Then
after a short but onmonotonous sojourn in Las Vegas, me an' Bat came
north for our health. . . . Here's Johnson's horse pasture. We've got
to slip through here an' past the home ranch in a quiet an'
onobstrusive manner if we aim to preserve the continuity of Winthrup's
spinal column."
"Can't we go around?" queried the girl.
"No. The coulee is fenced clean acrost an' way up to where even a goat
couldn't edge past. We've got to slip through. Once we get past the
big reservoir we're all right. I'll scout on ahead."
The cowboy swung to the ground and threw open the barbed-wire gate.
"Keep straight on through, Bat, unless you hear from me. I'll be
waitin' by the bunk-house. Chances are, them salamanders will all be
poundin' their ear pretty heavy, bein' up all last night to the dance."
He galloped away and the others followed at a walk. For an hour no one
spoke.
"I thought that fence enclosed a pasture, not a county," growled
Endicott, as he clumsily shifted his weight to bear on a spot less sore.
"_Oui_, dat hoss pasture she 'bout seven mile long. Den we com' by de
ranch, an' den de reservoir, an' de hay fences." The half-breed opened
a gate and a short distance down the creek Alice made out the dark
buildings of the ranch. As they drew nearer the girl felt her heart
race madly, and the soft thud of the horse's feet on the sod sounded
like the thunder of a cavalry charge.
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