They could see the plain below, but no big-horns! What had become of them?
"Yonder!" cried Francois; "yonder they go!" and he pointed far out upon the prairie where several reddish-looking objects were seen flying like the wind toward the far bluffs of the Llano Estacado.

Lucien now directed the eyes of his brothers to several ledge-like steps upon the cliff, which, no doubt, the animals had made use of in their descent, and had thus been enabled to reach the bottom in safety.
As soon as the cimmarons were out of sight, the hunters turned towards the two that had been shot--both of which, a male and female, lay stretched upon the grass and quite dead.

The boys were about to commence skinning them, when Basil and Francois remembered what they had observed just before firing; and, curious to convince themselves whether the big-horn had actually tumbled over the cliff by accident or leaped off by design, they walked forward to the spot.

On looking over the edge, they saw a tree shaking violently below them, and among its branches a large red body was visible.

It was the cimmaron; and, to their astonishment, they perceived that he was hanging suspended by one of his huge horns, while his body and legs, kicking and struggling, hung out at their full length in the empty air! It was evident he had tumbled from the top contrary to his intentions; and had been caught accidentally in the branches of the pine.