Butnowthesurfaceofthegroundwasslippery，andtherapidmanoeuvringofhorseshadbecomeamatterprecariousintheextreme。Timeandagaintheponiesfairlysatontheirhaunchesandslidwhennegotiatingasuddenstop，whilequickturnsmeanttherapidscramblingsthatonlyacow-horsecouldaccomplish。
Neverthelesstheworkwentforwardunchecked。Themenoftheotheroutfitscuttheircattleintothestray-herd。Thelatterwasbynowofconsiderablesize，forthiswasthethirdweekoftheround-up。
Finallyeveryoneexpressedhimselfassatisfied。Thelargelydiminishedmainherdwasnowstartedforwardbymeansofshrillcowboycriesandbeatingofquirts。Thecattlewereonlytooeagertogo。Frommypositiononalittleriseabovethestray-herdIcouldseetheleadersbreakingintoarun，theirheadsthrownforwardastheysnuffedtheirfreedom。Onthemesasidethesentinelridersquietlywithdrew。Fromtherearandflanksthehorsemenclosedin。Thecattlepouredoutinasteadystreamthroughtheopeningthusleftonthemesaside。Thefringeofcowboysfollowed，urgingthemon。Abruptlythecavalcadeturnedandcamelopingback。Thecattlecontinuedaheadonatrot，graduallyspreadingabroadoverthelandscape，losingtheirintegrityasaherd。Someoftheslowerorhungrierdroppedoutandbegantograze。Certainofthemorewarydisappearedtorightorleft。
Now，aftertheday\'sworkwaspracticallyover，wehadourfirstaccident。ThehorseriddenbyayoungfellowfromDosCabesasslipped，fell，androlledquiteoverhisrider。Atoncetheanimallungedtohisfeet，onlytoheimmediatelyseizedbythenearestrider。ButtheDosCabesasmanlaystill，hisarmsandlegsspreadabroad，hisheaddoubledsidewaysinahorriblysuggestivemanner。Wehoppedoff。Twomenstraightenedhimout，whiletwomorelookedcarefullyovertheindicationsontheground。
\"Allright，\"sangoutoneofthem，\"thehorndidn\'tcatchhim。\"