Rocky Mountain Sam — page 36: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 27 CHAPTER IV. THE BALLOON AGAIN TO THE RESCUE, Come to the land of wonders— Come to the border-land! There is little worth on the round, green earth That is not in the border-land. The rifle, the knife, and the hatchet Are the hunter’s passports free. Where the red man hides and the wild beast bides In the shadow of rock and tree. Oh, there’s nothing on earth that’s half so grand As life and death in the border-land. The distance from the pass in the canon of the White Hermit to Chapman’s Ranch was something like thirty-five miles, and the sun was at its meridian.in the heavens when our two hunters, with their charge, began to near it upon their tired ponies. : They had not proceeded far before they began to be aware of something wrong. Some cattle and horses, with the colonel’s brand upon their flanks, dashed across the trail as if frightened or pursued, and pretty soon the reports of dis- tant rifles came to their ears. ‘Tt’s a row!” said Big Horn, abruptly. ‘Best tuk to kiver an’ wait.” He led the way from the trail, and they were speedily en- sconced among some sparse-growing, stunted trees and frag- ments of rock, where, dismounting and grasping their ponies’ bridles, they waited in considerable suspense. “Get a leetle farther back, Fayaway,” whispered Sam, kissing the maiden and pushing her a little farther into the cover. “This comes o” bringin’ the gal along,” growled Big Horn, sulkily. ‘‘T don’t see as how she’s in the way,” said Sam, a little angrily. | But at this moment the clatter of approaching hoofs put a stop to further discussion, and the next instant about a (ele) Comicboo cS