Avon Burnet was thunderstruck. When he supposed he was several miles from the cabin of his uncle, he found himself directly in front of it, and the Indian horse, upon which he relied to take him to the camp of the cattlemen, had brought him to what might be called the mouth of the lion’s .  
Not only had the precious minutes been thrown away, but his was of the most desperate nature.
 
Hardly had the halted, when a couple of figures to view in the darkness on the left, and one of them called to him in Comanche. This told the youth that his identity was unsuspected by the red men, whose view was too indistinct to distinguish him from one of their own number. But they were coming toward him, and his broad 103sombrero must reveal the truth the next instant.
 
Not a second was to be lost. They were almost upon him, when he wheeled and urged his mustang to a dead run, throwing himself forward at the same moment, in the usual way, to avoid the bullets that would be whistling about him before he could pass beyond reach.
 
But the steed got the in him at this moment. He must have understood the treachery demanded of him, for instead of dashing off, as was expected, he spitefully flung his head from side to side and reared, with his fore-legs high from the ground.
 
Had Avon been on the open prairie, with time at his command, he would have conquered the beast, as he had done many a time with others, but he could not do so now. There was not the twinkling of an eye at his disposal.
 
The mustang was still rearing and pawing the air, when Avon whisked over his shoulder, like a skilled , landing nimbly on his feet, and breaking into a dead run 104toward the cattle camp five miles away. His action, as well as that of his horse, made known the astonishing truth to the approaching Comanches.
 
Several warning broke the stillness, and it seemed to the that half the Indians were in pursuit of him. He glanced back and was not a little surprised to observe that all were on foot. The pony which had just been freed must have concluded to enjoy his liberty while the chance was his, for, instead of going to his master, he whinnying in another direction.
 
But all of these men had mustangs, which, as has been said, were among the finest of their species, and they were likely to take part in the singular contest.
 
If the chase should retain its present character the young man had hope, for he was one of the fleetest of Texans, who had never met his superior among the veterans of the plains. The Comanches are also wonderfully active on foot, and it remained to be whether they could overtake him in a fair contest.
 
Avon Burnet ran as never before. He was 105speeding now for his own life as well as for that of his friends, for they were in as urgent need of help as ever. He knew his face was toward camp, he remembered the nature of the ground, and had no fear, therefore, of stumbling into any .
 
Accustomed as the Comanches were to running, they must have been surprised at the burst of speed shown by the young man, who seemed to be going over the plain like the wind.
 
As he ran Avon cast glances over his shoulder, and his heart when he saw that he was drawing away from the four figures which seemed to have sprung from the ground itself.
 
“Keep it up, boys,” he muttered, “and see where you land. If you can down me in this style, you are welcome.”
 
But it was not to be expected that the pursuers would content themselves while the swift-footed youth left them out of sight. The moment they saw that such an issue was likely, they would resort to their rifles, and there could be no question of their skill with those weapons, which they had been accustomed to use from the hour they were strong enough to hold one of them.
 
There must have been some urgent wish on the part of the red men to capture the youth, else they would have appealed to their guns at first. The rearing mustang served as a partial shield to the fugitive, until he was fairly under way and had secured a start of several rods, in fact being almost invis............