mass of bone and musclebecame afraid. The green eyes looked fearfully into thegray ones, and at last turned aside. The great beastturned stealthily, and slid into the thicket, at first slowly, and then in a run, as the terror that he could not seecrowded upon his heels.
Bill Breakstone had laughed several times that morning, but now he laughed with a deep unction.
"I'm proud of myself," he murmured. "It's somethingto outlook a panther, but I don't know that I'dhave looked so straight and hard if I hadn't had the rifleready, in case the eyes failed. Now I wonder who orwhat will be the next invader of our premises."