Beadle's Dime Novels No. 226: The Mustang-Hunters — page 17: what you’re looking at

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

yy a pote ep eS oe eed et Se a. HEADING WESTWARD. : 19 “4.How do you mean ‘walk him down,’ Pete?” asked the young hunter, in surprise. “ We can’t surely catch a swift horse byefollowing him on foot—can we ?” “ Ef thar’s enough on us we kin do that, even; but I don’ t exactly keer to do my ‘ walkin’ down’ afoot, myself. rl show yer how it’s done, when we cum to ketch the black, ef so be your four-miler ain’t able to run him down.” “Tf I only can yet within a hundred yards of the black, I'll trust old General against him, old as he is,” said Frank, proudly. “ But you must remember that the General can’t do his best without oats and corn, while the other horse is used to grass- all his life.” “Well, well, lad. We kin but try,” said old Pete, kindly ; ; “and the sooner we git away from here now, the sooner we'll » be on our journey.” Half an hour afterward, the two friends were riding west- ward, the sturdy little gray mare stepping out a ae of the powerful thoroughbred. CHAPTER III. is LITTEE GILMORE. THE two companions rode out from the shelter of the motie, and headed their horses to the westward. The sun had passed the meridian by two or three hours, and a fresh breeze had just started up, cooling the atmosphere, and waving the tops of the grass and the leaves of the mesquit trees. “Old Moreau knowed darned well what he was arter,” ob- served the hunter, “ when _he took his claim down hyar. — *Tain’t as safe, mebbe, as it mout be further in, but the grass are tarnation good, and his ranch is strong enough to keep out any roving Comanches, as mout want ter git in. * _ Frank Weston sighed, as he looked back at the distant , that marked the hacienda where dwelt his beloved. It was “one of the old fortified stations established by the former — _ ewntrs of Texas, the cowardly Mexicans, the better to enable —