The Winslow mail., 1897-02-13

making record breaking time in a coun-
try where hard riding and plenty of it
is the daily portion of all. Over shelly
ing, broken land, down into small
alroyos and out again up the steep
grades plunged and seethed that mass
of struggling cattle. Some of the boys
behind noticed here and there the fallen
figure of an exhausted steer as he fell
from sheer WEAKNESS. They yelled en-
couragement to Bill, for this was a
good sign, and indicated that the herd
was rapidly reaching the point when it
would be compelled to stop. On they
ran, however, without wavering, pur-
sued by the storm and chasing the fly
ing figure of the boss. Would he es-
cape death? Nobody could tell.
AS the beaten pony struggled up Il
steep incline after mad dash down
into a gulch, Bill felt the hot breath of
the advance guard of the cattle, fpriouf
as furnace at his back. He cast de-
spairing glance backward, urged his
pony with foot ard voice, and was
tossed headlong to the ground. He fell
from the stirrup, rolled about for an in
stant, and then lay still as he saw that
mighty herd leaping over the spot
where he went down. Bruised and
shaken by the tumble, half conscious
from the shock, he lay there and with
the curious inconsistency of him in i'm
minent peril, commenced a desultory
counting of the black forms which
plunged over him. Where his pony
was he did not know, and he fell to
speculating concerning him. On ran
the steers and still Bill lay there, his
daZed mind going through all kinds of
arithmetical problems.
Finally the last of the herd passed
and the boss, one of the most expert
enced ranchmen Of the wild West, rose
to his elbow and sent careful glance
to the rear. He saw his men racing
furiously after the cattle and suddenly
ducked again as the boys plunged over
his position. Then it dawned on him
where he was. He had fallen into a
natural ditch too deep to wade over and
just the right width to leap easily. This
fact had saved his life, for the first
steer leaped the ditch and all of the
others blindly followed suit Bill was
safe and he crawled out of his hole not
grateful for his escape, but with mind
full of wrath against "Curley," the
cause of uis downfall.
The ditch had also saved the pony.
The little bYoncho fell when he threw
his rider, and being deadbeat lay where
he fell AS he had as much sense as his
master, he kept quiet, and when Bill
arose he saw that broncho quietly
drinking at a small pool, his fianks
still rising with undue rapidity, for he
was very weak. Bill arose and intro
duceL himself by taking the bride and
giving the unoffending brute a savage
kick. He then remOunted and followed
after the herd slowly, knowing that by
this time, the storm having broken, the
steers were willing to quit, and that
with plenty of hard work they would
al be collected.
Well, it was as he expected. He final
fy found the herd scattered about on the
plans, some lying down and some graz
lny. but all showing evidences of that
wild flight from the driving storm. He
also found those cowboys, lying about
on the wet grass, too tired and too saw
aee to care what became of him. He
advanced on the party and swung down
from the saddle and stood scowling at
thu: men as he hobbled his pony and
prepared to arrange for the night.