[Illustration: A RACE FOR LIFE.] _FOREST AND PRAIRIE SERIES--No. 1_ THE GREAT CATTLE TRAIL BY EDWARD S. ELLIS AUTHOR OF THE "WYOMING SERIES," "LOG CABIN SERIES," "DEERFOOT SERIES," ETC. THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, TORONTO. COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY PORTER & COATES. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. AT THE RANCH. 1 II. AN ALARMING INTERRUPTION. 10 III. JUST IN TIME. 19 IV. A DESPERATE VENTURE. 28 V. UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS. 36 VI. DINAH'S DISCOVERY. 44 VII. DINAH'S EXPLOIT. 52 VIII. IN THE MESQUITE BUSH. 61 IX. AT FAULT. 69 X. A SURPRISE. 77 XI. CHANGING PLACES. 85 XII. ON THE ROOF. 94 XIII. A DEAD RACE. 102 XIV. THE FRIEND IN NEED. 111 XV. VANISHED. 119 XVI. CLEVERLY DONE. 127 XVII. AT FAULT. 135 XVIII. AN UNEXPECTED QUERY. 143 XIX. DOWN THE LADDER. 151 XX. "THE BOYS HAVE ARRIVED!" 159 XXI. THROUGH THE BUSH. 167 XXII. THUNDERBOLT. 180 XXIII. "GOOD-BY!" 191 XXIV. A STRANGE DELAY. 203 XXV. HEADING NORTHWARD. 216 XXVI. A SHOT FROM THE DARKNESS. 228 XXVII. SHACKAYE, THE COMANCHE. 238 XXVIII. A MISHAP. 247 XXIX. OLD ACQUAINTANCES. 258 XXX. AT BAY. 264 XXXI. THE FLAG OF TRUCE. 276 XXXII. DIPLOMACY. 288 XXXIII. DRIVEN TO THE WALL. 295 XXXIV. THE FLANK MOVEMENT. 301 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE A RACE FOR LIFE. Frontispiece A STARTLING DISCOVERY. 52 THE LAST STAND. 264 THE GREAT CATTLE TRAIL CHAPTER I. AT THE RANCH. Avon Burnet, at the age of eighteen, was one of the finest horsemen that ever scurried over the plains of Western Texas, on his matchless mustang Thunderbolt. He was a native of the Lone Star State, where, until he was thirteen years old, he attended the common school, held in a log cabin within three miles of his home, after which he went to live with his uncle, Captain Dohm Shirril, with whom the orphan son of his sister had been a favorite from infancy.