Page:Edward Ellis--Alden the Pony Express Rider.djvu/312

 steadily, but a glance showed that it was moving. It had a rhythmic rise and fall, slight of itself, but distinct, such as is made by a person carrying a lighted lantern as he walks, or possibly by a horseman whose animal is on the same stride.

“I’m like Columbus on the Santa Maria,” thought Alden; “the first light which he saw as he drew near the New World, was carried by a man running along the beach, though it doesn’t seem that any one ever found who the fellow was. I wonder whether Columbus made any attempt to do so.”

It was far more to the point for Alden to learn the meaning of what he saw. It was not to be supposed that an Indian had anything to do with it. Such a performance was contrary to their nature, and to Alden it was none the less remarkable that a member of his own race should be the cause; still it must be one or the other.

With a natural curiosity, the youth held to his course with a view of meeting the one with the torch or lantern. The dipping motion continued, showing that the stranger was either walking or riding a horse.

It was hard to tell how far away a light is