CAPTAIN DAN HENRIE. 435 



the Stream became heavilj timbered, and he knew they would 

 not follow hhn into it for fear they might come upon his 

 friends. 



It was a tremendous race, for the Indians knew the 

 advantage as well as he; and Dan vows that his long curly 

 hair began to straighten and lift his cap on its ends before 

 he reached the point, they pushed him so close and hard. 

 By the skin of his teeth he got by before they surrounded 

 him, and now he says his " hair fell as smooth and sleek as 

 if a pint of bear's grease had been poured over it ;" but not 

 until he had reached up and taken down his cap off the stiff 

 ends to wave as he shouted back at them in derisive triumph, 

 and then darted beneath the shades of the friendly wood. 

 They left him here as he expected ; but as this was most 

 evidently a dangerous neighborhood, he concluded it would 

 be safest not to tarry here but get out of it as fast as possible, 

 for there was no telling what new whim might take these 

 fellows when they had spread around on his trail and found 

 him to be alone ! So away he went through the woods for 

 five or six miles without halting. 



The hurry and necessities of his flight had taken him off 

 his course back to the rendezvous of his companions. He 

 now first discovered this as he emerged from the timber upon 

 the prairie again, and found himself far enough away from 

 the course of the stream. He paused but for a moment, to 

 collect himself and try and get back the true idea of his 

 direction. Thinking he had it, he urged his horse into a 

 swift run again. This was kept up for several hours, until 

 night began to close around him, and his horse to give 

 unmistakable indications that he must have rest before he 

 went much further. He came at last to a small rivulet 

 trickling along a deep, rough cut, and as he supposed, in the 

 direction of the west branch of the Nueces. He had passed 

 the camp far enough, he knew, but this would set him right 

 if he followed it up when daybreak came. So he selected 



