Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 257: what you’re looking at

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

The Stampede. 245 By degrees the village was quieting down. Karl hoped midnight would find the conditions favorable for their adventure. The longer time that was to elapse between the stampede and daylight the better chances they would have for escape. Besides, a spirit of eagerness beset these young crusaders that might have been absent had they been veterans in such work, for youth is ever ar- dent, and impatient of restraint. Karl remembered that Cuthbert had suffered the same symptoms of distress when waiting for the Sioux village to lapse into silence. They killed a little time by crawling around to the corral, where the Indian entered to select a pony for Polly. This he succeeded in securing, leading the animal out through the breach he had made in the outer wall, and fastening him with a bit of rope to a tree where they could readily find him when the crisis ar- rived. All of which, being smartly done, reflected consid- erable credit upon Little Buckshot, the son of a chief. And now the time had come when they must put the plan into operation. Up to this hour no hitch had occurred, but the most serious part of the business was yet to be gone through with, for once the alarm had been given, they knew full well furious men would rush this way and that, only desirous of an opportunity to shoot with deadly aim—men who mocked at the law, and thought it no sin to take human life, if, by so doing, they could at any time advance their own interests. To the Indian was given the task of sending the signal arranged upon with Polly, and accustomed to mimicry, he would experience no difficulty in imi- tating the owl that haunted this lonely reginn.sn. C©