side that led to still another room, she told me I could have
that, adding that I "needn't be scared to death, as the boys will sleep
right there." I asked her how old the boys were, and she snapped, "How
old! why they's men folks," and out of the room she went. Upon looking
around I saw that my one door opened into the next room, and that as
soon as the "boys" occupied it I would be virtually a prisoner. To be
sure, the windows were not far from the ground, and I could easily jump
out, but to jump in again would require longer arms and legs than I
possessed. But just then I felt that I would much prefer to encounter
robbers, mountain lions, any gentle creatures of that kind, to asking
Mrs. Gates for another room.

When I went out to supper that night I was given a seat at one end of
a long table where were already sitting nine men, including my own
civilian driver, who, fortunately, was near the end farthest from me.
No one paid the slightest attention to me, each man attending to his
own hungry self and trying to outdo the others in talking. Finally they
commenced telling marvelous tales about horses that they had ridden and
subdued, and I said to myself that I had been told all about sheep that
day, and there it was about horses, and I wondered how far I would have
to go to hear all sorts of things about cattle! But anything about
a horse is always of interest to me, and those men were particularly
entertaining, as it was evident that most of them were professional
trainers.

There was sitting at the farther end of the table a rather young-looking
man, who had been less talkative than the others, but who after a while
said something about a horse at the fort. The mentioning of the post
was startling, and I listened to hear what further he had to say. And
he continued, "Yes, you fellers can say what yer dern please about yer
broncos, but that little horse can corral any dern piece of horseflesh
yer can show up. A lady rides him, and I guess I'd put her up with the
horse. The boys over there say that she broke the horse herself, and I
say! you fellers orter see her make him go--and he likes it, too."

By the time the man stopped talking, my excitement was great, for I was
positive that he had been speaking of Rollo, although no mention had
been made of the horse's color or gait. So I asked what gait the horse
had. He and two or three of the other men looked at me with pity in
their eyes--actual pity--that plainly sai