Whether he had misunderstood through ignorance of range practice or was deliberately attempting to make more serious the predicament of one for whom he had that day shown such cordial dislike, Pape had no time to ponder. He swung Polkadot into an oblique course on the chance of preventing the runaway's escape into that roughest cross-section of the park which begins just north of the Seventy-second-Street "parallel."
The syncopated patter of hoofs just behind him told that Irene, too, had swerved and was carrying on. Ahead, Jane urged her mount after Harford and his ill-conceived move.
For several minutes the four-party pursuit pounded over the keep-off meadow, whose grass was being held in reserve against the hot waves of next summer, when it would be thrown open to furnish cool green couches for thousands of tenement swelterers. So unseemly was the interruption as to draw gapes of amazement from such onlookers as held the border walks and bellows of command from outraged policemen.
The pinto's full-speed-ahead was reminiscent in terms of motion of Hellroaring days and deeds. With full realization of what the man-master expected of him, he winged across intervening spaces like a compact tornado. Pape unlimbered his lariat for a throw calculated to bring down the red for hog-tying.
While passing Jane, he shouted an order that she pull up and keep out of the scrimmage likely to attend the fight's finish. A dozen rods farther on and almost within rope reach, he called to Harford.
"Out of the way--I'm going to hang my string on him!"
The real-estater, who was showing superb riding form, turned in his saddle and leaned to listen, as though he had not heard. But he scarcely could have failed to see the noose over Pape's head circling rounder and faster with his onward rush. His next move was unaccountable. As the Montanan's rope slithered suddenly straight ahead from an aim calculated to pick up the steer's hind hoof for a fall, the Gothamite spurred his mount and cut directly across it. The throw fell short, borne out of line by the body of Harford's black thoroughbred. In the moment lost to free it from entanglement the steer took to the rocks with the agility of a mountain goat.