16
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.

Young as was our hero, he had served his apprenticeship at the cattle
business, and was an expert at the round-up, in branding, in cutting
out, in herding, and all the arduous require