I wish the others on the ranch had seen it,--they
wouldn't call you tenderfeet no more!"

CHAPTER XIII

THE CRAZY STEER

In the shade of the woods the boys rested their steeds for a few
minutes, and as they did this the cowboy told them of some of the races
he had seen in the past on Star Ranch.

"One of the greatest races was between one o' the cowboys and an Indian
named Crowfoot Joe," said the cowboy. "The Indian was sure he was going
to win, but he lost by a neck. That race took place two years ago, but
the boys in these parts ain't done tellin' about it yet. We had a full
holiday the time it come off."

"I think your horse is just as good as mine," said Dave to Roger. "But I
fancy you pressed him a little too hard at the start."

"He is just as good, an' so is the hoss Phil is ridin'," came from Sid
Todd. "It was the ridin' did it. Dave managed his mount just right." And
this open praise made the youth from Crumville blush.

"Just wait till Jessie hears how he won," said the shipowner's son.
"She'll weave a laurel crown for his brow and----"

"Don't you say a word about it!" cried Dave, and blushed more than ever.
"I didn't win by so very much, anyway."

Forward the party went, through the woods, and then in the direction of
the foothills beyond. The race had not hurt the horses in the least, for
all of them were tough and used to hard usage. They were following a
well-defined trail, but presently branched off to the southward and
commenced to climb the first of the hills.

"That hollow is about quarter of a mile from here," explained the
cowboy. "Be careful now, or your horse will get into a hole, an' maybe
break a leg." And then they went forward with added caution, into the
midst of a growth of low bushes, dotted here and there with sagebrush.

Presently the cowboy uttered a long, loud whistle and this was answered
by somebody near the edge of the ravine. Then another ranch hand named
Tom Yates showed himself. He was on foot, but his horse was tethered not
far away.

"Well, where are they?" asked Todd, of the other cowboy.

"Where are they?" growled Tom Yates. "Where they always are when they go
over, hang 'em! Say, we're going to have a fierce job this time," he
added.

"Why?" asked Todd.

"Because that big steer--the spotted one--went over with two of the
others. He got hurt a few days ago in the woods, and he's as ugly as sin
because of it."

"Well, we'll have to drive 'em up, sa