Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 103: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Grand Round-Up. 95 rienced a nervous restlessness until the other showed up. The long, severe winter drew near its close. Kelly’s losses had been severe, but they were small when compared with others, for besides choice feed- ing ranges, Sunset Ranch boasted of a company of cowboys who were unsurpassed for their skill in herding. Few animals died from starvation, even though the whole outfit kept on the jump the better part of six days, when the most stupendous storm of the whole winter roared over prairie and hills, with stinging death in its teeth. The wolves pulled down an occasional weakling, but Karl and Cuthbert took ample revenge upon the gray-coated pirates for their daring, and many a freebooter went to earth before their guns ere the warmer sun of April began to thaw out creeks, and snowbanks melted away. And still Cuthbert had not spoken. Once or twice he had thought the time propitious, but something occurred to break in upon their pri- vacy; and, besides, he had a sensitiveness about speaking of family matters that apparently did not reflect any great lustre upon the famous Virginia name of Lee. So that Karl could only surmise what might be the nature of the trouble that sent this bright young scion of a noble house out into the wilderness. He really bothered his head very little about the matter. The months he had spent in Cuthbert’s so- ciety had taught him all he cared to know about the Virginian, and he would have staked his life that the other was incapable of a mean or criminal act. So, by degrees, they drew near the end of May, when the great annual “round-up” was slated to come off. comiclooks C©