The Green Forest tribune., 1909-02-05

into lusty shouting. Two of the riders, in tight, beaded buckskins and flannel shirts, were red calico on their heads and toed in Another, the brawniest of the ba oh, had three speckled feath- CTS in his hair and sat his pony as II he were posing for photograph. 1 That was Black Wing.
 According to custom, the riders swung to Ne right and cantered down around tle corral and back to the gate. waking up the herd and saluting the party on the ambulance with way, ing of hands, amidst prolonged howl, ing from the threats along the fence. | Then there was a lull, which fell to dead silence while Black Wing raised l his broad bowie as high as he could reach, ut cred a piercing coyote cry, and char" ed into the herd He bore down on the beast with the longest horns anG dealt it a sweeping, savage crunchine blow behind the shoulder with all l.s might, then drew back a little, bra ldished his dripping knife. and sprans in again.
 
 | hurrah went up from the crowd along 1 the fence as all the riders closed in l for the fight and slaughter; and while l they puno he'd and slashed on left and 1 right, and spattered themselves with hot blood, the applause broke into frantic screeching, and the 5000 spec tators jun ped up and down and waved their hands.
 Two steers dropped to their knees and toppl d over The crazy herd seemed to understand, and made a l furious ds sh for the lower end of the corral, eane together, hugged the fence, and stampeded in sheer terror, with the lonies on a run at their clat- /, tering hee s in a cloud of dust The herd was rounding past the gate well punched. when suddenly there went up along he fence yell that split the air One cf the bucks with red calico Cn his he l had been pitched from his pony. Ssrdham had warned Mix that his tickliah pony might throw him; and when he saw the boy lying at the lower enc of the corral in heap. mo- tionlcss, with the frenzied herd aimed straight 9 him, he grew little pale under his grease paint. As he swung away fro" the bucks and kicked hi- pony intC q dead run, the crowd quit screechin, and with jaws set watched him race to beat the plunging herd At 75 yards he passed it. Six lengths farther he threw himself full length half off his pony's back, swooped out and down, snatched a handful of slack in the back of Mix's shirt and took up the race again, lugging 1853 pounds of limp, helplessness. It was a magnifi- cent showing of skill and nerve, and the crowd said so at once with an out burst of shrieking that increased to a panic when it realized that both bucks were white men. Sandham's shirt was ripped to his waist, and Mix's blonde head was bare, to say nothing of the plaster of sand and grass on his face where the paint wasn't rubbed off. The willing little beast that bore them was badly frightened, and Sandman couldn't. stop him until some time after Mix had been dropped in a lump near the ambulance.
 The boy was unconscious. He was a hard-looking case, lying there flat on his back, with clenched fists. The colonel felt him all over swearing vio- lently, and said that his left leg was broken below the knee. They turned the seats over in the ambulance and laid him out on the rubber mattress, with the suffers shawl for a pillow When he came to his senses, Miss Cor liss was bending over him and wiping his face
 It was not long before everybody knew the story and accounted Sand ham a hero. In the messroom of D company, he was voted fit for a bsevet captaincy, and Miss Corliss was unani- mously recommended for the Red Cross.
 After 20 days the post surgeon gave Mix permission to be carried oit on the hospital veranda. During the long, balmy June evenings, when ths big moon shimmered down across the pa- rade ground, Sandman used to sit be. side him in the shadow, and they would listen to the banjo ditties that 1oated up the hill from the barracks of the Ninth
 One evening Mix was dwelling at length on the excellencies of the girl and wound up so:
 Do you know, Dorrie," he said. q really like that girl. What would you say if-well-if I should take three months leave and marry herr"
 T shouldn't think much of the girl" Sandman answered. T found out to- day that she was engaged"
 Mix eased his leg a little and ex claimed:
 The devil, you say,"
 Fact" said Sandman. She's en- gagged to me-"