On every such occasion the leader had stopped behind the running drove, watching the man approaching on horseback. Evidently he was suspicious of the danger that was threatening him, as indeed he well might be. Had he ever before been chased by the white men? The question was in Reuben’s mind, as he watched the actions of the departing animal, and the young trapper was convinced that the horse never had been in captivity. His spirits were not broken and his confidence in his own ability apparently was supreme. When the chase had led two or three miles beyond the entrance to the valley, Kit Carson succeeded in turning the flight of the horses he was pursuing. Shouting and brandishing his gun, he rode directly toward the band, and in a moment the leader had changed the course and swung southward. Kit Carson still remained upon the outer flank and once he discharged his rifle, an act which, as Reuben believed, was intended only to frighten the horses. If that had been the hunter’s purpose it was easily achieved, for the speed at which the drove was running quickly increased. At the same time it was equally clear to the leader that he had been unable to shake off the enemy that was pursuing him. Shouting still more loudly and persistently increasing the swiftness of his pursuit, Kit Carson succeeded in steadily pressing the horses to his right and at the same time compelling them to move much more rapidly. Reuben’s excitement increased as the band steadily drew nearer the place where he was awaiting their approach. As yet Kit Carson had not succeeded in separating the black horse from his companions. It was not until the hunter drew near the place where Reuben was hiding that he suddenly, with a renewed shout and a second discharge of his gun, dashed swiftly in between the leader and the drove. Again shouting in his loudest tones, he forced the startled animal southward and at the same time glanced all about him, evidently expecting Reuben to appear. Only a few moments elapsed before Reuben decided that the time had come for him to join in the chase. He dashed forth from behind the sheltering rock and, urging his horse into its swiftest paces, took up the chase as Kit Carson dropped behind. CHAPTER XXII—A WHITE MAN IN THE INDIAN VILLAGE As Reuben dashed forward he speedily discovered that swift as was the pony he was riding it was unable to overtake the wild leader he was following. Indeed, in a brief time it became plain to the young trapper that his own horse was steadily dropping behind.