efforts carried him all over the trail, and once
dangerously near the edge and the turbulent
waters below. But he found himself unable to
throw off the weight.

"Guess maybe -- I made -- a slight -- mistake!"
exploded the rider, clamping his knees against
Pat. But go -- go to it -- old trader!"

Pat accepted the challenge. For this he knew
it was. He leaped and twisted; returned to earth
with a jolt; pitched and tossed and bucked. And
he kept it up, fighting grimly, till he discovered
its futility, when he stopped. A moment he stood,
breathing heavily, then he set out across the
bridge, whisking his tail and wriggling his ears, all
in spirited acceptance of reluctant defeat.

He did not attempt further rebellion. Slow-kindling
respect stirred within him for this man
upon his back -- the respect but not love which one
entertains toward the mighty, and he gained the
end of the bridge and turned south along the trail,
partly reconciled. Yet he had not rebelled in
vain. The grip on his bit no longer annoyed him,
and though the weight still remained heavy, somehow
it seemed more endurable now through some
cause which he could not determine -- probably his
increased respect for it. So he trotted along, amiably
disposed toward all the world, pleasantly anticipatory
of the immediate future, ears and eyes
alert and straining toward all things. On his left
the river gurgled softly in the desert stillness-a
stillness sharply broken. From afar off came a
strange call, the long-drawn howl of a coyote.

[[159]]

p158 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p159w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p160

v?