“Come on, Boris!” he cried, but Boris needed no urging and his feet seemed to fly over the ground. For a man of his size his speed was nothing short of remarkable.
Jack reached the row of sleighs well in advance of Boris. Of these conveyances there were four in all. Jack slapped the horses attached to three of the sleighs sharply and they dashed off. The fourth would have followed, but Jack leaped in, seized the reins and checked the animals. Then he waited calmly for Boris, who came rapidly toward him.
Jack still held one of General Surgoff’s revolvers in his right hand, his left being sufficient to hold tight the reins. The lad saw one of the Russian guards stop in his tracks, throw his rifle to his shoulder and take aim at Boris.
Gripping the reins tighter with his left hand, the lad raised his revolver and fired quickly. The man who was aiming at Boris fell to the ground. Panting loudly, Boris now reached the sleigh and jumped in. Immediately Jack fired his revolver over his horses’ heads and shook the reins over their backs.
“Giddap!” he shouted.
It is extremely doubtful if the animals understood Jack, but the reins slapping on their backs and the nearness of the revolver shot did the work. The animals dashed off with a jump.
Now from behind came the command Jack had been expecting. General Surgoff, seeing his victims about to make their escape from beneath his very eyes, shouted:
“Shoot!”
A volley of rifle bullets flew overhead and all about them. But none struck home and the horses continued their mad dash. A second and a third volley came with no better result.
“The fools!” muttered Jack. “Why don’t they shoot one of the horses.”