Beadle's Dime Novels No. 226: The Mustang-Hunters — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

ee en eee ee ee 4 eee Mah ) Meo te = i - ~ “ , : . gumwhar, and whara river comes, surely three fellers kin - Suiting the action to the word, the little gray mare was 5 . turned round to the left, and the party rode south. ‘ The tall,-frowning cliffs, ragged and picturesque in outline, 2 towered on their right hand, as they rode along. Bushes clung 3 here and there in crevices of the rocks. It seemed as if a = great wall had been built by giants of old, te bar further pro- $F gress westward. At the top of the rocks, in places, a crest of trees-appeared to nod over the precipice, like the giants them- selves prepared to defend their fortress. But, before they had ___ ridden very long, the keen eye of old Pete Wilkins descried a nt landmark that he was looking for. “Thar it are!” he cried; “ thar’s the old cottonwood as I “ knowed we'd find, and thar’s the way up tuis ’ere butte.” About a mile ahead of them the wall of rock seemed to be interrupted for a little space, and at the top of the cliff on the © hither side stood a tall cottonwood, alone, like a sentry on post. - The three companions rode briskly toward the spot and ~ soon discovered an indentation in the line of rock leading up- ward ina steep slope to the table-land above. It was a _ Yough, steep way enough, and only barely practicable ; but hundreds of converging paths from the prairie behind proved = __ that this was the place, where, for hundreds of years, in all r probability, the buffaloes, mustangs, deer and other wild ani- ‘ mals had made their passages on their annual migrations from ~~ ‘pasture to pasture, Old Pete put his little mare at the ascent without hesitation, and the game little creature scrambled up bravely. As sure footed asa goat, she seemed to have no difficulty in making her way, where the two thoroughbreds _ timidly followed. They were not used to this kind of work. Fs The path wound here and there, in some places broad and 3 easy, at others so narrow tliat the riders were forced to dis- mount and lead their animals. When at last they were about =~ half-way, a jutting rock suddenly interrupted their course, and 7 seemed to forbid further progress. Fe Ss ® What are we to do now, Pete?” asked Little Gilmore, = who was the second in the procession. tg = : canes unswered the mountain man. “Ef a great - ws