if I lived here a hundred years,"
commented Dick, as, for the third time, the cry rose and fell, even
louder and more horrible than before.

"The cattle don't mind 'em," said Bud. "In fact it seems to sort of
soothe 'em. Look, some of the steers are lying down."

This was so. In the clearer moonlight which prevailed for a few
moments, the lads from the city saw numbers of the bunch of cattle
resting easily on the grass. They were either tired out from the rapid
pace at which they had been driven, or had concluded that they were to
stay there for the night.

"Come on," suggested Bud, a moment later, as he urged his horse
forward. "Hit it up!"

"Where?" asked Dick.

"We'll ride herd for a few minutes, to make sure none of 'em stray off.
I can't see just how many there are in this bunch, the light is so
uncertain."

Nort and Dick followed their cousin, slowly circling the bunch of
cattle on which an attempt had been made to drive off. There were
about fifty, as Bud roughly estimated, when he and his cousins had
completed the circuit, thus "riding herd," as it is called, to
distinguish it from "riding line," when the cowboys move slowly up and
down along the line of fences that enclose the more modern ranches.

Diamond X ranch consisted of both sorts. Mr. Merkel owned a number of
large expanses of land, completely fenced in, and on these grazed
thousands of cattle.

He also took advantage of the open range, letting some of his animals
mingle on those vast expanses in common with steers and cows from other
ranches. Some of the open range was richer in grass than the fenced-in
portions, but there was a certain amount of additional work attached to
the use of the open range. It meant round-ups twice a year, and the
branding of cattle which were claimed as the property of the different
owners.

In places where there were no fences to keep the animals from straying
it was often necessary to "ride herd." That is, the cowboys, night and
day, rode slowly around the bunch of steers, keeping them from straying
or stampeding. At times they were "hazed," or driven to other feeding
places, or to water, until such time as they were collected and driven
to the railroad to be shipped.

Where stout wire fences held the cattle within bounds the work of the
cowboys was easier, but even here "riding line" was necessary, as one
could never tell when a break might be made in the fence, or when
rustlers might cut the wire