Now
he was drawing double the wage as rodman, and, of all the gang, stood
second to none in McIvor's regard. In this new venture he had come
nearer to making good than ever before in his life. So in full content
with himself he allowed his eyes to roam over the brown grassy plain
that sloped to the Bow in front, and over the Bow to the successive
lines of hills, rounded except where the black rocks broke jagged
through the turf, and upward over the rounded hills to the grey sides of
the mighty masses of the mountains, and still upward to where the white
peaks lost themselves in the shining blue of the sky. Behind him a
coulee ran back between hills to a line of timber, and beyond the timber
more hills and more valleys, and ever growing higher and deeper till
they ran into the bases of the great Rockies.
As Cameron lay thus luxuriating upon his buffalo skin and lazily
watching the hills across the river through the curling wreaths that
gracefully and fragrantly rose from his briar root, there broke from the
line of timber two jumping deer, buck and doe, the latter slow-footed
because heavy with young. Behind them in hot pursuit came a pack of
yelping coyotes. The doe was evidently hard pressed. The buck was
running easily, but gallantly refusing to abandon his mate to her
cowardly foes.
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