comrades, he offered himself as bait, and fled on
the firm ground toward the east.

CHAPTER VIII

THE BUFFALO RING

Henry, feeling some alarm at first over the discovery of his trail, soon
felt elation instead. He was at the very height of his powers. The long
rest on the oasis had restored all his physical vigor. Every nerve and
muscle was flexible and strong, as if made of steel wire. His eye had
never before been so clear, nor his ear so acute, and above all, that
sixth sense, the power of divination almost, which came from a perfect
correlation of the five senses, developed to the utmost degree, was
alive in him. Nothing could stir in the brush without his knowing it,
and, welcoming the pursuit, the spirit of challenge was so strong in him
that he threw back his head and uttered a long, thrilling cry, the note
of defiance, just as the trumpet of the mediaeval knight sang to his
enemy to come to the field of battle.

Then he continued his flight toward the northwest, not too fast, because
he wished his trail to remain warm for the warriors who followed, but
stooping low, lest some wanderers from the main band should see him as
he ran. No answer came to his cry, but he knew well enough that the
Indians had heard it, and he knew, too, that it filled them with rage
because any of the five had been bold enough to defy their full power.

Reaching the crest of one of the low hills in which the region abounded,
he looked toward the southwest and saw the vast maze of the swamp in
which his comrades lay hidden. He had not been able to think of any plan
to turn aside the forces of Red Eagle, but now it came to him suddenly.
He intended when the pursuit ended to be far away from the swamp, and
then he could rejoin the four at some other point.

He reached a brook, leaped it and passed on. He could have followed the
bed of the stream, hiding his trail for a space, but he knew the
pursuers would soon find it again, and after all he did not wish his
trail to be hidden. He laughed a little as he planted his moccasin
purposely in a soft spot in the earth, and noticed the deep imprint he
left. There was no warrior so blind who would not see the trace, and he
sped on, leaving other such marks here and there, and finally sending
forth another thrilling note of defiance that swelled far over the
forest, a cry that was at once an invitation, a challenge and a taunt.
It bade the warriors to use the utmost speed, because they