Thereby his triumph was undone! The gravel which made so good a
footing was, after all, a brittle support and now, under his pounding
hoofs, the whole side of the bank gave way. A squeal of terror broke
from Alcatraz. He swerved sharply in, but it was too late. The very
effort to change direction brought a greater weight upon his rear
hoofs and now they crushed down through flying gravel and sand. He
faced straight in, pawing the yielding bank with his forehoofs and
suspended over the roar of the torrent. It was like striving to climb
a hill of quicksand. The greater his struggle the more swiftly the
treacherous soil melted under his pounding hoofs.
Last of all, he heard a yell of horror from the Great Enemy and saw
the hands of the man go up before his eyes to shut out the sight. Then
Alcatraz pitched back into thin air.
He caught one glimpse of the wildly blowing storm-clouds above him,
then he crashed with stinging force into the water below.
CHAPTER XXV
THE LITTLE SMOKY
Pure madness poured into the brain of Red Perris as he saw the fall.
Here, then was the end of the trail, and that great battle would never
be fought. Groaning he rode to the bank of the stream, mechanically
gathering up the rope as he went.
Pages:
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287