We're pretty safe of half
an hour's start, and we might get, if we're lucky, near an hour. We
ain't safe yet, Rube, by a long way. It's near thirty miles from
Pepita's to the camp. We've come sixteen of it good--eighteen I
should say; we have got another twelve to the road, and we ain't
safe then. No; our only chance is to come across a hacienda and get
horses. There are a good many scattered about; but it's so dark we
might pass within fifty yards and not see it. There won't be a
streak of daylight till four, and it ain't two yet.'
'Not far off, Seth.' By this time we had got our wind again, and
quickened up into a fast swing; but our work had told on us, and we
couldn't have gone much over seven miles an hour. Several times, as
we went on, we could hear a trampling in the dark, and knew that we
had scared some horses; but though we had a lasso we had brought
with us, we might as well have tried to catch a bird with it. In an
hour we heard the dog again, but it was a long way behind. There
was nothing for it now but hard running, and we were still seven
miles from the road, and even that didn't mean safety. I began to
think we were going to lose the race, after all. In another quarter
of an hour we stopped suddenly.
'Thunder!' said Rube; 'what's that?' Some animal, that had been
lying down, got up just in front of us.
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