other springs had been. Something--whether an
awakened ambition or an access of sentiment regarding range matters, he
did not know--was stirring the blood in Applehead's veins. Never, since
the days when he had been a cowpuncher, had the wide spaces called to
him so alluringly; never had his mind dwelt so insistently upon the
approach of spring roundup. Perhaps it was because he heard so
much range talk at the ranch, where the boys of the Flying U were
foregathered in uneasy idleness, their fingers itching for the feel
of lariat ropes and branding irons while they gazed out over the wide
spaces of the mesa.

So much good rangeland unharnessed by wire fencing the Flying U boys had
not seen for many a day. During the winter they had been content to ride
over it merely for the purpose of helping to make a motion picture of
the range, but with the coming of green grass, and with the reaction
that followed the completion of the picture that in the making had
filled all their thoughts, they were not so content. To the inevitable
reaction had been added a nerve racking period of idleness and
uncertainty while Luck Lindsay, their director, strove with the Great
Western Film Company in Los Angeles for terms and prices that would make
for the prosperity of himself and his company.

In his heart Applehead knew, just as the Happy Family knew, that Luck
had good and sufficient reasons for over-staying the time-limit he had
given himself for the trip. But knowing that Luck was not to be blamed
for his long absence did not lessen their impatience, nor did it stifle
the call of the wide spaces nor the subtle influence of the winds that
blew softly over the uplands.

By the time he reached the ranch Applehead had persuaded himself that
the immediate gathering of his cattle was an imperative duty and that he
himself must perform it. He could not, he told himself, afford to wait
around any longer for luck. Maybe when he came Luck would have nothing
but disappointment for them, Maybe--Luck was so consarned stubborn when
he got an idea in his head--maybe be wouldn't come to any agreement with
the Great Western. Maybe they wouldn't offer him enough money, or leave
him enough freedom in his work; maybe he would "fly back on the rope"
at the last minute, and come back with nothing accomplished. Applehead,
with the experience gleaned from the stress of seeing luck produce one
feature picture without any financial backing whatever and without