THE GUEBRE PRIEST. 
239 
proaching ; he therefore dashed his heels into the flanks 
of his steeds which bounded off like an antelope, and 
was in a few moments at the top of its speed. Every 
object lost all definite outline to the eye of the rider as 
he was carried forward with a sort of winged swiftness 
that rendered him almost breathless. He urged his 
horse up a steep ascent, which the hardy little animal 
seemed to climb with a dexterity equal to its fleetness. 
The horsemen, though left far behind, continued 
the pursuit with unabated perseverance, so that he 
trusted his chance of escape entirely to his horse. 
The mettled Arab bounded up the steep, panting and 
straining ; but it was evident that such exertion 
could not last long, as the Parsee was a heavy 
man, — moreover, the horses of his pursuers being 
much stouter, and their riders lighter, the probability 
of escape seemed every moment to lessen. They 
now gained rapidly upon him, and the certainty of 
capture seemed inevitable, in consequence of the Arab 
stumbling upon a fallen tree and throwing Jumsajee 
with violence over his head. For a moment he was 
stunned; but rising, he remounted with admirable 
agility, urging his steed furiously towards the brink 
of a precipice. 
The armed horsemen were by this time close at his 
heels, and his ear caught the gasping eagerness with 
which they sought to capture him. He heard the pant, 
the strain, and the suppressed snort, so common when 
exertion has almost reached its climax, and exhaustion 
is fast succeeding to the failing efforts of the over- 
wrought muscular energies. Looking behind him, he 
perceived that he had not a moment to lose, and with 
