hat fed on its succulent grass and drank
its abundant water. The brand was a diamond with the letter X in the
centre, a mark easily recognized, even at a distance. Other marks were
used on other and adjoining ranches, Mr. Merkel owning two others, one
of which went by the name Square M, from the fact that the
distinguishing brand was a square with the letter M inside. The
other's mark was a triangle with a B in it, that ranch being known
among the cowboys as the Triangle B.

Double Z was a ranch adjoining that of the Diamond X on the north, Hank
Fisher being the proprietor, while to the west was the Circle T ranch,
its cattle being marked with a large circle, in which the letter T
appeared, it being owned by Thomas Ogden, a friend of Mr. Merkel.

"Gosh! But your father has a lot of cows!" exclaimed Nort, as he and
his brother rode along through the early evening, beside Bud. "Must be
a million of 'em," added the city youth as, from a rise, he caught a
glimpse of many herds, some restrained from wandering by fenced ranges,
and others being slowly driven along by cowboys, who waved to Babe,
Bud, and the city lads.

"Not quite a million!" laughed Bud. "And we don't call 'em _cows_,
though some of 'em are, of course. They're cattle, or steers. Mother
keeps a cow or two for the sake of the milk, and of course our men are
called cowboys, or punchers, and this is cow country. But we don't
speak of 'em as herds of cows."

"Glad you told me," murmured Nort. "I'm going to be a ranchman some
day, and I want to learn all I can."

"Same here!" commented his brother.

It was a wondrously beautiful night, calm and clear, with the stars
shining overhead more brightly than Nort and Dick had ever before seen
them. It is the clearness of the atmosphere in the West that renders
objects so plain at a distance, that brings out the beauty of the stars
and which also enables such wonderful moving pictures to be made. In
the East the day is rare when there is not some haze. It is just the
reverse in the West.

Through the silent night rode the boy ranchers, for Nort and Dick were
beginning to think of themselves in that class. The cousins rode
together, with Babe in the rear, lugging the bottles of antiseptics
that were destined for the injured men.

"What are those cowboys riding around the cattle for?" asked Nort, as
they turned aside from a large herd restlessly moving amid a constant
dull rumble.

"They're driving