The animal dashed forward at a break-neck pace.

Stacy headed straight for the glowing pit, yelling with every leap of the pony.

Tad gazed spellbound.  He seemed powerless to move.  He had been deeply affected by the scenes he had seen; but this was different.  The lad held his breath.

Reaching the edge of the pit, Stacy’s pony rose in the air, clearing the bed of coals in a long, curving leap.

Two red men had just risen from their fiery bath.  The hind hoofs of the pony caught and bowled them over.

“Run to the camp and get help!  Take my pony!  Ride for your life!  Don’t lose a second!” gasped Tad, giving the lazy Mexican a shove that sent him stumbling until he had measured his length upon the ground.

Juan picked himself up slowly; and, crawling away into the bushes, lay down to rest or hide.

Stacy’s pony landed fairly in the center of a bunch of half-clothed savages; some of whom went down under the pony when it landed on them so unexpectedly.

The next instant the fat boy had been jerked from the animal’s back, to which he was clinging desperately.

With a yell the redskins hurled him toward the fire.  But the force of the throw had not been quite strong enough.  Stacy landed on the edge of the pit, rolling half into it, the upper part of his body being on the ground to which he was hanging, yelling lustily.  His shod feet were in the fire, however, but as yet he did not realize that his clothes were burning.

Tad Butler sprang quickly from his hiding place.

“Crawl out!” he roared.  “You’ll be burned alive!”

“I—­ I can’t.  I fell in,” piped Stacy, all his bravery gone now.

Tad leaped across the intervening space and bounded to the side of his companion.

“Ouch!  I’m on fire!” shrieked Stacy.

Tad grabbed and hauled him from his dangerous position.  One of Tad’s feet slipped in while he was doing so.  By this time the clothes of both lads had begun to smoulder.

“Run for it!  Better be burned than scalped!” shouted Tad.

Holding to Chunky’s arm the Pony Rider Boy started to run.  He was tripped by a moccasined foot before they had gone ten feet.  Both boys fell headlong.  Ere they could rise half a dozen mad savages were upon them.

The lads were jerked roughly to their feet, Chunky shivering, Tad pale but resolute.  There was nothing that he could say or do to repair the damage that his companion had done.

One whom the lad took to be a chief, from his head-dress and commanding appearance, pushed his way into the crowd about the two boys, hurling the red men aside with reckless sweeps of his powerful arms.

“Ugh!” he grunted, folding his arms and gazing sternly at the two prisoners.

“Who you?”

Tad explained as best he could.

“Why you do this?”

“My friend here got excited,” Tad declared.