that they had
bought the Texas cattle and driven them north to the Long Tom Ranch in
northern Montana.

Now that they were within a few miles of it, and still on the low
ground, it appeared that a big snow was inevitable, which might
frustrate all their plans and cause them great loss.

But Ted Strong did not complain. It was a condition which he could not
have foreseen, and, being close at hand, there was nothing for them to
do but meet it with all the fortitude at their command.

Soon the herd began to move forward, being crowded by the broncho boys
and the force of cow-punchers whom they had employed to assist them.

Stella Fosdick, who, with her aunt, Mrs. Walter Graham, had accompanied
the boys on their drive, now came galloping up to Ted. She had been
riding beside the carriage in which her aunt had been comfortably
traveling.

"Going to keep on, Ted?" she asked.

"Yes. Got to do it. Those clouds are full of snow. If it catches us down
here we're likely to be snowed in, and if we do it's all up with the
Circle S," he replied.

"That's bad."

"Oh, I guess we'll pull through all right, if we can keep the cows
moving; but it is not going to be very comfortable for your aunt or you.
We'll have to drive until the cattle refuse to move farther."

"I can stand it, and aunt will have to. She's getting a little anxious,
though, and asked me to ride ahead to learn when we're going to stop.
Poor auntie likes her comfort. I often wonder why she became the wife of
a ranchman."

"Or why she consents to traipse all over the country with you," laughed
Ted.

"Ted, she absolutely cannot refuse me a thing."

"So I see. You've got her hypnotized--as, indeed, you have all the rest
of us. But ride back and cheer her up all you can. I told McCall, the
cook, to make some good, strong coffee and to serve it to any of the
boys who wanted it, as it will be some time before we can have supper.
Have Mac take her a cup of good, strong coffee and something to eat.
That may make her a little more cheerful."

"I'll do it. But don't you want some coffee, too?"

"Not for me. I've got something else to do right here. This is going to
be a race between the herd and the snow clouds, and it means a whole lot
to us."

"Afraid of being snowed in?"

"You bet. If this bunch of cattle gets snowed in I see our finish. We'll
lose half of them before we get to the grass."

"I don't know a thing about the Northern range, and I can't see h