, 1890-01-19

three in n breath.
"Darned if / know" said Yerkes. at
was too dark to see clearly, and then
the tarnal cuss sighted me as soon as !
did him and off he started toward the
setting sun like a locomotive. But I've
got his bearings, and I'll catch that
skunk tomorrow or give up COW punch
ing and range riding for good"
The second morning the four were in
the saddle by light and travelling up
stream until a grass overgrown bottom,
interpreted with scrub oak and pecan
trees, was reached.
Here" said Yerkes, "is where l saw
the fellow last night"
"And here" said Dick Pepper, "are
the busters tracks"-at the same time
leaping from his mustang and examining
several large footprints in the muddy
portion of the creek bottom.
oval, that beats me-" remarked Bob
Newhall, the fourth of the party. what
you take them tracks to be, Yerkes? No
such steer as that in the whole kentry as
l knows Of"
"'Tain't no steer, " responded the other.
"Darned if l can size the creature up;
but let's keep after him an Wen o
find out, or I'm no preacher"
Out over the prairie rod the four men,
following as best they could the trail of
this strange animal, but all signs were
soon lost in the sand and gravel, as the
country had now assumed a barren, desc
late appearance, covered with hillocks Of
sand, and almost as fiat as a billiard
table as far as the eye could see. About
noon a speck on the horizon was sighted,
and toward this atom the quartet rode
steadily, gaining rapidly, and very soon
coming so far within range as to outlive
the object.
"That's the fellow an no snakes"
shouted Yerkes, hardly able to curb his
excitement.
Sure enough. There in the distance,
far ahead, was a strange, ungainly OBJ
ject that bore no resemblance to any liv-
ing creature born or bred on this CONT
nent. With n rapid, sidelong, cumber-
some gait he easily kept beyond the
heetest mustangs until darkness almost
hid his ugly form from view; but still
the four horsemen were doing their ut
most 10 catch up, with Yerkes n long ad-
vantage in the lead and evidently deter
AillFh W oOANo NlC u nAti 1T any NOol
or kill his horse. The last his three COM
rades saw of him Yerkes was going at a
240 gait, his long Mexican lariat trailing
behind and his rawboned steed doing his
level best to bring his master alongside
the stranger they were pursuing. The
others SOC gave up and went into n dry
camp amid a bunch of cottonwoods for
a few hours, where they had TO dig in
the sand for water.
AS darkness drew around him poor
Yerkes almost gave up in despair. His
tired mustang protested in n dumb sort
of way against such treatment, but stiY
the biped pushed On, and forced boil
himself and steed to|such extremities
that at last. when darkness had actually
closed in upon the whole fiat plain, the
was no wiser than the day before re-
garding the identity of the creature he
was chasing.
As he slackened his speed to think
over the situation his quarry also re-
duced his gait. A bright moon now
came sailing up from the ocean of sand,
and Just at this m the chase passed
before the great red ball, so hat his form
was clearly outlined against the bright
background.
1.-THE devill' calculated Yerkes. Darn
my skin if l don't believe it's n camel.
Well, if l can't catch him I'll round him
up, anyhow; so here goes"
Making a long detour, he managed
gradually to get beyond the animal and
turned him in his course, so that pretty
coon hath nrtrgttpr aud nItrgttol tYvnrn
travelling directly back over the course
they had come. y But the pace was slow
this time, as the mustang began to show
evident signs OF pegging out, and the
man was very tired and weary, too. OBJ
serving that his game was now resting,
also, or rather nibbling the scant heritage
and drifting slowly eastward, the cow
boy quickly leaped from his seat, re-
moved saddle, blanket and bride, lari-
ated his steed, who commenced grazing
at once, took a good chew of tobacco,
and, resting his head on the saddle,
turned over in n pile of soft, loose sand
and was oon sound asleep.
When he awoke some hours later he
found the noon nearly overhead and his
horse still quietly nibbling the few spears
u biaoo PttpAhS abONo VIC oalh1 SUI.
Nowhere in sight was the strange ami
NAL he had followed. Saddling and
mounting he rode here and there in
search of the brute, but the latter had
vanished without sight, sound or sign to
follow.
Utterly and thoroughly Disguised,
Yerkes started on the back trail, at the
same time muttcring startling exclama-
tions against the strange thing that had
led him a wild goose chase to no purpose
for two days and a night over the plains.
Riding on and on in that still night, not
even a coyote bark or n wolf howl to
break the intense silence, the mar would
talk and reason with his horse upon the
COMPOUNDED ill luck that had befallen
him. Toward morning Venus came sail
ing majestically up from the east. and
the moon, still shining brightly, lit up
the vast plain, rejecting back the spark
ling bits of sand like the water of the
ocean sparkles and dances under her sill
very beams.
Just then a faint noise came floating
from far ahead. Yerkes pulled up in
stantly and both horse and rider bent
their ears to listen. Louder and louder
it grew until the beating of hoofs could