"You did it!" declared Yellin' Kid, as Four Eyes loosed his rope and it fell to the ground, the riders guiding their horses out of the loop. "You shore did it!"
"But it was a trick!" declared Old Billee. "'Tw'an't straight ropin'!"
"Yes, it's a trick, but not every one can do it," said the new cowboy.
"Betcher I can!" declared Snake.
He tried—more than once, but failed. It was not as easy as it looked, in spite of the fact that it was a trick.
"No one can throw, with any accuracy, a loop big enough to take in four horses on the run," declared Four Eyes when it had been demonstrated that he alone, of all the "bunch" at the Happy Valley ranch, could do what he had done. "At least if they can, I've never seen it. Two, maybe, or three, but not four. Putting your rope on the ground, and snapping it up as the horses get in it, is the only way I know."
"I wish you'd show me," spoke Nort.
"I will," promised Four Eyes. "You don't often have need for a trick like it, but it may come in useful some day."
Then he showed the boys the knack of it, though it was evident they were not going to master the "how" in a hurry.
Other feats in roping were indulged in by the cowboys, but none was as expert as Four Eyes. He seemed to possess uncanny skill with the lariat, though some of his tricks could be duplicated by Snake, Yellin' Kid and even by the boy ranchers.