"Move further down the bank!" called Brinton in a guarded undertone; "quick! don't stop to ask why, but do as I say!"
The parents obeyed, and a minute or two was sufficient to take them out of range.
"Follow them, Jack, and move lively!"
The pony obeyed, and he too passed beyond danger for the time.
The darkness was too deep for the persons on either bank to discern the others across the stream. The hostiles kept up their firing, in a blind way, hoping that some of their shots might reach the fugitives. Brinton had lain down on the shore, so as to decrease the danger of being struck by any of the stray bullets. He could tell where the others were by the flash of their guns, but deemed it best not to fire for the present, through fear of betraying his own position.
The dropping shots continued for a few minutes, and then suddenly stopped. It was impossible to tell in the gloom what his enemies were doing, but he suspected the truth: they were preparing to ford the river, with a view of bringing the combatants to close quarters.
Peering intently into the night, he made out the faint outline of a horseman feeling his way across, and did not doubt that others were close behind him. This must be a particularly favourable ford, else the hostiles would try some other, if they knew of any in the immediate vicinity.
It was necessary to check this advance, if he expected to save the dear ones with him. The moment, therefore, he made sure of the object approaching, he sighted as best he could and blazed away, instantly shifting his own position, to escape the return shot which he knew would be quick in coming.
It was well he did so, for the flash and report of several rifles and the whistling of the bullets told of the peril escaped by a very narrow chance.
There was no reason to believe that his own shot had been fatal, for there was no outcry, nor did the listening ear detect any splash in the water, such as marked his first essays when in mid-stream; but he had accomplished that which he sought—he had checked the advance, which otherwise must have been fatal to him and his companions. The form of the horseman disappeared in the gloom. He had returned to the shore whence he came, and it was safe to conclude that he would not soon repeat the attempt.