a foreman; and at the request of Mr.
Lovell to look over their cattle and horses again the camp took on an
air of activity. A small remuda was corralled within ropes, running from
choice to common horses, all of which were looked over carefully by the
trio, including the wagon team. A number of horses were under saddle,
and led by the foreman, a quartette of men started in advance to
bunch the herd.

Leaving Forrest at the camp, Mr. Lovell and Joel took the rig and
leisurely followed the departing horsemen. "This is one of the best
herds on the market," said the old drover to the boy, "and I've kept the
deal pending, to see if you and I couldn't buy it together. It runs full
thirty-five hundred cattle, twelve hundred threes and the remainder
twos. I always buy straight two-year-olds for my beef ranch, because I
double-winter all my steer cattle--it takes two winters in the north to
finish these Texas steers right. Now, if you can handle the threes, the
remnant of twos, and the saddle stock, we'll buy the herd, lock, stock,
and barrel. The threes will all ship out as four-year-old beeves next
fall, and you can double-winter the younger cattle. I can use two
thousand of the two-year-olds, and if you care for the others, after we
look them over, leave me to close the trade."

"Mr. Lovell, it has never been clear to me how I am to buy cattle
without money," earnestly said Joel.

"Leave that to me--I have that all figured out. If we buy this herd
together, you can ship out two thousand beef cattle next fall, and a
ranch that has that many beeves to market a year hence, can buy, with or
without money, any herd at Dodge to-day. If you like the cattle and want
them, leave it all to me."

"But so many horses--We have forty horses already," protested Joel.

"A wide-awake cowman, in this upper country, always buys these southern
horses a year in advance of when he needs them. Next year you'll be
running a shipping outfit, mounting a dozen men, sending others on fall
round-ups, and if you buy your horses now, you'll have them in the pink
of condition then. It's a small remuda, a few under sixty horses, as
fifty head were detailed out here to strengthen remudas that had to go
to the Yellowstone. This foreman will tell you that he topped out
twenty-five of the choice horses before the other trail bosses were
allowed to pick. As the remuda stands, its make-up is tops and tailings.
A year hence one will be as good as the other. Y