He swung about and
glared defiantly at his pursuers out of injected eyes. He had never seen
a lasso before, possibly not a man; but his instinct told him that the
horse and rider behind him were not roving the plain in his own aimless
fashion. He stood pawing the ground and shaking his great red nostrils.
Suddenly to his surprise the part of the horse new to him lifted itself,
and a black coiling something, graceful and swift as a rattlesnake,
sprang through the air with a sharp audible rush. A quarter of a moment
later he neighed with rage and terror: his neck was in a vice.
He gave a leap that nearly dragged Roldan from his saddle; but that
expert young gentleman had secured the lariat to the high pommel of his
saddle in a trice, and Don Jose Perez's mustang had thereafter to bear
the brunt of the strain.
The wild animal pulled and tugged and tore up the ground; but finding
that he but increased his own discomfort, he gradually subsided, and
when Roldan finally turned about and rode slowly toward Adan he followed
meekly enough.
When Adan saw the procession start in his direction he sat down on a
stone to rest, and when it reached him he obeyed orders and sprang on
the mustang's back as Roldan slipped off.
Pages:
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58