"Indians, aren't they?" asked the lieutenant, braced to the lines. "Yes; and coming like blazes!" That they were. The objects that had resembled turkeys were their feathered heads rising from a ravine. They were fully out now; had dropped their buffalo-robes, and all exposed in the open were tearing for the road. "How many, Cap?" "About thirty." "Oh, dear!" sighed young Lieutenant Hallowell, "I'll never see Lizzie again." "Never mind Lizzie. Let's get ourselves out of here, first." "All right, Cap," replied Lieutenant Hallowell, briskly. "You do the shooting and I'll do the driving." He snatched the whip, slipped from his seat to the very front end of the box; and letting the lines lie lax began to lash and yell. The mules bolted free, twitching the wagon over the ruts. Captain Booth sprawled inside; grabbed the lieutenant's one navy revolver, and with his own two tumbled over the seat and dived to the pucker-hole at the rear end, to fight the Indians off. There were thirty-four of them, racing on up the road at top speed. "How far now, Cap?" called the lieutenant, while he yelled and lashed. "Still coming fast, and getting closer." "Yip! Yip! Gwan with you!" Pretty soon-- "How far now, Cap?" The lieutenant could see nothing, behind, and the Indians had not uttered a sound. "Still coming. 'Most within shooting distance." "Yip! Hi! Yip! Yip!" And--"Whack! Whack!" The captain, sitting upon a cracker-box and peering out through the hole, was tossed from side to side. He could see the Indians very plainly. They were paint-daubed Kiowas, and well mounted--armed with bows and lances and a couple of guns. Their striped faces grinned gleefully as their quirts rose and fell and their heels hammered their ponies' sides. The captain almost believed that he was dreaming a bad dream. But here they were, and how he and the lieutenant were going to escape he did not yet know. "What they doing now, Cap?" "Getting ready--" and he didn't need to report. The two guns of the Indians spoke, the whole band screeched horridly, the bullets passed diagonally through the wagon-cover between the passengers, Lieutenant Hallowell yelled louder and threshed faster, Captain Booth yelled, the mules lengthened a little, the wagon bounced higher, the Indians had reached it, they divided right and left and swooped past on either side while their arrows whisked and thudded, Captain Booth frantically fired his pistol and heard the lieutenant call: "I'm hit, Cap!" He turned quickly. Horrors! Lieutenant Hallowell had an arrow stuck in his head above his right ear! But he was whipping and yelling, regardless. The captain tumbled forward, to help him; grasped hold of the shaft. "Hurt much?" "No. Pull ahead. Hi! Yip! Gwan with you!" Out came the arrow. Its point had lodged only under the skin.