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"Who's old Toar"
"Cougar? That's a panther--a mountain-lion, didn't he say?"
"Shore is Tom is a beauty An' if he takes a likin' to you he'll love you, play with you, maul you half to death"
Bo was all eyes
"Dale has other pets, too?" she questioned, eagerly
"I never was up to his camp but what it was overrun with birds an' squirrels an' vermin of all kinds, as taer thet You girls will never want to leave thet senaca of his"
"What's a senaca?" asked Helen, as she shifted her foot to let hihten the cinches on her saddle
"Thet's Mexican for park, I guess," he replied "These mountains are full of parks; an', say, I don't ever want to see no prettier place till I get to heaven There, Ranger, old boy, thet's tight"
He slapped the horse affectionately, and, turning to his own, he stepped and swung his long length up
"It ain't deep crossin' here Come on," he called, and spurred his bay
The stream here ide and it looked deep, but turned out to be deceptive
"Wal, girls, here beginneth the second lesson," he drawled, cheerily "Ride one behind the other--stick close to me--do what I do--an' holler when you want to rest or if sooes bad"
With that he spurred into the thicket Bo went next and Helen followed The s dragged at her so hard that she was unable to watch Roy, and the result was that a loeeping branch of a tree knocked her hard on the head It hurt and startled her, and roused her round so well, and he led up a slope to the open pine forest Here the ride for several ht, level, and open Helen liked the forest to-day It was brown and green, with patches of gold where the sun struck She saw her first bird--big blue grouse that whirred up froray quail that appeared aard on the wing Several tiray across some forest aisle, and often when he pointed Helen was not quick enough to see
Helen realized that this ride would make up for the hideous one of yesterday So far she had been only barely conscious of sore places and aching bones These she would bear with She loved the wild and the beautiful, both of which increased rant and cool, the sky blue as azure and so deep that she iined that she could look far up into it