"Had we not better fight them here?" I asked, "where we have cover?"
Jim shook his head.
"No," he replied, "we might stand them off, but the country hereabouts is alive with Indians."
"Yes, I see," I replied, "and I suppose if they did not overwhelm us, they would starve us out."
"There is nothing for us to do but to make a running fight of it," said Jim, "if they should cut our trail."
"We will stand no show on the plains," I said, "it is too open."
"I believe that we can outrun them," he said, "our ponies are apt to be in better condition than theirs and then too we are light riders. We will make for the mountains and when we reach them we ought to be safe."
"They are not going to cross the gulch," I said, in a relieved tone, "perhaps they will miss our trail after all."
"It looks to me though as if they were going to strike that place where we killed the antelope," said Jim.
He gave another look at the advancing braves, then he backed down into the gulch.