“Sure thing,” added Frank; “why, even as it is, we hold our own with the bay; and he was fresh to start with.”
This gave Bob more or less consolation. Anything that stamped his pet as a horse of unusual quality, was sure to give him pleasure.
“I’ve lost ’em, Frank!” he called out, some little time later, after he had been straining his eyes to the limit in the endeavor to make out the moving figures ahead.
“And I expect to very soon now,” his chum answered, bending forward in the saddle while speaking, as though he dared not remove his gaze for even one second from the dimly-seen objects beyond.
“Gone!” called Mr. Riley, still ahead of the others.
None of them drew up. Frank believed he could still see the fugitives. One of them happened to be mounted on a gray horse, and this moving object held in view even after the darker animal had been blotted out.
Presently, however, even Frank was compelled to admit that he could not positively say he could see anything.
He and Mr. Riley exchanged occasional remarks concerning the course. Both of them had taken their bearings by means of the heavens. The rising wind was also a guide, for it struck them full in the face; though for that matter it might not be wholly depended on, since it was liable to whip around to some other point of the compass.
Bob was riding a little way behind the others. Truth to tell, the Kentucky boy had reached a point where he was compelled to confess, to himself of course, that he was feeling rather tired.
The day had been very hot, and some of their riding of an arduous character, particularly the mountain-climbing part. Still, Bob was possessed of a very determined nature, and would not easily give in. When he felt a pain shoot through any portion of his body, he shut his teeth harder, and took himself to task.