The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1901-12-27
CHAPTER Iv.

! wore out the first day OF Mao
pherson's absence sitting in the
shade of the ranch house, and NOV
ing only as the sun compelled. There
was healing in the thin, crisp air, and
] went to bed at nightfall to sleep
as / had not slept for months On
the second day ] ate like a famished
wolf. and the siren hope began to
Groom the song so familiar TO the
ears Of the consumptive. Once more
] made the slow circuit Of the ranch
house. hitching my chair in oppose
tion to the sun; and the foothills
across the valley beckoned me. In tho
heel Of the afternoon, Andy came out
20 peel fbe potatoes for supper and
inquired the distance TO the beck
oning hilt.
"Alile and a half, r maybe two"
els there "A horse in the corral that
a sick man might rider
Andy took time 60 consider. II
dunno" said he. "There's old Blue
nose he's wind-bustcd want to try
him?"
"Yes; II you can spare the time TO-
saddle him for me"
In five minutes the bronco was at
the door AID the kindly desperate
heaved me bodily into the saddle.
Reckon you can stick on?' saSd
he.
81 guess So Does he huckF'
"They an do. II you give 'em tims
to study about &C. Give him his head
and run him a mile r. so, il You can
stan IT, Thatll take the funny-busi-
ness out o. him"
l. did &c., and being but a sorry
horscman. must have presented a
spectacle for gods and men in tho
mad gallop across the valley So far
from showing signs Of exhaustion at
the mile-end, tho bronco locked his
Jaw on the bit. sweryed aside from
tho slope Of the hill which had
counted upon as a apeed-reducer, and
was half way 10 the head OF the val
ley before ] could get weight enough
on the brdle-reins 10 pull him down.
When he realized rhat ! desired 10
stop. he promptly shot me over his
head into a patch Of sagegrass and
went his way without me Where
upon followed a series Of maneuvers
looking to rcpossesson and az the
end OF II the sun had gone down on
inckless caballero four miles from
camp too weary to walk and unable
TO recapture his mount.
/ flung myself down under the lee
OF a huge bowlder and wondered II
the bronco would be considerate
enough TO send some one after me by
going back 10 the ranch riderless II
seemed doubtful. His final disap
pearance had besn over the hills te
the ncsthward. Into the midst Of the
chance-weighing came the beat ol
hoofs on the crest above me, and
/, presently / saw the figure Of a horse
man silhouetted against the sky OF
the hilltop. IL was Kilgore; ant
while 7 looked ne came down th'
hin at iogtrot. Fifty feet from
my bowlder the pony stumbled, anS
! horse and man came down together
= Kiigore rose cursing, and kicked tn
bronco 10 It's feet.
= Blame your Urinary hide Cayn'
you lif them ther' feet o. your'i
! when you see dog-hole? Now then
y what's the matter with your
The horse jerked its head free AM
limped q few PAGES up the Hill, stop
T, ping presently with rs muzzle to IN
[, ground, pointing as trained bird
i dog might. The range-rider stoppe
Il 90 pun up a freshly driven stake an
read the marking thereon.
sex -l6-2'; that's some o. thei
/. blame ingineerin' lingo, reckon
I'd like 10 git ny lariat round tn
a neck o. the feller th't's a-stakiu' OF
this ycre rise. Id show him wha
. hin feel like 20 GIT th'owed"
Tie dung the stake afar, and lear
ing the bronco 20 rs own device
sought and found the linc oc n
ditch. following 50 and destroyin
= the engineers landmarks for o goo
half-mile when he returned
"a (To be conunued)