THE FIRST DAY'S WORK 17 



promptly released the rope and waved his legs 

 frantically in the general direction of the en- 

 emy, crying lustily: "Oh, the little Devil! Help! 

 Help! 11 



We finally persuaded him that he was in no im- 

 mediate danger, and he allowed himself to be as- 

 sisted to his feet, none the worse for his harrowing 

 experience. 



It was evident, however, that as a burro-puncher 

 Horace could not be considered an unqualified hit. 

 We were all greatly edified by the affair, with the ex- 

 ception of Frazer, who eyed Wetherby gloomily 

 enough. He was apparently approaching a state 

 of pessimism concerning his protege's complete ef- 

 ficiency. 



In the afternoon we saddled and packed the 

 twenty burros with tents, beds, dufflebags and sup- 

 plies, weighing altogether over two thousand pounds. 

 It seemed marvellous that the little beasts could 

 stand up under their loads. We had yet to learn that 

 the burro, for its size, is the strongest, toughest and 

 most tireless of pack animals. 



By the time our preparations were completed, 

 there was not over three hours of daylight left, but 

 by dint of pretty constant effort on the part of the 

 packers we drove our outfit eight miles to Kingston 

 and made camp before darkness fell. 



During the trip we discovered that Brown and 

 Ewing had already found names for the burros. 

 Some of these appellations were amusingly; descrip- 



