Page:Edward Ellis--Alden the Pony Express Rider.djvu/263



DICK the pony held his swift gallop for a half mile farther, when he debouched into an open country, similar in many respects to that which he had left behind him. While it could not be called level, it showed no steep inclines and the masses of rocks and heaps of boulders were readily flanked by the superb courser.

The plucky animal let himself out immediately and the admiring Alden still allowed the reins to lie on his neck.

“You need no orders from me, old fellow,” said he; “when the history of the Pony Express is written, more credit should be given to you and your comrades than to some of the men who sat in the saddles.”

The ridge which caused Alden anxiety had been crossed, and now when he looked back he traced the outlines of the vague column of smoke that was slow in dissolving in the 249