uns caused him to
wheel his horse and cover the beef ford with his glass, and a moment
later Edwards and his squad were seen with the naked eye to scale the
bank and strike up the river at a gallop. It was known that the ford
was saddle-skirt deep, and some few of the men were strangers to it;
but with that passed safely he felt easier, though his blood coursed
quicker. It lacked but a few minutes to eleven, and Cave and his
detachment of beaters were due to move on the stroke of the hour. They
had been given one hundred rounds of six-shooter ammunition to the
man and were expected to use it. Edwards and his cavalcade were
approaching the horseshoe, the cordon seemed perfect, though
scattering, when the first faint sound of the beaters was heard, and
the next moment the barking of two hundred six-shooters was reechoing
up and down the valley of the Salt Fork.

The drive-hunt was on; the long yell passed from the upper end of
the grove to the mouth of the horseshoe and back, punctuated with an
occasional shot by irrepressibles. The mounts of the day were the pick
of over five thousand cow-horses, and corn-fed for winter use, in
the pink of condition and as impatient for the coming fray as their
riders.

Everything was moving like clockwork. Miller forsook the Butte and
rode to the upper end of the grove; the beaters were making slow but
steady progress, while the saddled loose horses would be at hand for
their riders without any loss of time. Before the beaters were one
third over the ground, a buck and doe came out about halfway down the
grove, sighted the horsemen, and turned back for shelter. Once more
the long yell went down the line. Game had been sighted. When about
one half the grove had been beat, a flock of wild turkeys came out at
the lower end, and taking flight, sailed over the line. Pandemonium
broke out. Good resolutions of an hour's existence were converted into
paving material in the excitement of the moment, as every carbine or
six-shooter in or out of range rained its leaden hail at the flying
covey. One fine bird was accidentally winged, and half a dozen men
broke from the line to run it down, one of whom was Reese himself.
The line was not dangerously broken nor did harm result, and on their
return Miller was present and addressed this query to Reese: "Who is
the captain of this flank line?"

"He'll weigh twenty pounds," said Reese, ignoring the question and
holding the gobbler up for inspection.