ed of baby ways, but he loved these tunes,
when his legs were tired and his eyes wanted to go shut, and Doctor
Dell laid her cheek on his hair and called him her baby man. Nobody knew
about these times--that was most always in the bed room and the boys
couldn't hear.

The Kid's lips quivered a little. Doctor Dell would be surprised when
he didn't show up for supper, he guessed. He turned to Silver and to his
man ways, because he did not like to think about Doctor Dell just right
now.

"Well, old feller, I guess you want your saddle off, huh?" he quavered,
and slapped the horse upon the shoulder. He lifted the stirrup--it was
a little stock saddle, with everything just like a big saddle except
the size; Daddy Chip had had it made for the Kid in Cheyenne, last
Christmas--and began to undo the latigo, whistling self-consciously and
finding that his lips kept trying to come unpuckered all the time,
and trying to tremble just the way they did when he cried. He had no
intention of crying.

"Gee! I always wanted to camp out and watch the stars," he told Silver
stoutly. "Honest to gran'ma, I think this is just--simply--GREAT! I bet
them nester kids would be scared. Hunh!"

That helped a lot. The Kid could whistle better after that. He pulled of
the saddle, laid it down on its side so that the skirts would not bend
out of shape--oh, he had been well-taught, with the whole Happy Family
for his worshipful tutors!--and untied the rope from beside the fork.
"I'll have to anchor you to a tree, old-timer," he told the horse
briskly. "I'd sure hate to be set afoot in this man's country!" And a
minute later--"Oh, funder! I never brought you any sugar!"

Would you believe it, that small child of the Flying U picketed his
horse where the grass was best, and the knots he tied were the knots his
dad would have tied in his place. He unrolled his blanket and carried
it to the sheltered little nook under the ledge, and dragged the bag of
doughnuts and the jelly and honey and bread after it. He had heard about
thievish animals that will carry off bacon and flour and such. He knew
that he ought to hang his grub in a tree, but he could not reach up as
far as the fox who might try to help himself, so that was out of the
question.

The Kid ate a doughnut while he studied the matter out for himself. "If
a coyote or a skink came pestering around ME, I'd frow rocks at him," he
said. So when he had finished the doughnut he collected a pile of