disposition, although that was necessarily a matter of conjecture, for the
present. There were no saddles upon any of the horses, and nothing but the
rudest kind of bridle, consisting of a thong of twisted bull's hide, and
reaching away to some limb or tree, so as to give the animal plenty of
grazing area. The lariats of the other four were cut--so that, when they
arose, they would find themselves at liberty to go whither they
chose--after which the two approached their respective prizes and prepared
to mount.

Both were good riders, although, being compelled to go it bareback, they
felt some misgivings as to the result. Fred's mustang was rather under
size, so that he was able to vault upon him from the ground without
difficulty. After patting him on the neck and speaking soothingly to him,
with a view to disarming him of all timidity, the lad leaped lightly upon
his back.

The steed showed at once that he did not like this familiarity, and reared
and plunged and shook his head in a vicious way, but he toned down
somewhat after a time, and seemed disposed to compromise matters until he
learned something about his rider.

"Ye're going to become a good rider--that is, in the course of twenty or
thirty years," remarked Mickey, who had been watching his young friend
closely, "if ye practice aich day in those thirty years; but I want you to
observe _my_ shtyle--note how complately I bring the animal under, how
docile he becomes, how mild, how gentle, how lamblike."

And with these rather pompous observations, he laid his hand upon the mane
of his mustang, and at one bound bestrode him, catching the lariat after
the manner of one who was determined to have no nonsense about it.