he
furious winds. Nothing could stop its victorious onslaught.

Not only were the old warrior pines that had stood the attacks of
countless storms and bitter winters overcome, but the tenderer children
of the younger growth were devoured and the maiden saplings with them.

"It's grand," exclaimed Jim in wild enthusiasm. "I'm so glad we came.
Wouldn't have missed this for a good deal, I can tell you."

"I don't care for the panorama," I replied. "I should like to have my
money back and go home."

"The horses are beginning to wake up too," said Jim. "They don't like
it."

"That's where they show their good sense," I observed.

They certainly were becoming nervous. At first they regarded the fire
with their heads up and ears pricked forward. Then Piute began to
stampede around the corral, snorting and plunging. I thought that he was
going to rear over the fort.

"He must think that he is a circus horse," laughed Jim. "Whoa, my wild
Arab!"

But the wild Arab was not be cajoled, and Jim had to strong arm him by
the means of a rope. Then he stood trembling, crazy eyed and with
flaming nostrils.

It was indeed a terrible sight as the flames swept down the whole
mountain slope towards our isolated hill. The entire valley was
illuminated with one brilliant glare of flame. However, the fire did not
roll down in one solid wave, the pines stood too isolated for that.

But each pine rose in a single blaze with a swish, a crackle and a roar,
but there were hundreds of them and it was a splendid but awful sight--a
riot of fire and the flying embers were like stars in the smoke.

"We have only a few minutes now," suddenly announced Jim, "quick, get
the saddles."

"What for?" I asked. "We surely can't ride through the fire."

"It's the very luck I was looking for," he exclaimed. "It's our chance
to escape, don't you see?"

We got the saddles and flung them on the ponies, cinching them good and
tight, and then put on the bridles.

"We are going to run for it," I cried in sheer amazement.

"No," said Jim in disgust, "what chance would we have. That fire would
catch us before we got fairly started and I don't trust those Indians
till they have been burned over once. They can scheme as well as we."

"Don't you think they have skipped out before this?" I asked.

"I wouldn't trust 'em to do what any white man might expect. Look out,
Jo, she's coming now."

The embers began to fall all around us, but there was nothing f