Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 271: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Sunset Ranch. 259 silence with which their enemies followed at their heels. They must know they were gaining all this while, and such a triumph ought to fill them with a wild exultation that would seek an outlet in vociferous shouts. Could it be they were conscious of the fact that such an outburst would only whip the fugitives into greater exertions? At any rate, Karl thought it very odd. | Just when a retreat, in which they could find refuge, was most needed, it persisted in remaining out of sight—at least, Karl began to feel something like despair creep over him, as the miles flew by without such a discovery. He knew the pursuers would not fire upon them unless provoked beyond all endurance, for the pres- ence of Polly granted them this insurance—Polly, who represented something of value in the eyes of their leaders, though Karl himself did not pretend to understand what it meant. , After all, it was the keen hawklike eyes of the Indian boy that lighted upon a promising place of refuge. A few quick sentences, and he had drawn Karl’s attention to the spot. It offered a promising asylum to the weary fugi- tives, and could apparently withstand a most vig- orous assault. So their course swerved to the right a little, and they bore down upon the fort. Upon their arrival they found the place even bet- ter situated than they had dreamed of in their most sanguine moments. Nature had perfected a freak, piling the rocks in a rampart around a little basin not more than thirty feet across, and leaving just one opening through which the horses could press. Comnicloooks.€©