Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 62: what you’re looking at

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

54 The Indian Foray. now, as we have seen, proved his ability to carry double in an emergency. The cowboys had already started the cattle in the direction of Kelly’s ranch, and unless new and unexpected difficulties arose they seemed in a fair way to bring up all right. Of course there was no chance to talk with the girl during the ride, and Cuthbert was forced to re- strain his curiosity until such time as she could tell her story. He felt sure Kelly’s good wife would look well after the waif, and see that she lacked for nothing. So they finally neared the home ranch, It was about noon. Other herds had meanwhile been driven in, and, surrounded with rope corrals, made the air trem- ulous with their bellowing. It looked like a round-up, for there were other cattle than those belonging to the X bar X brand present, and cowboys belonging to other outfits cir- cled the big bunch. Loud huzzahs greeted the appearance of Old Sile with the prize lot intact—the foray of the young bucks had been a lamentable failure in this section at least, and the cowboys had done some little ex- ecution with their guns that might deter a second ° raid. The rescued girl was received warmly by the ranchman’s good wife, and taken at once into the house to rest after her strange experience. She smiled her thanks to the boys, and both of them voted her a charming little thing, for whom they would be willing to do much more than had fallen to their lot, should the occasion ever arise. Later on they heard how she came to fall into the hands of the Sioux—it was a story not strange to the border in those days. In company with her uncle, who was expecting ConniclooOokks.€©