San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-06-03

ulu lrOu pony! SdNNy! YIN IRON pony
no eat, no drink, no git tired, no git
sleepy. Make bully pony for pore In
jun"
Light dawned on Percy. These Yumas
wanted the bicycle for their own use.
Perhaps they had seen him wheeling
around The Needles on it. If so, they
probably had logged him all the way.
His spirit rose He vowed he would
thwart them. He saw that, though some
}, of the spokes were ruined, the wheel was
still strong enough to do good service.
He got up and stepped nearer, as if to
inspect the damaged wheel. A heavy
tand fell on his shoulder, and he was
irawn rather roughly back.
"Injun ride um pony now! Mebbe
little white boy git hurt! Savvy?"
Percy smiled against his will. Com
pared with these Yumas he had to con-
TESS he was q very little white boy"
. All five were broad shouldered giants Of
fellows, with arms and legs like bronze
beams and muscles that stood out in
knOtted rolls of strength.
The Indian who had grasped Percys
shoulder stepped up to the overturned
| bicycle, drew out the shaft of the lance
and swung himself awkwardly into the
pat. The safety toppled over with him
( as soon as he tried to set his mOcCasined
feet ON the pedals. A laugh greeted his
/ failure. but a cOmrade came to his as
sistance, and the discounted Yuma tried
again.
He seemed to find it great fun to sit in
the saddle and be wheeled about on the
sand, but it was impossible for him to
keep his seat and work the wheel with
out aid.
Another and another tried it, with no
better success.
If the entire perfOr nance had not been
so exasperating, Percy might have seen
in it much to amuse him. 1t was really
most laughable exhibition of awkward
ness. These Yulnas would have had no
trouble in mounting and riding the
widest pony That ever bounded across
that desert, but here they found their
skill at fault. What looked so easy
proved to be entirely beyond them all.
Grunts of delight or leri~:on arose at
each failure. ~. ,,.:a ut the fellows
was shot into the sand and got
up digging it cat of his mouth and eyes
and making wry face the yells of his
companions rose in an eCstatic chorus.
They spent more than an hour i'll an
endeavor to conquer the little white
boys" steed, but at the end Of that time
were forced to give it up as hopeless,
Little iron pony heap buck" one of
them explained, crossing over to where
Percy reclined on the sand and pointing
to the unmanageable safety. White boy
show Injun how to ride UNI"
This was all opportunity Percy had
begun to fear would never come.
"Oh, ride it yourself" he said, with a
show of scorn and Indifference. You'll
learn SOON
But when the Yuma gravely shook his
head and pointed once more to the BIZ
cycle Percy arose and walked toward it
with assumed Indifference, though he
felt his limbs trembling under him.
He examined the injured wheel leisure
ly and saw that practically it was as good
as if sound. Nevertheless he pointed to
the twisted spokes as though the trouble
the Yumas had experienced lay in them.
The Yumas were watching him. and
with evident suspicion. Some of them
took up their lances and stationed them
selves near, plainly to prevent any effort
to escape.
Percy mounted At first he rode the
bicycle round and round in a little cir
Gle, all the while causing it to wabble as
if it were out of order. Under his indif-
| ference he was closely watching with a
wildly beating heart for a chance to
break past the line of lances and send
his wheel spinning across the sand.
Slowly he increased the circle, adding a
yard or two to its diameter at every
sweep. Suddenly seeing an opening he
made a sharp, quick turn, and throwing
all his strength into the rush made a
dash for liberty.
A threatening yell arose behind, and
several lance points whizzed past him,
but the haste with which they were
thrown caused them to fly wildly. None
| touched him. and in another moment the
young biCyclst had spun well out be
yond the yelling circle and was flying
with all speed across the gravelly waste,
the Yumas in pursuit.
Being splendid runners, the Indians
crowded him uncomfortably close for
the first 100 yards. At that point the
earth became yet frmer, and with the
advantage of this better roadway Percy
rapidly increased the distance between
himself and these very unpleasant &C
quaintances.
They hung persistently ON the track,
however, though at the end of half an
10 e ..,n...