A mile of this, but when he looked back the posse were even closer. They
were riding still with the spur! It was madness, but it was not his part to
worry for them, and it was necessary that he maintain at least this
interval, so he leaned a little forward to cut the wind more easily, and
Satan leaped into a faster pace. He had several distinct advantages over
the mounts of the posse. At their customary rolling lope they will travel
all day with hardly a break, but they have neither the size nor the length
of leg for sustained bursts of speed. Moreover, most of the cowponies who
now raced on the trail of Satan carried riders who outweighed Barry by
twenty pounds and in addition to this they were burdened by saddles made
ponderously to stand the strain of roping cattle, whereas Barry's specially
made saddle was hardly half that weight. Perhaps more than all this, the
cowponies rode by compulsion, urged with sharp spurs, checked and guided by
the jaw-breaking curb, whereas Satan frolicked along at his own will, or at
least at the will of a master which was one with his.
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