I found that all my efforts had
been useless. The old king was too cunning for me. A single instance
will show his wonderful sagacity. Acting on the hint of an old trapper,
I melted some cheese together with the kidney fat of a freshly killed
heifer, stewing it in a china dish, and cutting it with a bone knife to
avoid the taint of metal.

When the mixture was cool, I cut it into lumps, and making a hole in one
side of each lump, I inserted a large dose of strychnine and cyanide,
contained, in a capsule that was impermeable by any odor; finally I
sealed the holes up with pieces of the cheese itself. During the whole
process, I wore a pair of gloves steeped in the hot blood of the heifer,
and even avoided breathing on the baits. When all was ready, I put them
in a raw-hide bag rubbed all over with blood, and rode forth dragging
the liver and kidneys of the beef at the end of a rope. With this I
made a ten-mile circuit, dropping a bait at each quarter of a mile, and
taking the utmost care, always, not to touch any with my hands.

Lobo, generally, came into this part of the range in the early part of
each week, and passed the latter part, it was supposed, around the base
of Sierra Grande. This was Monday, and that same evening, as we were
about to retire, I heard the deep bass howl of his majesty. On hearing
it one of the boys briefly remarked, "There he is, we'll see."

The next morning I went forth, eager to know the result. I soon came
on the fresh trail of the robbers, with Lobo in the lead--his track was
always easily distinguished. An ordinary wolf's forefoot is 4 1/2 inches
long, that of a large wolf 4 3/4 inches, but Lobo's, as measured a
number of times, was 5 1/2 inches from claw to heel; I afterward found
that his other proportions were commensurate, for he stood three feet
high at the shoulder, and weighed 150 pounds. His trail, therefore,
though obscured by those of his followers, was never difficult to trace.
The pack had soon found the track of my drag, and as usual followed it.
I could see that Lobo had come to the first bait, sniffed about it, and
finally had picked it up.

Then I could not conceal my delight. "I've got him at last," I
exclaimed; "I shall find him stark within a mile," and I galloped on
with eager eyes fixed on the great broad track in the dust. It led me to
the second bait and that also was gone. How I exulted--I surely have
him now and perhaps several of his band. But there was the br