An
hour later it might be washed away, but now it made a strong bank
with the current skimming above the surface. On this the stallion had
struck, and whirling with the current he faced towards the source of
the valley and looked into the volleying waters. Here, surely, was a
sight to make a weakling tremble. But to the astonishment of Perris,
he saw the head of the stallion raised, and the next moment the
thunder of his neigh rang high above the voices of the river, as
though he bade defiance to his destroyer, as though he called on the
God of Gods to bear witness that he died without fear.
"By the Eternal!" breathed Red Perris, smitten with awe, and the next
instant, the ground giving way beneath him, Alcatraz was bowled over
and over, only to come up again farther down the stream.
He turned his head. Far away he made out a line of horsemen--grey,
ghostly figures miles away. Hervey was keeping to his word, then.
But the thought of his own danger did not hold Red Jim Perris for a
moment. Down there in the thundering water Alcatraz was dying!
The heart of Red Perris went out to the dauntless chestnut. He spurred
down the bank until he was even with the struggler.
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