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And Rube, as he said this, made a fresh attack upon the wolf-mutton. "I chawed up the ole leggins, till I wur as naked as Chimley Rock." "Gollies! was it winter?" "No. 'Twur calf-time, an' warm enuf for that matter. I didn't mind the want o' the buckskin that a way, but I kud 'a eat more o' it. "The third day I struck a town o' sand-rats. This niggur's har wur longer then than it ur now.
"Now, cap'n," cried the guide, reining up, and pointing to the entrance, "hyur's yur place to make stand. We kin keep them back till thur sick i' the guts; that's what we kin do." "You are sure there is no pass that leads out but this one?" "Ne'er a crack that a cat kud get out at; that ur, 'ceptin' they go back by the other eend; an' that'll take them a round-about o' two days, I reckin."
Thur wur a half o' mile o' clur parairy on every side o' me, an' I knowd the grizzly laid catch up afore I hed made three hundred yards in any direction. I knowd, too, that ef I started, the varmint 'ud be sartin to foller. It wur plain to see the bar meant mischief; I kud tell that from the glint o' his eyes. "Thur wan't no time to lose in thinkin' about it.
All I know is, that I've seed frigates a-standing in the air, as them be now, making way neyther to windart or leuart; f'r all that I didn't believe they was asleep. I kud see thar forked tails openin' and closin' jist like the blades o' a pair o' shears; and that inclined me to think they war wide awake all the time. If they was asleep, how kud they a-kep waggin' thar tails?
They ain't over leg-free." "But how should we do for provisions, in that case? We could never cross the desert without them." "Why, cap, thur's no diffeeculty 'bout that. Wi' the parairas as dry as they are, I kud stampede that hul cavayard as easy as a gang o' bufflers; and we'd come in for a share o' them, I reckin. Thur's a wus thing than that, this child smells." "What?"
My furniter ain't very cumbersome; an' I kud let ye in to-morrow, ef 't wan't that I hev some unexpected bizness with my friend hyur. Say day arter the morrow? Ef ye'll kum then, ye'll find me ready to deliver up. Will that answer for ye?" "Admirably!" was my reply. "All right, then! I'd ask ye in, but thur's nothin' to gie you 'ceptin' that piece o' deer-meat, an' it's raw.
"I war 'stonished," continued the sailor, without heeding the odd interpolation of the sea-cook, "wonderful 'stonished when that flyin'-fish chucked itself aboard our bit o' plankin', an' it no bigger than the combin' o' a hatchway. What kud 'a conducted it thear, to that spot above all others o' the broad ocean? What but the hand o' that angel as sits up aloft?
"'Twan't a long faint no how; for when I got over it, I kud see the mustang about a half a mile off, still runnin' as fast as his legs could carry him, an' most of the wolves howlin' arter him. A few of these critters had gathered about me, but gettin' to my feet, I made a dash among them wi' the shinin' bowie, an' sent them every which way, I reckon.
Had I needed other evidence to identify her, I saw it in the wolf-like animal that was bounding after her, keeping pace with the gallop of her horse. "Behold!" I said. "Yonder is Marian your own Marian!" "It air, as I'm a livin' man! I mightn't a know'd her in that queer dress; but yon's her dog. It's Wolf: I kud tell him, any whar."
"News of her? Quick! tell me! has aught happened to her?" "The worst that kud happen, I reck'n she's dead." I started as if a shot had passed through my heart. Its convulsive throbbing stifled my speech. I could not get breath to utter a word; but stood gazing at my companion in silent agony. "Arter all," continued he, in a tone of grave resignation, "I don't know if it air the worst.
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