his life. On the hills
near by the coyotes kept up ventriloquistic clamor, and from far off the
bawling of great bulls and the bleating of the calves brought news of a
huge herd of cattle, but these sounds only made his solitary vigil the
more impressive. The sleepy chirp of the crickets and the sound of his
horse nipping the grass, calmly careless of the wolves, were the only
aids to sleep; all else had the effect to keep his tense nerves
vibrating. As the cold intensified, the crickets ceased to cry, and the
pony, having filled his stomach, turned tail to the wind and humped his
back in drowse. At last, no friendly sounds were left in all the world,
and shivering, sore, and sullen, the youth faced the east waiting for
the dawn.

As the first faint light came into the east he turned his face to the
west, anxiously waiting till the beautiful mountain should blossom from
the dark. At last it came stealing forth, timid, delicate, blushing like
a bride from nuptial chamber, ethereal as an angel's wing, persistent as
a glacial wall. As it broadened and bloomed, the boy threw off his
depression like a garment. Briskly saddling his shivery but well-fed
horse he set off, keeping more and more to the left, as his instructions
ran. But no matter in which direction he rode, his eyes were on the
mountain. "There is where I end," was his constantly repeated thought.
It would have been easy for him to have turned aside.

Shortly after sunrise he came upon a ranch set deep in a gully and
sheltered by pinons. Smoke was curling from the stovepipe, but no other
sign of life could be detected. He rode directly up to the door, being
now too hungry and cold to pass by food and shelter, no matter what
should follow.

A couple of cowboys, armed and armored, came out lazily but with menace
in their glances.

"Good morning," said Mose.

"Howdy, stranger, howdy," they repeated with instant heartiness. "Git
off your hoss and come in."

"Thanks, I believe I will. Can you tell me which-a-way is Bob Reynolds'
ranch?" he asked.

Both men broke into grins. "Well, you've putt' nigh hit it right hyer.
This is one o' his 'line camps.' The ranch house is about ten miles
furder on--but slide off and eat a few."

One man took his horse while the other showed him into a big room where
a huge stack of coals on a rude hearth gave out a cheerful heat. It was
an ordinary slab shack with three rooms. A slatternly woman was busy
cooking breakfast in a