Martha's enjoyment of the rides.
She always carried her guitar swung over her shoulder by a strap when
she went out with her brother to see the cow-boys.

[Illustration: "SOMETIMES WHEN SUMMER CAME THEY TOOK LONG RIDES ON THE
PRAIRIE TOGETHER."]

The little girl's life was a queer one, but then, she was a queer little
girl and among queer people. For instance, there was "Mister Jim," who
came up to the store every few weeks to lay in supplies. Mister Jim was
one of the men who were hired to keep wild animals out of the Canon. The
Canon was a favorite place for Amarilla's excursions and picnics, and
was very beautiful; but it communicated with other canons into which
picnics could never penetrate, and in which there were wild beasts of
many kinds. To prevent these unpleasant visitors from wandering where
they were not wanted, men were stationed at various places to shoot
them. Mister Jim was the one nearest to Martha's home, and he was
Martha's stanch friend. He never went to the ranch without some gift for
her--the soft pelt of an animal he had shot, the gay wings of a strange
bird, or some crystal or stone he had found in his explorations of the
Canon. Martha returned his admiration. He lived in a cave, and that
interested her--she thought she might like to try it herself some time.
She considered his clothes very grand and impressive. In the Canon he
wore a leather suit; but when he visited the ranch he was always
dressed in black velvet trimmed with gold braid, and wore a high,
pointed hat wound with red ribbons like those of the seldom-appearing
Mexican cow-boys, only much finer.

But the "loco men" were Martha's favorites. There were three of
them--Big Billy, Little Billy, and One-eyed Saylo. Why Saylo was called
"one-eyed" was a mystery, for he had two of the very best eyes for
spying the hated loco-weed ever known in that region. Loco-weed grows,
when unmolested, to a height of sixteen or eighteen inches, and its
queer leaves shine and sparkle in the sunlight like silver and crystals.
Its effects on horses or cattle that happen to eat it are worse than
deadly. One good, big meal of loco-weed will ruin an animal forever.

A locoed horse, once locoed, is locoed until he dies. Apparently he may
recover wholly, but he is not a safe animal to ride, for at any moment
he may stagger and fall, or go suddenly mad. A locoed horse is almost
certain to show it when he becomes heated by rapid traveling or hard
work. The g