lf from the deadly
stupor he had fallen into. If he had not been secured by a rope on
Buckskin, he would have slipped off long before on to the ground. But
help was at hand. Buckskin had stopped by some bars. Like all prairie
horses, he was very clever, and finding his rider made no effort to get
off and put the bars down for him, he set to work to try and do it
himself. He got his head under the top pole, and lifted it up from its
place until one end fell down. He was working at the second when a
dog's bark sounded close by, and very soon a light appeared in the
doorway of a small log-house inside the bars, as a man came out and
looked about.

It was too dark for him to see the horse outside, and Jack was quite
unconscious by this time, so it would have fared badly with our friends
in the storm, if the dog had not plunged forward over the snow and
commenced barking frantically round them. This surprised the man, and
procuring a lantern, he came towards the bars.

'What is it, Jim? Only coyotes, I believe. You silly old rogue!' he
said as the dog rushed back to him; but as he got closer, he perceived
the dark form of a horse.

'Hello! What have we here?' he exclaimed, as he let down the bars. 'A
loose horse! Why, I declare, it's old Buck back again! But what has
he got on his back? It looks like a child!'

He quickly led the horse to the door, and by the light of the lantern
untied the rope, and carried the motionless figure into the house.

'Here, wife,' he called out, 'come and see to this child, while I take
the horse to the stable. It's the strangest thing I ever knew. Buck
gets stolen, and to-night I find him at the bars in this blizzard, with
a kid on his back!'

A woman took the boy, and laid him on a couch some distance from the
fire. She then removed the blanket, and was chafing the stiff limbs to
bring back the circulation, when her husband returned, having made
Buckskin as comfortable as possible in his own stable.

'Look! He's coming round a bit,' said the woman hopefully. 'Pour some
warm coffee between his lips.'

The man obeyed, and the liquid seemed to revive the unconscious boy.
He sighed and opened his eyes. He saw a gentle face bending over him,
and knew his troubles were ended.

'Oh, Mother darling! I ain't dead, and I've found you at last!' was
his joyful cry, and the next moment he was folded in her loving arms.

[Illustration: '"OH, MOTHER DARLING! I AIN'T DEAD, AN