The Last of the Plainsmen 



snarling at Jones, and then she crawled up. The 

 big branch evidently took her eye. She tried several 

 times to climb up to it, but small snags close together 

 made her distrustful. She walked uneasily out upon 

 two limbs, and as they bent with her weight she 

 hurried back. Twice she did this, each time looking 

 up, showing her desire to leap to the big branch. 

 Her distress became plainly evident; a child could 

 have seen that she feared she would fall. At length, 

 in desperation, she spat at Jones, then ran out and 

 leaped. She all but missed the branch, but succeeded 

 in holding to it and swinging to safety. Then she 

 turned to her tormentor, and gave utterance to most 

 savage sounds. As she did not intimidate her pur 

 suer, she retreated out on the branch, which sloped 

 down at a deep angle, and crouched on a network of 

 small limbs. 



When Jones had worked up a little farther, he 

 commanded a splendid position for his operations. 

 Kitty was somewhat below him in a desirable place, 

 yet the branch she was on joined the tree considerably 

 above his head. Jones cast his lasso. It caught on 

 a snag. Throw after throw he made with like result. 

 He recoiled and recast nineteen times, to my count, 

 when Frank made a suggestion. 



&quot; Rope those dead snags an break them off.&quot; 

 This practical idea Jones soon carried out, which 



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