on't know anything harder."

Early next morning the labor began and proceeded with the utmost
dispatch. The slope resounded with the ring of axes. Pan's father was
a capital hand at chopping down trees, and he kept two horsemen
dragging cedars at a lively rate. The work progressed rapidly, but the
fence did not seem to grow in proportion.

As Pan dragged trees out to the sloping valley floor, raising a cloud
of dust, he espied a stallion standing on the nearest ridge, half a
mile away. How wild and curious!

"You better look sharp, you raw-boned sage eater!" called Pan.

Twice more this same horse evinced intelligent curiosity. Pan could
not see any signs of a band with him. But other wild horses showed at
different points, none however so close as this gray black-spotted
stallion. Blinky was sure this horse had not always been wild.
Manifestly he knew the ways of his archenemy, man.

With three cutters and three riders dragging cedars, allowing for a
rest of an hour at noon the fence grew to a length of a quarter of a
mile from the slope.

"Not so good," declared Pan, when they left off work for the day. "But
that fence is high and thick. It will take an old stallion like that
gray to break through it."

"Wal, my idee is thet we did grand," replied Blinky, wiping his sweaty
face. "Besides all the choppin' and haulin' Gus found time to kill a
deer."

It was a tired, sweaty and dust-begrimed party of hunters that
descended upon Lying Juan for supper. After their hearty meal they
gathered round the campfire to smoke and talk. This night Mac New
joined the group, and though he had nothing to say he listened
attentively and appeared to fit in more. Pan was aware of how the
former outlaw watched him. The conversation, of course, centered round
the plan and execution of work, and especially the wonderful drive they
expected to make. If they could have at once started the drive, it
would have been over and done with before their interest had time to
grow intense. But the tremendous task of preparation ahead augmented
the anticipation and thrill of that one day when they must ride like
the wind.

Next day they did not go back to the fence, but worked at the gateway
on the blind corrals. Pan constructed the opening to resemble a narrow
aisle of scrub oak. Material for this they cut from the bluff and slid
it down to the level. By sunset one corral had been almost completed.
It was large enough to h