Page:Three Young Ranchmen.djvu/108

96 "Not far off, I'll warrant ye. Come on."

"Dis yere mustang won't take dat leap," put in Jeff, drawing back.

"And I won't venture it," added Darry. "I don't want to land on my head."

"Cowards!" howled Saul Mangle. "Well, then, there is a trail to the right; take that. Here goes!"

He spoke to his animal, and an instant later rider and mustang went down in a graceful curve. They landed in a bunch of brush, none the worse for the leap.

Darry and Jeff followed by way of the trail. They could hear Allen pushing through the brush not over a hundred yards ahead.

The young man was having a hard time of it. He was going it blindly, and was so faint from want of sleep and something to eat that he could hardly sit up in the saddle.

Yet he realized his peril and clung on desperately, meanwhile, urging the horse and his mate to do their best to place distance between them and their pursuers.

But now the slight trail he was pursuing became rougher, and it was with difficulty that any progress could be made. The horses labored