ecause the flankers would not, to join his
partner and their pack train, plodding along on the left-hand side of
Joe Cooper's wagons.

Hank was a placid, easy-going individual and cared little whether or not
he had company. For the last few days he had been highly amused by
watching several pack animals owned and led by tenderfeet, who had
learned neither to follow them nor to load them right. These green
travelers were continually in trouble. If they were not arguing with
mules gone balky because of unevenly distributed loads, or chasing some
running and kicking animal that scattered the contents of its pack far
and wide over the plain, they were collecting their possessions
piece-meal from a score of acres of prairie and hurriedly re-packing
somewhere behind the caravan, cursing, perspiring, out of breath, and
murderously savage. Some of them re-packed more than a dozen times a day
and were hard put even to keep the caravan in sight. Their natural anger
at their misfortunes was turned into a simmering or a coruscating rage,
that ever and anon burst out with volcanic force as they realized the
utter hopelessness of their position. This was for the first few days,
for the wiser ones used their eyes and ears and mouths to good
advantage, and soon got the knack of packing; but there were some who
seemingly were too dumb to learn.

Hank never obtruded any advice, but cheerfully explained the art of
packing to any man who sought him. He and his partner's animals never
shifted a pack on this smooth going, and this fact began to sink into
some of the tenderfeet, and they eagerly took lessons from the veteran.
It was not long before a spilled pack in that column of the train was an
uncommon occurrence. These eight mules behaved in an admirable manner
and there was a good reason for it. When they had been selected, only
those showing the unmistakable signs of the veteran pack mule were
chosen. The marks of the crupper, _aparejo_ and girth never would
disappear. Tenderfeet scornfully would have passed them by and chosen
sleek, smooth-haired animals of far better appearance; but Hank and Tom
did not make this mistake, realizing that here, indeed, beauty was only
skin deep.

Hank judged that it was about time to take full advantage of the mules'
early training and the results were regarded as downright miracles by
the greenhorns, who attempted to duplicate the system, but with
disastrous endings. One of the mules was an old mar