Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 171: what you’re looking at

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

Under the Waning Moon. 159 specimen at the best, but, to the fleeing lad, any as- sistance was welcome, and this meagre illumination would allow him to see obstacles in his way more clearly. One thing gave him cause for uneasiness. At the time of his flight a hunting party had been absent from the village of the Sioux. These braves, more than a dozen in number, had gone south a week before, in the hope of striking one of the few herds of bison that remained of the countless numbers that had, a decade before, dotted the great prairie; or, failing in that, to make way with some beef on the hoof that would serve to keep the village supplied with provisions during the ap- proaching winter. This party was doubtless on the way home, and directly in the path he would take if he made a bee line for Sunset Ranch. It was policy, therefore, to deviate from this straight course, as the crow flies, and make some- thing of a detour, in the hope of avoiding these braves. Of course, should they chance upon him, the truth must be immediately apparent to them, and Cuth- bert’s hopes receive a decided setback. He gloried in every mile placed between himself and the Indian village. Meanwhile, he amused himself by speculating as to when and under what conditions his late red brothers would discover his flight. This awoke a flood of recollections. He was vehement in affirming his great joy at leaving the scene of his late captivity; and yet, strange to say, there was a little regret mingled with this exuberance—some associations he had formed that would give him pleasure as they arose in mem- Ory. cComiclboooks C©