. He allowed ten minutes for the dressing of Mukoki's wound. Every
second gained from then on would be priceless. For a quarter of an hour
he kept his eyes with ceaseless vigilance upon their back trail. Surely
the Woongas had secured their snow-shoes by this time! Was it possible
that they had given up the pursuit--that their terrible experience in
the dip had made them afraid of further battle? Rod answered this
question in the negative. He was sure that the Woongas knew that Wabi
was the son of the factor of Wabinosh House. Therefore they would make
every effort to recapture him, even though they had to follow far and a
dozen lives were lost before that feat was accomplished.

A movement in the snow across the valley caught Rod's eyes. He
straightened himself, and his breath came quickly. Two figures had
appeared in the open. Another followed close behind, and after that
there came others, until the waiting youth had counted sixteen. They
were all on snow-shoes, following swiftly over the trail of the
fugitives.

The young hunter looked at his watch again. Twenty-five minutes had
passed. Mukoki and Wabigoon had secured a good start. If he could only
hold the outlaws in the valley for a quarter of an hour more--just
fifteen short minutes--they would almost have reached the entrance into
the chasm.

Alone, with his own life and those of his comrades depending upon him,
the boy was cool. There was no tremble in his hands to destroy the
accuracy of his rifle-fire, no blurring excitement or fear in his brain
to trouble his judgment of distance and range. He made up his mind that
he would not fire until they had come within four hundred yards. Between
that distance and three hundred he was sure he could drop at least one
or two of them.

He measured his range by a jackpine stub, and when two of the Woongas
had reached and passed that stub he fired. He saw the snow thrown up six
feet in front of the leader. He fired again, and again, and one of the
shots, a little high, struck the second outlaw. The leader had darted
back to the shelter of the stub and Rod sent another bullet whizzing
past his ears. His fifth he turned into the main body of the pursuers,
and then, catching up Wabi's rifle, he poured a hail of five bullets
among them in as many seconds.

The effect was instantaneous. The outlaws scattered in retreat and Rod
saw that a second figure was lying motionless in the snow. He began to
reload his rifles and by