ad so startled the animal that he
reared, and then dashed off madly up the valley in the way I had seen
her coming. She had fallen over, and as her foot had caught in the
stirrup, she clutched her horse's long mane, and so saved herself from
being dragged along the ground, and, probably, from a horrible death.

We now were able to see that her horse had been badly ripped on the near
side, and from loss of blood and as the result of his long, mad gallop,
the poor animal was in a bad way. He was led back to the ranche and
there cared for.

It appeared that the others had galloped along on the other side of the
field until they had found that the cattle had turned. Then they waited
until they could get behind them, and, when this was managed, they
secured half a dozen of them with their lariats.

One man had let go his lasso. This sometimes happens. In cases of
emergency a man has to let go his rope, and that is why the cowboys
practise picking up things from the ground at full gallop. It is not
done there for show; there is no gallery to play to. It is a necessary
accomplishment. A man has lost his rope, the other end of it, perhaps,
being round the horns of a steer. He gallops after it, as soon as he is
clear of the bunch, and picks up the end at full speed. At the proper
time he gives the lasso a turn round the horn of the saddle, pulls up
his well-trained horse, and the steer is jerked to his feet. It is
neatly done--and it takes doing.

Next day the cattle were all in the corrals, and the wild ones were
placed in the bunch to be travelled down to King City. But the newcomers
were too unruly. They continually broke away _en route_, and gave so
much trouble that before our destination was reached we shot every one
of them.

I left my friend's ranche shortly after this. I had had some experience
that was worth winning, and I had gained a little knowledge of ranche
life of the West.

Lately I received a delicate little wedding-card, neatly inscribed, and
figured with a design representing a coiled lariat. And from out of the
coil there peeped the daintily written words--"Tom and Edna."

VIII

O'DONNELL'S REVENGE

Engineer Trevannion was annoyed; for the Works Committee at Berthwer,
who managed the affairs of the new wharf in course of construction
there, had written to announce that they had appointed an assistant
engineer, and had added an expression of opinion that "Mr. Garstin would
prove of excepti