They shouted
their greetings as he approached, but he had no smile for their cheery
reception, nor did he answer, even, until he had ridden close to the
group about the camp fire. Then, with a short "mornin', boys," he
dismounted and stood with the bridle reins in his hand.

At his manner a hush fell over the little company, and they watched him
curiously.

"No breakfast, Sam," he said, shortly, to the Chinaman. "Just a cup of
coffee." Then to the cowboys, "You fellows saddle up and get that bunch
of cattle to moving. We'll load at Skull Valley."

Sam brought his coffee and he drank it as he stood, while the men
hurriedly departed for their horses. Patches, the last to go, paused a
moment, as though to speak, but Phil prevented him with a gruff order.
"Get a move on you, Patches. Those cars will be there long before we
are."

And Patches, seeing the man's face dark and drawn with pain, moved away
without a word.

"Great snakes," softly ejaculated Curly a few moments later, as Patches
stooped to take his saddle from where it lay on the ground beside
Curly's. "What do you reckon's eatin' the boss? Him an' the Dean
couldn't 'a' mixed it last night, could they? Do you reckon the Dean
crawled him about somethin'?"

Patches shook his head with a "Search me, pardner," as he turned to his
horse.

"Somethin's happened sure," muttered the other, busy with his saddle
blanket. "Sufferin' cats! but I felt like he'd poured a bucket of ice
water down my neck!" He drew the cinch tight with a vigorous jerk that
brought a grunt of protest from his mount. "That's right," he continued,
addressing the horse, "hump yourself, an' swell up and grunt, damn you;
you ought to be thankin' God that you ain't nothin' but a hoss, nohow,
with no feelin' 'cept what's in your belly." He dropped the heavy
stirrup with a vicious slap, and swung to his seat. "If Phil's a-goin'
to keep up the way he's startin', we'll sure have a pleasant little ol'
ride to Skull Valley. Oh, Lord! but I wisht I was a professor of them
there exteticks, or somethin' nice and gentle like, jest for to-day,
anyhow."

Patches laughed. "Think you could qualify, Curly?"

The cowboy grinned as they rode off together. "So far as I've noticed
the main part of the work, I could. The shade of them walnut trees at
the home ranch, or the Pot-Hook-S front porch, an' a nice easy rockin'
chair with fat cushions, or mebby the buckboard onct in a while, with
Kitty to do the drivin