ilty. They rode in great and breathless haste,--a haste
in which, strangely enough, even the captives seemed to join. That
haste possibly prevented them from noticing the singular change which
had taken place in the second captive since the episode of the kiss.
His high color remained, as if it had burned through his mask of
indifference; his eyes were quick, alert, and keen, his mouth half
open as if the girl's kiss still lingered there. And that haste had
made them careless, for the horse of the man who led him slipped in
a gopher-hole, rolled over, unseated his rider, and even dragged the
bound and helpless second captive from Judge Boompointer's favorite
mare. In an instant they were all on their feet again, but in that
supreme moment the second captive felt the cords which bound his arms
had slipped to his wrists. By keeping his elbows to his sides, and
obliging the others to help him mount, it escaped their notice. By
riding close to his captors, and keeping in the crush of the throng,
he further concealed the accident, slowly working his hands downwards
out of his bonds. Their way lay through a sylvan wilderness, mid-leg
deep in ferns, whose tall fronds brushed their horses' sides in their
furious gallop and concealed the flapping of the captive's loosened
cords. The peaceful vista, more suggestive of the offerings of nymph
and shepherd than of human sacrifice, was in a strange contrast to
this whirlwind rush of stern, armed men. The westering sun pierced
the subdued light and the tremor of leaves with yellow lances; birds
started into song on blue and dove-like wings, and on either side of
the trail of this vengeful storm could be heard the murmur of hidden
and tranquil waters. In a few moments they would be on the open ridge,
whence sloped the common turnpike to "Sawyer's," a mile away. It
was the custom of returning cavalcades to take this hill at headlong
speed, with shouts and cries that heralded their coming. They withheld
the latter that day, as inconsistent with their dignity; but, emerging
from the wood, swept silently like an avalanche down the slope. They
were well under way, looking only to their horses, when the second
captive slipped his right arm from the bonds and succeeded in grasping
the reins that lay trailing on the horse's neck. A sudden _vaquero_
jerk, which the well-trained animal understood, threw him on his
haunches with his forelegs firmly planted on the slope. The rest of
the cavalcade s