, as they would have had to do in order to
escape the yelling band behind them.

Kit was slightly in advance of the others, and he did not check his
animal in the least. On the contrary, he urged him to his utmost, and
the four sped straight ahead on a dead run, seemingly as if they meant
to charge the entire war party.

Such, however, was not their intention: they shied off as much as they
could, and, throwing themselves forward and over the side of their
horses, ran the terrible gauntlet. No one of the trappers fired a shot,
for if dismounted by the bullets of their enemies, each wished to have
his loaded rifle in hand, with which to make his last defense.

The very audacity of the movement amazed the Indians. By the time they
comprehended what the white men were doing, they were thundering in
front of them. Then the warriors opened fire, and the bullets whistled
about the horses and riders, who kept their steeds to the highest
bent and finally passed beyond danger--their escape one of the most
extraordinary on record.

The Indians did not pursue the hunters, two of whom had been struck by
their bullets, and Carson and his friends drew their horses down to
a more moderate pace. The great scout admitted that he was never more
utterly deceived and entrapped by the red man in all his life. But
he saw in the occurrence a deeper significance than appeared on the
surface. The ambush into which he and his friends had been led was only
a part of the campaign against the entire party, who, weakened by the
absence of Carson and his companions were likely to fall victims to such
a large band of warriors. Trembling with fear for their comrades, they
again forced their animals to a high speed and lost no time in making
their way back to camp. They found everything in good shape, much to
their relief, and were not at all surprised to learn of the visit
that had been made by the savages during the absence of Kit and his
companions.

The wounds of the two trappers who were shot while running the fiery
gauntlet, were found to be of such a serious nature that the party had
not gone far when they were obliged to go into camp again. One of them
especially, was in such a bad way that it was found necessary to carry
him on a litter until the main camp was reached. There he was allowed to
rest and everything possible was done to make him comfortable. When he
had fully recovered, the entire company headed for Old Park, once
famous on a