resolved to kill or cure. He
gave the rope another turn round the horn of his saddle and started up
at imminent risk to her neck. Her legs were rooted in the tough muck
as if they were the fangs of a colossal tooth, but Tuck pulled it; and
having now rounded out an honest day's work, his fancy turned toward
the fire of the sheep-herding Pete Harding. Pete was a congenial
spirit, even if he was not much of a horseman, and he had a pack of
cards with which he passed much time, trying to beat himself at
solitaire.

Tuck did not know that Pete Harding was not at present in charge of the
sheep. He eventually made the discovery by the light of Steve's fire;
and he made it at remarkably long range. Like others whose vision has
been trained on far-off cattle, he was very long-sighted; his eye could
reach out and read the half-obliterated brand on a distant cow--a
faculty which saves a horse many steps, especially on a ranch where the
cattle do not all belong to one owner. Tuck, being one of this kind,
was as yet afar off when he saw that there were two persons at the
fire. Closer approach making the fact vividly plain, he pulled rein
and came to a stop. Sure enough, it was a woman! She was sitting
there eating supper!

The extraordinary spectacle quite balked his comprehension. Having
taken in all visible details and circumstances, he very considerately
turned his horse and made himself "scarce."

On the following day, while everybody was waiting for the mail to be
distributed, Tuck was loitering up and down past the various groups on
Thornton's principal thoroughfare. Coming finally to where the subject
of horse was being discussed, he joined himself to this multitude of
counselors; and finding Hank Bullen among those present, he related his
experience of the night before. While the two speculated and
conjectured, others became included in the conversation, a process
which requires a story to be several times repeated.

"Did you say this was yesterday?" asked Ed Curtis, who had just caught
the drift of it.

"Last night," said Tuck.

"You say she wore a white collar and cuffs and a black felt hat?"

"No; I did n't see what sort of a hat she had. She did n't have any
hat on. I said she had on a dark dress with white around the wrists
and a wide white collar turned down."

"I passed that girl on the road yesterday. She was going out that way.
She rode a sorrel with one stocking behind and a star."

"Why