26 Lobo 



barrel he left grooves on it which are there to 

 this day. His eyes glared green with hate and 

 fury, and his jaws snapped with a hollow * chop,' 

 as he vainly endeavored to reach me and my 

 trembling horse. But he was worn out with 

 hunger and struggling and loss of blood, and he 

 soon sank exhausted to the ground. 



Something like compunction came over me, 

 as I prepared to deal out to him that which so 

 many had suffered at his hands. 



" Grand old outlaw, hero of a thousand law- 

 less raids, in a few minutes you will be but a 

 great load of carrion. It cannot be otherwise." 

 Then I swung my lasso and sent it whistling 

 over his head. But not so fast ; he was yet far 

 from being subdued, and, before the supple 

 coils had fallen on his neck he seized the noose 

 and, with one fierce chop, cut through its hard 

 thick strands, and dropped it in two pieces at 

 his feet. 



Of course I had my rifle as a last resource, 

 but I did not wish to spoil his royal hide, so I 

 galloped back to the camp and returned with a 

 cowboy and a fresh lasso. We threw to our 

 victim a stick of wood which he seized in his 

 teeth, and before he could relinquish it our 

 lassoes whistled through the air and tightened 

 on his neck. 



