or;
drifted uneasily a little, muttered, whispered, tittered, fell quiet
again, to cheerful grazing. The fresh wild cattle, nearing the
periphery, glimpsed the dreaded horsemen beyond, and turned again to
hiding in the center. Cole and most of his riders drew away and paced
soberly campward, leaving ten herders where they found six.

Jody Weir rode over to Johnny.

"Old citizen," he said, "the rod tells me you are for Engle, and if I
wanted to send letters I might go write 'em. But I beat him to it.
Letter to my girl all written and ready. All I had to do was to put in
a line with my little old pencil, telling her we'd work the herd
to-morrow and start home next day. She'll be one pleased girl; she
sure does love her little Jody."

Johnny knotted his brows in puzzlement. "But who reads your letters to
her?" he said wonderingly.

"Now what you doin'--tryin' to slur my girl? She's educated, that
child is."

"No; but when you said she--she liked her little Jody--why, I
naturally supposed"--Johnny hesitated--"her eyesight, you know, might
be--"

Weir slapped his leg and guffawed.

"Thought she was blind, did you? Well, she ain't. If she was I
wouldn't be writing this letter. Most of it is heap private and
confidential." His face took on a broad and knowing leer as he handed
over the letter. It was fat; it was face up; it bore the address:

MR. J. D. WEIR, HILLSBORO, N. M.

Johnny put the letter carefully in his saddle pocket.

"Don't you think maybe you're leaving an opening for some of the
cattle to slip out?" he said, twitching his thumb toward Weir's
deserted post.

"Let them other waddies circulate a little--lazy dogs! Won't hurt 'em
any. Cattle ain't troublin', nohow. Cole, he told me himself to slide
over and give you my letters. Darned funny if a man can't gas a little
once in a while." He gave Johnny a black look. "Say, feller! Maybe you
don't like my talk?"

"No," said Johnny, "I don't. Not unless you change the subject. That
young lady wouldn't want you to be talking her over with any tough
you meet."

Jody Weir checked his horse and regarded Dines with a truculent stare.
"Aw, hell! She ain't so particular! Here, let me show you the stuff
she writes, herself." His hand went to his vest pocket. "Some baby!"

"Here! That's enough! I'm surprised at you, Jody. I never was plumb
foolish about you, but I suhtenly thought you was man enough not to
kiss and tell. That's as low-down as th