that red hair, he never ought to ride any other
horse than a black stallion."

When the question arose as to which of the boys was to be sent to
intercept the moving herd and await the doctor, Forrest decided the
matter. "I'll have to send Joel," said he, "because I simply can't spare
Dell. The swelling has benumbed this old leg of mine, and we'll have to
give it an occasional rubbing to keep the circulation up. There's where
Dell has the true touch; actually he reminds me of my mother. She could
tie a rag around a sore toe, in a way that would make a boy forget all
his trouble. Hold Joel a minute."

The sound of a moving horse had caught the ear of the wounded man, and
when the older boy dismounted at the tent opening, he continued: "Now,
Joel, don't let that cow outfit get funny with you. Show them the brand
on that horse you're riding, and give them distinctly to understand,
even if you are barefooted, that you are one of Don Lovell's men. Of
course you don't know him, but with that old man, it's love me, love my
dog. Get your dinner with the outfit, and watch for a dust cloud in the
south. There's liable to be another herd along any day, and we'll need
a cow."

Forrest was nearly forty, while Priest was fully fifty years of age;
neither had ever had children of his own, and their hearts went out in
manly fullness to these waifs of the plain. On the other hand, a day had
brought forth promise and fulfillment, from strangers, to the boys,
until the latter's confidence knew no bounds. At random, the men
virtually spoke of the cattle on a thousand hills, until the boys fully
believed that by merely waving a wand, the bells would tinkle and a cow
walk forth. Where two horses were promised, four had appeared. Where
their little store of provision was as good as exhausted, it had been
multiplied many fold. Where their living quarters were threatened with
intrusion, a tent, with fly, was added; all of which, as if by magic,
had risen out of a dip in the plain.

There was no danger, at the hands of the trail men, of any discourtesy
to Joel, but to relieve any timidity, the foreman saddled his horse and
accompanied the boy a mile or more, fully reviewing the details of his
errand. Left behind, and while rubbing the wounded limb, Dell regaled
his patient with a scrap of family history. "Pa never let us boys go
near the trail," said he. "It seemed like he was afraid of you Texas
men; afraid your cattle would trample down ou