Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1892-08-20


young Irish groom remarked with .
grin) ''the fun began in earnest"
In an instant all four feet Of tho
sorrel were OF the ground, and there
followed series of capers such as
none of the spectators had ever seen
before. She reared up on her hind
legs till every one thought she must
fall backward and crush her rider be-
meath her. She put her head down
between her fore legs and dashed out
behind till she made all the lockers
on jump aside like galvanized frogs.
She went through a series of "buck-
jumps" worthy of genuine Aus
tralian, and performed half dozen
antics, one worse than another, which
las one of the spectators admiringly
remarked-'.would have taken the
shine out of a drunken grasshOpper. !"
But, to the unbounded amazement
of all who were aware of Befkeley's
lack of horsemanship and the great
admiration of those who were not, our
hero kept his seat, in defiance Of all
these wild gambols, as firmly as If
Qike Baron Munchausen'sl laurel bush)
he had taken root in the horses body.
Nothing that the sorrel could do
availed to shake him in the least; anG
Fred Fanshawe stared astOunded las
well he might to see the beast that
had thrown him mastered by a man
whom he had never credited with be-
ing able to ride at all.
Berkeley's resistance seemed to in
furiate the spirited mare, which grew
more and more Violent every moment.
But for this as well as for Lawrence's
wonderful success in keeping his seat
there was very good reason.
Our hero's long limbs grasping
closely the sides Of his steed, had
hitched the curved ends of his huge
spurs into each other IN such q way
as to hold him on as firmly as II he
had been strapped to the saddle
Naturally enough the consequent
pressure Of the spurs against her
TANKS goaded the spirited mare to
fury; and in her rage at finding her.
self unable to get rid Of her tormen-
tor, she suddenly made frantic dash
through the gate, and tore away
madly over the open country beyond.
"By Jove! he'll be killed as sure as
a gun!" cried Fred Fanshawe, glanc-
ing after him with a look of dismay.
"We must follow him and at once!"
shouted another man. ''Come along
sharp!"
And in a trice they were all
mounted, and dashing at full speed
after their luckless comrade, who
was indeed 'giving them touch of
Mazeppa" in a way of which he had
dreamed.
Meanwhile Berkeley was having
such gallop as he had never had
before. The maddened sorrel flew
like an arrow 'O'er hedge and
ditch, through swamp and stream"
like the spectre horse of the
old ballad: and Lawrence, unable to
free himself, and knowing that he
must certainly break limb il the
mare were to fall with him, did not
enjoy his ride quite so much as he
might have done.
He was just beginning to give him.
self up for lost, and to VOW that if he
could but escape this time, he would
leave horses alone for the rest of his
life, when the affair took an unex-
pected turn.
Coquette had rushed recklessly into
a patch of deep and Doggy ground,
the soft clinging nire Of which
wherein she sank almost up to her
haunches) effectually checked her
speed; and by the time she had strug-
gled through it she was glad enough
to stand still.
In the meantime Lawrence had at
length succeeded in unclenching, by
a desperate effort, his interlocked spur
wheels, thus relieving the mare from
their irritating pressure; and then,
finding that his ''dery. untamed
steed" was pretty thoroughly tanned
for the time being, he rode back to-
wards the Hall at q leisurely pace.
But he was barely halfway thither
when loud shout made him turn his
head, and he saw coming up at a
rapid rate the whole party Of his
friends, who, delighted at finding him
still alive and unhurt, surrounded
him with shouts of boisterous well
come. and praised him up to the skies
for his skill and courage, having no
suspicion whatever of the real truth.
The most singular part OF the whole
story, however, was that this rough
experience actually made q horseman
of Lawrence Berkeley after all
What with the scare given him by
his perilous ride, and what with his
wish to sustain the credit which his
mastery of the redoubtable CoQuette
had learned him, our hero thenceforth
applied himself with such energy to
the improving of his horsemanship
that he eventually became quite as
good rider as any Of those who had
formerly laughed at Enthusiastically
Evening Post.
Motions About Sleep.
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