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[Illustration]




 THE RED

 MUSTANG

 _by_ W. O. STODDARD




THE RED MUSTANG




 HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE'S SERIES
 NEW LARGE-TYPE EDITION

 TOBY TYLER                      James Otis

 MR. STUBBS'S BROTHER            James Otis

 TIM AND TIP                     James Otis

 RAISING THE "PEARL"             James Otis

 ADVENTURES OF BUFFALO BILL      W. F. Cody

 DIDDIE, DUMPS AND TOT           Mrs. L. C. Pyrnelle

 MUSIC AND MUSICIANS             Lucy C. Lillie

 THE CRUISE OF THE CANOE CLUB    W. L. Alden

 THE CRUISE OF THE "GHOST"       W. L. Alden

 MORAL PIRATES                   W. L. Alden

 A NEW ROBINSON CRUSOE           W. L. Alden

 PRINCE LAZYBONES                Mrs. W. J. Hays

 THE FLAMINGO FEATHER            Kirk Munroe

 DERRICK STERLING                Kirk Munroe

 CHRYSTAL, JACK & CO.            Kirk Munroe

 WAKULLA                         Kirk Munroe

 THE ICE QUEEN                   Ernest Ingersoll

 THE RED MUSTANG                 W. O. Stoddard

 THE TALKING LEAVES              W. O. Stoddard

 TWO ARROWS                      W. O. Stoddard

 HARPER & BROTHERS
 PUBLISHERS




[Illustration: "NOW FOR SANTA LUCIA!"]




 THE
 RED MUSTANG




 BY
 WILLIAM O. STODDARD

 Author of "THE TALKING LEAVES"




 ILLUSTRATED


 [Illustration]



 HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
 NEW YORK AND LONDON




 THE RED MUSTANG

 Copyright, 1890, by Harper & Brothers
 Copyright, 1918, by William O. Stoddard
 Printed in the U. S. A.




CONTENTS


 CHAPTER                                                PAGE

       I. THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER                          1

      II. HOW CAL EVANS RODE FOR HELP                     15

     III. THE BAND OF KAH-GO-MISH                         23

      IV. THE GARRISON OF SANTA LUCIA                     27

       V. CAL AND THE CAVALRY AND THE RED MUSTANG         32

      VI. THE PERIL OF SANTA LUCIA                        38

     VII. BOUND FOR THE BORDER                            51

    VIII. GETTING READY TO CHASE KAH-GO-MISH              56

      IX. THE HACIENDA OF SANTA LUCIA                     63

       X. THE TARGET ON THE ROCK                          67

      XI. THE STORY OF A LOG                              75

     XII. PING AND THE COUGAR                             82

    XIII. THE RETURN OF KAH-GO-MISH                       89

     XIV. THE FOUNTAIN IN THE DESERT                      94

      XV. LOST IN THE CHAPARRAL                          101

     XVI. AN INVASION OF TWO REPUBLICS                   107

    XVII. HOW PING AND TAH-NU-NU GOT TO THE SPRING       114

   XVIII. HOW DICK PLAYED SENTINEL                       120

     XIX. BAD NEWS FOR WAH-WAH-O-BE                      126

      XX. HOW CAL STARTED FOR MEXICO                     132

     XXI. THE MANITOU OF COLD SPRING                     139

    XXII. ACROSS THE DESERT BY NIGHT                     144

   XXIII. AT THE RANCH AND IN THE CHAPARRAL              151

    XXIV. CAL'S NIGHT UNDER A TREE                       157

     XXV. A STRANGE LETTER FROM MEXICO                   163

    XXVI. CAL'S VISITORS AND HIS BREAKFAST               169

   XXVII. THE POST-BOY THAT GOT AWAY                     174

  XXVIII. THE MYSTERY OF THE STICKS                      180

    XXIX. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE FIRE?                       186

     XXX. THE MANITOU WATER                              192

    XXXI. PULL STICK AND THE HURRICANE                   198

   XXXII. UNDER A FALLEN TREE                            204

  XXXIII. LEAVING THE BAD-MEDICINE CAMP                  210

   XXXIV. TAH-NU-NU'S DISAPPOINTMENT                     216

    XXXV. HAND TO HAND BY FIRELIGHT                      222

   XXXVI. HOW CAL WAS LEFT ALL ALONE                     227

  XXXVII. RESCUED BY THE RED MUSTANG                     234

 XXXVIII. HOW THEY ALL REACHED SANTA LUCIA               239




ILLUSTRATIONS


 "Now for Santa Lucia!"                            _Frontispiece_

                                                      FACING PAGE

 She and Ping Were Stealing Out upon the Broken Ledge          86

 "Ugh!" They Said, as They Looked at Him. "Kah-Go-Mish"       110

 Cal Took the Leaf, and Used His Knife for a Pen              184




THE RED MUSTANG THE RED MUSTANG:

_A STORY OF THE MEXICAN BORDER._




CHAPTER I.

THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER.


Early one bright June morning, not long ago, a high knoll of a prairie
in southern New Mexico was occupied as it had never been before.
Rattlesnakes had coiled there; prairie-dog sentinels and wolves and
antelopes, and even grim old buffalo bulls, had used that swelling mound
for a lookout station. Mountains in the distance and a great sweep of
the plains could be seen from it. Never until that hour, however, since
the grass began to grow, had precisely such a horse pawed and fretted
there, while precisely such a boy sat in the saddle and looked around.

It is very uncommon for a mustang to show a bright and perfect blood bay
color, but this one did so, and it seemed as if the glossy beauty of his
coat only brought out the perfection of his shape and the easy grace of
his movements. He was a fiery, powerful fellow, and he appeared to have
some constitutional objection to standing still. The saddle upon his
back and the bridle held by his rider were of the best Mexican
workmanship, silver mounted, the very thing to complete the elegance of
the red mustang.

In the saddle sat a boy about fourteen years of age, a gray-eyed,
brown-haired young fellow, broad-shouldered and well made, whose
sunburned face was all aglow with health and who seemed to feel
altogether at home in the stirrups. He wore a palm-leaf sombrero, a blue
flannel shirt and trousers, while the revolver case at his belt and the
carbine slung at his back added to the dashing effect of his outfit.

"Cowboy! I a cowboy!" he exclaimed, as the mustang curveted under him.
"Look at those cattle! Look at all those horses! I'd rather own Santa
Lucia ranch and ride Dick all over the range, than to live in any city I
saw in the Eastern States. Hurrah!"

An exultant, ringing laugh followed the shout, but he still held in
Dick. He took a long look, in all directions, as if it were part of his
business to know if anything besides cattle were stirring between that
knoll and the dim, cloudlike mountain-peaks, or the distant trees which
marked the horizon of the plain.

Cattle and horses enough were in sight, as he turned from one point of
the compass to another. The horned animals were not gathered in one
great drove, but were scattered in larger and smaller gangs, here and
there, and were busily feeding. Something like half a regiment of
horses, however, had kept together somewhat better, and the red mustang
himself seemed to be taking an especial interest in them.

"Be quiet, Dick," said his master. "Are you set on springs?"

A low whinny and something like a suppressed curvet was Dick's reply,
and it was followed by a sharp exclamation.

"Dick, what's that? What's the matter with Sam Herrick?"

At the same instant Dick was wheeled in an easterly direction and was
permitted to bound away to meet a horse and rider who were coming
towards him at furious speed.

Hardly three minutes later both reins were drawn so suddenly as almost
to compel the two quadrupeds to sit down.

"What's the matter, Sam?"

"Indians, Cal, Indians!"

The news was of an exciting character and was given with emphasis, but
neither the voice nor the face of the black-bearded, undersized,
knotty-looking man who gave it betrayed the least trace of emotion. It
was as if he were mentioning some important but altogether
matter-of-course part of a cowboy's daily