Scouting with Kit Carson

by Everett T. Tomlinson

On and still on fled the pursuer and the pursued. In spite of all his efforts, Reuben steadily dropped behind until, as he estimated the distance, there was at least one hundred yards between him and the pony he was so desirous of capturing.

Again Reuben rose in his stirrups and shouting into the ears of his horse urged it to still greater efforts; and the pony responded nobly. Its sides were heaving now and a sound very like a groan came with every breath. He could see by an occasional glance that the nostrils of his pony were red and dilated. There was no time for mercy, however, and with every forward leap now Reuben shouted into the ears of his horse.

He was wondering why Jack did not appear. He was confident that he had passed more than the number of miles that had been assigned to him in the race, but his friend still was nowhere within sight.

In a brief time, however, riding forth from behind one of the foothills, Jack suddenly appeared. And it was high time for his aid to be given. The poor beast upon which Reuben was mounted was now trembling in every muscle and its strength was so nearly gone that when Reuben halted it was barely able to stand.

Hastily dismounting, as soon as the young trapper was aware that the chase was to be taken up by his friend, Reuben patted the neck of his pony and in low tones spoke soothingly to it. The poor animal was standing with lowered head and with an air of such complete dejection as Reuben thought he never before had seen displayed by any living animal.

His meditations, however, were interrupted by the report of a gun in the distance and the faint sound of a shout that came across the sands. Glancing hastily in the direction from which the hail had come, Reuben saw that soon after his friend had appeared to join in the chase the black horse had swerved in his course and instead of continuing on his way had turned backward and now was directly approaching the place where Reuben was standing.

And still the horse was running easily and apparently without fatigue. To overtake him seemed almost a hopeless undertaking. Again Reuben assured himself that never before had he seen such strength combined with swiftness and grace.

Aware, however, that he must do something now to help, Reuben leaped upon the back of his tired horse and urged it once more to join in the pursuit. A challenging neigh now came from the swiftly running black horse, and almost as if he ignored the puny efforts of his foes to overtake him, the course he was following again was changed and with a sudden burst of speed the animal, like a thunder-bolt, dashed past the place where Reuben was standing.

The young trapper now joined in the shouts and he, too, discharged his gun as a warning to Kit Carson, who was doubtless waiting at the place where he had abandoned the chase. The efforts, however, were useless, as in a brief time once more, swiftly swerving to his left, the black horse dashed into what at first seemed to Reuben to be an unbroken mass of rocks. In an instant the animal had disappeared from sight.

As rapidly as his horse was able to bear him, Reuben rode to the place where the leader had so strangely disappeared. As he came near he discovered a narrow opening or gorge apparently caused by some great crack in the formations centuries before. As Reuben entered the narrow place he saw eight or ten feet below him a stretch of more level land, though it was dotted here and there with stones and boulders.