ll hitch up a work-team, and disk the heart out
of our old race-track-- Oh, yes; we have such a thing"--in reply to her
lifted brows. "My grandfather Mike induced my great-grandfather Noriaga
to build it way back in the 'Forties. The Indians and _vaqueros_ used to
run scrub races in those days--in fact, it was their main pastime."

"Where is this old race-track?"

"Down in the valley. A fringe of oaks hides it. It's grass-grown and it
hasn't been used in twenty-five years, except when the Indians in this
part of the country foregather in the valley occasionally and pull off
some scrub races."

"How soon can we put it in commission?" she demanded eagerly,

"I'll disk it to-morrow. The ground is soft now, after this recent rain.
Then I'll harrow it well and run a culti-packer over it--well, by the end
of the week it ought to be a fairly fast track."

"Goody! We'll go in to El Toro to-morrow and I'll wire to San Francisco
for a stop-watch. May I sprint Panchito a little across that meadow?"

"Wait a moment, Miss Kay. We shall have something to sprint after in a
few minutes, I think." As the hounds gave tongue in a path of willows
they had been investigating far to the right, Don Mike pulled up his
horse and listened. "Hot trail," he informed her. "They'll all be
babbling in a moment."

He was right.

"If it's a coyote, he'll sneak up the wash of the river," he informed the
girl, "but if it's a cat, he'll cut through that open space to tree in
the oaks beyond--Ha! There goes a mountain-lion. After him!"

His alert pony went from a halt to a gallop, following a long, lithe
tawny animal that loped easily into view, coming from the distant willow
thicket. In an instant, Kay was beside him.

"Head him off," he commanded curtly. "This ruin of Pablo's is done in a
quarter-mile dash, but Panchito can outrun that cat without trying.
Don't be afraid of him. They're cowardly brutes. Get between him and
the oaks and turn him back to me. Ride him down! He'll dodge out of
your way."

She saw that he was uncoiling his riata as he spoke, and divined his
purpose, as, with a cluck and a boot to Panchito, she thundered after the
big cat, her heart thumping with mingled fear and excitement. Evidently
this was an old game to Panchito, however, for he pinned his ears a
little and headed straight for the quarry. Seemingly he knew what was
expected of him, and had a personal interest in the affair, for as he
cam