"Grey, Zane - Betty Zane" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grey Zane)

back of the fort to the top of the bluff. The road lay along the edge of the
cliff and I saw the Major turn and wave his rifle at us, evidently with the
desire of assuring us that he was safe. Suddenly, on the very summit of the
hill, he reined in his horse as if undecided. I knew in an instant what had
happened. The Major had run right into the returning party of Indians, which
had been sent out to intercept our reinforcements. In a moment more we heard
the exultant yells of the savages, and saw them gliding from tree to tree,
slowly lengthening out their line and surrounding the unfortunate Major. They
did not fire a shot. We in the fort were stupefied with horror, and stood
helplessly with our useless guns, watching and waiting for the seemingly
inevitable doom of our comrade. Not so with the Major! Knowing that he was a
marked man by the Indians and feeling that any death was preferable to the
gauntlet, the knife, the stake and torch of the merciless savage, he had
grasped at a desperate chance. He saw his enemies stealthily darting from rock
to tree, and tree to bush, creeping through the brush, and slipping closer and
closer every moment. On three sides were his hated foes and on the remaining
side--the abyss. Without a moment's hesitation the intrepid Major spurred his
horse at the precipice. Never shall I forget that thrilling moment. The three
hundred savages were silent as they realized the Major's intention. Those in
the fort watched with staring eyes. A few bounds and the noble steed reared
high on his hind legs. Outlined by the clear blue sky the magnificent animal
stood for one brief instant, his black mane flying in the wind, his head
thrown up and his front hoofs pawing the air like Marcus Curtius' mailed steed
of old, and then down with a crash, a cloud of dust, and the crackling of pine
limbs. A long yell went up from the Indians below, while those above ran to
the edge of the cliff. With cries of wonder and baffled vengeance they
gesticulated toward the dark ravine into which horse and rider had plunged
rather than wait to meet a more cruel death. The precipice at this point is
over three hundred feet in height, and in places is almost perpendicular. We
believed the Major to be lying crushed and mangled on the rocks. Imagine our
frenzy of Joy when we saw the daring soldier and his horse dash out of the
bushes that skirt the base of the cliff, cross the creek, and come galloping
to the fort in safety."

"It was wonderful! Wonderful!" exclaimed Isaac, his eyes glistening. "No
wonder the Indians call you the 'Flying Chief.'"

"Had the Major not jumped into the clump of pine trees which grow thickly some
thirty feet below the summit he would not now be alive," said Colonel Zane. "I
am certain of that. Nevertheless that does not detract from the courage of his
deed. He had no time to pick out the best place to jump. He simply took his
one chance, and came out all right. That leap will live in the minds of men as
long as yonder bluff stands a monument to McColloch's ride for life."

Alfred had listened with intense interest to the Colonel's recital. When it
ended, although his pulses quickened and his soul expanded with awe and
reverence for the hero of that ride, he sat silent. Alfred honored courage in
a man more than any other quality. He marvelled at the simplicity of these
bordermen who, he thought, took the most wonderful adventures and daring
escapes as a matter of course, a compulsory part of their daily lives. He had