Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 19: what you’re looking at

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

The Tenderfoot. 13 mortal combat with the armed foe, in defense of the principles that were a part of their State existence; and he believed that, his first fear having passed away, he could show himself a worthy scion of the famous family. At least he would not have long to wait in such a condition of dread suspense, for the hungry beasts were growing impatient, and were creeping closer all around. He calculated that there must be at feast five of the enemy, far too many to admit of the slightest hope on his part. “Tf I only had my gun!” he muttered. “What sad havoc I would make among these miserable prowl- ers, had fortune but left me that faithful weapon!’ Nearer still! The pilgrim from the East gave one last agonized look alow and aloft, in the hope that some avenue of escape which had hitherto eluded him might be opened at this moment, but the only result was despair. All, then, was lost save the chance of laying about him vigorously to the last and doing all the damage his desperate muscles were capable of executing. Had he been prairie born, with keen ears, able to detect and define every sound that the night wind carried, he might have discovered reason for encour- agement; but with death staring him in the face the dull thud of horse’s hoofs coming down the wind was quite unnoticed. He had already decided which one of his four- footed adversaries he would have to deal with first— the largest and fiercest of the pack, bolder than his fellows, and actually undaunted when Cuthbert, with a shout, had hurled another blazing brand close to where he had drawn his quivering, attenuated body. Nor did he err in this conclusion, for it was this CoOmicaoo \ S CO