, Pierre?"

"Let the beasts go. _Sauve qui peut_!" answered the Canadian.

There was no time to stop and unload the poor brutes. To have done so
would have afforded them a better chance of preserving their lives,
though we must still lose our luggage.

The word was given, the halters by which we had been dragging the
animals on were cast off; and, putting spurs into the flanks of our
steeds, we galloped forward. Our horses seemed to know their danger as
well as we did. I was just thinking of the serious consequences of a
fall, when down came Dick, who was leading just ahead of me with Charley
by his side. His horse had put its foot into a prairie-dog's hole.

"Are you hurt?" I cried out.

"No, no; go on; don't wait for me," he answered. But neither Charley
nor I was inclined to do that.

Dick was soon on his feet again, while we assisted him, in spite of what
he had said, to get up his horse. The animal's leg did not appear to be
strained, and Dick quickly again climbed into the saddle.

"Thank you, my dear boys," he exclaimed, "it must not happen again; I am
a heavy weight for my brute, and, if he comes down, you must go on and
let me shift for myself."

We made no reply, for neither Charley nor I was inclined to desert our
brave friend. The rest of the party had dashed by, scarcely observing
what had taken place, the Indians taking the lead. It was impossible to
calculate how many miles we had gone. Night was coming on, making the
glare to the eastward appear brighter and more terrific. The mules were
still instinctively following us, but we were distancing them fast,
though we could distinguish their shrieks of terror amid the general
uproar.

The hill for which we were making rose up before us, covered, as it
appeared, by shrubs and grasses. It seemed doubtful whether it would
afford us the safety we sought. We could scarcely hope that our horses
would carry us beyond it, for already they were giving signs of becoming
exhausted. We might be preserved by taking up a position in the centre
of the stream, should it be sufficiently shallow to enable us to stand
in it; but that was on the other side of the hill, and the fire might
surround us before we could gain its banks. We could barely see the
dark outline of the hill ahead, the darkness being increased by the
contrast of the lurid flames raging behind us. We dashed across the
more open space, where the grass was for some reason of less hei