Tad dug in the spurs.
At that instant the fat boy's hands had been removed from Tad, to whose body they had been clinging.
The pony leaped forward, and Stacy slid over its rump, hitting the ground with a jolt that jarred him.
"Wow!" howled Stacy.
Tad, instantly divining what had happened, pulled up sharply; wheeled and raced back to where his companion was still complaining loudly and rubbing his body.
"Get up!" roared Tad, leaning over and grasping Stacy by the hair of his head.
The fat boy was jerked sharply to his feet.
"Quick! Quick, climb up here!"
With the help of his companion, the lad scrambled up behind Tad again, muttering and rubbing himself.
By this time the leading horseman had wholly outdistanced them, and his pony was now loping along easily, while the second Indian appeared to be riding directly toward them, at right angles to the direction in which they were traveling.