n which they stood up to their bellies, lowing from fright,
hunger, and thirst.

They were packed in a solid mass, and could not get out on the other
side because the wall of the coulee was too steep for them to clamber
up, as they might have done had it not been for the deep snow with which
it was drifted full.

As a matter of fact, though, the coulee had saved the herd from drifting
many miles in the night.

But how to get them out was the question that perplexed Bud, and with
the arrival of Ted he thankfully turned the task over to him.

"Hike for the chuck wagon, boys," shouted Ted, as he came up.

"Well, I should smile to ejaculate," said Bud, "we're as hollow an' cold
as a rifle bar'l. I'll turn this leetle summer matinee over ter you, my
friend, not wishin' you any harm."

"Go ahead and enjoy yourselves," said Ted. "But as soon as you have
filled up and warmed up come back. As soon as we get the bunch out of
this hole it will be a snap to get them near the ranch house. If we'd
only known it, we could have made it in half an hour more last night."

When Bud had ridden away Ted took stock of the situation, and found that
he had a difficult problem to solve.

Under ordinary circumstances it would have been easy to snake the cattle
out of the coulee by roping them around the horns and dragging them out
with the ponies, but it was utterly impossible to do that with a couple
of thousand of them.

While he was looking things over he became aware that Stella had ridden
away. He looked anxiously after her, for he knew her propensity for
getting into trouble when she rode alone. Soon she dropped out of sight
behind a swell in the prairie with a flash in the sunlight of her
scarlet jacket.

Ted was still studying the situation, riding up and down the edge of the
coulee, trying to figure out some plan of rescue, and noting the cattle
that were down, and which were rapidly being trampled to death by the
other beasts, or being smothered by the snow.

The prospect was not a pleasing one to the young cow boss, for he saw
the profits of the venture fading away hourly.

Suddenly a faint, shrill yell reached his ears, and he wheeled his pony
in the direction from which it came.

Stella's scarlet jacket was coming toward him in a whirlwind of flying
snow, and he rushed toward her.

What could have happened to her? He looked in vain for whatever was
pursuing her, and saw that she was not being followed, but was swing