But Jerry Brime gave them no time to dispute.
"We got to git outen this right smart, 'case that looks like a cloudburst to me. This hyah canyon she'll be ten feet deep in a flood afore yuh knows what's comin' down on yuh. Everybody git yuh duffle, an' foller old Jerry!"
CHAPTER XII
A RACE WITH THE CLOUDBURST
It was a scene of the wildest commotion, as the almost continually flashing lightning depicted. The three boys had it seared on their minds so that they would never forget the thrill of the occasion as long as they lived.
But for that rare forethought and preparedness on the part of Jerry Brime, it would have been many times worse. His arrangements for sudden flight allowed the party to make a move without wasting a single minute of precious time.
The ponies gave them some trouble, for they seemed to sense impending calamity, and were nearly frantic. But by now even the tenderfeet had learned how to manage frightened mounts; and as each one had his own cayuse to lead, once he got a firm grip on tin bridle near the bit it was not a very difficult task.
At least the lightning, coming so incessantly, proved of immense advantage to the party. Frank shuddered to think what dreadful stumbling, with resulting injuries, would have been their portion had they been compelled to make their way down the defile in utter darkness, with those flinty and jagged-edged rocks strewing their path.