Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 44: what you’re looking at

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

38 Wild Life on the Ranch. but who liked the Virginia “kid” for his good na- ture. Every day brought its duties, and he spent most of the time in the saddle, acquiring new experience, now riding down a skulking coyote or anon waylay- ing antelope and gaining a shot through the dex- terous use of a red rag, which excited the curiosity of the little animals and drew them nearer the co- vert where Cuthbert and his Winchester were se- creted. There came a time, however, when the peace that reigned over Sunset Ranch became a thing of the past, and its place was taken by a new excitement. It happened one morning that a rider from the Double Cross outfit down the river came galloping up, waving his arms and firing his gun in a manner characteristic of cowboys in general when on a lark or desirous of attracting attention. Karl and his friend were just in the act of saddling up—each had taken his rope, thrown it over his horse and was engaged in “cinching” the girths (for the cunning animals have a way of distending their bellies as soon as they feel the saddle on their back, so that an unwary rider who might think he had tightened his girth would find the saddle slipping to one side as soon as he mounted) when the first dis- tant shout called their attention to the fast on-com- ing horseman. “Hello! here’s trouble,” said Karl, and apparently there was a little ring of satisfaction in his voice, while his clear gray eyes lighted up, as though thé prospect of a break in the steady routine of every- day work, which had not the charm of novelty for him it possessed with young Lee, might not be so very distasteful. “What's the matter—too much liquor and on the warpath?” asked the tenderfoot, who had seen some peculiar things among these rough and ready men comicloolkks.c©