XXIV.

But 'twan't no coyote nor prowlin' beast.
Nor rattle a-wrigglin' through the grass,
Nor a lurkin' red-skin--'twan't my way
In a game like that to sing out, "I pass!"
But I know'd when I glimps'd the rollin' whites,
The sparks from the black of the mustang's eye,
Thar wus _somethin'_ waltzin' up thet way
Thet would send them critters off on the fly!


XXV.

In the night-air's tremblin', shakin' hands
Felt it beatin' kerslap onto me,
Like them waves thet chas'd thet President chap
Thet went on the war-trail in old Judee.
The air wus bustin'--but silent es death;
An' lookin' up, in a second I seed
The sort of sky thet allers looks down
On the rush an' the roar of a night stampede.


XXVI.

Tearin' along the indigo sky
Wus a drove of clouds, snarl'd an' black;