"Now, Jack, do your best! There isn't any time to lose, and you are not going to let a miserable redskin outspeed you."
The pony flung up his head, snuffed the air, stretched out his neck, and away he went with arrowy swiftness. He knew what was wanted of him, and was not the one to shirk his duty.
It was at this juncture that the fugitive, going like a whirlwind, turned his head for an instant and glanced back Brinton was watching him, and saw the scowling face glaring like a wild beast through the thicket of flying hair.
"Great heavens! it's Wolf Ear!"
During these exciting minutes the youth had forgotten about the young Ogalalla, until this glimpse of the well-remembered features told him the startling truth. The shock caused him involuntarily to tighten the rein of Jack, and the animal, obedient as he generally was, instantly slackened his pace.
But the hesitation was for a few seconds only. Brinton felt that he ought not to have been surprised after the events of the preceding day and night.
"He deserves death more than any of the rest, for his knowledge has been greater than theirs, and his excuse is less. I'll run him down and make him prisoner."
Again he spoke sharply to Jack and twitched the rein. The noble animal stretched away with the same graceful swiftness he had shown from the first.
But the Ogalalla was cunning. He had seen the Indian pony as it withdrew from the rest and came trotting toward him in a bewildered way, as though not quite understanding what it meant; but if the animal was perplexed, Wolf Ear was not. He read the meaning aright, and saw that one desperate chance remained. If he could hurl himself upon the back of that same steed before the white youth overhauled him, the prospect was good for his ultimate escape.
Brinton comprehended everything as vividly as he, and did not spare Jack. He aimed to interpose himself between Wolf Ear and his pony, and thus prevent their meeting. Every nerve and muscle was strained to accomplish that end.