I'm not hurt," said the girl
reassuringly, as her father ran towards her with a look
of anguish on his face. "You just came in the nick of
time; they were going to ambush you. Don't let the horses
go too near the corral, as they will be stampeded again.
A dead bear is lying there."

In a few minutes she had told her father what had occurred,
and he had explained the delay. It had been as the two
rebels had said. The horses had gone off the trail into
a deep snowdrift, and it had required a great deal of
hard work to get them out. They had not heard the shot
which Dorothy had fired at the bear, for the very sufficient
reason that two bluffs intervened, and the fairly strong
chinook wind carried away all sound. They had not thought
there was any reason to be apprehensive about her, but
they had worked toilsomely to get back. Bastien had proved
a pleasant surprise in this respect--he had, doubtless,
by no means incorrect views regarding Riel's powers of
pursuit and revenge. That the two rebels should have come
back, and that a bear--a sure harbinger of spring--should
have made itself so intrusive were contingencies the
party could hardly have foreseen. As it was, Dorothy,
save for the fright, was little the worse for the rough
handling she had received, so they resolved to proceed
on their way in about an hour's time, when certain
necessary duties had been fulfilled.

Before the ruddy sun began to go down behind the
pine-crested bluffs and far-stretching sea of white-robed
prairie in a fairy cloudland of crimson and gold and
keenest blue, the horses were hitched up into the sleighs,
and the fugitives were bowling merrily up the valley so
as to strike the main trail before nightfall.

CHAPTER XVI

THE FATE OF SERGEANT PASMORE

When Sergeant Pasmore was left in the dug-out, or, to
explain more fully, the hut built into the side of a
hill, he sat down in the semi-darkness and calmly reviewed
the situation. It was plain enough.

He was a prisoner, and would be shot within twelve hours;
but Douglas and Dorothy were probably now safe, and well
on their way to friends. This, at least, was a comforting
reflection.

He heard the talking of the breeds at the door; then he
saw it open, and one looked in upon him with his rifle
resting upon his chest. These were two of the sober crowd.
There was no getting away from them. The leaders of the
rebels probably by this time knew they had a prisoner,
and if he were no