Sunset Ranch: A Story of a Boy's Adventures in the West — page 175: what you’re looking at

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

Under the Waning Moon. 163 For hardly had he commenced to cast his eyes about than he discovered something that caused him to fall flat on his face, while his heart beat like a trip- hammer. Not more than a quarter of a mile away a small column of light smoke arose from a depression in the prairie, proving that some campers must have been located there during the night. Cuthbert could guess who they were. As a usual thing, Indians manage to build their es without visible smoke when in an enemy’s coun- try, but these braves had grown reckless, being so near home, and used none of the ordinary precau- tions. Greatly worried by their proximity, Cuthbert ran to his horse and arranged things for an immediate flight. He could pass along the depression for a short distance, when it gradually merged into the level, so that further progress without discovery was out of the question. All he could do now was to wait and hope for the best. : If these campers proved to be the hunting party homeward bound, as he suspected, they had plenty of room to make for the hills without discovering either him or his horse. Indeed, only through some direct irony of fate could such an accident occur. Cuthbert, having all arranged and his horse staked close at hand, once more climbed to the top of the little knoll. Immediately he saw that he had hit the nail di- rectly on the head when reaching the conclusion that Indians built the fire, for they were now in sight. A start was about to be made on the last stretch, with the expectation of bringing up in the home vil- lage by noon. COMGIOO ‘S C©