somewhat to the left of her present course. Steadily it drew
nearer, straight ahead--her footsteps had bent toward it. When she was
beginning to distinguish the play of the flames, it sank from sight;
but presently it appeared again, more plainly. Now a lantern was
moving about behind a pair of legs. She could see just the legs,
scissors-like, cutting off the light at each step. The lantern stopped
and burned steadily; then another appeared. Then another.

The open side of a shed became visible, a block of deeper darkness
which made the night seem lighter. Janet, scarce knowing her
intentions, kept going towards it. The lantern which first stopped now
turned red and began ascending. It was a coyote lantern. It was going
up to the top of its pole. A sheep _baaed_ with the suddenness of a
bagpipe.

Janet halted. She had now gone dangerously near. The fire invited her
to come; but many things warned her away. What to do she did not know.

To her dismay, the problem very quickly took itself out of her hands.
The dog, alive to his duty, came out at her with alarming threats. A
short distance from her he circled around her to make his attack from
the rear, as Scotch dogs wisely do. Janet screamed and ran forward,
though not so willingly as a sheep. As the dog desisted, in obedience
to a sharp command from his master, she halted again. One of the
lanterns was suddenly lifted, and being held up to give a wider light
it shone full on the face of the man. It was the countenance of Mr.
Stephen Brown.

"Goodness gracious!" said Janet.

CHAPTER V

Rumor worketh in a thousand ways her wonders to perform.

On the day of Janet's runaway, Tuck Reedy, of Thornton, rode in at the
southeast gate and struck out in the direction of certain water-holes,
his mission being to look over some B.U.J. cattle which had recently
been branded, and see whether their burns had "peeled" properly.

In a good many cases he found that the blow-flies had worked havoc, so
that, working single-handed, he had a great deal to do; and by the time
he had thrown a number of lusty calves and treated their sides with his
bottle of maggot medicine, he had pretty well worn-out the day. Being
done, he turned his attention to a cow which had become deeply involved
in a boggy water-hole. He threw the rope over her horns and pulled
with his pony this way and that, but without success. Finally, when
the sun was going down on failure, he