"I see how it is, and how easy," said Ted. "They have been following us
ever since we have been on the trail, but from a secure distance,
generally riding parallel with us, out of sight in coulees, watching us
continually."
"But how could they poison our cattle, without our seeing some of them
sometimes?" asked Kit.
"Easy enough. Probably there are only two of them, for more would be in
the way, and run more risk of being seen."
"But about the poisoning part of it? I don't understand how they could
do it."
"That's easy, too. They are probably a day ahead of us all the time,
guessing at our probable direction of march. If they guess it wrong,
they try it over again, for they are never more than a mile or so away.
When they pick out a place where they think we will graze, they scatter
the Paris green on the grass for the cattle to lick up. It takes a
good-sized dose of the poison to affect so large an animal as a steer,
and that is probably why we have not lost more of our stock by that
means. They could never get quite enough, that is, the most of them, to
kill them. Such as are dead did get enough to make them loco first, and
kill them afterward."
"Another thing," said Kit: "We have had several heavy rains in the early
morning lately, and that has served to run the poison off.
Pages:
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346