Further Work in Kansas Chalk 103 



just spreading out their arms so as to be ready to 

 grab him, when he sprang to his feet so quickly that 

 their hands were thrown into the air, and darted 

 off. The boys started after him at the top of their 

 speed, but they might as well have tried to catch 

 a streak of lightning. 



One day we were camping at the spring on Hack- 

 berry, south of Buffalo, when a couple of men rode 

 up to us. They said that they were cowmen, and 

 that they had lost their outfit. I invited them into 

 my tent, and after supper gave them the boys' bed, 

 the boys themselves climbing into the covered 

 wagon. 



Early in the morning one of the men wakened 

 me and asked for a revolver. There was an ante- 

 lope in camp, he said. I handed him a Smith and 

 Wesson, and peeped out, to see a fine buck standing 

 just at the end of the wagon tongue, looking over 

 the tent and wagon. The stranger opened fire at 

 three or four paces and emptied the revolver. Then 

 throwing it down as of no account, he asked for a 

 gun. I gave him a Sharp's rifle and a cartridge belt. 

 In the meanwhile the antelope had walked a few 

 yards away and turned to look at us. The man 

 fired several shots, and threw down the rifle also, 

 and as the boys were by this time climbing out of 

 the wagon, one with a Winchester, the other with 

 a little Ballard, he borrowed from them first one 



