Beadle's Dime Novels No. 226: The Mustang-Hunters — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

+= m a - = od on a — Se an ™ » ' . 7* Eee SIE ap : * i - ae heousle the trees, leaving the young man to attend to the two horses. To say truth, he was not sorry to do so. Frank ; Weston was devotedly fond of hunting, but since his hoy- . hood had had but little opportunity for so doing. He felt ; by no means confident of his ability to kill a deer for supper, and was quite willing to trust to old Pete's skill. So he unsaddled the two animal]s, and arranged a comforta- ble sleeping-place for himself and partner, Then he produced the hobbles, with which he confined the forelegs of the horse and the mare, and turned the pair loose on a little plot of » long, sweét grass that grew by the river-side: The animals -t set to work with the utmost avidity, while Frank commenced the operation of building a fire. He had got it well started when his ears were rejoiced with the sound of Pete Wilkins’ rifle, and he heaped on all the dry sticks he could find, till a cheerful, ruddy blaze lighted up the trunks of the trees around, now standing out, dark and = gloomy, in the fast-deepening shades of evening. About ten minutes afterward the old hunter made bis ap- pearance, bearing on his shoulders the hind-quarter of a deer, which proved to be both fat and savory. os, It was soon cut into steaks, and broiling over the fire on that simplest of spits, a sharp stick. iy: The scene was picturesque and romantic in the highest de- gree, as the beams of the little camp-fire lighted up the lonely valley, the figures of the old hunter and the young Texan and _ the horses grazing close by. “How beautiful all this is, Pete,’ observed Weston, his te _ impressible fancy touched by the besuty of the scene. et “Tt ar’ that,” said Pcte, emphatically. “Give mea hunt- the er’s life afore all the sprees and drinks of the settlements. Ef it warn’t for my trips to the settlements, 'd never be onhappy. Buta man must git powder and lead nowadays, and so I go i thar. And this ‘ere old sixtcen-shooter, thof he ar’ a bully good gun, he wants mere lookin’ arter than a gual in her teens, oe Korn’ t git a cartridge short of Austin city, as will fit him.” “How did you get that piece, Pete?” inquired Weston , "Yon re the first mountain-man T ever saw with one.” - “Agent over at Fort Lancaster give it to me,” said the wis r; “T'm 5 scout for the fort thar. He told me" > hee Kreg eit alin and ag = = P 3) Po 4 TS ALI LILI LIA / 4 A Per , rs ee, ~~ a Pas, ee “.* . ” : - < Sn e _ 7s atin ‘a. ¢ + “comicbooks.com ey * 3) ~~ id nwy * j a 7 7