It seemed to the glorified fancy of
the boys that he held his head higher than ever, and that his great mane
and tail flowed away in new ripples. He stalked proudly at the head of the
herd down to the other side of the prairie, where they went placidly on
with their grazing.
"That is certainly one thing that turned out right," said Paul in a
gratified tone.
"The hoofs of a powerful and enraged wild stallion are a terrible thing,"
said Henry. "Even a deer, which is far smaller, can kill a man with its
hoofs. But if you'll look again, Paul, you'll see that a new danger
threatens our king of horses."
Paul followed Henry's gaze, and he distinctly saw two or three human
figures at the edge of the wood. These figures were hidden from the horses
by a swell of the prairies, and, as in the case of the cougar, the wind
blew their odor away. "Indians?" asked Paul.
"I can't tell at this distance," replied Henry, "but it's more likely that
they belong to the party of Alvarez, and perhaps they know that wild
horses frequent this prairie and others hereabouts. See what they are
doing!"
Paul saw well enough, One man carrying on his arm a coll of rope, the
lariat of Mexico, lay down in the long grass which completely hid him, but
both Henry and Paul knew that he was creeping forward inch by inch toward
the beautiful stallion that was grazing not ten yards from the woods.
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