"I reckon you two had better get anythin' you want off your horses," said
Buck, addressing Tom and Dick, "an' then set the critters loose. They
ain't a mite o' good here, an' they only take up valuable space."
The boys were loath to act on this advice, but they saw the wisdom of it,
and so did as the driver suggested. They knew that the horses, as soon as
released, would make for the ranch, and they had little fear of the
Indians being able to catch them. Accordingly, a few minutes later the
three trusty animals were turned loose, each receiving a smart slap to
start it on its way. They galloped off across the plain, and were soon
lost to sight in the distance.
Meantime the Indians had been keeping up a straggling fire in the
direction of the stage coach, and Bert and the guard set themselves to
the task of silencing it. Lying flat on the ground, and aiming their guns
cautiously around each end of the coach, they fired with sure aim every
time a dusky arm or leg was exposed by their attackers. They were both
crack shots, and their bullets seldom failed to reach their mark.
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