“Oh no, I guess not,” answered Frank, as he lifted the antelope from the ground and placed it on the saddle before his cousin. “The wagon is no doubt behind some of these hills. Besides, Uncle James won’t be long in hunting us up.”
“I wouldn’t stay alone on the prairie to-night for any thing,” said Archie. “I know it wouldn’t be the first time I have camped out, but then there are no wild Indians in the woods about Lawrence.”
Frank had by this time mounted his horse, and together they set out at a rapid gallop to find the wagon. The mountain which Dick had pointed out the night before was plainly visible, and the boys determined to travel toward it with all possible speed, in hopes that they would overtake their friends before they halted for the night. Frank thought the wagon could not be far off, and every hill they mounted he gazed about him as if fully expecting to discover it; but, after riding an hour without seeing any signs of it, he began to be a good deal of his cousin’s opinion, that they were lost. But he made no remark, for he knew that a good deal depended upon keeping up Archie’s courage.
“We have not been gone from the wagon three hours,” said he, “and they haven’t had time to get very far away from us. We’ll find them behind some of these swells. Perhaps we’ll be in time to give them a piece of our antelope for dinner.”
Archie made no reply, for he derived no encouragement from this; but he silently followed his cousin, who led the way at a rapid gallop, riding over this swell, and turning round that, as though he was perfectly familiar with the ground over which they were traveling. For two long hours they kept on in this way, almost without speaking, each time they mounted a hill straining their eyes in every direction, in the hope of discovering the wagon. Sometimes they were almost certain they saw its white cover in the distance; but upon taking a second look, it proved to have been merely a creation of their imagination; and Frank began to be discouraged. To add to their discomfort, the heat was almost intolerable, and they began to be tortured with thirst. Their animals also appeared to be suffering, for they paid less attention to the spur, and were constantly jerking at the reins, and endeavoring to go in a direction almost contrary to that which the boys desired. The hours seemed lengthened into ages, and at three o’clock in the afternoon they had seen no signs of the wagon, and the mountains appeared to be as far off as ever.
“There’s no use talking,” said Archie, at length, reining in his horse, “I can’t stand this any longer, I’m so thirsty.”
“But what else can we do?” asked Frank, in a husky voice, for his tongue was so parched that he could scarcely talk plainly. “We can’t find our friends, or water either, by staying here. We must go on.”
As he spoke, he again spurred his horse into a gallop, Archie, as before, following after him, now and then looking down at the antelope, which lay across his saddle—and which he considered to be the cause of all their trouble—as though he heartily wished him safe among the others of the herd. Two miles more were passed, but still no signs of water. The idea of finding the wagon had now given away to a desire to discover some stream where they might quench their thirst, which was becoming almost unbearable. But the dry, parched prairie stretched away on each side of them, while in front loomed the mountains, apparently as distant as when they started in the morning. Their horses grew more and more restive. Upon applying the spur, they would gallop for a few yards, and then settle down into a slow walk, turning their heads and pulling at the reins as if anxious to go in a contrary direction. This set Frank to thinking. He had often read of the remarkable sagacity sometimes displayed by the horse—how the animal had been known to carry his lost rider safely into the midst of his friends—and, turning to his cousin, he exclaimed:
“Archie, I’m going to let Pete take his own course. Both the horses want to go back, so let’s see where they will take us to. We can’t be in a much worse fix than we are now.”
As he spoke, he threw the reins on his horse’s neck, and the animal, finding himself at liberty, at once turned, and, pricking up his ears, galloped off exactly at right angles with the course they had been pursuing. Archie, too dispirited to raise any objections, followed his cousin’s example, and the old buffalo hunter, which, during the last two hours, had traveled with his head down, as if scarcely able to take another step, snuffed the air and bounded off at a rapid pace. For an hour the animals tore along at a tremendous rate; but discovering no signs of the wagon, Frank was rapidly losing faith in the sagacity of his horse, when, as they came suddenly around the base of a swell, they found before them a long line of willows. Toward this the animals made their way with increased speed, carrying their riders through the trees into a stream of clear, running water.