Robert was wondering if by any miracle they could escape the awful peril now almost at their heels. Joseph was bent on escaping the dragon roaring behind them, and somehow he felt that if they could reach the clump of bushes they would be safe. Why he felt this way he could not have explained. They were now within two hundred yards of the bushes, while the fire was not more than twice that distance behind them. The three fugitives were almost exhausted and the fire traveled with at least double the speed that they could make. Consequently the race was an even one.
Neither boy had discarded his rifle. It was almost second nature for a frontiersman to cling to his gun and these two boys were no exception to the rule. Grimly they hung on to their rifles, and stumbling now and then, they still plunged blindly forward. Nearer and nearer they came to the bushes; closer and closer swept the fire. “Can we reach the bushes?” thought Robert, and “Can we escape the dragon?” Joseph kept repeating again and again to himself.
A hundred yards in back of them roared the flames. Scarcely forty yards ahead were the bushes. They were almost enveloped by the smoke and sparks now and it was hard to see clearly. Robert obtained a glimpse of what he took to be a gully just the other side of the bushes. To Joseph’s distorted vision appeared a moat with a castle on the opposite side; a guard stood at the portcullis ready to let it fall. Could he slip through before the dragon seized him?
Just in front of the two brothers was Deerfoot. By words, lost in the roar of the fire, and by gestures he urged the boys on. Their eyes smarted from the smoke and their hearts and lungs seemed to have reached the bursting point, so great was the strain placed upon them. Blindly they staggered forward, their rifles still clutched firmly in their hands. They could see the bushes dimly, only a few steps in front of them now, while the fire seemed almost at their side.
Neither boy knew just why he was striving so hard to reach this row of bushes. What protection could they afford? They were determined to reach this spot, however, and with one last supreme effort they forced their lagging feet forward. They could feel the bushes brush their clothes as they came among them, and then the earth seemed suddenly to give way under their feet and they plunged forward headlong.
After a space of time that might have been minutes, or days for that matter, as far as he at the moment was able to estimate passing time, Joseph opened his eyes, for he had lost consciousness when he fell. He was lying flat on his back while Deerfoot and Robert splashed water in his face.
“Where is the dragon?” he exclaimed, trying to rise.
“What dragon?” asked Robert, smiling at his brother’s remark.
“Why, the dragon that chased us of course.”
“You mean the fire, I guess.”