Page:Patches (1928).pdf/159

 One evening before sundown Larry went to the top of the pinnacle above Piñon Valley where his uncle had taken him on that memorable day when he had shown him "the cattle on a thousand hills."

Larry scanned the country through his glass for a long time before he made out anything that interested him. But finally he discovered on the upper plateau a dog-like animal trotting towards the cul-de-sac or neck of the bottle which led through into Piñon Valley.

At first he thought it was surely an enormous dog, then as the animal drew nearer he saw to his great surprise that it was a gigantic wolf, perhaps Two Toes himself.

Larry's surprise on discovering the wolf had barely subsided when he noticed a horse following about seventy-five yards behind the wolf, but he was not alone for presently Larry discovered nearly a dozen other horses all spread out in an elliptical shape behind the wolf, and then he saw that the horse leading was Patches.

Then Larry noticed that the great wolf seemed very tired, for he trotted wearily along and not with the usual springy lope of the lobo wolf.

But soon he lost him as he disappeared in the neck of the bottle. He turned his glass upon the point where he must reappear at the upper end of Piñon Valley.