if turned out of the same mill. Any social sacrifices which
I make in leaving here will be repaid tenfold by the freedom and
advantages of the boundless West."

VI

THE DOUBLE TRAIL

Early in the summer of '78 we were rocking along with a herd of Laurel
Leaf cattle, going up the old Chisholm trail in the Indian Territory.
The cattle were in charge of Ike Inks as foreman, and had been sold
for delivery somewhere in the Strip.

There were thirty-one hundred head, straight "twos," and in the single
ranch brand. We had been out about four months on the trail, and all
felt that a few weeks at the farthest would let us out, for the day
before we had crossed the Cimarron River, ninety miles south of the
state line of Kansas.

The foreman was simply killing time, waiting for orders concerning the
delivery of the cattle. All kinds of jokes were in order, for we all
felt that we would soon be set free. One of our men had been taken
sick, as we crossed Red River into the Nations, and not wanting to
cross this Indian country short-handed, Inks had picked up a young
fellow who evidently had never been over the trail before.

He gave the outfit his correct name, on joining us, but it proved
unpronounceable, and for convenience some one rechristened him Lucy,
as he had quite a feminine appearance. He was anxious to learn, and
was in evidence in everything that went on.

The trail from the Cimarron to Little Turkey Creek, where we were now
camped, had originally been to the east of the present one, skirting
a black-jack country. After being used several years it had been
abandoned, being sandy, and the new route followed up the bottoms
of Big Turkey, since it was firmer soil, affording better footing to
cattle. These two trails came together again at Little Turkey. At no
place were they over two or three miles apart, and from where they
separated to where they came together again was about seven miles.

It troubled Lucy not to know why this was thus. Why did these routes
separate and come together again? He was fruitful with inquiries as to
where this trail or that road led. The boss-man had a vein of humor in
his make-up, though it was not visible; so he told the young man that
he did not know, as he had been over this route but once before, but
he thought that Stubb, who was then on herd, could tell him how it
was; he had been over the trail every year since it was laid out.
This was sufficient to secure Stubb an i