The Dog Crusoe and His Master - A Story of Adventure in the Western Prairies by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
page 102 of 319 (31%)
page 102 of 319 (31%)
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and Tarwicadia.
Before they were two-thirds of the way back, Dick walked in to the winning-point, and turned to watch the others. Henri's wind was about gone, for he exerted himself with such violence that he wasted half his strength. The Indian, on the contrary, was comparatively fresh, but he was not so fleet as his antagonist, whose tremendous strides carried him over the ground at an incredible pace. On they came neck and neck, till close on the score that marked the winning-point. Here the value of enthusiasm came out strongly in the case of Henri. He _felt_ that he could not gain an inch on Tarwicadia to save his life, but just as he came up he observed the anxious faces of his comrades and the half-sneering countenances of the savages. His heart thumped against his ribs, every muscle thrilled with a gush of conflicting feelings, and he _hurled_ himself over the score like a cannon shot, full six inches ahead of the little chief! But the thing did not by any means end here. Tarwicadia pulled up the instant he had passed. Not so our Canadian. Such a clumsy and colossal frame was not to be checked in a moment. The crowd of Indians opened up to let him pass, but unfortunately a small tent that stood in the way was not so obliging. Into it he went, head foremost, like a shell, carried away the corner post with his shoulder, and brought the whole affair down about his own ears and those of its inmates, among whom were several children and two or three dogs. It required some time to extricate them all from the ruins, but when this was effected it was found that no serious damage had been done to life or limb. |
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