o join those selected for shipment.

"He's laughing at you," said Sargent. "He only wanted to try you out.
Just wanted to show you that no red-headed boy and flea-bit horse could
turn him. And he showed you."

"This beats roping," admitted Dell, as the two returned to the herd,
quite willing to change the subject. "Actually when a beef reaches the
edge of the herd, this horse swells up and his eyes pop out like
door-knobs. You can feel every muscle in him become as rigid as ropes,
and he touches the ground as if he was walking on eggs. Look at him now;
goes poking along as if he was half asleep."

"He's a cutting horse and doesn't wear himself out. Whenever you can
strip the bridle off, while cutting out a beef, and handle your steer,
that's the top rung a cow-horse can reach. He's a king pin--that's
royalty."

A second round-up was required to complete the train-load of beeves.
They were not uniform in weight or age, and would require reclassing
before loading aboard the cars. Their flesh and finish were fully up to
standard, but the manner in which they were acquired left them uneven,
their ages varying from four to seven years.

"There's velvet in this shipment," said Sargent, when the beeves had
been counted and trimmed. "These cattle can defy competition. Instead of
five cents a head for watering last year's drive, this year's shipment
from crumbs will net you double that amount. The first gathering of beef
will square the account with every thirsty cow you watered last summer."

An extra day was allowed in which to reach the railroad. The shipment
must pen the evening before, and halting the herd within half a mile of
the railway corrals, the reclassing fell to Joel and Sargent. The
contingent numbered four hundred and forty beeves, and in order to have
them marketable, all rough, heavy cattle must be cut into a class by
themselves, leaving the remainder neat and uniform. A careful hour's
work resulted in seven car-loads of extra heavy beeves, which were
corralled separately and in advance of the others, completing a long day
in the saddle.

Important mail was awaiting Wells Brothers at the station. A permit from
the state quarantine authorities had been secured, due to the influence
of the commission house and others, admitting the through herd, then en
route from Ogalalla. The grant required a messenger to meet the herd
without delay, and Dell volunteered his services as courier. Darkness
fell before sup