He was cutting down the bank of the river which had nearly seen his death a few moments before, striving to slip past the left flank of Hervey’s men, and now the foreman, yelling his orders, changed his line of battle, and the cowpunchers swung to the left to drive Alcatraz into the very river.  The change of direction unsettled their aim.  It is hard at best to shoot from the back of a running horse at an object in swift motion; it is next to impossible when sharp orders are being rattled forth.  They fired as they galloped, but their shots flew wild.

In the meantime, they were closing the gap between them and the river bank to shut off Alcatraz, but for every foot they covered the chestnut covered two, it seemed.  He drove like a red lightning bolt, with the rider flattened on his back, shaking his fist back at the pursuers.

“Pull up!” shouted Lew Hervey, in sudden realization that Alcatraz would slip through the trap.  “Pull up!  And shoot for Perris!  Pull up!”

They obeyed, wrenching their horses to a halt, and as they drew them up, Red Jim, with a yell of triumph, straightened on the back of the flying horse and waved back to them.  The next instant his shout of defiance was cut short by the bark of three rifles, as Hervey and Shorty and Little Joe, having halted their horses, pitched their guns to their shoulders and let blaze after the fugitive.  There was a sting along the shoulder of Perris as though a red hot knife had slashed him; a bullet had grazed the skin.

Ah, but they would have a hard target to strike, from now on!  The trick which Alcatraz had learned in his own flights from the hunters he now brought back into play.  He began to swerve from side to side as he raced.

Another volley roared from the cursing cowpunchers behind them, but every bullet flew wide as the chestnut swerved.

“Damn him!” yelled Lew Hervey.  “Has the hoss put the charm on the hide of that skunk, too?”

For in the fleeing form of Red Perris he saw all his hopes eluding his grasp.  With Red Jim escaped and his promise to the rancher unfulfilled, what would become of his permanent hold on Oliver Jordan?  Ay, and Red Jim, once more in safety and mounted on that matchless horse, would swoop down on the Valley of the Eagles and strike to kill, again, again, and again!

No wonder there was an agony shrill in the voice of the foreman as he shouted:  “Once more!”

Up went the shining barrels of the rifles, followed the swerving form of the horseman for a moment, and then, steadied to straight, gleaming lines, they fired at the same instant, as though in obedience to an unspoken order.

And the form of Red Perris was knocked forward on the back of Alcatraz!

Some place in his body one of those bullets had struck.  They saw him slide far to one side.  They saw, while they shouted in triumph, that Alcatraz instinctively shortened his pace to keep his slipping burden from falling.