Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 174: what you’re looking at

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

162 Under the Waning Moon. proper equipments—for a white man can never do full justice to himself on a bareback horse, when ac- customed to saddle and stirrups. Stretching himself at full length, the cowboy munched his dried meat and took copious draughts of the cooling liquid contained in the canteen—which relic of the dread disaster had at length fallen into hands capable of appreciating its good qualities. Thus half an hour passed. Cuthbert felt refreshed. The fearful sensation of sleepiness seemed to have passed away. He knew it would not be wise to give way to such a natural desire, since, once slumber took hold upon him, who could say when he would awaken again, and then it might only be to look into the grinning countenance of Standing Elk. Cuthbert remembered the old story of the race be- tween the hare and the tortoise—a nap had been fa- tal to the chances of the former, and he did not want the experience repeated in his case. With a groan, therefore, he struggled to his feet, and was surprised to find that his knees were quite stiff, the result of digging them into Buckskin’s sides for hours, in lieu of the support which stirrups would have given. Never mind; once he gave his pursuers the slip, — and Sunset Ranch was reached, he would have plenty of opportunities to recuperate, and, ere long, the things that loomed up before him now as dread ob- stacles would appear like trifles light as air. Perhaps, ere mounting Buckskin again and setting forth on his journey, it might be the part of wisdom to once more top the rise near by, so as to take a last survey. This was a chance shot, but Cuthbert presently discovered reasons for believing it to be the best thing he had done in many a day. ConniclooOolkks.€©