more distinct; he could see their tops clearly against the sky, and
guessed that dawn was near. How far it was to the reservation he did
not know, but there would be light enough in another hour to see the
men who had carried off the liquor. Then he began to wonder where the
latter were, for there was now no sign of them.

Suddenly, when the wind dropped for a moment, a faint rattle of wheels
reached them from the depths of the wood, and the teamster raised his
hand.

"Pretty close," he said. "Come on as cautious as you can. The
reservation's not far away, and we don't want them to get there much
before us."

They rode a little more slowly; but when the rattle of wheels and thud
of hoofs grew sharply distinct in another lull, the man struck his
horse.

"They've heard us!" he cried. "We've got to run them down!"

George urged his beast, and there was a crackle of brush about him as
the black trees streamed past. The thrill of the pursuit possessed
him; after weeks of patient labor, he felt the exhilaration of the wild
night ride. The trail, he knew, was riddled here and there with gopher
holes and partly grown with brush that might bring his horse down, but
this did not count. He was glad, however, that the teamster was behind
him, because he could see the dim gap ahead between the mass of trees,
and he thought that it was rapidly becoming less shadowy. The sound of
hoofs and wheels was growing louder; they were coming up with the
fugitives.