And so the attack on the camp was begun at once, and with a fierceness that speedily brought a crisis.
Meanwhile, Brinton Kingsland was going with undiminished speed over the prairie, skimming up the inclines and down the slopes at a break-neck pace, with every nerve of his splendid steed strained to the highest. The rider heard the dull report of the rifles that were fired at him, but the distance was too great to cause alarm, and he did not even hear the singing of the bullets, so wide went they of the mark; but the glance cast over his shoulder showed that he had only two pursuers to fear.
It was easy to compare their speed with his, and less than a half-mile was passed, when all doubt vanished. They had been thrown a hundred paces to the rear and were losing ground every minute.
At the instant of shooting up one of the slopes and disappearing over the crest, Brinton snatched off his cap and swung it over his head, with a joyous shout.
"Hurrah, Jack! they're not in it with you; you can take it more easily now."
Nevertheless, the speed of the pony was maintained for a brief while, until it became certain that his two pursuers had given up the attempt to overtake him, and had gone to wreak their fury on the imperilled teamsters before help could reach them. Then Brinton made Jack drop to a pace which he could continue for hours without fatigue. The youth knew the course to follow to reach the camp at Wounded Knee Creek, and he calculated that he could readily cover the ground in the course of an hour or so.
He was too sensible, however, to imagine that an open and uninterrupted course lay before him. At that time, as the reader well knows, the country in the neighbourhood of the Bad Lands, the reservations and the space between, was overrun with hostiles, as eager as so many jungle tigers to slay settlers, small squads of soldiers, and all white people whom it was safe to attack. He was liable to encounter some of these bands at any moment, and only by continual vigilance could he avoid running into the cunningly laid traps which proved fatal to scores of others.
Now that the burst of excitement was over, and he was riding at a less killing pace, his thoughts went back to the loved ones from whom he had been so strangely separated. His heart became as lead as he reflected that they could hardly have escaped, considering the condition of his father, from the environing perils which covered miles of territory in every direction.
"If I only knew where they were, if alive, I would guide this escort from Wounded Knee to their help——"
What was that? Surely he heard the report of guns from some point in advance. Jack pricked his ears and increased his pace.