oards, and no
attention paid to their ownership, since it was expected that all would
meet at "Roderick's," where every traveller could find his own.

With a blast on his coach horn, a crack of his long whip over his
four-in-hand, proud Lemuel led the way along the city street, out of the
town, and into the open country beyond.

All the horses attached to the blackboards were the picked ones of the
San Leon stables, with a record known as well in the far east as in that
wide western land. As one spectator of this gallant start remarked:

"It goes without saying that Dan Ford will drive no second-rate
horseflesh, any more 'n he will a second-class railroad. My! See 'em
travel! At that gait they'll pick up the stretch 'twixt here and
'Roderick's' long before nightfall, or I'm no judge."

"Likely enough, likely enough. Only I don't like the looks of that
second span--I mean the one to the middle buckboard. Them blacks. The
boys up to S' Leon hadn't no right to trust a tenderfoot to drive them
critters!" remarked another observer, as the fretful animals passed out
of sight, following their leaders.

Even Lem Hunt looked back once or twice, as they left the city limits,
and waved a warning hand toward "T. Sorrel," who merely tossed his red
head and continued to draw upon the reins he should have loosened. Also,
Silent Pete opened his lips for once and hallooed to the man ahead:

"Let 'em out, you fool! Give 'em their heads, I say!"

Then he relapsed into his normal condition, attending strictly to his
own business and making himself deaf to the timid shrieks of Miss
Milliken, from the rear seat. He was known to "hate silly women" and
felt his fate a hard one in having to escort such a one as the
governess. She, accustomed only to the sedate pace of the fat Montaigne
steeds, felt that the spirited animals before that wagon were simply on
the road to destruction and nowhere short of it! She clung to her
seat-arm with one hand and clutched Pete's coat collar with the other,
frantically beseeching him:

"Do stop! Oh! you--man--just stop--and let me get my breath! I--I bump
so--I--I can't even think!"

But this western jehu merely flicked her fingers off as he would a
troublesome fly, while Monty coolly advised:

"Don't try, Miss Milliken. Fast? Why, they call this mere walkin' out
here. I'm going to take a nap."

He settled himself sidewise on his seat, folded his arms upon its back,
dropped his face upon them and t