Aware of this danger Ned himself, nevertheless, was unable to tell
whether the horse was going in a direct course, and he let him have his
head.
"Crack!" went a musket, and a bullet sang past Ned's face. It grazed Old
Jack's ear, drawing blood. The horse uttered an angry snort and fairly
leaped forward. Ned looked back again. Another man had succeeded in
loading his musket and was about to fire. Then the boy remembered the
pistol at his belt. Snatching it out he fired at the fellow with the
loaded musket.
The Mexican reeled forward on his horse's neck and his weapon dropped to
the ground. Whether the man himself fell also Ned never knew, because he
quickly thrust the pistol back in his belt and once more was looking
straight ahead. Now confidence swelled again in his heart. He had
escaped all their bullets so far, and he was still gaining. He would
escape all the others and he would continue to gain.
He saw just ahead of him one of the clumps of trees that dotted the
plain, but, although it might give momentary protection from the bullets
he was afraid to gallop into it, lest he be swept from his horse's back
by the boughs or bushes. But his direct course would run close to the
left side of it, and once more he sought to urge Old Jack to greater
speed.
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