t on his hands before resuming his hoe.

"Mos' dinner time," returned Bud, looking up at the sun, and then over
his shoulder towards the spring-betraying group of trees to which
Melissa was accustomed to bring his dinner when he was working here.
"They's some feller tyin' his horse in front of the cabin. Who is hit?"

Pink leaned on his hoe and squinted across the blazing field to the
grove that sheltered von Rittenheim's house.

"Bob Morgan, Ah reckon. Looks like his horse."

"Come to get somethin' fo' Mr. Baron. O-oh, Bob!"

Bob looked around his horse's nose, and held up his hand in token of
understanding. He unlocked the cabin and disappeared within, coming out
again with a bundle, which he tied on to the saddle, and then led his
animal towards the trees at the spring. The two laborers tossed down
their hoes and moved to the same haven.

"What time is hit, Bob?"

Morgan looked at his watch.

"Five past twelve, Pink. Working hard?"

"Yep. Tol'able big crop." He sat down at the foot of a tree and opened
his dinner-pail.

"Have some?" he asked, pointing the opening at Bob, who was settling
into repose with his hat over his face.

"No, I thank you. I must be going home in a few minutes. How are you
getting on? Bought any more stock lately?"

Bob lay on his back with one long leg balanced on the other knee like a
see-saw on a saw-horse. The rowel of his spur rattled as he jerked his
foot up and down at the ankle.

"No." Pink had his mouth full.

"How many head have you got now?"

"Oh, jus' a mule 'n a couple o' cows."

"Sold your horse?"

"'M. Here Bud, take some o' this. Ah jus' natchelly hate to have
you-all die o' starvation."

"No, she's comin'. Ah see her now." And Bud ran to meet his wife and to
relieve her of the baby.

"Hungry, ain' he?" sneered Pink, as he watched his partner's alacrity,
while Bob struggled to his feet to greet Melissa.

"Say, you-all wasn' wantin' to buy a cow, was ye, Bob?" asked Pink.

"Got one to sell?"

"Yes, the muley cow."

"No, I don't guess I want her."

"You seemed so damn curious about my stock, Ah 'lowed ye were
purchasin'."

"Oh, no. I just thought you must have an extra lot of cattle to be
providing for, or you wouldn't have needed to hire this land and to
make an extra big crop of corn."

A dull red showed on Pink's forehead above the tan-mark, and crowded
into his pale-blue eyes, destitute of lashes. The two men looked
steadily at each other. T