Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 279: what you’re looking at

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

The Last Round-Up. 267 the young buck exhibited his healing wounds, and pointed to his neck, where hung the newly-made necklace of grizzly bear claws. From that hour he was fitted to wear the moc- casins of his famous old father, the chief, since none might question his valor. At last they sighted the long, low building of Sun- set Ranch. What a homecoming it was! Every one appeared wild with joy, shouting and firing guns in the air, careering over the prairie and showing such satisfaction as only cowboys may. The alarm bell added its wild clang to the gen- eral confusion; cattle, catching the excitement, bel- lowed most lustily; sheep dogs barked, horses neighed as they pranced hither and thither, and, taken in all, it was a scene of exhilaration such as the boys had never participated in before. There stood good Mrs. Kelly at the horse block in front of the door, waving her white apron in one hand and ringing a big dinner bell with the other, bent upon doing her share to make the wanderers’ return a jubilee. And little Polly was soon gathered to her ma- tronly bosom, where she once more allowed her tears to flow, only they were of greatest joy, not woe. Karl was well pleased with the way things had turned out. No one had been injured, and their plan of ef- fecting the release of Polly had been a complete suc- cess. He knew Jasper Hosmer would never have an- other opportunity to steal the girl away. Indeed, his life was not worth the snap of one’s fingers if ever seen around Sunset Ranch again, for each and every cowboy had registered a solemn vow to end his loping on sight. comiclooks C©