A STRANGE DELIVERANCE. 223

looking downward, he perceived me, and, stretching
himself, sprang out into the channel. The next
moment I held him by the bridle. There was no
time to be lost; I was still going down, and my
arm-pits were fast nearing the surface of the quick-
sand. I caught the lariat, and, passing it under
the saddle-girths, fastened it in a knot, tight and
firm. J then looped the trailing end, making it
secure around my body. I had left enough of the
rope between the bit-ring and the girths to enable
me to check and guide the animal, in case the drag
upon my body should be too painful.

‘All this while the dumb brute seemed to compre-
hend what I was about. He knew, too, the nature
of the ground on which he stood; for, during the
operation, he kept lifting his feet alternately, to
prevent himself from sinking. My arrangements
were at length completed, and, with a feeling of
terrible anxiety, I gave my horse the signal to
move forward. Instead of going off with a start,
the intelligent creature stepped away slowly, as
though he understood my situation. The lariat
tightened; I felt my body moving, and the next
moment experienced a wild delight, a feeling I
cannot describe, as I found myself dragged out of
the sand. I sprang to my feet with a shout of joy.
I rushed up to my steed, and throwing my arms
around his neck, embraced him with delight. He