the sight and the smell, and piled
on wood until Park stopped him with. "Say, Bud, we ain't celebrating any
election! It ain't a bonfire we want, it's heat; just keep her going and
save wood all yuh can." After an hour of fire-tending Thurston decided
that there were things more wearisome than "hollering 'em down the
chutes." His eyes were smarting intolerably with smoke and heat, and the
smell of the branding was not nice; but through the long afternoon he
stuck to the work, shrewdly guessing that the others were not having any
fun either. Park and "the Deacon" worked as hard as any, branding the
steers as they were squeezed, one by one, fast in the little branding
chutes. The setting sun shone redly through the smoke before Thurston
was free to kick the half-burnt sticks apart and pour water upon them as
directed by Park.

"Think yuh earned your little old dollar and thirty three cents, Bud?"
Park asked him. And Thurston smiled a tired, sooty smile that seemed all
teeth.

"I hope so; at any rate, I have a deep, inner knowledge of the joys of
branding cattle."

"Wait 'till yuh burn Lazy Eights on wriggling, blatting calves for two
or three hours at a stretch before yuh talk about the joys uh branding."
Park rubbed eloquently his aching biceps.

At dusk Thurston crept into his blankets, feeling that he would like the
night to be at least thirty six hours long. He was just settling into
a luxurious, leather-upholstered dream chair preparatory to telling
Reeve-Howard his Western experiences when Park's voice bellowed into the
tent:

"Roll out, boys--we got a train pulling in!"

There was hurried dressing in the dark of the bed-tent, hasty mounting,
and a hastier ride through the cool night air. There were long hours at
the chutes, prodding down at a wavering line of moving shadows, while
the "big dipper" hung bright in the sky and lighted lanterns bobbed back
and forth along the train waving signals to one another. At intervals
Park's voice cut crisply through the turmoil, giving orders to men whom
he could not see.

The east was lightening to a pale yellow when the men climbed at last
into their saddles and galloped out to camp for a hurried breakfast.
Thurston had been comforting his aching body with the promise of rest
and sleep; but three thousand cattle were milling impatiently in the
stockyards, so presently he found himself fanning a sickly little blaze
with his hat while he endeavored to keep the smoke fr