to be off.

They crossed the creek at a place where the stones came almost to the
surface, since nothing is more detrimental to the speed of a horse than
a plunge in cold water, and with the hoofbeats of the posse growing
up behind they cantered off again a little cast of north, straight for
Caswell City.

There was little work for Black Bart in such country as this, for there
was rarely a rise of ground over which a man on horseback could not
look, and the surface was race-track fast. Once Satan knew the direction
there was nothing for it but to sit the saddle and let him work, and he
fell into his long-distance gait. It was a smart pace for any ordinary
animal to follow through half a day's journey, and Barry knew with
perfect certainty that there was not the slightest chance of even the
fresh horses behind him wearing down Satan before night; but to his
astonishment the trailers rode as if they had limitless horseflesh at
their command. Perhaps they were unaware of the running that was still
in Satan, so Barry sent the stallion on at a free gallop that shunted
the sagebrush past him in a dizzy whirl.

A mile of this, but when he looked back the posse were even closer. They
were riding still with the spur! It was madness, but it was not his part
to worry for them, and it was necessary that he maintain at least this
interval, so he leaned a little forward to cut the wind more easily, and
Satan leaped into a faster pace. He had several distinct advantages
over the mounts of the posse. At their customary rolling lope they will
travel all day with hardly a break, but they have neither the size nor
the length of leg for sustained bursts of speed. Moreover, most of
the cowponies who now raced on the trail of Satan carried riders who
outweighed Barry by twenty pounds and in addition to this they were
burdened by saddles made ponderously to stand the strain of roping
cattle, whereas Barry's specially made saddle was hardly half that
weight. Perhaps more than all this, the cowponies rode by compulsion,
urged with sharp spurs, checked and guided by the jaw-breaking curb,
whereas Satan frolicked along at his own will, or at least at the will
of a master which was one with his. No heavy bit worried his mouth, no
pointed steel tormented his flanks. He had only one handicap--the weight
of his rider, and that weight was balanced and distributed with the care
of a perfect horseman.

With all this in mind it was hardly wonderful t