216 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 



me, there was nothing in blood and brains ; for Kaweah 

 was a prince beside their mustangs, and I ought to be 

 worth two villains. 



For the first twenty minutes the road was hard and 

 smooth and level ; after that gentle, shallow undula- 

 tions began, and at last, at brief intervals, were sharp, 

 narrow arroyos (ditches eight or nine feet wide). I 

 reined Kaweah in, and brought him up sharply on 

 their bottoms, giving him the bit to spring up on the 

 other side ; but he quickly taught me better, and, 

 gathering, took them easily, without my feeling it in 

 his stride. 



The hot sun had arisen. I saw with anxiety that 

 the tremendous speed began to tell painfully on 

 Kaweah. Foam, tinged with blood, fell from his mouth, 

 and sweat rolled in streams from his whole body, and 

 now and then he drew a deep, heaving breath. I 

 leaned down and felt of the cinch to see if it had 

 slipped forward, but as I had saddled him with great 

 care it kept its true place, so, I had only to fear the 

 greasers behind or a new relay ahead. I was conscious 

 of plenty of reserve speed in Kaweah, whose powerful 

 run was already distancing their fatigued mustangs. 



As we bounded down a roll of the plain, a cloud of 

 dust sprang from a ravine directly in front of me, and 

 two black objects lifted themselves in the sand. I 

 drew my pistol, cocked it, whirled Kaweah to the left, 

 plunging by and clearing them by about six feet ; 

 a thrill of relief came as I saw the long, white horns 

 of Spanish cattle gleam above the dust. 



Unconsciously I restrained Kaweah too much, and 

 in a moment the Spaniards were crowding down upon 

 me at a fearful rate. On they came, the crash of their 



