referred to.
At the same moment the boy fired, the charge landing full in the heart,
and bringing the great beast tumbling dead at his feet.

When the father realised the situation, his feelings may be imagined.
His first look at the boy indicated vexation at his recklessness,
followed by admiration at his pluck and thankfulness for his escape from
almost certain death had the shot failed to reach a vital part. However,
matters were soon arranged. A rail from a snake-fence was procured, the
panther's legs were tied to it, and in this way he was borne to the
village.

The news quickly spread, and all the population, apparently, of the
village assembled to see the sight and to hear the story. When the
question came to be considered as to who was entitled to the reward of
two hundred dollars, the verdict was unanimous that no one deserved it
so much as Orson Clark's boy, and to him it was awarded.

The skin of the panther was presented to the landlord of the hotel in
the village. He had it stuffed and placed in a large room in his house.
For all I know, it remains there till this day.

VII

A MIDNIGHT RIDE ON A CALIFORNIAN RANCHE

It was in San Benito County, California, or, to be more explicit, in the
Hernandez Valley, the nearest station to which is King City, "up
country" from Los Angeles. My friend, Tom Bain, owned a cattle-ranche up
there, right in the valley which lies between the hills forming the
coastal range of California.

It is high up, this beautiful valley. I arrived at King City over-night,
and my old school pal, who had asked me to pay him a visit, met me at
the Central Saloon early next morning--so early, that we had breakfasted
and were off in a pair-horse buckboard by seven o'clock. And then we had
a fourteen hours' drive, climbing, ever climbing, with a dip here and
there as we negotiated the irregularities of the high country, the air
becoming cooler and crisper every hour, and so clear that you could see
for miles over the plains beneath.

It is rather wonderful, this clearness of the atmosphere in Western
America. In Arizona, I believe, the phenomenon is even more noticeable,
at times. The trees stand out distinctly and almost individually on
hills miles and miles away, and a camera speedily proves how really free
is the atmosphere of all visionary obstruction. A photograph of a horse,
a bullock, or of any such object out on the hills, will secure a
reproduction of a background quit