there were any other bottles in the camp, Mac New's was the only one
that came to light. It was passed around.

"Now, men, listen," began Pan when they had found comfortable seats
around the campfire. "It's all over but the shouting--and the riding.
You listen too, Juan, for you've got to fork a horse and drive with us.
As soon as it's light enough to see, we'll take the fresh horses we've
been saving and ride across the valley. It's pretty long around, but I
want to come up behind all these bands of wild horses. Pack your guns
and all the shells you've got. We'll take stands at the best place,
which we'll decide from the location of the horses. Reckon that'll be
about ten miles west. You'll all see when we get there how the neck of
the valley narrows down till it's not very wide. Maybe a matter of two
miles of level ground, with breaks running toward each slope. We'll
string across this, equal distances apart and begin our drive. If we
start well and don't let any horses break our line, we'll soon get them
going and then each band will drive with us. Ride like hell, shoot and
yell your head off to turn back any horses that charge to get between
us. Soon as we get a few hundred moving, whistling, trampling and
raising the dust, that'll frighten the bands ahead. They'll begin to
move before they see us. Naturally as the valley widens we've got to
spread. But if we once get a wide scattering string of horses running
ahead of us we needn't worry about being separated. When we get them
going strong, there'll be a stampede. Sure a lot of horses will fool
us one way or another, but we ought to chase half the number on this
side of the valley clear to our fence. That'll turn them toward the
gate to the blind corrals. We'll close in there, and that'll take
riding, my buckaroos!"

Blinky was the most obstreperously responsive to Pan's long harangue.
Pan thought he understood the secret of the cowboy's strange elation.
After all, what did Blinky care for horses or money? He had been a
homeless wandering range rider, a hard-drinking reckless fellow with
few friends, and those only for the hour of the length of a job. The
success of this venture, if it turned out so, meant that Blinky would
do the one big act of his life. He would take the girl Louise from her
surroundings, give her a name that was honest and a love that was
great, and rise or fall with her. Pan had belief in human nature. In
endless ways h