that ride of terry clark on the back of the buffalo bull was one which he could never forget had he wished to do so, which of course he did not. the first thrill, when the beast dashed off on a dead run, and the wind began blowing by the ears of the lad, was that of pleasure. he was having an exciting ride, and, as good fortune would have it, the animal was bearing him straight along the trail toward the camp in the ozarks.
"if the baste will show enough consideration for me," thought the lad, "to kape up his coorse for twinty miles or so, he will give me a good lift toward raichin' the folks, though sorry i am that i haven't fred alongside or rather behind me."
the bull being on a run, his progress consisted of a series of quick jumps, which jarred the rider so much that had he not kept a good grip upon the shaggy mane, he would have been unseated. the hair of the animal was so long that he was able to make his hold secure, though he had a constant fear that he would stumble, in which case the rider was sure to take a tremendous header that was likely to break his neck.
terry could feel the throb, as it may be called, of the engine. his position was such that his heels touched the body close to the shoulders of the bull. at that point there was an alternate swelling and sinking of the muscles, as the animal alighted on his feet and leaped away again, which terry felt as plainly as if he had held his open hand on the shoulder. then, too, the bull had a peculiar sidelong motion, as though some of his muscles occasionally got out of "gear," and the action of the hind legs did not "dovetail," so to speak, with that of the fore legs.
nothing escaped the eye of terry during those exciting minutes. he thought the head of the bull was held unusually low, but he noticed the short, thick horns, curving outward and then coming over until they ended within a few inches of each other, and he was sure that amid the dusty frontispiece of the immense area of skull bone he could see where his useless bullet had struck and glanced off; once or twice he caught a whiff of the breath of the buffalo, redolent with the not unpleasant odor of grass, and now and then he could hear his fierce snort. it seemed to terry that the animal turned his head partly to one side as if to get a view of the strange creature on his back. doubtless such was the fact, and, after each sight, it seemed that he bounded away with more terror than before.
brief as was the time taken by the bull in galloping across the prairie, it allowed terry to see every thing. as soon as he felt sure of retaining his seat, he glanced at the other animals, all of which were galloping in the same direction as the bull. some of them were so fleet that they passed him, but he retained his place near the middle of the herd.
the buffalo, or properly the bison, is a stupid animal, but a peculiar fact about the small drove amid which terry clark was riding was that a number noticed him and in their way tried to push him off. they would dash up beside the bull with head lowered, and rub their horns against him in the effort to reach the rider and unseat him.
"the only way in which ye can do that," said terry, when he saw what they were trying to do, "is to climb up and take a saat behind me. thin, if ye'll lock yer arms about me nick ye may persuade me to stip down, but ye can't do much while on the ground."
the buffaloes were too dull of intellect to realize their helplessness in this respect, and they continued crowding close to the bull until they must have caused him some discomfort. this crowding was of such a marked character that, as you will remember, it was noticed by fred linden as far off as he stood.
once or twice the rider had one of his feet slightly jammed, but he was able to lift it out of danger without imperiling his position. the dust caused by the hoofs of the animals did not rise until his steed had passed beyond, so that he suffered nothing therefrom and every thing in front was in plain view. the speed of the beast, however, caused some inconvenience, for the wind made him blink, and it was only by half closing his eyes that he could peer out between the lids and see clearly.
before the other side of the prairie was reached, terry clark began asking himself the natural and important question,—how is this to end?
the same theories that i have mentioned as occurring to fred linden passed through his brain also. if the bull should dash among the trees at that headlong pace, the rider could not retain his place for more than a minute or two; if he was wounded enough to cause him to give out and fall to the ground, he would be trampled upon by those behind and terry of course would share his fate.
brief as was the time given for thought, the youth considered a half dozen plans. he glanced over his shoulder and was alarmed to see how many animals were in the rear of him. he asked himself whether he could not slip backward, grasp the swinging tail, and dropping to the ground, keep his feet while he held fast to the caudal appendage, and pulling the310 other way, act as a brake upon the progress of the animal until all the others had passed on. then he would "release brakes," and allow the bull to continue his career as suited himself.
but he was compelled to admit that the plan was not feasible. the bull was going at such a pace that the rider would be sure to lose his balance the moment he struck the ground, and, though he might still hold fast to the tail and retard the progress of the beast, he was sure of getting in the way of his heels.
"if his tail was a little longer," reflected terry, "i would try the same, but i'm afeard i would git mixed up with his hind hoofs and things wouldn't be agraaable."
so that plan was abandoned.
"if he goes in among the trees, i'll lean forward on me face until he knocks out his brains—that is, if he has any—whin i'll dismount."
that was all well enough if the bull should happen to follow the programme, but the prospect of his doing so was too remote to afford much comfort to the youth.
"i guess i'll kaap erict like a gintleman,"311 he concluded, "and as soon as a chance comes for me to jump off, i'll go."
terry had no thought but that the buffaloes would dash among the trees and continue their flight in the same headlong fashion, as long as they could; but, to his amazement, the head of the drove suddenly swerved to the left and the bull followed.
"be the powers, but this will never do," was his conclusion; "this perarie may raach all the way to the gulf of mexico, and the bull doesn't act as if he meant to stop before he raaches there; i'm goin' to make other arrangements."
he kept his seat until the drove had gone several hundred yards with unabated speed. so far as he could judge, the bull was holding his own with the rest: whatever wound he had received was of no account, so far as its immediate effect was seen. the others continued crowding up as before, but terry did not mind them. he yelled and shook his head in the hope of frightening them off so as to give him the room he wished in order to make his venture, but they did not mind him. the odd crackling of their hoofs, the rattling of their horns as they struck together, and their occasional bellowing, made a din amid which no shout that he could raise would gain any consideration whatever.
"there's one thing sartin," said terry, compressing his lips and showing by his action that he had made up his mind to end the business one way or the other. "i'm tired of this crowd, and i ain't goin' to spind any more time with it."
between him and the wood were seven or eight buffaloes, crowding close in their idiotic fashion, as though to push off the rider. terry recalled the day, early in spring, when he ran rapidly across the creek near his home, by stepping upon the surging masses of ice, one after the other, and leaping off again before they had time to respond to his weight. he resolved to try something of the kind.
holding fast to the wiry mane with his hands, he drew his feet up under him, balanced himself a moment, then straightened up, and, turning quickly, stepped upon the back of the bull that was immediately alongside. before313 that creature could know what had been done, the pressure was removed and the weight of the lad was borne by a cow which was his next neighbor.
terry clark ran as nimbly as a monkey across the backs of the intervening buffaloes, until his foot rested on the one nearest the wood. a slight slip at the moment of stepping upon his back disconcerted him so that he could not recover himself. his intention was to land on the ground with his face in the same direction he was going. then, even if he could not keep his feet, he could run with such speed that his fall would not hurt him; but unfortunately as he struck the ground he faced the other way, and before he could check himself, he went over backward with such force that he was knocked senseless.
after all, the fall may be considered a fortunate one, for he was not seriously hurt and soon recovered himself. he had received a severe shock, but in a short time he sat up and stared about him. recalling what had taken place, he looked in the direction of the herd of buffaloes. none of them was in sight, but a dark heap a short distance away showed where the bull on which he had ridden had given out and fallen to the ground. he was wounded more seriously than at first seemed to be the case. had terry stayed on his back a few brief minutes longer, he would have gone down with him and been trampled to death by the hoofs of those in the rear.
"i think i'm all here, as me cousin used to remark after he had enj'yed himself at donnybrook fair," said terry, rising carefully to his feet, swinging his arms and kicking out his legs. he had been violently jarred, and he was alarmed by a dizziness that caused him to sit down again. but he recovered quickly, and soon was as well as ever. he turned to the left and passed among the trees, where, despite the coolness of the day, he felt the relief of the shade thus afforded him.
"i s'pose fred will be jealous whin he finds out what a foine ride i have had," he added, his old sense of humor coming back; "but all he has to do is to catch a buffalo bull and git on his back: but i don't think he'll forgit the same right away."
looking over the prairie, he saw the figure of his friend walking in almost a direct line toward him, though he was so far off that he was not distinctly visible, partly because of the dust which still lingered in the air.
fred's encounter with the winnebago horsemen had taken place and ended while terry lay senseless on the ground, so that the latter had no suspicion of the exciting occurrence.
terry ought to have walked out on the plain, swung his hat and cheered his friend; but that would have been contrary to his nature. he kept out of sight among the trees, until fred was quite close, when he broke into vigorous whistling.
fred heard the familiar sound, stopped short, looked about him and then burst into laughter as he saw his comrade. the next moment they ran together, shook hands and mutually congratulated each other, as you will admit they had full warrant in doing.