The Great Cattle Trail   By: Edward Sylvester Ellis (1840-1916)

FOREST AND PRAIRIE SERIES No. 1

THE GREAT CATTLE TRAIL BY EDWARD S. ELLIS

AUTHOR OF THE "WYOMING SERIES," "LOG CABIN SERIES," "DEERFOOT SERIES," ETC.

THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, TORONTO.

COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY PORTER & COATES.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE I. AT THE RANCH. 1 II. AN ALARMING INTERRUPTION. 10 III. JUST IN TIME. 19 IV. A DESPERATE VENTURE. 28 V. UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS. 36 VI. DINAH'S DISCOVERY. 44 VII. DINAH'S EXPLOIT. 52 VIII. IN THE MESQUITE BUSH. 61 IX. AT FAULT. 69 X. A SURPRISE. 77 XI. CHANGING PLACES. 85 XII. ON THE ROOF. 94 XIII. A DEAD RACE. 102 XIV. THE FRIEND IN NEED. 111 XV. VANISHED. 119 XVI. CLEVERLY DONE. 127 XVII. AT FAULT. 135 XVIII. AN UNEXPECTED QUERY. 143 XIX. DOWN THE LADDER. 151 XX. "THE BOYS HAVE ARRIVED!" 159 XXI. THROUGH THE BUSH. 167 XXII. THUNDERBOLT. 180 XXIII. "GOOD BY!" 191 XXIV. A STRANGE DELAY. 203 XXV. HEADING NORTHWARD. 216 XXVI. A SHOT FROM THE DARKNESS. 228 XXVII. SHACKAYE, THE COMANCHE. 238 XXVIII. A MISHAP. 247 XXIX. OLD ACQUAINTANCES. 258 XXX. AT BAY. 264 XXXI. THE FLAG OF TRUCE. 276 XXXII. DIPLOMACY. 288 XXXIII. DRIVEN TO THE WALL. 295 XXXIV. THE FLANK MOVEMENT. 301

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE A RACE FOR LIFE. Frontispiece A STARTLING DISCOVERY. 52 THE LAST STAND. 264

THE GREAT CATTLE TRAIL

CHAPTER I.

AT THE RANCH.

Avon Burnet, at the age of eighteen, was one of the finest horsemen that ever scurried over the plains of Western Texas, on his matchless mustang Thunderbolt.

He was a native of the Lone Star State, where, until he was thirteen years old, he attended the common school, held in a log cabin within three miles of his home, after which he went to live with his uncle, Captain Dohm Shirril, with whom the orphan son of his sister had been a favorite from infancy.

Avon was bright, alert, unusually active, and exceedingly fond of horses from the time he was able to walk. His uncle had served through the Civil War in the Confederate army, returning to Texas at the close of hostilities, thoroughly "reconstructed," and only anxious to recover his fortunes, which had been scattered to the four winds of heaven during the long, bitter struggle.

The captain had no children of his own, and it was natural, therefore, that he and his wife should feel the strongest attachment for the boy who was placed in their care, and who, should his life be spared, would inherit whatever his new parents might be able to leave behind them when called to depart.

Avon had reached the age named, when to his delight he was told that he was to accompany the large herd of cattle which was to be driven northward, through upper Texas, the Indian Nation, and Kansas over the Great Cattle Trail, along which hundreds of thousands of hoofs have tramped during the years preceding and following the War for the Union.