As the main body continued the direct
course, this little band of the elite, in returning from its wild
exhibition of savage contempt, took its place in the rear, with a
dexterity and a concert of action that showed the manoeuvre had been
contemplated.
Volley swiftly succeeded volley, until the enraged squatter was
reluctantly compelled to abandon the idea of injuring his enemies by
means so feeble. Relinquishing his fruitless attempt, he commenced a
rapid pursuit, occasionally discharging a rifle in order to give the
alarm to the garrison, which he had prudently left under the command
of the redoubtable Esther herself. In this manner the chase was
continued for many minutes, the horsemen gradually gaining on their
pursuers, who maintained the race, however, with an incredible power
of foot.
As the little speck of blue rose against the heavens, like an island
issuing from the deep, the savages occasionally raised a yell of
triumph. But the mists of evening were already gathering along the
whole of the eastern margin of the prairie, and before the band had
made half of the necessary distance, the dim outline of the rock had
melted into the haze of the back ground.
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