CHAPTER XV
SAFE IN THE TIMBER
That five minutes seemed a terribly long time to Roger. He could hear the oncoming herd close at hand now, so that stragglers began to pass them by on either side, and this fact gave new alarm. What if one of the buffalo chose to turn and gore the nearest horse with its wicked horns? Even though only a wound followed, it would mean a spill, and that would be the same as the end of it all.
But evidently the frightened animals had all they wanted to do in looking out for their own affairs. Perhaps they considered the running horses, with those queer bunches on their backs, only in the light of some singular fellow animals, seeking safety in flight. Roger had heard it said that, when a fire chased over these vast prairies, all manner of wild animals—deer, wolves, and buffaloes—ran side by side, only concerned in making their escape. He had heard his father read out of the Bible about the time when the lion and the lamb would lie down together, and he guessed that it would be something like this universal fear that must bring it about.
The trees began to loom up ahead, and both lads began to feel a new concern with regard to how they could manage, first of all, to pass in among the sheltering timber, so as to avoid meeting with an accident; and then, after this had been accomplished, escape being crushed in the dense mass of buffaloes that would be surging forward, bent on finding a haven from the pelting rain.
“Be careful now, Roger!” shouted Dick, as they passed the first outlying tree.
It required considerable control over the laboring horses to keep from colliding with the obstacles that began to be strewn across their path; but by degrees the boys managed to regain control over their steeds, which were almost winded, on account of their long run; and after that it was not so difficult.
Sure enough, the river proved to be close at hand, and, finding that there was an open stretch of beach bordering it, Dick led the way along this, his object being to reach a point as far up-stream as possible, so as to get beyond the range of the buffalo herd.
Now their horses were floundering knee-deep in the water, and again running along the shore; but all the while making progress, and that satisfied the two lads.
“That was as close a shave as we ever had, Dick!” called out Roger, who was in the rear, quite content for once to let his cousin do the leading, for he was still quivering with the recent excitement, and could hardly believe that they had come out of it with whole skins.