The lariat, thrown with great precision, settled down accurately over the Man’s head.
It reached his shoulders and there tightened.
At the moment, the Steam Man was going a thirty miles per hour gait. The effect was thrilling.
The greaser fancied that he could bring the Steam Man’s career to an end, even as he would that of a wild steer.
But he had reckoned without his host this time.
The Steam Man kept straight on. The Mexican threw his horse upon its haunches, and the next moment expected to see the Steam Man topple over.
But an astonished cowboy was the order of the hour.
The lariat tightened like a whip-cord. The little mustang’s forefeet were braced in the soft soil of the prairie.
For ten feet the mustang slid along as if on skates.
Then over on its side it went, the cowboy falling underneath.