waterside. One beast plunged
in and vanished, more followed, and George, plying his quirt and
shouting, rode in among the diminishing drove. He felt the water
lapping about his boots, and then the horse lost its footing. George
dropped from the saddle and seized a stirrup. For some minutes he
could see a few dark objects about him, but they disappeared, and he
and the horse were swept away down-stream.

He kept hold--the animal was swimming strongly--and after a time a
lurid flash of lightning showed him a black mass of trees close ahead.
They vanished, the succeeding darkness was impenetrable, and the crash
of thunder was deadened by the roar of water. For a moment or two his
head was driven under, but when he got it clear, another dazzling flash
revealed a high bank only a few yards away, and when thick darkness
followed he felt the horse rise to its feet. Then he touched soft
bottom, and a little later scrambled up an almost precipitous slope
with the bridle in his hand and the horse floundering behind him. They
reached the summit, and, stopping among thin timber, it was with strong
relief that he heard Edgar's shout. Shortly afterward the lad
appeared, leading his horse.

"There's some of the drove on this side; I don't see the rest," he
said, glancing toward the opposite bank, where dark trees stood out
against a strong red glare.

"It strikes me we only got across in time."

Then torrential rain broke upon them, and while they stood, unable to
move forward, a cry reached them faintly through the roar of the
deluge. It came again when George answered, and was followed by a
crackling and snapping of underbrush. Then, as a blaze of lightning
filled the bluff with radiance, two men appeared for a moment, leading
their horses among the slender trunks. They were immediately lost to
sight again, but presently they came up, and George recognized Grant by
his voice.

"So you have got through, Lansing," he cried. "I met Constable Flett
on the trail, and, as he told me the river was rising and there was a
big fire west, I figured you must be up against trouble."

He asked a few questions and then resumed:

"As you got the stock started, they'll have swum across; but we can't
round them up until it's light. There's a deserted shack not far off,
and I guess we'll head for it."

The constable agreed; and, mounting when they had got out of the
timber, they rode off through the rain.

CHAPTER VIII