ADVENTURE ON THE HIGHWAY 217 



spurs and the clatter of their horses distinctly heard ; 

 and as I had so often compared the beats of chrono- 

 meters, I unconsciously noted that while Kaweah's, 

 although painful, yet came with regular power, the 

 mustang's respiration was quick, spasmodic, and 

 irregular. I compared the intervals of the two mus- 

 tangs, and found that one breathed better than the 

 other ; and then, upon counting the best mustang with 

 Kaweah, I found that he breathed nine breaths to 

 Kaweah's seven. In two or three minutes I tried it 

 again, finding the relation ten to seven ; then I felt 

 the victory, and I yelled to Kaweah. The thin ears 

 shot flat back upon his neck ; lower and lower he lay 

 down to his run ;, I flung him a loose rein, and gave 

 him a friendly pat on the withers. It was a glorious 

 burst of speed ; the wind rushed by, and the plain 

 swept under us with dizzying swiftness. I shouted 

 again, and the thing of nervous life under me bounded 

 on wilder and faster, till I could feel his spine thrill as 

 with shocks from a battery. I managed to look round 

 a delicate matter at speed and saw, far behind, the 

 distanced villains, both dismounted, and one horse 

 fallen. 



Toward the late afternoon, trotting down a gentle 

 forest slope, I came in sight of a number of ranch 

 buildings grouped about a central open space. A small 

 stream flowed by the outbuildings, and wound among 

 chaparral-covered spurs below. Considerable crops of 

 grain had been gathered into a corral, and a number 

 of horses were quietly straying about. Yet with all 

 the evidences of considerable possessions the whole 

 place had an air of suspicious mock -sleepiness. Riding 

 into the open square, I saw that one of the buildings 



