Boyd.
"Well, we started home just before sundown; and as it was very hot, we
could not drive fast. Indeed, the horses were in a sheet of lather
almost immediately, and the air seemed fairly thick with the heat-rays,
and absolutely breathless. Just as we got to the bluff overlooking the
Big Sugar Creek, the sun set.
[Sidenote: A Dangerous District]
"'I wish we were on the other side of the creek, I know,' said my
brother-in-law.
"'Why so?' said I; 'this part of the country is perfectly safe, is it
not?'
"'Yes,' he replied, 'it is pretty safe now, but there are always some
rough customers about the bush, and there have been one or two shootings
on the Big Sugar. Orlando Morse saw a man on horseback one night just
after he had crossed the ford, waiting for him by the side of the road
under the trees. But Orlando is an old frontier-man, so he is pretty
quick with his trigger. He fired twice at the man, after challenging;
whereupon the scoundrel vanished rapidly, and Orlando got safe home.'
"I felt very uncomfortable at this, as you may imagine; still, as I knew
my brother-in-law had a very poor opinion of the nerves of Englishwomen,
I made an effort to say, as lightly as I could: 'What a very
extraordinary country, to be sure! And do you always shoot anybody you
may happen to see standing by the roadside of a summer's evening?'
"'Oh no,' laughed Louis; 'we're not quite so savage as that.
Pages:
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348