Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 256: what you’re looking at

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

244 The Stampede. quick to grasp the essential details of a situation, thanks to her ready wit. “We hope to stampede the stock, and so cut off a chase for a time that will give us at least a start.” How her bright eyes beamed when she heard this! Why, a veteran like Old Sile could not have planned a more effective arrangement. She was proud of Karl—proud of the fact that he was her friend, her adopted brother, and that he braved these dangers for her sake. There was no opportunity to say anything further, for the woman with the pail was coming toward the spring ; so, taking up her burden, Polly went back to the fire where her duties demanded attention. Strangely enough, she sang no more, which might seem singular on the face of it, since her heart must have rejoiced over the fact that the chance of liberty was so bright. Perhaps the fact that Karl was to risk so much in her behalf gave her uneasiness. When the opportunity came, Karl once more crawled over to where the Indian lay concealed be- hind the rocks. Watching all that took place in the settlement of the bad men, they were able to confer regarding their plans, and make arrangements looking toward their carrying out. Time crept along heavily enough. Once the Indian left Karl, and was gone a long while. When he returned he said he had been working on the back of the corral, arranging mat- ters so that the balance of the wall could be easily removed, making a gap through which the horses, if thoroughly alarmed, would push and crowd in wild disorder, scattering through the country be- yond, so that it would be a matter of hours ere the first of them could be retaken, while the last might be wandering for days in an alkali desert. COonnicloOolkks.€©