Perry slapped his pony’s neck in the exuberance of his delight and had a few moments of unexpected war-dance.
“Antoine! Antoine!” he cried, clinging to the saddle as best he could, “do you see it?”
As the young paleontologist had been looking at the fossil steadily all the time that the lad’s pony was prancing around on its hind legs, the question was quite unnecessary, but the boy had to blow off steam.
“It is a Mesohippus!” he cried excitedly, “it is, it is, it is!”
Antoine shook his head.
“It is a Hyrachyus,” he said. Then, turning to the cowboy, he continued, “this is the three-toed rhinoceros that I told you about, Mr. Round-up Dick. And,” he added, his eyes kindling, “it may be a perfect specimen.”
“A Hyrachyus!” chanted the boy. “Gee! What a find!”
The cowboy shifted impatiently in his saddle.
“Let’s see the color o’ the cards,” he said.
Antoine shook his feet free of the stirrups, and with an ease that surprised the boy, raised himself to his feet on the saddle. Standing, the Belgian could just see into the jaw of the skull. He examined the teeth carefully, then looked down at the two eager questioners.