rear. At the end of forty rods there came a sudden change in the order of the procession. Lloyd's horse had run away with him, and, from sheer force of habit, taken the left-hand road toward the State Prison, instead of the right-hand one leading to San Rafael. The Doctor seeing the mistake called out "No! no!" at the top of his voice. His intelligent mustang, from an excess of zeal to obey orders, had both ears erect and open, expecting that our speed would not last and the order "whoa" would be given. In the excitement of the moment he mistook the word, or feared that he might have mistaken it, and to make a sure thing put out his fore legs, stiff-kneed, which movement by a horse of playful disposition is termed "bucking." Horse and rider in such cases generally find it difficult to continue in company, and so part, as the best of friends sometimes must. That is just what the Doctor and his mustang did, at the moment I turned my head. Following the Doctor something rose gracefully from the rear of the saddle, described a gentle curve in the air, and landed with a loud thud and a sharp jingle on the hard road, a few feet ahead of him. It was the saddle-bags, and the jingle sounded suspiciously like that of broken glass—which we found no difficulty in ascertaining that it was. Juanita, not caring to run over the Doctor, jumped backward suddenly, and in doing so left me sitting unsupported in the air. I make it a rule not to war against nature's laws. Those laws say that in such cases one must come down. The ground in that particular locality is very solid, as I ascertained beyond a doubt.
