Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 109: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER VIII. HORSE THIEVES, After the round-yp Karl and Cuthbert went back to night-wrangling for a time, as the cattle needed little attention. The weather was fine, and it seemed no discom- fort to pass the hours under the starry heavens, oc- casionally taking a scout around the horses to see that none strayed away, and to discover any hungry wolf hovering nigh. Much of the time was spent reclining upon the soft earth, conversing or napping, one always re- maining on guard. There was always more or less danger from horse thieves, white or red—desperate, bad men roamed the border in those days, to whom the sight of sad- dle horses was always a spur that tempted them to kidnap the whole outfit, and those who guarded the animals knew full well what stern measures were called for should such an emergency arise—for, while a man who shot another down in cold blood might be pardoned according to border ethics, hav- ing always the excuse of justifiable self-defense, one who ran away with horses deserved the worst fate possible, and if caught his crime was never con- doned. Hence it was always necessary to keep horses, grazing at night after a few days’ work, under the watchful eye of a guard who had orders to spare not in case strangers attempted to stampede the stock. Here it was that Cuthbert finally told Karl the story of his life, with pitying stars above, the gen- tle night wind rustling the grasses and drawing sweet perfume from myriads of flowers. Conmicloooks.€©