rsman would have
glanced approvingly at his well-ordered equipment, the wicked blue Colts
in its Mexican holster sagging at just the proper angle for quick work
on a cartridge belt filled to the last becket, the pliable reata hanging
in unkinked coils with chafed honda evincing long usage. There was a
significant absence of fringe and ornament about this man, yet the
excellence of materials was noticeable, from the selected buckskin of
his gauntlets to the tempered steel of his rowels and expensive Stetson
hat; and women usually looked twice at the broad-chested, flat-thighed,
bronze-faced fellow who returned their stares with disconcerting
assurance. It was his habit to look all things squarely in the face, and
before his level gaze women blushed unaccountably and men smiled,
squirmed or turned quietly away as the circumstances warranted. Little
children alone took liberties with him, and for these the bold eyes
would soften wondrously and a rare gentleness creep into his usually
crisp and terse speech.

The panorama stretched out before him as he topped the ridge, halting
his horse instinctively to reconnoitre the ground, was one that would
ordinarily have appealed to him, for despite his prosaic avocation, his
was the true artistic temperament; but to-day he looked with weary
unappreciation bordering upon disgust, and mumbled profanely under his
heavy mustache.

The coyote sneaking stealthily among the short sagebrush caught his eye
and he laughed mirthlessly. "Poor devil! Rustling like the rest of us to
keep his miserable body and soul together--and making a damn poor job of
it. It would be a mercy--" and he half drew the heavy revolver from its
sheath. Just then the wolf sprang fiercely at a clump of grass and a
plaintive squeal rose upon the air. Then the coyote trotted out into the
open with a rabbit hanging limply from its jaws and made off across the
vega in a swinging gallop instead of devouring its prey instantly, as
one would have naturally anticipated, considering its gaunt and starved
appearance.

Under the tan of the cowboy's face a darker flush spread redly.

"A bunch of starving pups in the arroyo yonder, and I would have
wantonly killed her. God! what a brute I am."

For a space he sat in silent self-abasement; then as his horse champed
impatiently on the bit, he tightened the rein and rode slowly down to
the little lake.

At its edge he dismounted, and after removing the bridle so that his
hor